The Questions Pt. 2

-Oceanic Sushi-

Joanne is sitting at the cashier while getting lost in her thoughts. It is indeed the question of her dream, what she wants to do in the future.

Caleb was right when he said that Joanna loves to study.

However, she loves to study everything. She doesn't have a specific thing that she really wants to know about. She knows nothing about the thing that she truly wants to do in life. She just stares blankly while looking depressed.

"Joanne, what are you doing? Work!" her father wakes her up from her thoughts.

Joanne startles and starts to get back to her sense again.

"Come on, you have to work hard! You're going to take over this place soon, right?" her father says while smiling widely and grabbing his daughter's shoulder.

Another problem is her parents' wishes.

They don't wish their daughter to study law or medicine.

They wish Joanne to take over their family restaurant in the future.

It's not that Joanne hates cooking, taking orders around, or even bossing around as a manager, but it's not something that she desires.

Although her desire is somewhat unclear for now, she knows that she doesn't want to be the manager of their restaurant.

She longs to study in a prestigious school where she can develop herself more. She wants to be in a place where scholars look around the library to seek knowledge. She wants to be in a laboratory to experiment with the craziest thing.

Perhaps, that is indeed her dream.

Maybe, she dreams to wake up in the morning and get into classes, to meet professors and ask about things that she longs to know, to stroll around a beautiful campus, to get a degree or even higher.

Perchance, that is her dream.

It is not a fancy dream as becoming an amazing doctor or lawyer, yet.

However, it is enough for her.

-Night, Kai's Room-

Kai and Val are doing their homework on the bed. Val lets her pen go and looks at the ceiling.

"I'm bored," she mumbles.

"Are you done?" Kai asks her softly.

"Tch! Of course not! It's math, dude," she responds.

Kai just chuckles at her and starts to lie beside her.

"Hey, Val... How did you figure out what your dream is?" Kai asks while turning his body to look at her.

Val also turns her body to face him and say, "Hmm... I've never thought about it... I think it was the first time I wrote my own song and that time I felt... free... It felt like I could do anything. It was very exciting. I guess that was when I declared my dream... to be a songwriter..." Val says while looking at the ceiling again.

"That's... really cool... If only I had something like that too..." Kai mumbles.

Val stares at him and says, "Hey, you don't gotta have something like that, dude... Everybody experiences different things.... You just have to... find your own... Tell me, Kai. When do you feel happy the most?" Val asks him softly.

"Hmm... when I help people, I guess? When people smile because of me..." he answers hesitatingly.

"Well, maybe that's your dream... Maybe your dream is to be able to make others happy! Woah... Dude, that's one ass noble dream! You should be proud!" Val cheers him up while chuckling.

"Hey, is that a compliment?" he complains while chuckling with her.

Val laughs louder and says, "hey it is! I'm serious... That's very cool and selfless...." Val smiles.

She looks deeply into his eyes, and says, "Hey, Kai... Don't stop being you, okay?"

Kai squinches his eyes sketipcally and asks, "why?"

"The world needs more kind people..." Val says calmly while looking at the ceiling.

At that moment, Kai seems to realize what he wants to do.

He wants to help others and be useful. He wants to be the reason why someone smiles. Whatever job he will take in the future, whatever major he will get into, he wants it to be useful for others.

By some chance, that maybe his dream for now.

-After School, Lemon and Life Café-

They all are drinking their own beverages while sitting at, their most favorite seat, near the window where they can look at the ocean without burning their skin.

"Dude, it turned out that Mr. Brown also gave us the same assignment!" Felix yells.

"Have you guys figured it out, yet?" Val asks calmly. "Not a fancy one, but yeah... I guess..." Kai answers hesitatingly while drinking on his tropical juice.

"The same goes for me..." Joanne says with confusion in her one.

"So, what is it?" Beca asks with excitement in her voice.

"I want to go to a prestigious college..." Joanne says.

They just nod in the way knowing that it probably will happen in the future anyway.

"I want to help others and be useful..." Kai says shyly.

They just smile widely to hide their uwuness toward him.

"Aww!" Caleb, who cannot read the room, casually says.

His reaction immediately makes Kai cover his red face with Val's shoulder.

Kai's cute shyness immediately makes them giggle joyfully.

"What about you, Felix?" Joanne asks him.

"it's embarrassing though... Do I really have to say it out loud?" Felix says with concern.

"Or you can just... whisper it to us," Val says sarcastically.

They laugh and Felix just squinches his eyes and says, "That's totally the same, Val!"

Val just smiles nonchalantly on her own sarcastic joke.

"Come on, I shared mine!" Kai, who got embarrassed before Felix, complains.

They all lean toward Felix to hear him clearly.

