Chapter 23

So, I've been chilling at school for like a month now, and I never hit up Jason.

One day, I rolled back into the dorm, and my roommate was like, "Hey, someone called for you."

I got all excited 'cause I knew it had to be him.

I dialed him back real quick, but Lily picked up instead.

"He's not here. Need something? How's school treating you?" she asked.

"Nothing much, school's cool, and my classmates are pretty chill," I replied.

After hanging up, I was bummed out the whole night.

They must've patched things up.

Like he said, I'm just 18, and he's already 31. He was probably thinking about settling down soon.

Who was I to make him wait four years?

What did I even mean to him?

He didn't even like me like that.

He straight-up told me to find someone my own age.

Sure, there were guys in my class who were into me.

I always found bubble tea on my desk, but I never knew who it was from.

Then one day, while we were cleaning the classroom, I saw a bubble tea receipt fall out of Samuel Russell's drawer.

He snatched it up real quick and shoved it back in, looking all nervous.
"What's that?" I asked him with a grin.

"Just trash," he stammered, his face going pale.

"Let me see." I grabbed the receipt, and his face turned beet red.

The truth was out, and he couldn't hide it anymore.

"I'm heading home this weekend," I added, tucking the receipt away.

"Uh-huh."

"Think you could give me a ride?" I asked, flashing a smile.

"Well... sure," he replied, like it took everything he had.

That weekend, he took me to the train station, holding a milk tea and even buying me motion sickness pills. "Is your place far?"

"Not too far, just a half-hour train ride."

"That's good."

As I was about to board the bus, a thought hit me, and I turned to him with a smile. "Wanna come to my place?"

"Huh?" He looked shocked and started fiddling with his glasses.

"Come on, it's not far. Don't you wanna hang out?"

"It's not that... is it cool to just show up like that?" he hesitated.
"My house only has one uncle, and he's hardly ever home. We can do our homework together, and you can help me with this paper we just got. Will you explain it to me?"

"Sure."

So, I took Samuel to my uncle's place.

On the way back, we stopped by the car repair shop.

Everyone saw me and got all excited. Jason, who was working on a car, looked up and said, "You actually came back?"

The next second, he noticed Samuel standing next to me, and his face totally changed.

"This is my uncle, and this is my class monitor, Samuel."

"Hello, Uncle," Samuel greeted politely.

Jason just stared at me for a bit, not saying anything. Finally, he just grunted, clearly not in the best mood.

"Rachel, you haven't come to see everyone for the past two months, and now you show up with a boyfriend?" Uncle Bear ran over, looking all dramatic.

"Ah, it's not like that," Samuel blushed, looking freaked out.

I glanced at Jason, who was still working on the car with his head down. I couldn't read his emotions at all.
"Uncle Bear, he's not officially my boyfriend yet, but I kinda like him," I admitted, not holding back.

When Jason heard that, his hand froze, and he didn't say a word.

After saying our hellos, I pulled Samuel away.

"Your uncle seems to not like me very much," he said.

"Don't mind him, he's always been kinda quiet," I reassured him.

Back at my uncle's house, I noticed the flowers I had put in a vase earlier were wilted but still there. The whole place was even cleaner than when I left.

Jason's ex-girlfriend must've cleaned up.

Thinking about it hurt, but not as much as before.

All afternoon, Samuel and I worked on the test paper in the living room.

He was so refined and gentle, totally different from the rough and grumpy Jason.

I suddenly wondered what it would be like to date someone like him.

He noticed me staring and paused, looking at me.

"What's up? Is there something on my face?"

"Have you ever been in a relationship?" I asked, biting my pen.
"No, I haven't. Why?" He got all nervous.

"Would you like to give it a try?"

"I...," he stammered, getting even more flustered, "How do we try?"

"Like this." I leaned over and gently kissed his cheek.

He jerked back in shock, but I didn't back down.

At that moment...

"What are you guys doing?" A familiar voice came from the door.

It was Jason.

My heart skipped a beat.

Even Samuel was startled and pushed me away.

"You saw everything, so why are you asking?" I snapped.

"Step outside," Jason walked over, trying to keep his cool, and said to Samuel.

Samuel glanced at me, worried I'd get in trouble. "Uncle, it's my fault, don't blame her."

"I said, step outside first, don't you understand?" This time, Jason couldn't hold back his temper.

Scared of his anger, Samuel reluctantly walked out with his stuff.

Jason walked over, locked the door, and then looked at me, clearly wanting an explanation.

For some reason, seeing him angry didn't scare me at all. Instead, I felt oddly relieved.
"Tell me, what do you mean by bringing him here?" He tried to keep his cool but I could see he was struggling.

"I like him, so I took him back," I replied.

"Like? It's early date, you know that?"

"Why can't I have a romantic relationship?" I shot back. "Uncle, you don't like me, and you don't want me to like someone else?"

"Your so-called liking is bringing him home and doing things you shouldn't be doing?" He glared at me, looking stern.

"I just kissed him, what's wrong with that? Uncle?"

"If I hadn't come back, would you have stopped at just a kiss? Do you think I'm an idiot?" He seemed really pissed.

Seeing him angry was kinda amusing.

"Uncle, you're so strange. You can bring that woman home; why can't I bring a guy home?" I kept pushing.

"Rachel, don't provoke me, I'm not falling for it."

"Uncle, are you genuinely concerned about me, or are you just using concern as an excuse to be jealous?"

"Jealous? Are you out of your mind?" He suddenly stood up and yelled at me.
"If you're not jealous, then why are you yelling at me?" I whispered.

He was dumbfounded, unable to respond for a while.

Looked like I hit the nail on the head.

Seeing him like this, my mood suddenly lifted.

"I'm going out for a bit," I smiled at him.

"For what?" he asked, looking dejected.

"To see him off. It's rude to just chase him away like that."

I got up and walked towards the door, and he didn't stop me.

But as I was changing my shoes, he quietly asked, "Are you coming back?"

Hearing him say that made my nose sting with emotion.

It felt like he was an elder left behind, waiting for me to come back every day.

Finally, someone was waiting for me?

"Very soon, in about ten minutes," I turned back and smiled at him.

I walked out the door, and sure enough, Samuel hadn't gone far; he was lingering downstairs.

I thought for a minute, then walked towards him. "Let's go, I'll see you off at the station."

"Did your uncle scold you?" he asked worriedly.

"No," I reassured him with a comforting look, "He can't bear to."
We got to the station, and I saw him off. He asked if he could invite me out next time.

"Samuel, let's just be friends," I smiled and told him.

"Why?" he looked disappointed.

"The bubble tea you bought is delicious, but I'm allergic to mangoes. It's because you love this flavor so you bought," I explained.

"Then I won't buy that flavor next time," he said.

"You don't have to change yourself for me. There are plenty of girls in our class who like mangoes, and many of them like you too," I smiled and handed him a cup of mango-flavored bubble tea.

"Good luck, monitor. Goodbye," I said, not wanting to hold him back or make him change for me.

It was not right. And I had no feelings to him.

I tried kissing him earlier, and I felt nothing. Instead, my mind was filled with thoughts of Jason.

So on the way back, I thought a lot and ultimately made peace with myself.

I compromised and stopped struggling. I'd just like him like this. If he responded, that was great, but if not, I'd also accept it.