(27) expectations

They had reached an impasse.

They have reached the limit of what they could do with the only seven people in their group. They have already laid down the basics and the planning, all that’s left is the execution. This is usually the phase of the festival where the more people they have the better. Unfortunetely, because it’s also the busiest month for the students, no one was willing to give some time to help.

“By the way, has anyone seen Marie recently? She suddenly stopped coming it’s not like her,” he looks over at Rena who only shakes her head. Airi glances over at Luke who wears a conflicted expression. It has been days since the last time they saw her.

“I don’t think Marie is gonna come around …for the time being,” Luke says, uncertain, his sight glued to the ground. This only served to sour the mood for the group at the insinuation that a fellow member wouldn’t come back.

“Instead of looking for Marie, where the hell is Nathan?” Zoey says instead, looking around the room. Her voice was reeking irritation as if ready to punch the teacher the moment he enters. Rena comes behind her and tries to massage her shoulders to calm her.

“He said he’ll come by later,” Airi answers, sharing her sentiments with somewhat lesser degree of emotion, “for now, we should find more people willing to help.”

“And how are we gonna do that? The students are too busy and the school doesn’t have enough budget to give perks and allowances.” Neil deadpans. He didn’t mean to, but his usual straightforwardness didn’t help the situation a bit and served to bring the realization to a close. Everyone looks at each other nervously. Luke karate chops his head.

This is what Airi fears, looking over at everyone.

Recently, the atmosphere around the club is also starting to sour. What used to be airy and vibrant is now growing coldly thick, just a second away from breaking into pieces. It was disheartening since they first started with all smiles and the enthusiasm to be able to do anything.

Seeming to notice the dreadful atmosphere brought about by his frankness, “I’ll try asking my friends again,” Neil says as if to make up for his words earlier. He takes his phone and begins scrolling over his contacts.

“There is one person we could try asking.” Zoey announces and nervously looks over at Airi. “I mean, if we’re all out of options.”

Everyone raised a brow and she hesitantly answers, “Ren.”

Honestly it was a good idea, with him in the group more people would be sure to join in knowing his effect on people, being a charismatic person and all. He will sure to be an asset in the group, more than she herself. In the years she’s known him, she became acutely aware that Ren can pretty much do anything he puts his mind into. He could also help her with the budgeting and general supervision, even she herself would want him in the team no matter how much she doesn’t want him to.

“That’s a good idea!” Will says with that unusually cheerful voice.

Luke looks over at Airi, “yeah, but doesn’t he hate Airi?”

“Oh right,” Will frowned, “that unresolved sexual tension they have going on.” Rena laughs at this.

“It’s not unresolved sexual tension!” Airi immediately retorts, more defensive than she should have been. Then as if becoming self-aware, she sighs and begins to steer the conversation back to the topic, “I also think it’s a good idea, Ren has general knowledge of the planning and supervision of events like these since he used to be part of the student council since middle school or something. As far as I know.”

“He became the student council president in high school, too,” Zoey supplied matter-of-factly. Airi almost pauses, she didn’t know that. Then again, she doesn’t know anything about Ren’s life after high school.

“Jesus, is there anything that guy can’t do?” Luke voiced out her thoughts.

If there is one setback she could think of, however...

“I doubt he’d be willing to help though,” Rena reluctantly adds, “I hear he’s incredibly busy these past days. If he’s willing to help, he would have done so already.”

Airi agrees. Not to mention that he just recovered from a fever and only recently came back to school.

More than anything though, she would feel like she was relying on him again. And it was exactly what she would like to avoid happening.

“Leave that to me!” Zoey says with unrelenting confidence, “the guy owes me after all.”

Airi smiles at this, thinks to herself that if he does agree, she could just keep everything strictly festival related. At least, if he ever sees her that is. “Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Still, even if he is willing, she doubts his girlfriend would let him help them— her in particular.

For an entirely different set of reason.

.

.

.

