Umbrella Couple

FOUR

Chapter 4

No one really wants to grow up. Growing up means responsibilities, loss, sadness, pain, hope, love. It means that you have to make the tough decisions. You finally learn more about yourself. You find out the lies your friend kept from you. The secrets you all hid. You change drastically, counting down the days until you're an adult. You laugh and pretend that you can still be young. That you can still party and run around without a care in the world.

But then reality slaps you in the face. It takes you out of that phase because no one stays young forever. One day you grow up.

And leave yourself behind.

When Cindy was a teenager, she couldn't wait to leave herself behind. She couldn't wait to grow up. During her high school years, she never excelled in academics nor did she participate in extracurricular activities. Cindy wasn't popular but she wasn't an introvert outcast that was bullied either. She was just another student that just happened to pass by down the hall.

Because the lack of attention people were giving her, Cindy desired for some attention. She wanted people to know who she was. If you were to show someone a yearbook picture of Cindy people would say 'Oh I know her, she's in my English class' or 'Oh yeah, I've seen her around campus' but they wouldn't know her name.

Now she is twenty-three, hoping gain attention from people, whether it be negative or positive attention, she wants the spotlight.

Cindy is half asleep as her phone keeps buzzing from her nightstand. She lets her phone buzz for a while, hoping it would end soon. The phone stops buzzing for a minute. Cindy is relieved from the buzzing sound as she pulls her blanket towards her upper body and her head pressing deeper into her pillow. It wasn't even a minute until the feeling of satisfaction disappears as her phone begins to buzz again.

She is now wide awake and extremely frustrated. Cindy suffers from insomnia thus whenever someone wakes her up from the chances she gets to sleep she is more than irritated.

Cindy rarely gets angry, but when she did people knew better than to poke the fire.

Except for Peter, who is either daft or has a death wish. Cindy never really figured out which it was, but Peter will be Peter, and as much as Cindy is thankful to have Peter by her side there are many times Peter deserves a knuckle sandwich thrown in his face.

She picks up her buzzing phone to see the ID caller: Peter. Cindy rolls her eyes as she picks up the phone.

"Yah!" Cindy yells through the phone. "Do you still not understand my sleeping hours?!"

"O-oh sorry." Peter stutters. "Were you sleeping?"

Cindy sighs. "Forget it. What's the point, I only slept for an hour anyways. I'm wide awake now."

"Lauren rescheduled the vocal training today at eight PM, it's currently six right now. I suggest you get here fast before Lauren throws another fit at me for letting you be disobedient."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I'll be there. I'm hanging up."

"Don't forget the umbre―" Cindy hangs up before Peter could even finish his sentence. She throws her phone on her bed and gets up to sit in front of her mirror dresser.

Cindy frowns at her reflection as she studies her features; her eyes are small and brown and her face is pale. She swipes mascara onto her eyelashes, fills in her brown eyebrows softly, and applies a small red lip tint. Everyone had always told Cindy that her face is naturally beautiful and that her body is petite. Since then, Cindy always wonders why people never approached in high school. She wonders why she never had a boyfriend in high school and why no one ever noticed her beauty.