There's this certain deja vu. Chan Lee was once again fighting back another yawn and situated in the class of Professor Mo. Same seat, same setting. A thought would make its way to her mind...when she returned back home, would he no longer be there? Would it have been a fantasy of hers?
Her fingers reached for the pendant on her neck, holding it tightly within her hands. The smooth stone provided some relief and a reminder.
This wasn't a dream.
Everything had changed.
Or not.
She still felt very much the same, she wasn't making much progress. If anything, all she was doing was reacting to the crazy world around her. But... she turned her attention back to Professor Mo, back to the slideshow presentation he was doing. She needed to concentrate. She only had herself to rely on.
The minutes flew past quickly. Hot air rising. Cold air descending. Light. Heavy. Thunder. Lightning. Wind. Shifting. Tides. Change. The whirlpool of information made its crevices inside her mind.
"Alright, we're done for tonight. See you guys this Wednesday." Professor Mo announced as he shut down the television and his laptop.
Chan Lee sighed inwardly and looked down at her notes of unending spirals. She shouldn't have brought out her notebook if all she was going to do was scribble swirls on it. It was a waste of paper and ink. Taking care of her things, she stood up to leave.
The students were almost all gone again, except for a certain crowd. And a certain someone. But they were all talking, and she was more eager to get out of their way.
"—Lee!"
Why couldn't he have kept his mouth shut. Did he think that she'd join his group of friends? That they'd all start hanging out together? It was one thing to agree to be his friend. This was an entirely different matter.
"U-uh, what can I do for you, Hua Zhao?" she asked politely. She didn't want those girls throwing daggers at her way. But they already were.
"Are you going home already?"
What a stupid question. Where else would she go? "Yes, I am."
"Huh, she's not staying at the university's dorms? Weird." Bo Ling spoke up.
Hua Zhao patted his friend's shoulders and made a step towards her. She felt her blood grow cold. No. No. He wasn't going to do what—
"I'll catch you guys later, I have to go buy something at a convenience store."
She felt relief flood her chest as she trudged her way to the door. She didn't need to panic, a few more steps and then she'd be out of their way.
"We can come with you!" A girl beat Bo Ling to offer companionship.
"It's alright, Ning Bi. I'm going to go out with Lee."
He just sentenced her to death, didn't he? Chan Lee slipped out of the room, bustling past other students. It was so easy to misunderstand his words and actions—but she didn't need to bother with that. She only needed to get home.
"Excuse me." She pushed back other students, steadily making her way to the building's exit. She didn't want trouble but that Hua Zhao was attracting it like some calamity magnet.
Chan Lee soon found herself at the gates, and felt her chest lighten. Maybe they'd pin the blame on Zhao being weird and not her, maybe they'd think of her as an unfortunate so—
"Phew, you're fast aren't you?" Zhao made his way to her side. A small grin on his face, "Let me walk you home."
"I've been doing just fine." She muttered.
