Chapter 14

Alina's POV
Ryan must have told Mark about the incident at the bar.
"Huh no, I was just remembering something I was going to talk to you about."
"Oh, I thought you weren't feeling well. But is it true that you are in good health?"
"Sure, I'm healthy and fine."
"But I see your face looks pale. Like you have a fever, or maybe you're thinking a lot, right?"
I couldn't tell whether Mark's words were genuine and sincere, asking to make sure I was okay and whether he was worried about me and my condition. Or is he satirizing what he already knows from Ryan? I don't know, now I have a hard time distinguishing between sincerity and sarcasm.
I didn't dare ask Mark what Ryan had actually told him. Although most likely it was a bad thing regarding the incident when we had... Ah never mind, I don't want to remember that anymore.
"Mark, I'm starting to feel like I need a break now."
"Why are you sleepy or not feeling well?"
"Just a bit tired after a very busy day."
"Oh yes, have a good rest Alina."
Without any romantic pleasantries, my new boyfriend didn't say a single word to encourage me to feel more flowery feelings. He was too flat and maybe he acted that way because he thought I was trivial after finding out that Ryan and I had been playing behind his back. Maybe he thought I had cheated on him.
My mind is even more confused now after ending the video call with Mark just now. I feel really confused and it's getting harder to think. Until tonight I had difficulty sleeping at all. I had insomnia and felt like all my reputation had been destroyed because of Ryan. Finally, towards early morning I started to feel sleepy after spending the night thinking about how to restore my good name in public, especially in front of those who already knew about this embarrassing incident.
Without realizing it, I fell asleep for maybe only an hour or two. When I woke up I felt my body temperature had risen slightly. Do I have a fever? But today there is an exam at school and I have to also attend routine practice in the field, otherwise I will be far behind. I also have to take an exam in class because this exam is only valid once and there are no follow-up exams. So I immediately went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth in front of the sink then washed my face hastily without washing my face. I got ready and tried to tidy myself up to go to school. Then ran to the bus stop. Because I feel like I'm going to oversleep at school. Remembering that the clock was already seven in the morning. But I still went to school even though I was running out of time when I was unwell and had a slight fever.
When I was about to get on the bus which had stopped for a moment, I again and again met the man I met in the library at that time. I haven't had time to find out his name yet. Likewise, he doesn't even know my name yet. But this time there was no reason for us to get acquainted during urgent times. He looks like a college kid looking at his appearance like someone who is about to go to campus. But I didn't really pay attention to the details because I was too busy with myself and my own world.
Bang.
We almost collided when we were getting on the bus. At the front of the bus door we passed each other.
"Uh, sorry." he said to me before apologizing.
"Oh, I'm sorry too, I didn't mean to because I was in a rush."
"Yeah, it's okay. You?"
"You?”
We pointed at each other with our index fingers.
Then we were interrupted by the bus driver's voice which startled us.
"Everyone's in? The bus will start soon."
The man in front of me and I hurriedly got into the bus and got on to get seats.
"Please go ahead."
I went up first after being invited by the man in front of me.
"Thank You."
Then he followed to climb up. When we got on the bus we looked for a seat but there was only one seat left. The man gave in to give me this seat. I sat down and he stood beside me holding the armrest so I wouldn't fall when the bus started moving. I didn't have time to chat with him because my mind was focused on the math exam schedule which seemed to have started a few minutes ago. Moreover, the teacher is a killer and difficult to compromise with. I remained in a stiff position. Suddenly he asked me, the man asked my name.
"Sorry Miss, we didn't get to know each other at that time. May I know your name?"
When I was about to answer, the bus suddenly stopped and arrived at my destination.
I hurriedly got off before the bus started moving again to take other passengers to other stops according to their respective destinations.
"Sorry, maybe another time, hopefully we will meet again." I said half shouting but not too loud so as not to disturb the comfort of the other passengers.
I didn't even get to see the man's last expression and facial expression. I immediately hurriedly walked towards the bus door. Finally I reached the sidewalk. Just a short walk to get to my school. I started to speed up my steps by running a little. My lips felt dry and I felt a bit dizzy. But I still speeded up my steps to get to the school gate as quickly as possible. Before the gate is completely closed.
I almost fell because I tripped over a roadblock blocking my path. But when I tried to get up, I suddenly saw a hand reaching out to me.
I tried to look up and see who was holding out his hand to me. It turns out, the person I know is Ryan. Instead of being happy to be helped, I started to give him a cold impression.
"Why are you always everywhere?" My tone was certainly a bit annoyed at him.
It's as if he always follows my steps wherever I step. I don't want anything bad to happen again when I have to find it in my life. It just wastes my time. I'll be even more late if he's still here.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? Maybe it's just a coincidence that we meet again."
"Liar! You must always follow me everywhere, right? Come on, just admit it!!!"
He made a face and expression that looked at me a little strange. Maybe I looked silly when I felt like he was always following me. Too confident and feeling important he might think.
“Are you sick?”
Ryan asked me.