No More Blues [FreenBecky]

Chapter 2: Route

Becky's POV

After the lecture, I hurriedly stepped outside, desperate for some fresh air. The stifling atmosphere inside was suffocating.

She was sitting beside me. I didn't know what to feel, which is why I turned away earlier. I kept my emotions hidden from other people, apart from my old friends, Nam, Heng, and Billy. I didn't bother making new friends because I'm terrified of being abandoned.

When you cherish someone and they're on the brink of leaving, whether abruptly or not, it's excruciating. And it's agonizingly painful when people you care about push you away as they depart... that cuts even deeper.

I felt a sharp pang in my chest. The emotions I had long buried and tried to forget came flooding back. I was in an accident and lost some of my memories, but after a few years, they slowly started to come back, albeit with blurry details. Faces are unclear. No clear stories. The only clear thing to me is that these people who were important to me left me behind.

My best friend. My mom. My dad. They all left. Since then, I've been alone. I grew afraid of anyone who approached me, seeking friendship. I repelled them until they gave up trying to befriend me.

I didn't notice tears were already streaming down my cheeks. I hastily wiped them away. You can't cry, Becky. You are strong, aren't you? I reminded myself. I decided to be like this. It's better that way.

After ensuring that my tears had dried up, I went back to our room... like nothing happened.

~~~

When I returned, I saw Heng and Billy talking with Freen and Nam.

"Are they getting along already?" I thought. They're hitting it off so quickly.

Billy and Heng are also my childhood friends, like Nam. Billy seems to like me, but I don't pay much attention to his courtship. I glanced at Heng, and he seemed interested in Freen. Suddenly, I got annoyed with Heng for no reason.

"He doesn't even know Freen yet, and he already seems to like her," I mumbled.

As for Freen, the way she smiles at Heng makes it seem like they've known each other for a long time. "It's only the first day of school for god's sake!" I kept ranting in my head.

I walked past them and went straight to my seat.

"Hi Becky, where were you? I missed you," Billy greeted me. He tried to put his arm around me, but I quickly moved away.

"Can you not, Billy?" I said to him. Since Freen was sitting next to me, I accidentally glanced at her. Why did she raise her eyebrows when Billy put his arm around me? Does she also like Billy?

I quickly averted my gaze from her, but I couldn't ignore how our uniform looked good on her.

"Hey Becky, are you seriously crushing on her?" I scolded myself.

The next professor came and started the lecture. I was surprised when he suggested that whoever was sitting beside us would be our partner for today's activity.

"What?!" I silently whispered.

The professor asked us to face our seatmate and look into each other's eyes. I suddenly felt nervous. I'm not used to looking into other people's eyes. It feels like they can read my mind. But I have no choice.

Even though I've become introverted, I've never neglected my studies. I sensed that she was looking at me now... waiting.

"Becky," she called my name. Why does my name sound so sweet when she says it?