Bitter (wlw) (teacherxstudent)

twenty

The Christmas present-buying time of the year had definitely arrived and I couldn't ignore it anymore. I'd always despised buying Christmas presents because, well, I wasn't good at it.

I never knew what to get to people because Christmas presents are supposed to be thoughtful but not as big as birthday presents. And I'd always get scared that the other person would gift me something bigger or found my gift stupid.

I chose a morning where I didn't have lessons to wander through a bunch of shops in search of something appropriate. I'd rarely been out in the city on my own, something I actually didn't really mind. Except if that involved getting lost. Hopefully it wouldn't.

I would've asked Sam or Mei to come with me, since they were the only two people I'd been spending time with for the past few months, but I was supposed to be buying something for both of them so I couldn't, really.

I'd told Sam I was out with Mei, to not sound too suspicious. And because she would have wanted to come along if she knew I was alone.

My list of people to buy something for was composed by Sam, Mei, my parents, for whom I could just buy a New York city gadget or something, and Vic, with whom I had a weird tradition of buying each other mugs.

I'd taken about five mugs from home to my place, and I had to leave a few behind.

As I got off the subway I tried not to get too overwhelmed by the really high number of people surrounding me. It was December in Manhattan after all.

Christmas lights were everywhere and I started to understand why so many people told me how much I'd enjoy Christmas time once in New York.

I'd previously looked up a few stores I could go to, and I somehow got lucky, managing to find three out of four gifts in the first one. I got this really cool alarm clock with rainbows all over it for Mei, since she liked rainbow stuff and always said how much she needed an alarm clock. I bought a bunch of fridge magnets for my parents and a "I ❤️ NY" mug for Vic, sure that she'd immediately know it wasn't in a serious way.

The only person left was Sam, and I really had no clue on what to get her as much as I thought of it. We'd formally been together for two weeks by then, but we'd known each other for months. She'd never striked me as a person who takes gifts that seriously, but the whole thing still stressed me out.

It's when I saw a shelf full of travel tumbler mugs that I remembered she'd always carry one to work but lately would complain about how it doesn't keep her coffee hot anymore. I knew her favorite color was dark red, and as soon as I saw one of that exact color, with a marbled pattern, I knew it was the perfect gift for her.

I headed home finally satisfied with what I bought, already imagining everyone's reaction to the gifts on the ride back home.

As I entered the building I knocked on Sam's door since she might have been in. I knew all of her timetable by then and she'd finished her only lesson of the day an hour earlier.

To my surprise she'd actually gone back home instead of staying in her office to work.

"Hello, you" she smiled at my sight. "How's it going?"

"Hey. I'm pretty good, you?" I stood on my tiptoes to reach her face.

"Me too" she pecked my lips. "Wanna come in?"

"I have lessons in an hour. Need to get ready. I just wanted to stop by first"

"Didn't you say you were out with your friend? Why is she not with you if you both have a lesson in an hour?" she raised an eyebrow.

"She, uh, she forgot her textbook at her place" I improvised. I really wasn't good at lying.

"Hm, right. I can give you a ride there, if you want"