Aftermath

Yvann was drunk.

"Partly drunk," Yvann slurred. His breath smelled like the beer he had taken.

Losing her footing, Szeina felt a sharp pain erupting from her right shoulder.

"Just one more step," Szeina coaxed. It was more for her benefit, though.

Breathing a sigh of relief, when they reached the second floor, Szeina nearly collapsed. She was starting to get deathly pale.

"Why didn't you call for help?" a small voice came from behind Szeina. The first thing she noticed was the color of her hair.

When she came to Yvann's other side and helped carry him, Szeina was able to see her face and came to realize who she was.

Her world was getting smaller and smaller. She would have never guessed that the brunette she met on her first day would be related to Yvann.

"He is a bit heavy. Come on."

Following her lead, Szeina bit her lower lip, the excruciating pain from her shoulders slowly spreading to her arms.

Coming to a stop at the door, Szeina watched the brunette push it open with her foot. They both dragged Yvann inside and dropped him flat on his bed.

He let out a groan before rolling to his side and went to sleep.

His room remained dimly lit. Szeina briefly let her gaze wander around.

In one corner, an array of trophies and medals were on display at an elongated table. On top of it was a football jersey, and a framed photo.

Forgetting about the pain from her right shoulder, Szeina came close to the photo.

It was a picture of Yvann when he was young, a beautiful woman standing beside him. He was proudly showing off the gold medal that has an MVP written in the middle.

"That's his mom. She's very pretty."

"Yes, she is. And Zoe looks so much like him."

"Yeah, I'm the only odd one out."

Szeina stopped staring at the photo and looked at Yvann's sleeping form.

"He misses her a lot."

"He does."

"Well, he's asleep now. I think we should… go."

"Yeah," the brunette agreed and waited for Szeina to come out first.

Once they were back in the hallway, Szeina offered a small smile towards Yvann's step sister.

"I'm Sene." She extended a hand to Szeina.

"Szeina."

"I don't think I thanked you properly for what happened at the cafeteria. Regardless of you stopping me from doing so." Sene took a deep breath and smiled back at her.

"Thank you."

Szeina offered a friendly smile.

"People like that Violet girl only becomes a bitch to someone else for two reasons. One: they aren't receiving enough attention from the people who matter to them. Hence, they crave it from others. Treating those whom they dislike poorly and being nice to those whom they do like. Second: they're jealous of what you have and since they can't be you, they bully you to the point that they break you. Thus, satisfying their envy with the thought of making you feel miserable."

"You seem to know a lot about them." Szeina shrugged, then grimaced.

"I should probably sleep." She mumbled.

"I'm sorry, yes. You need to rest."

"Nice meeting you, Sene. You should rest too."

"Yeah, good night," she smiled, waving goodbye as she turned away, going further into the hallway that split into two.

Szeina watched her walk away. Her assigned room was coincidentally close to where Yvann's was.

"Oh, and Szeina?" Sene called out. Szeina turned in her direction and waited. "I hope you stay with us a little longer."

She waved once more before continuing her pursuit to reach her room.

Szeina stared at her retreating form and sighed.

"I wouldn't count on it."

--

His head felt like it was inside a blender.

Groggily opening his eyes, Yvann tried to recall how he got to his room.

He surely didn't manage it on his own. If he tried, he might find himself in the middle of the living room or even the kitchen.

He wouldn't make it past the staircase, he was sure.

Making an effort to massage his head, the white ceiling became a welcome view for him.

Glimpses of his drunken state slowly came to, having him get up in an instant.

"No," he muttered. "Ah, shoot."

Falling back on his bed, Yvann wanted to disappear. It was embarrassing.

Letting out a curse, Yvann sat upright once again, his head throbbing in the process.

Checking out the time from the digital clock on top of his bedside table, he instantly got to his feet.

He was going to be late for school.

If he wouldn't receive a punishment at football practice, he wouldn't even care about coming late.

But, their coach was very strict when it came to finding balance in their academics. Tardiness doesn't go without penalty.

Jumping in the shower and emerging five minutes later, he almost flew half of the staircase.

Checking his pockets for his car key and finding them missing, he run back to grab it.

On his way out of his room, he almost collided with Szeina.

"Hi,"

"Hey. I'm late. I'll see you later."

Yvann waved at her goodbye, flying through the staircase once more.

Szeina watched him rush out, clamping her mouth and decided not to tell him.

He'd find out later on that he was rushing for nothing.

She counted to ten, and soon enough, Yvann was walking right back towards the stairs.

"You're surprisingly early."

Muttering a curse, Yvann shook his head. He caught Szeina's gaze and noticed that she was trying not to laugh.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She shrugged.

"I never got the chance. You were in such a hurry."

"Ugh." Yvann sat on the last step and ran a hand through his wet hair.

Szeina joined him shortly and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"How's your head? Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Yvann replied. "I'll be fine."

"Granola used to tell me that the past is irrevocable, but we have the present. It's what we should live for. Our future is not yet set in stone."

"She must be a wise woman."

"Very. And I miss her."