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LEFT → GUN RIGHT → MAX
⎛ ORIGINAL CHARACTERS ⎠
――"BOOK WORM."
⎛ CHAPTER SIX. ⎠
He remembered fallen rose petals. He remembered the sound of the untouched box of chocolates against the wall. He remembered a crumpled love letter with the name Phana carefully written across the center. He remembered the tears behind his glasses.
Pha sighed at the memory that always seemed to find its way back to his mind. It wasn't regret he felt, no. No, that was not feeling because he did not regret the decision he made that night. It was guilt. "Tsk, stupid," the medical student cursed himself as he returned his focus to the line of books.
"What's stupid, Phī?"
"Everything," Pha all but growled as he made his way further into the library. "This is a college library," he continued as the book he searched for was nowhere to be seen, "the books should be arranged A through Z. But, fuck the alphabet, right?" Pha couldn't explain the anger that bubbled in his chest, he couldn't justify it——but Ming didn't dare to question the sudden change within his mood, instead, he calmly shadowed the steps of his Phī with arms extended and prepared to hold any and every book he would choose from the shelf. "This degree will be the death of me," Phana said to himself in a quiet exhale as he pinched the bridge of his nose, tempting to dull the subtle ache in his head.
"What book are you trying to find, P'?"
"Don't call me P'," said Phana, clicking his tongue with disapproval. "Call me P'Pha, or Phī, but not P. I hate that."
Ming wanted to tease the medical student of his sudden tic, but, as he watched Phana tip-toe to read the name of the authors even in the tallest shelf, he couldn't bring himself to say such a thing——afraid to worsen the elders mood. "What book are you trying to find, Phī?"
"Atlas of Human Anatomy," he answered with a twitching jaw. "It seems to not be here, though. I'm sorry for wasting your time, N'Ming." Pha twisted slightly to face Ming, offering a quick, subtle waii that the ladder would miss had he not been watching.
"That's okay, P'Pha!" Ming offered Phana a smile, hoping to ease some of the tension in the elder. "I'm sorry about your book. Do you want to try a bookstore, or——"
"It's okay," Phana interjected. "Thank you, though, N'Ming, but I think I will go home."
"Owh, I can take you."
"Don't be silly," said Phana, swaying his hand in a negative gesture. "My dorm is nearby. Goodbye, N'Ming."
"Don't say 'goodbye'," scolded Ming, "such a grim farewell."
