Had written about three quarters, and finally managed to get enough energy and mind power to finish it so it can be put up (and so I can save myself from psycho readers) (wahahahaha!). I'm not in a very stable state of mind (0.0), so the chapter probably doesn't make sense. :P
But pretend you understand anyway. ^_^
December Owl Morning: Have fun with the millions of things you should be doing right now (why are you doing reading this chapter?? Go and work!) ^_^
Iluvenis Telperien: We'll seeeeee! :D Enjoy!
Tiran: Thanks a lot! You keep up reading! Wahahahaha!
Unquestionable: Dead guys are interesting?? Well, in the case of The Mummy, yeah, but History… uh… (BTW, recently had my history paper and did not know what Perjanjian Bandung was) (???)
Krappkarmin: Oh yeah! Tell that to Kat! It'll be a miracle if she actually listens to it (but hey, you and I can always gang up on her, right?)
Chidero: *studies the certificate* *declares it invalid* *sends Chidero to jail* Wahahahaha! Not only have I got Kat stuck between her group and jin, I've got MYSELF wedged in between homework and exams. Waaargh!
Lambie: hahahaha! I didn't know the ability to make people hate things you create is impressive! Shouldn't it have been the other way round? *shrugs* Never mind! Enjoy!
Fiery Ice: Glad you enjoyed it. ^_^ You'll see what Kat will do if you follow these instructions. A) move your cursor to the right side of your screen. B) scroll down till you see I have finished ranting. C) read the text given. Then only will you know…
White Meteor: Jin get together with green hair girl???? *chokes with equally green face* I'd rather have him pair up with ME! (and I've got purple hair – wahahahaha!) Don't worry about Kat. She was pathetic from the beginning (though I'm v. happy you thought she was decisive) (she was? Bossy's more like it!). I'm actually trying to portray her as someone who tries to please others so desperately that you wanna slap her and throw her into the river at times. ^_^ Have you ever felt like doing that?
Akira-akisame: Updated! Updated! Updated! You ROCKZ too!
Jeano: Me? Genius? *scratches armpit* Wahahahaha! Arigato! Oh, but I love cliffhangers so, especially if it's from me. He he!
Unchained: Ten thousand pages? Aheh heh. I can't even pass the four page requirement for English essays in school. ^_^
Crazy4u: *looks at the beloved bazooka* er… hey! Why you go and guess the plot? Now I dunno what to do already! :D Ha ha! *ntd farts in crazy4u's face* (there goes my sate and durian) A little token for barfing in MY face. ^_^ Yeah, I've just realised about the incompleteness of Roger Captain! He he, me brain dead and forgot all about it. And yeah, tell me about your dad. My mom's a doctor with a distinguished PhD, and she's the one with the most diseases in the family. :P
White soul: glad to see you too. ^_^ Well, bed is as good as a cliff, I guess. Haha! I like Maki too!
Tensaispira: Oh yeah, putting Jura & Shouri for answers will get you 100%, baby! They must be so flattered. How come you're not putting MY name? it'll get you a 120%. Trust me.
Alexia: Yeah, time to test her loyalties. Who do you think it'll go to? He he. Correct answer in five seconds, and you will be given a prize. Whoops, by the time you finish reading this, five seconds is up. Sorry. :D
Stefified: Of course I had to end the chapter like that! ^_^
Patty g: What does B.I. stands for? If it's really bad, then you MUST tell me. ^_^ Why are they such a big deal to her? Because they're her friends! To tell you the truth, I'd choose friends anytime, but then again, I don't have a boyfriend as cute as Jin so… Oh well. Enjoy!
Xiaoj: Crave no longer (haha! It's almost as if this story is ice cream or something!) Enjoy reading!
Akane: Yep! I say she deserves to be stuck there for changing her mind so much. Continued!
Sofia/3sh: Wonder no more! Let's see if you guessed her dialogue right!
They were all staring at her, waiting patiently. Miyoshi with a rueful look on his face, clutching on to the money possessively, Yuma with that annoying raise of the eyebrow, Jin unaware of the internal struggles and at the same time disturbed at what was going on, Miyamatsu still shaking and making pitiful sounds about his stolen money, and the others plain curious about what was about to take place.
