Work Text:
A gentle music plays. So gentle that I feel my mind relaxing immediately. As if every fiber of stress in my body has been gently washed away. The music in question came from a recent movie I have been obsessed with. A very sweet story about a girl going out into the wide world to find her own worth despite her family's disagreements. Overall it was very motivating and insp-
*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*
“Uuuugh”
“Wake up already you sleepyhead, it’s already 8:30”
Those pleasant thoughts got immediately interrupted by my very nice and thoughtful sister.
“...I told you to stop using your alarm to wake me up…It’s very unpleasant…”
“Well your’s clearly doesn’t seem to work, so something has to do the job.”
“You could have just woken me up yourself, you know…”
“I’m not going to become your personal alarm. Come on, get out of bed, breakfast is ready.”
“You made breakfa-”
I immediately smell something burning from the other room.
“Whoops, it seems like I forgot to take out the toast.”
Immediately I sprung out of bed and ran into the kitchen taking out what looks to be coal from our toaster. How long has this even been in there? For now let’s open a window to get rid of the smoke.
“See this is what happens when I have to wake you up.”
“Sister, normally bread takes much more than a few extra minutes to turn into…what even is it at this point anymore.”
“It’s bread”
“IT’S NOT?!”
Honestly as impressive as it was to manage burning bread in an automatic toaster, this is not that unusual of a sight. My sister Eleanor is what you might call a genius. Well anywhere outside the kitchen. She is academically gifted to the point of managing two separate courses with little issue, while having a trained body that you only expect from hardcore gym people. And to top things off, she was very popular. Many call her the ideal woman apparently.
I looked over to her.
“...I don’t see it.”
“What don’t you?”
“Never mind.”
Of course it is mostly due to me being her sister but those admirers never made sense to me. Mostly because-
“Alright, for our schedule today we got to the gym at 9:00am, the bookstore at 11:00am and some revisions at 2pm, so hurry up with breakfast.”
Yes, she was a busybody at home.
On the other hand, I was more of an indoor person that preferred to be by myself and take things at my own pace. Going to University wasn’t something I loved doing but our parents wanted us both to go for a higher education so there was pretty much no way around it. I also avoided going to any gatherings or crowded places since they only made me uncomfortable. The only one, or two I guess, outside my family I felt comfortable around would be-
My phone suddenly blinked, notifying me of having received a message. Of course since my sister was in the same room with me, there could only be one person left to have messaged me.
Of course there was nothing to be checked. The only reason I needed time was to mentally collect myself. Of course any sort of social interactions were far beyond me and while I felt more comfortable around Selene in general, being invited by her alway made me restless.
“What’s wrong, is it Selene?”
“Uhm…yeah. She asks if I want to study with the others in the afternoon.”
“Sounds good doesn’t it?”
“Yeah sure…but.”
“But?”
“...”
I couldn’t answer her. I wasn’t too sure myself but I knew that nothing good would come from telling her, even if I knew.
“Ah can you go grab your gym bag from your room real quick? I’ll pack things for you.”
“Huh, wha-...sure I guess.”
Being confused by her sudden out of nowhere request I lay down the phone on the table and go grab my bag. As per usual I quickly realized how short sighted I am as she already had my phone in her hands, typing something with her typical inhuman high speed.”
“H-Hey what are you doing?! Give that back!”
“Alright, here you go.”
Taking it right out of her hands, I quickly went to check the chat that was still open on the screen. And of course as expected…
It’s done. My life is over. Seeing me blush enough to become basically a human tomato, my sister only gave me a smug grin. I swear, someday I will get back at this intrusive sister of mine! Just you wait.
“Heeey Cassi!”
There she was. Dressed as usual in yellow and pink, my course partner and close friend Selene came running up to me once she spotted me. We actually used to spend a lot of time together in the past. And even though she was typically a very energetic outgoing girl, I didn’t dislike her presence.
But hold on a minute. Now that I think about it.
“Heya. Where is Megan?”