"Well... My dream is to spend more stupid moments with you guys..." Felix says while looking away.

They all at the same time burst "Awwwwww!" They just laugh after hearing Felix's sweet and cute confession.

"Aw, you are so cute!" Beca shouts while hugging him tightly.

"Urgh, stop it!" Felix whines in Beca's arms.

"Oh, what about you, bro?" Beca asks Caleb while letting Felix go.

"I... don't know..." Caleb answers while looking down.

They just stare at him without saying a word. They understand the struggle to find what their dreams are in such limited time.

They just smile and try to comfort him with sweet words,

"Hey, it's fine! Just take your time..."

"Dude, it's fine to not know shit! We're teens, that's what we do!"

"Bro, you're gonna be fine! You'll find it in no time!"

"And it's totally fine if you don't find it! It's totally normal!

"Don't take the pressure that much! It's just a stupid assignment!"

Their effort to comfort Caleb seems to reach him and he just laughs out loud at his ironic situation.

Caleb looks at them and he knows deep down that he is so thankful for them.

-Farrell's, twin's house-

Caleb is sitting at the edge of their swimming pool while dipping his feet in it. He looks at his reflection there and starts to wonder.

"Dream? Passion? Hobby? I only like eating... but that ain't a hobby!" he complains with frustration in his voice.

Unlike the others, he is the only one who doesn't have a firm hobby. He feels like the only who doesn't have a passion.

When he looks around, it feels like he's the only one who's oblivious. He feels alone every time people talk about dreams. It's like everybody has figured out what they want to do in life while he has no idea about it.

Caleb feels a wall between him and the world. He feels like nobody knows how it feels to be unaware of one's own self.

He's joining the basketball team just because they have been doing it since kids. There is no other reason for him to do that.

If Felix and Kai decide to quit basketball, he will surely do that too. All his life, he has never had anything that he truly loves.

Whatever it is, subject, activity, even girl, he has never had anything that he really holds dearly to him, except his best friends.

The question of what he longs to do in life is getting into him more and more. The longing to find something special in his life keeps creeping into his mind.

He has yet the answer to what he wants to do in the future specifically, but there is one thing that he surely desires.

It is lifetime happiness.

He may not know what major he wants to get into, but he knows that he wants to be happy while doing it.

He may not know what job he will want to do or what kind of girl he wants to settle down with.

However, the desire to live a happy life with others is enough for him.

While Caleb is lost in his thoughts, a reflection of a girl appears beside his on the water.

"Hey, whatcha doin'!" Beca asks him cutely.

Caleb looks at her with a surprise in his eyes.

"Why are you here???" Caleb asks her while smiling widely.

"Hey, I asked you that first, you idiot!" Beca teases him.

Caleb just laughs and looks away.

"It's... the assignment about dream... I've been thinking.. a lot about it..." he says while staring at the bright stars in the dark sky.

Beca joins him and stares at them too.

"So, have you found it?" Beca asks him.

"Yeah... I think I have..." Caleb answers while smiling serenely.

Beca looks at him while smiling warmly and asks, "What is it?"

Caleb's eyes sparkle from looking at the beautiful shiny stars and responds, "happiness... I want to have a happy life... That's... my dream, I think..."

Beca giggles for a moment at his twin brother's words.

"Hey, what are you laughing at?!" Caleb whines while also giggling with her.

"Nothing! Hahaha... I think it's a good one, bro... your dream," Beca answers and pushes him for a little to tease him.

Caleb was almost going to fall into the pool, had he not grabbed onto his twin sister tightly.

"Hey, it aint' funny to go swimming at eleven at night!" he complains to her.

They just laugh at each other warmly.

"When did you realize... that you want to find true love, Beca? I mean as your dream?" Caleb asks her while looking at her homely.

"Hmm... I don't know. Watching mom and dad as a kid really makes me want to find one too. I don't know, it just feels like it's been forever since I want that..." Beca answers while looking at their reflections on the water.

That warm, but magical moment might be forgotten by them in the future. It may turn into a fraction of their memories about each other.

However, at that time, they feel the warmth in their hearts.

The question of dream and future has been bothering them since yesterday.

They might forget it after they watch something interesting on TV or when they realize they have math homework, but at some moments, they were really worried about it.

The fears and excitements to wait on future, the unfamiliar feelings when they think about the changes that they will have to face, the worries and anticipations about college, all those things that were troubling them for a moment were indeed there.

Those feelings got into their minds for a moment. They all took a moment to stop and think about the future that they have no idea about.

However, all they can do right now is to keep living their lives to the fullest because the future will come whether they realize it or not.

Preview for the next chapter:

Beca lets him hold her hands for a second, but she pulls her hands away and says, "No! it-"