When You Came

Chapter 3

"What do you wanna eat, Aurelia?" Amy asked me as we headed to the cafeteria.

"That's the million-dollar question isn't it?" I replied.

"I know right..." Amy said, distracted by the menu and contemplating what to eat. "Dude, I don't know what I want to eat. Should I just eat Tom Yum noodles again or should I take the BBQ chicken set?" She asked me.

"I don't know man. Maybe I should take the Tom Yum noodles again." I said, laughing because it's just funny how every time we list a bunch of choices only to go back to plain old Tom Yum noodles.

"Alright, I'll have the same thing as you. Could you help me order? I need to go to the ladies." She said as she was running off, not giving me a chance to reply.

"Okay..." I wanted to say to her but she was already gone.

"Hey there lassie what do you want today?" The cafeteria lady asked me.

"Hi, could I get two plates of Tom Yum noodles?" I told her.

"Sure, that'll be ten dollars."

I gave her the money for the food and went to find a table to sit down while waiting for both the food and Amy. As I sat, I took out my phone to check through Instagram and saw Jessica post a lovey dovey photo of her and Beck. I read the caption and it said: 'Nobody has made me feel this way like you do.' Damn, you really can't judge a book by its cover. If Amy didn't tell me what she saw, I would still envy this couple.

RING! RING! TOM YUM NOODLES! TOM YUM NOODLES!

The cafeteria lady shouted. Jeez, she startled me. I got up and went to pick up the food and saw Amy coming back from the bathroom. She had freshened up and applied a new coat of lipstick.

"Amy, you do know you're going to eat right?" I asked her.

"Yes, Lia." She answered.

"Then why the hell did you apply a new coat of lipstick?" I said amused and dumbfound at the same time.

"Oh shit. I forgot. Stupid habit of mine." She facepalmed. "Nah, but it's fine. Lipsticks take forever to finish and I have so many of them at home. It's fine." She reassured me, or herself. I don't know. We sat down and ate lunch together, talking about what to wear tonight and just imagining scenes that would happen at The Village if we were to find Jessica and Dylan secretly making out again. Oh gosh, so scandalous.

"Dude, we could take a picture to blackmail her!" Amy said. Amy and Jessica used to be friends in high school but had a fall out after Jessica became so called 'famous' and an influencer. Amy doesn't care for her anymore but she just doesn't like her, says and I quote 'fake as fuck'.

"That is if we find them making out again. Do you think they would actually go back to the same place to make out again?" I asked her.

"I don't know. If they aren't at the same place, then we'll make it our mission for tonight to find them. Unless they don't show up, then it'll be a waste of time.' Amy said.

"Well I'm fine with anything honestly. Anything to get my mind off of the awful family trip." I said, grabbing a tissue and wiping my mouth after I've finished eating. I grabbed my lipstick from my bag and began reapplying while using my phone as a mirror.

"Aww Lia. I know you hate your dad but you get to travel. It's something you've always wanted and anyone in your shoes would be jumping for joy."

I scoffed. "Amy, I want to travel but with the money I earn from my part time job is not going to cover it. I don't want to use his money but I can't even afford the plane ticket and he's doing this to –"

"– keep up appearances." Amy finished. I looked at her, shocked, had I really told her that often.

"Yes, Lia. Ever since I met you, you've been constantly telling me that." Amy answered my unasked question.

"Aurelia, you should really just enjoy the trip. Your dad, I can guess, won't even be around for most of the trip, only on the flight to – and – fro. It's a paid trip by your parents. You get to learn their culture, go sight – seeing possibly on your own or with your brother, meet cute Korean guys and possibly see some K – pop star in Hongdae!!!" Amy said.

"Fine... only because I have no choice but to go and it would be a waste of money, not that my father cares, to not use a first-class ticket." I said, giving in. I checked my phone for the time and saw it was almost time for our next class.

"Dude, let's go. LAST CLASS BABY!!" I said, officially excited because I can't wait to go home and hide within the comforts of my comforter.

"Wow, the sudden enthusiasm..."

Not caring about her, I just got up and walked away, leaving her to follow me behind. We walked to the classroom. This class is much smaller than Mr. Sebastian's class so we're using a small normal classroom. The lecturer, Mrs. Daniels, is a sweet old lady that treats all of her students like her grandchildren because she never had kids of her own. She's like the grandmother I never had. She would always answer all of our questions with patience. Like seriously anything at all, even the questions that are repetitive. She would never be annoyed with us. Thank God, the students in this class are all not assholes and take advantage of her kindness and sweetness. She teaches Introduction to Quantitative Methods 1, which basically has a bunch of methods on how to do research, a bunch of ethical principles to follow and types of research methods. Basically, all the assignments are hands on research stuff where we need to write a research proposal. Mrs. Daniels was kind enough to answer every question, stupid and all, without feeling annoyed.

Mrs. Daniels entered the classroom just as Amy and I were going in. We took our seats and Mrs. Daniels started the class and not long two hours went by again and it was time to go home. Finally. She wished us Happy Holidays and both Amy and I bolted for the door. It was just 2p.m., so Amy decided to go home to take her afternoon nap and I went back home to continue packing my bags for the trip.

I parked my car in the porch as soon as I reached home, took my keys out only to find the door unlock which was great because turning locks are just such a hassle, I think it's just me who feels like this, I honestly don't know. Amy says I'm like a sociopath. I found my brother laying down on the sofa with his phone and a bunch of books scattered on the floor.

"Wow, you're studying even when you're on a break?" I questioned him, surprised.

"Yes, sister. Some of us have to maintain our grades you know?" He said with a lot of sass.

"Well, yes I do know because that's what I always do." I countered. He just gave me a smug look and went back to his phone.

"Hey sweetie!" My mum came from the kitchen. "How was the last day of classes?"

"Hey mum. It was fine. Did you cook or buy lunch?" I asked.

"Yes. It's on the table." She answered.

"Great! Thanks mum. Is dad home?"

She hesitated a bit before answering, "No sweetie, not yet." She knows that our father – daughter relationship is on thin ice, but to me that relationship sunk like the Titanic. It's underwater now with nothing left to salvage. I just nodded my head and went to find my lunch.