“Sorry! I got a call from my team leader that my project is still behind schedule so I can't join you today. Hope you’re not too sad, my sweeties! - Well that’s the message Meg told me to deliver to you.”
“Ahahaha…”
This was pretty much what you’d expect from Megan. If there was a score for social energy, Selene would get a 70, while Megan would get a 120. She would also get the same score for her being chaotic. Basically, she was difficult for me to deal with, as someone with a social score of 5. But that would mean…
“Sooo it’s just the two of us today?”
“So it seems!”
As usual she beams with that bright smile that everyone knows her for. No wonder she is so popular at our university and her work place. It wouldn’t even be a surprise if she gotten herself a-
Somehow even the unfinished thought made me upset.
“Let’s go shall we!”
“S-sure let’s.”
Still thank god she didn't ask about the message.
The library was, as always, quite empty as Ocean City had a much bigger and modern one that kept itself updated in all sections. This small library was much more up my alley. Maybe this was why we would always go to this place to study outside of campus but I wasn’t about to complain.
“Hmmm…”
“Struggling with something?”
“This one here, the professor talked about it last week but I still can’t wrap my head around it.”
“Oh this is a tricky one. For this you use this formula and then…”
Helping Selene was only possible for me because my sister hammered the subjects into my head at home. I was never sure what she got from taking my course every now and then, while also going to her own school but I wasn’t one to complain. And despite her spartan home schooling, it beat going to the university regularly by a mile. All being said, I did not mind my sister’s meddling too much I guess. But enough of her already! I still haven’t forgiven her for her stunt this morning.
“Aaah now I get it! Thank you Cassi! You’re a lifesaver!”
“Yo- You’re exaggerating a bit I think. Also you can thank my sister for most of this as it was-”
“But you’re the one here with me today! Right? So thank YOU!”
“...You’re welcome.”
Honest to god, I couldn’t hide my embarrassment in front of this girl. I wasn’t sure why I kept panicking around her but it doesn’t look like it would end anytime soon. What a predicament.
Needing little help or studying myself, I ended up helping Selene for most of the time while we also talked a bit every now and then. Mostly about recent events or whatever we’re up to. But everything eventually must come to an end.
“Thanks once again for today. I had a lot of fun!”
“You really don’t need to thank me that much. I also had a lot of fun.”
“That makes me happy to hear!”
There it was again, her signature smile. Funnily the orange light coming from the sunset made her look like a goddess to me. I thought scenes like this would only happen in those cringy novels people liked nowadays but to actually see it myself was something else.
Suddenly I felt my heart beat a lot faster than ever before, while also noticing my face flush bright red immediately.
Selene though didn’t seem to notice as she only looked blissfully unaware smiling at me.
“Alright then…I have to go this way. Better not let my control freak sister wait for too long.”
“Ahaha Eleanor sure loves you a lot, doesn’t she.”
“If you see it that way…S-see you again soon?”
My question made her go quiet with a blank expression. As if she didn’t expect me to ask this. But quickly after
“Sure! Let’s hang out lots during the next semester holiday!”
“S-sure.”
One more bright smile and then she proceeded to run off into her direction. I started turning around when I heard her still say something from afar.
“Text me when you get home! I’ll do the same”
“S-Sure. Will do!”
And quickly after she was already out of sight. Still standing there for a few minutes, I collected my thoughts back together and started my way home as well. Just then something came to me causing me to stop dead in my tracks again.
All various moments of today flash through my mind. Being messaged by her, meeting up with her, talking and studying together and then saying goodbye. All of those pretty common mundane moments that happened many times already but still…
I opened my phone and looked at the last message sent by my sister to Selene.
“...Love huh…guess that is a possibility.”
I wasn’t about to open this can of worms just yet but somehow the phrase alone while also thinking about her made me…
“...feel warm.”
This was only the beginning of the rabbit hole of what I call my feelings but it would take me much…much longer
and equally much more…”convincing” to realize the meaning of those words for real.