Chapter 11: Attempt at Productivity (Feat. Accidental Nap)

Yuna's POV

I tapped my pencil against my desk, sneaking another glance at Erika.

Something was off.

Normally, she'd be rolling her eyes at the teacher's weird handwriting or whispering sarcastic comments about whatever nonsense was happening in class.

But today? Nothing. Just silence.

Her head rested on her hand, eyes glazed over as she stared at the board, not really seeing it. Every few minutes, she let out a sigh—long, heavy, like the weight of the universe was pressing down on her shoulders.

At first, I ignored it. Maybe she was just bored. But after the twentieth sigh, I couldn't pretend anymore.

I leaned in, poking her arm. "Okay, seriously, what's up with you?"

She blinked, turning to me like she just remembered I existed. "Huh?"

I squinted at her. "Don't 'huh' me. You've been sighing so much I thought you were trying to summon a ghost."

That got a tiny, tired smirk out of her, but it vanished just as fast. "It's nothing."

Liar.

I tilted my head, studying her face. She looked… exhausted. Like she hadn't slept properly in days. Now that I was paying attention, I noticed the way her fingers kept fidgeting with the hem of her uniform, how she kept glancing at the clock like she was counting down the minutes to escape.

"Erika." I lowered my voice. "Come on. What's wrong?"

She exhaled through her nose, rubbing her temple. "It's just… school, family, life. Everything."

She waved a hand in the air, as if that explained anything. "We have a midterm next week, two projects due, and my mom keeps reminding me that I need to 'set an example' for my younger brother. I swear, if I hear that one more time, I might actually explode."

Oh.

Now I felt kind of dumb for not noticing sooner. Erika always acted like she had everything under control, but looking at her now—shoulders tense, fingers tapping anxiously against her desk—I realized how much pressure she was under.

"…That sucks," I said, because I wasn't great at this comforting thing.

She let out a breathy laugh. "Yeah. It really does."

The teacher called our attention back to the lesson, but I kept sneaking glances at her, feeling weirdly unsettled.

Erika was always the reliable one—the one who made everything seem easy. But right now? She just looked tired.

And for the first time, I wondered how long she'd been feeling like this without anyone noticing.

The moment the bell rang, I spun toward Erika, already on a mission.

"Okay, we're getting snacks," I announced, grabbing her wrist before she could even think about protesting.

"You need a break, and I need food. Win-win."

Erika blinked at me like I had just suggested we run away to another country.

"Wait, what? Yuna, class starts in ten minutes—"

"And?" I gave her my best pleading puppy eyes.

"C'mon, just a quick trip! It'll be fun, and you need to de-stress before your brain actually explodes."

She hesitated, and for a second, I thought she'd resist. But then her shoulders slumped, and I knew I had won.

"…Fine," she muttered, dragging a hand through her hair.

"But if we get caught, it's your fault."

"When have I ever gotten us caught?" I grinned, already leading the way out of the building.

She gave me a deadpan stare. "Do you want a list?"

Before I could answer, a familiar voice cut through the air.

"Yuna."

I froze mid-step. Wait. No way.

That voice. I knew that voice.

Slowly turning around, I came face to face with—

"Kai?!" My eyes nearly popped out of my head.

"What are you doing here?!"

He raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Attending school?"

"You go here?!" I blurted. My brain refused to process this.

"Since when? How? Why?"

Kai sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose like he already regretted this conversation.

"Since the start of the year. I told you this."

"No, you didn't!"

"Yes, I did," he deadpanned.

I opened my mouth to argue but immediately realized something. Oh my gosh, did he? It did sound vaguely familiar, but in my defense, I usually tuned him out when he started his 'responsible guardian' speeches.

Erika, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly smirked. "Wow. This is amazing. The great Yuna just got completely blindsided."

"Shhh," I hissed at her before turning back to Kai.

"Okay, fine, maybe I wasn't paying attention. But still! Why didn't I see you before?"

"You don't pay attention," he replied bluntly.

Oof. That one hurt.

I cleared my throat, trying to regain my dignity. "…Anyway! Uh. What's up?"

Kai crossed his arms. "Why are you skipping class again?"

Erika, who had been trying very hard not to laugh, leaned in and whispered, "Busted."

I elbowed her.

Kai sighed, already looking exhausted. "You do realize this is, like, the tenth time this month, right?"

"That's an exaggeration," I huffed.

