Alive If

Soon, I'll Be Able To Catch Up

"I'm not sure if I understood this correctly. You have met a celebrity who probably has the hots for you and is studying to become an engineer, but you chose to be tutored by a random guy whose sister you saved yesterday and it's not even for free?" Claire's eyebrows furrow after me telling her the events that happened the past week.

"Pretty much. I need to help him surprise his parents. No biggie." I have written everything down in my journal as Claire paces my room from disbelief. We had a sleepover in my apartment last night so I was able to come clean. I really thought that Santhy would be here but she is not.

"And that asshole that ditched you in the club, what happened to him?" Claire asks and sits down next to me as I close my notebook. Her eyes look like she was about to murder him when given a chance.

"No clue, but I might see him in class today." I put away my stuff and replaced the things inside my backpack for my history lesson. Dr. Basio canceled her scheduled lecture today so I got the extra time with Claire.

"Should I come with you? I have a feeling that he would enjoy meeting my girls, bloodshed, and terror." She smiles like a devil with a whip as she introduces her prize-winning fists used in Escrima. As much as I love to see my war-freak bestie pulverize the crap out of him, I can no longer use violence against adults who act like children. I thought of Hickey as an obvious case of its ineffectiveness.

"Don't worry. I can handle him." I give my girl a fist bump before strapping on my bag.

"Hey, Fie. Before you go, I have one last question." She gulps and quivers.

"This Santhy girl you're talking about, is she in the room right now?" She looks around the room like she expects a ghost to appear. Damn it. She believes me but she thinks Santhy is some supernatural being.

"No, Claire. She's not here." I tell her I wasn't seeing things and she looks quite relieved.

"I'm going to the park for a run anyway so I'll drop by your uni afterward and let's eat anything you like. My treat." She opens the door for me and accompanies me up to the jeepney stop.

...

As I enter Professor Darren's class, my eyes immediately zoom in at the back to see if that dreaded handsome prick is present. Luckily, his seat is empty and I can't help but thank my guardian angel.

"Fie." Kai's voice echoes behind me.

"You're blocking the doorway." Kai pushes me slightly out of the way, catching me off guard. His annoyed tone is refreshing but very out of character. I wonder what is going on with him.

"Did you hear about our foreign classmate?"

"The one at the back?"

"Yeah. I heard he was arrested last night for hitting a guy on the head with a beer bottle."

"Yikes. I never really liked him."

"I heard he was high too."

We overheard the guys in our class talking about Theo. The maniac completely deserved it and I have a feeling that the whole university knows his true colors now. I don't know if he can see Santhy but I can imagine him capable of killing me. It would be easier to keep tabs on him while he is behind bars.

Kai sits on his seat in front and buries himself in his arms. He looks awfully drained again so I want to make sure that he is alright.

"Do you have aspirin by any chance?" He lifts his head up and I can see that he is not okay because his jaw is shaking a bit.

"I do." I touched his forehead and it felt like I was putting my hand in an oven.

"God. Kai, you should have stayed home if you're not feeling well." I searched for my medicine pouch inside my bag as fast as I could and handed him the aspirin.