"Well?" Yuma asked then.
"Why me?" Kat demanded then. "You started it," she told Miyoshi. "You finish it."
Miyoshi snorted. "I was about to before –"
"Can't you even decide on a simple thing, Kat?" Yuma interrupted yet again. "All we want is a 'yes' or 'no'."
Kat stared at her helplessly. "Okay, listen," she straightened and looked at Miyamatsu for a long while. Then she glanced at Jin before sighing. "I don't know. And I really don't care."
"Sitting on a fence," Yuma muttered. "What an easy way out."
That was precisely the exact button to push. Kat's nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed. "All right," she muttered. "I'll tell you 'yes' or 'no'." It was like deciding whether to jump over a cliff or not.
Personally, Kat admitted, she thought they could just return the money. Miyamatsu was looking so pathetic and helpless that even the iciest of ice would melt with disgusted sympathy. And it would be the kind of thing Jin would do without a second thought. The right thing to do.
The honourable thing.
Only problem was, Kat's friends never did the right thing, much less honourable.
Kat knew what Yuma was trying to do. This was some sort of a test to check her loyalty. To force her to prove her alliance. Her support. And in a way, Kat didn't blame her. As a matter of fact, had it been reversed, she would have done just the exact same thing. If Yuma had changed so much by going out with a guy up to the point of being unrecognisable, Kat would have taken all steps to break them up.
Luckily, Yuma fell for the same kind. Miyoshi was every bit as wild as she was.
Now why did she have to fall for Jin, of all people?
"Hello? Kat?"
If she said 'yes', then that was all Yuma needed to accuse her of betraying their friendship and stuff like that, stuff people think gangsters don't value but actually do. That was all she needed to turn the entire group against her. That was all she needed to ostracise her.
Kat swore silently. She didn't work hard to be accepted in the group just to be kicked right back out because of a certain specimen from the male species. "No."
"No?" Miyoshi laughed. "Your honour has spoken. Thanks, Miyamatsu."
Jin frowned slightly. "But you're stealing his money."
"Stealing. Hey Kat, Jin says we're stealing money."
Kat cocked her head. "He can say whatever he wants. It's a free country."
Miyoshi whooped. "There you have it. Come on. This calls for a drink or two. My treat!"
Miyamatsu whimpered as they bounded off, leaving Jin and him awkwardly in the middle of the hangout spot. Jin's shoulders sagged, and he turned with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Miya," he murmured. "If I'd had a few more muscles and pounds to brag of, I'd have taken them on. I wish Maki had been here. As it is, I'll treat you for lunch and dinner, since it's my fault for not retrieving your money back."
"It's okay." Miyamatsu sighed. "You did your best. No offence," he said then, with sudden anger, "but your girlfriend's a bitch."
Jin looked down to the ground. "She's not. With me, she's not."
"She just was."
Unable to find a respond, he ushered Miyamatsu silently across the sun-dappled school lawn.
"Close your mouth," Kat muttered, putting her hands self-consciously behind her skirt as she looked down at Miyamatsu. "It's big enough in the first place."
The mentioned mouth was closing and opening rapidly in shock. "I- but – you – why-"
"Do you always talk like that?" She'd meant it to be rude, but somehow it came out sounding amused. "You're in Year Three now, aren't you? You did go through kindergarten, right?"
He was still sputtering. For some reason, the stark contrast of jumping nerves and confusion in his face as he stared at her made her smile. Then, she burst laughing. "Gosh, you're adorable." She laughed even more when he turned crimson. "Listen, there's exactly eight thousand in there. I counted."
He stared dazedly at the package she had placed in his hands earlier on.
Kat shrugged and then turned to leave. "Don't go around carrying so much money again." She reminded absently, walking down the empty corridor (she'd carefully made sure no one was around). "We have a way of sniffing it out."
Miyamatsu watched her go, staring at her swishing skirt as she hurriedly started to jog away. "T-t-" he tried. "Thanks."
She didn't hear him.
