Project: Socialize (Chapters 1-197)

162. Back to School

The rest of my winter break went on as usual. Loriana was able to stay home starting the very next day of her team dinner until the start of the next semester of schooling. Every morning, when I wake up, I would take everything at an extremely slow pace as there was nothing that I needed to rush about. After taking care of my morning routine of brushing my teeth and washing my face, I would lazily meander into the living room from the bathroom while still dressed in my sleeping wear as there really was no point in changing out of them. Besides, nothing is more comfortable than waking up one winter morning and relocating to the couch and hide underneath the bed cover that is kept there for warmth.

I find myself dozing off on some mornings, but I would be awakened by Loriana's presence when my head would fall on her shoulders. I opened my eyes in a confused manner, teetering about on the fence that separated the state of slumber and the state of being awake. It was quite difficult for me to distinguish which was the true reality as, for some reason, the dreams that I've been having lately has become quite hard to distinguish from reality.

When I would feel the warmth of Loriana's body on the side of my face, I would subconsciously be drawn to her even more and would lay down my head entirely on her lap as I wrapped myself up with the bed covers. 

Overall, winter break was pretty relaxing for me. I was able to spend my time with Loriana as my company while recovering from the stress that I had accumulated over the semester. Contact between the group has been quite minimal with the most activity being the comments everyone made about my appearance on the live stream with Irina. Other than that, we didn't talk about much or even met up with each other. Christmas passed and there was nothing much except for a simple greeting in the group chat. New years passed and there was nothing much except for a simple greeting in the group chat. Basically, nothing much was actually happening. I'm not sure about whether or not the others were able to meet up and spend time together, but I was pretty much up to my own devices over the break.

The night before school began, I sat on my bed as I stared at my school bag that was untouched ever since the beginning of the break. In my mind, I recounted all the hassles that I must endure again until the beginning of spring break. Everything was just so annoying that it overcrowded my mind to the point that I fell limp with my back against my bed as I stared at the ceiling. There really wasn't much except melancholy for me at the moment as there was nothing much that I am looking forward to. School was simply extremely annoying.

However... for some reason, my mind would wander to the thought of Luna. I do not understand why but... I just think of her from time to time when I look out the windows and at the snowy world outside. Maybe it's because it reminded me of her name Frostblume, a flower that only blooms in the winter and quickly fades away when spring begins... Maybe it's the fact that her life is nearing its end, but... well, it's just that probably. She'll be dying soon, but... there's still time left. We most likely have until the advent of summer, so... I guess I will be making up all the time lost in winter break during spring break then.

It's weird really, like I don't understand it myself when I look back on it. But... I feel like I've actually changed quite a bit. I'm surprised that I am actually... looking forward to being able to spend time with Luna. Like it doesn't matter if she's dating anyone, as my sole responsibility does not involve any romantic feelings. Rather, it's more of a simple companionship where I will watch her until she rests in her grave. 

With a mysterious smile on my face, I turned off the lights in my room using my phone and rested my head on the soft, downy pillow and turned on my side, facing the direction of the wall. The tiny spot before me... it was the spot she had laid on when she stayed the night. Even though it's been weeks, I still feel like I could smell her scent lingering about on my pillows.