Tracing Our Dream

CHAPTER THREE: PARTNERS

Adrian woke up to the usual sound of his phone alarm blaring, this time on a weekend. He and his newly formed group had planned to go to the library to work on their assignment.

Crap, I'm gonna be late if I don't get a move on, he thought to himself as he rushed to get ready. He put on a simple outfit consisting of a black collared t-shirt and a pair of jeans. After packing some stuff into his backpack, he left his room.

"Mom, I'm heading out now," Adrian announced to Mrs Williams who was replying to her work emails at her study.

"Okay, love," she replied, eyes unmoving from her laptop. "Will you be back for lunch?" she continued.

"No, I don't think so."

"Ok, come here for a sec. Oh, and grab my purse on the way," responded Mrs Williams to her son.

Adrian does as he was told, "here you go," he said as he handed over the purse. She took out a few dollar bills and handed them to Adrian. "What's this for?" he asked his mother.

"You wouldn't expect me to let my son finance his own meals, do you?" she responded with a warm smile. "Oh, and get your friends some food as well, my treat," she continued.

He gave his mother a kiss. "Okay, thanks."

"No problem, love. I'll see you at dinner?"

"Yeah, goodbye. Love you!"

"Bye, stay safe on the road. I love you too!"

Adrian walked to the library, earphones plugged into his phone. On the way there, he saw a familiar face. Rena? What's she doing here? She was standing near a traffic light, waiting to cross the road. She looked lost. Should I approach her? Should I not?

Ah, fuck it. Mustering his courage, he went and approached her. "Didn't know you lived in this part of town," he started his conversation with her.

"Oh, Adrian. Didn't see you there. Yeah, I just moved here last month," she replied.

"Oh, how do you like it here?"

"It's nice, but I'm still getting used to the area. I don't know where half of the places are," she said with a chuckle.

"I assume you don't know where the library is?"

"Nope."

"Wanna walk there together?"

"Sure."

Both of them then continued their journey, occasionally exchanging small talk.

A few moments later, they arrived. Michael and Sophia stood near the entrance. Both of them looked annoyed.

"Where the hell have you been? You know how long I've been waiting here for you?" Michael began to lecture Adrian.

"I mean I wasn't that–"

"He's right, you know, Adrian. Both of us have been waiting here for 15 minutes." Sophia interrupted Adrian before he could defend himself. "And Rena, why were you late as well?" she continued pressing the other latecomer.

"I got lost. You know I just moved here last month. Besides, Adrian helped me find my way to the library. So don't blame it all on him," she said, attempting to defend the both of them.

Sophia let out a sigh. "Fine, let's just forget about it and go in, yeah? Just try to be punctual next time, please," she said with a soft smile.

The group then proceeded to look for a spot to do their research. They found a secluded table with minimal traffic at the back of the library. After unpacking their things, they began their assignment.

"Okay, let's split up the topics. Adrian and Michael, take the first half. Rena and I'll take the second half. Go look for some reference materials and we'll meet up here. Sounds good?" Sophia asked the group.

"Yep."

"Yeah."

"Absolutely."

The group then split into two. Adrian and Michael began their search for reference materials.

"You bumped into Rena on the way here? How'd it go?" Michael began to ask Adrian.

"Not bad, considering that was one of our few interactions," he replied. "What about you? Anything interesting?"

"We just rambled on how late you guys were. Me about you, and her about Rena."

"Oh, bitching about me to your crush, eh?" Adrian teased his best friend. "Me and Rena just talked about how it's funny that we live so close to each other but somehow we've never met outside of school."

"What?"

"Yeah, she lives like five minutes away from my house."

"Neat. Are you done looking for materials?" Michael asked as he grabbed a book from the shelf.

"Yep. Let's head back."

Both of them went back to the back of the library where Rena and Sophia were waiting for them.

"You guys ready?" Rena asked the boys.

"Yep. Let's get to work."

The four of them then began their assignment, discussing and exchanging ideas.  After a few hours, they've completed their tasks.

Adrian groaned as he stretched. "Man, I'm beat. Anything else we need to do?"

"No, I don't think so. We've completed everything there is to complete." Sophia replied.

"The four of us make a great team," Rena chimed in.

"Wanna get some food? I know a good place. Oh, and my mom told me to treat you guys," Adrian asked the other three members of the group.

"We're down for it, right?" Sophia looked at the other two people.

"Yep."

"Of course."