She had gone to the toilet two minutes before the bell rang. As she rushed back to class, the place was already empty, only echoes of laughter and loud conversation remaining. Too preoccupied with wanting to get out of school, she didn't hear the busy clicking of a calculator until she was three-steps inside her classroom.
Jin was bent over his exercise book, calmly working out a mathematical problem.
For a moment, she was reminded of their first meaningful encounter with each other.
Then he looked up.
Caught staring, and surprisingly ashamed of it, she averted her eyes and rushed straight to her desk in pretence of being in a hurry. Don't talk to me, don't talk to me, I don't know what to say, don't talk to me, don't talk to me.
Jin snapped his Mathematics book with a quiet snap, turned off his calculator.
Don't talk to me. Don't talk to me.
He stood up, headed for the door -
Phew.
- and closed it.
Alarmed at the un-Jin-like move, Kat straightened warily. "People are going to be saying a lot of things when you close the door like that with just the two of us inside," she muttered, trying to keep it light but not succeeding very much.
"And your point is?"
She stopped packing. "Wow. Suddenly you're being such a smart-ass."
He winced at that, but remained where he was. "What's going on with you?"
"Well," she said, "at the moment, nothing much. I've got stuff to do every now and then, but I'm not all that busy on the whole. I'm very healthy too, no flu, no fever or anything. Been eating regularly and exercising when I actually remember. Normal things."
"Kat –"
"Heard you got ninety-something percent for your Chemistry paper. Congratulations. Did you know that Miyoshi failed again? He's really hopeless. Too much wrestling-watching, if you ask me. He's in the cafeteria. By the way, there's this new food being served. It's quite nice. Have you had it?"
Refusing to be distracted, he stepped forward. "Did I do something wrong?"
Kat swung her bag over one shoulder, looked for a long moment at him. "No," she muttered, sighing. "It's not you. I just … need some space. No, no," she quickly interrupted him, already anticipating his questions, "you didn't crowd on me. It's not you. It's … it's not you."
"Are your friends putting pressure on you?"
"Don't be silly. Look, I'm running late. Open the door."
"Are you putting pressure on yourself?"
She hissed impatiently, stopping right in front of him. "Open the door."
He had a visible frowning dent on his forehead. "So this is how it's going to be? You're just going to avoid me and act as if I don't exist? And then what? Come back when things are well? And go off again when things are not?"
Her eyes were narrow slits by now. "Open the door, Jin."
"Why are you so weak, Kat?"
That was the last word she'd expected him to use on her. Temper flashed and blew over her already hot head. She tugged her bag off her shoulder and slammed it into a nearby table viciously. "Listen properly to what I'm going to say, and with luck, you'll probably get the gist of it," she said heatedly, arms on her hips. "My friends and I have been together for years. You, I've only known for less than four months. LESS than four months," she emphasised, waving four fingers in his face, "and when it comes down to friends or you, you're the one who has to go. Okay?"
He didn't say anything, but the look on his face revealed enough. Catching herself from her temper, Kat's eyes widened at the things she'd said under heat and groaned. Weakly, she extended her hand and apologetically touched his arm. "I'm sorry. I – I didn't mean that." She ran her other hand down her face, massaged her neck. "I don't know what's going on. I want to be with you, but I want to be with my friends too, and I can't seem to do both. And I don't know what to do, who to go to. I …" she searched for something to say. "I just need some space."
He nodded silently and moved to open the door. "I saw what you did for Miyamatsu today," he whispered quietly when she passed. Her stricken and embarrassed look amused and charmed him, but didn't dispel the heavy misery weighing his shoulders down. "Thanks."
She shrugged uncomfortably. "It's no big deal."
"It is to me," he told her. "Figure out whom is it that you want in your life," he advised, "Choose wisely."
Her smile was dry. "I don't know if I have that much wisdom in me."
"You mean a lot to me, Kat."
Her eyes warmed, but her smile faded. "You're not making it any easier." Impulsively, she stretched on her tiptoes and kissed him. "Just in case I never get the chance again."
Then she was gone.
Jin stared around the empty classroom and sighed pensively.