Ace in the Hole [COMPLETED]

C.5

As she let the sun kiss her one last time before it sank into oblivion, Joceline thought about all that had happened that month. Not to her surprise, it had been most of the same routine of lectures, occasional projects, cheap food, and an endless battle against procrastination. She didn't know how much more she could take from this, especially with Matthew not making her time at "home" any better. He had somehow gotten louder, or at least more consistently annoying, and just earlier they broke out into an argument over the glass they never swept up properly. Now, Matthew had stepped onto a bigger shard that cut into him, and he was cleaning his foot out in the bathroom. Of course it was his luck and karma that got himself injured, but he blamed her for not having swept up all the shards properly. Well, what was she supposed to do? Get a tweezer and pluck every particle off the floor?

Her mind was racked with the heat from that argument, as well as the stress of her first few projects. She seemingly had a dozen things piled onto her again, just like how things had started. Looking off into the horizon, she had to question how other people handled her situation, and what they all had to endure in their houses or units or wherever they were.

How such a personal struggle came to make her view the world's own struggle confused her, yet she just had to wonder how others dealt with their situation. How they lived their lives, and how they felt when they died.

The stress from her college life, and the rage from her home life got compounded by a sudden existential crisis. If she died now, she had basically achieved very little except for the minor projects she did, and her art and music commissions. There was very little time to waste, and this realization pushed her to go back inside and continue her work. She turned her back on the sun, ignoring Matthew's groans from the bathroom, and got straight into work.

- id est -

Matthew had bought her milk tea. It was chocolate without boba, which she didn't mind too much, but she had to ask, "Uh... why?"

"For last time," he said, awkwardly sipping at his own choco milk tea as he sat down on the couch. "Y'know, when we fought about my foot."

"Three weeks ago?" Joceline set her laptop down onto the bed, fully turning to face Matthew. "A bit late, isn't it?" And between then and now, they had been ignoring each other as much as they could, even after college and at home.

"I'm late to react," he admitted. "Took me some time to think things out, alright? My heart's a mess."

"Your heart?"

"Well..." Matthew sighed. "It isn't all guys in the Computer Science courses."

"Yo, you know there's a kablock taboo or something, right?"

"I don't care about taboos," he admitted with a long slurp after. "She's pretty nerdy, sure, but that only makes her more perfect."

"Sure. And what about your best friend?"

Matthew arched his brow, trying to hide the anxiety that just crept into him. "Uh... what do you mean?"

"You've been telling me for most of our friendship that you... loved her. Like, loved her madly."

"Oh, right." Matthew snickered carefully, trying to shift the mood from serious to lighthearted. "Abrenica, she's... she's still special to me, y'know? It's just..."

"Just what?"

"Well..." He sighed, wiping at his eye. "Ever since the... incident at school, we haven't seen each other much. She moved to the provinces the day after."

"Oh. What incident, if I can ask?"

"Well..." Matthew took a deep breath, not sure why he was so afraid to share a secret that already spread like wildfire. "Our old school's massacre."

Joceline paused for a moment, both physically and mentally. She had to process what he just said, remembering when the news was given to her from a friend; three dead teenagers, one survivor on the school grounds, the suspect still at large until today. "You... lost someone from it?"

Matthew had to think as well, think about what he could and couldn't share. "Yeah... sadly. I don't think it's best if I share more."

"If you say so... Condolences, by the way."

"A bit late, isn't it?" He chuckled to himself half-heartedly, waving off the tension with his hand. "Don't be... it's a thing of the past. Freak occurrence. Won't happen again."

"If you say so." Disturbed by the turn of events, she turned to her laptop again. "Anyways... I'm going to work again. You sure you good?"

"Yep." Matthew put his laptop back onto his lap. "Good luck with your song."

"Thanks." Joceline went back to her laptop as Matthew continued his own work. The thought of the massacre lingered, but she pushed it aside. Thing of the past, as Matthew said.