Where the snow fall,
Warmth slowly fade..
You say the snow is cold,
But what is colder than your heart?
I stood there,
Seeing the snow covering you
Driving away the heat, freezing you..
He crunched the old piece of paper in his hand, throwing it in the dustbin beside his study desk. Stupid! How could a piece of paper made him mad? He was late for his classes, but instead of rushing to get ready, he slouched to his bed, crawling under the blanket. His eyes were wet. Damn, did he cry? He swore whoever entered his room will be killed if they saw him crying. He was not supposed to cry. He was a tough lad, not some coward who would cry over a piece of paper. A piece of poem at that! He did not even understand the poem's meaning at all!
"Hey, Doffy! Come out! We are late. I don't want to miss our class again. Hey! Do you hear me?!" There was a loud bang on his door. It must be Law. Trafalgar Law. That guy was a model student who could easily passed all his tests and could opt to finish college early, but he sticks around, saying that it would not be fun to start working when all of his friends were still in college.
"I don't wanna go. Just tell them I'm having a bad diarrhea, or that I overslept." He shouted from inside the room.
"How long are you gonna torture yourself? You don't even eat properly. Fine, I'll go. But this evening I'll bring the guys. We'll break your door if you won't let us in."
"Fine! Just go, okay?"
"Okay." He heard Law walking away from in front of his room. Sighing, he rose from the bed. All of his friend were probably already in their respective classes, getting ready for the study week. The end of semester's examination would follow the next week. He realized that he was not ready, but made no effort to change the fact.
He took a pink, fluffy coat from the couch beside his bed and went downstairs. His car was in the car park. Of course, the remnant of the accident was still obvious. He took a look at the scratches and the dents at the back, slowly trailing his fingers at the marks. It had been approximately two months, but the memories were vivid. How could he forget?
"Hey, Doffy. Let's go somewhere. You never take me anywhere, you know."
"Pffh! I never said I would take you anywhere. Besides, I never let any woman in my car. You're no exception."
"But you said I'm not a woman. At least not in your eyes." There came the smirk.
"Well, it's true that I never think of you as a woman. You don't even look like one. What woman would pick a fight with boys like you did? I guess you're a gladiator in your past life. And I might actually be a prince or king. Hmm, King Doflamingo sounds good, right?"
"More like King Chicken to me. Haha."She made a quick run after mocking him, snatching his keys at the same time.
"Stupid Rebecca! Come back here!"He yelled. But to no avail. The girl had opened the door to his car. At the driver's side. And the engine started.
"Come on. I had my license. Let me take you somewhere instead."
"You're not competent yet. Let me drive. I'll take you somewhere."
"Where is 'somewhere'?"She did not wait for his answer. Instead, the car started to move. He had no choice but to rush in!
...
He drove to the accident site. Rebecca had lost control of the car when a raccoon suddenly crossed the road. She was trying to avoid the said animal when they crashed to a nearby tree. He was not injured, but Rebecca had a serious head injury that led to her death a couple of days later.
It was his fault. If only he could snatch the key back, and if only he could pull her out from the driver's seat before she could drove them. He knew that Rebecca just got her driving license and he knew that she was not a competent driver yet. But he did nothing to stop her. Perhaps he could blame the raccoon, but in the end, it would matter not.
...
"Hey Doffy, I think Viola likes you."
"Viola is your aunt. Why would she like her niece's friend?"
"But she's around our age. Don't say it like she is much older than us."
"I'm not interested."
"What's your type?"
"What type?"
"The woman you like."
"Never think of it."
"You're no fun."
"Don't worry; you're definitely not my type."
"Stupid!"
...
He arrived back at his room at dusk. There was a sticky note on his door, saying that his friends would come at 9 o'clock. He took a glance at his watch - already 9 o'clock. 'Great, I should probably let myself in and get some sleep before they come.'
"Oi, Doffy! Don't think that you can avoid us." Law suddenly approached from behind. He was accompanied by the others.
"I'm not avoiding you guys. I just want to sleep."
"You have enough sleep already."
"Maybe you can let me have some more, perhaps?"
"No way. Next week will be our final exams for this semester. You'll fail if you don't start studying." Yeah, Law, the model student, and his speech.
"Do you know that studying is the short form for student dying?" He tried to joke, but received a deadly stare from Law and the rest of his friends. In an instance, he was pushed into his room and was forced to read a pile of terribly written notes from his friends, with them explaining every detail of the notes. Urgh, his head started to spin at the various handwritings in front of him!
...
"You have a nice handwriting." Rebecca took a peek at his notebook. He was jotting down important notes from the professor when she startled him with the comment.
"Don't startle me like that. I forgot the main point already. It's your fault."
"How is it my fault when you're the one forgetting it?"Rebecca showed no remorse. She had her gaze nailed at the professor in front of the class.
"That's it. Lunch is on you. Your treat."
"I bring a lunchbox today. Viola made one for me. Do you want it?"There came the smirk. He hated that!
"No, thanks. Now, please let me focus, will you?"
"Okay."
"Wait. Why is it that you always mention your aunt's name in front of me? What's your intention?"
"Nothing. I just thought you might wanna know if she can cook."Her tone was flat. As if she had no feelings when uttering the words. Was she toying with his mind now?
"Why the hell would I want to know that?!"
"Do you wanna be my uncle-in-law?"
"WE ARE OF THE SAME AGE! WHY WOULD I BE YOUR UNCLE?!" Yeah, she totally got him stressed out. For sure. He did not even realized that he yelled at her in his highest pitch, in the middle of the class.
"Donquixote Doflamingo! Shut up in my class! Your 'niece' too."The professor caught him yelling at Rebecca. And the whole class burst into laughter.
"SHE'S NOT MY NIECE!"
...
Their examination week was over. His friends were busy getting ready for the semester break. Law was going home while some of them already left. He was going home too. But this time without Rebecca and her aunt. Viola found it awkward to follow him now that Rebecca was gone and left with some of her female friends earlier, although they basically lived in the same neighbourhood.
He took his backpack and headed to the car. No matter how sly Rebecca was when she tried to hook him with Viola, he knew that it was all a pretense. Almost everyone in their group knew that Viola already had someone she liked, and it was not him. And he bet everyone knew that Rebecca liked him. He knew that too, of course. And he kind of like her back. In fact, she was the only female that he could stand.
He started the engine and drove off. Perhaps he could stop by at the cemetery before going home. It would not be long, though. He should reach home in two hours after that, if he drove within the speed limit. And then, there it was. On the road. The raccoon...crossing the road again...