The following day, Ren is surprised to see Zoey coming up to him before his first class, “I politely asked your friends for your schedule for the day,” that solves one of the questions he didn’t ask, also he highly doubts her thoughtless use of the word ‘politely’, judging from their panicked call to him earlier telling him to be very careful. He settles for a smile because history tells him that asking Zoey anything could land him into all sorts of trouble, “What’s up, Zoey?”

She walks by him, “remember how you said you owe me?”

“I don’t remember owing you anything.” He said flatly, adjusting his bag all the while eyeing her carefully, “on the contrary, it’s you who owe me a—”

“Since you clearly owe me,” she continues, it slightly annoyed him how she could just brush his words aside dirt, “how about helping us out on the founding festival preparations?”

His expression changed slightly, the muscles of suspicion on his face easing a bit. “Did something happen?” he knew there aren’t a lot of people willing to help with the festival, but he didn’t know it was to this extent. For Zoey to come up to him and personally ask him. He wonders if Airi even greenlit this idea of hers.

“Not really, we just really need people to help with the staging and activities.” She reasons.

“Does Airi even know about this?”

Zoey gives him a look, but otherwise understands where he’s coming from, “of course she does, she even said we could get advice from an ex-student council president.”

She pauses, feigns innocence as if she missed a small detail, “well, at least for a few months.”

So, he even told her that, huh. Honestly, he doesn’t really like that idea. Ren gets conscious on the idea of them talking about him. Like, them— Zoey and Airi, sitting on the corner table of some café, happily chattering about. It stirs something on the pit of his stomach. He glances at the time, thinks that he could maybe get away from being late a few minutes since his prof is also always a few minutes late.

“Airi mentioned that you were sick, how are you holding up?”

“I’m doing better, I just needed rest that’s all.” He smiles a bit, somewhat appreciatively. It is through these small interactions where he could tell that they still have something to go on, something besides anger and frustration over how everything fell apart between them.

Keith flatly comments one day how weird their relationship is, particularly with Zoey. For him however, he supposes it’s how everything he felt was molded into. Not to say that he already forgave Airi, far from it. It’s more like organizing everything that happened, breaking them apart and putting each in a box.

That aside, Zoey said Airi needed his advice. He wonders if those exact words even came out of her mouth in the first place. Like, how Airi is going to communicate to him with this awkward distance they have going on? Through Zoey? Via mail? Carrier pigeon? He almost laughs.

“If she’s okay with only four months of experience,” he tells Zoey with a laugh and says minimum experience is better than having none at all.

“Oh, right. I’ll talk about it with Zoey first.” Although knowing Nina’s good nature, she’s sure to say yes, and would even probably volunteer herself. He takes out his phone and proceeds to send her a message.

“Oh right, you guys are officially dating now,” Zoey says with this weird tone on her voice as if she completely forgot about that one important detail.

“News travel fast,” Ren comments, to which Zoey smirks.

“What do you mean ‘travel fast’? It was out the moment you guys went official.” News can’t travel that fast, he thought. That aside, if Zoey knows about it, then Airi must have to. He wonders what she thought about when she heard it.

“That’s okay, right?” the moment the words escaped his mouth, he regretted it. What, is he asking for Zoey’s permission to get a girlfriend? What the hell is that supposed to mean?

He was about to take it back when she replies him, “it’s not a big deal, really. I mean even before you guys became a thing, you're already acting like a couple.”

He makes an awkward smile and shyly scratches the back of his neck, “I guess that’s true.”

“And anyway, we all know it was coming eventually. Especially Airi.”

So, they all saw it coming a mile away? Well, it wasn't like they were trying to hide it, it was obvious from how Nina acts toward him. It reminded him of the time when they ate lunch with Zoey and the others. He remembered how unfazed Zoey and Airi were, maybe that's why.

He wanted to laugh, make a light-hearted joke about it but it doesn’t come out. He doesn’t know what he was expecting. Of course, she would know.

He used to tell Airi that he likes Nina after all.