"It's only the—" I paused, did some quick math, and winced.

"…Okay, maybe the eighth. But it's for a good cause! Erika needs snacks. It's a stress emergency."

Kai shot Erika a look, raising an eyebrow.

"And you're just going along with this?"

Erika shrugged. "It's easier than arguing."

I nodded enthusiastically. "See? She gets it."

Kai sighed again, looking like he was debating whether or not to fight me on this. In the end, he just shook his head.

"…At least get me something while you're out," he muttered before walking away.

Erika snorted. "Wow. You got off easy."

"I know," I whispered dramatically. "I think he's finally given up."

With that, we made our grand escape toward the snack shop—one of us still stressed, the other victorious, and neither of us in class where we were actually supposed to be.

Erika popped open a can of soda and took a long sip, eyes flicking over to me as I unwrapped my chocolate bar.

We were sitting on a bench outside the convenience store, enjoying our hard-earned snacks (which may or may not have cost us a class period).

The streetlights were just starting to turn on, casting a warm glow over the sidewalk.

"You know," Erika said after a moment, "I don't get you."

I paused, mid-bite. "Rude."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. You're always running around doing whatever you want, skipping class like it's a hobby—"

"It is," I interrupted.

"—and somehow, you never seem to care about anything long-term." She turned to me fully, resting her elbow on the back of the bench.

"Do you even have any goals, Yuna?"

I blinked. "Goals?"

"Yes, goals." She gestured vaguely.

"Dreams, ambitions, anything that makes you go 'oh, I want to do that someday' instead of just floating through life like a lost balloon."

I chewed on my chocolate bar slowly. "I mean… surviving is a goal, right?"

Erika gave me a flat look. "That's the bare minimum."

I huffed. "Okay, well, I wanna be rich."

"Oh, so you have a plan for that?"

"…No."

She sighed, shaking her head. "You can't just coast forever, Yuna."

I shrugged. "Sure I can."

Erika groaned and took another sip of her soda, clearly exasperated with me. But she didn't push further, just muttered something about me being hopeless and turned her attention back to her snack.

I didn't think much of it at the time.

But later that night, when I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling, her words echoed in my head.

Did I even have any goals?

The thought had never really bothered me before. I always just did whatever felt right in the moment—no plans, no big dreams, just… vibes. But now, for some reason, I felt weirdly unsettled.

I rolled over, burying my face in my pillow. Ugh. Why did Erika have to say stuff that made me think?

I tried to brush it off. Maybe I did have goals, just… unstated ones.

Like, I wanted to be happy. That was a goal, right?

I wanted to be able to wake up every morning and not dread the day ahead.

I wanted to have fun, to laugh, to live without stressing over stuff that didn't seem to matter right now.

That counted for something, didn't it?

But then I thought about Erika—about how she always had a plan, always had something she was working toward.

Good grades, a stable future, all that responsible stuff. Even Kai, as annoying as he was, probably had goals. He always looked like he had his life together, even when he was lecturing me for being a disaster.

I groaned into my pillow.

Maybe I was just different.

Or maybe… maybe I just didn't know what I wanted yet.

And somehow, that was even scarier.

I sat up, rubbing my face. My room was still unfinished, which meant I was stuck sleeping in my cousin Lily's room—aka the ultimate unicorn kingdom.

Stuffed unicorns, unicorn blankets, even a tiny unicorn night lamp that glowed softly in the dark. It was impossible to have an existential crisis surrounded by this much cuteness.

I reached over and poked one of the plushies.

"What do you think? Am I just a lost cause?"

It stared back at me with its unblinking, judgment-free eyes.

Yeah, okay. Maybe this was a conversation for another day.

With a sigh, I flopped back onto the bed, deciding to push the whole thing out of my mind.

I had time to figure it out.

Right?

The next morning, I made a bold decision. A life-changing decision. A decision so drastic that even Erika would be proud.

I was going to get my life together.

Or at least… attempt to.

Step one: Pretend to Have My Life Together.

I sat at my desk, cracking my knuckles like I was about to write the next great novel. The blank notebook in front of me was intimidating.

The fancy pen (definitely stolen from Erika) felt heavy with responsibility. But today, I was serious. Today, I was going to make a schedule. A plan. A roadmap to success.

Or at least… something that looked responsible enough to make Erika stop looking at me like I was a lost puppy in a thunderstorm.

I took a deep breath and wrote

- Go to class (probably).

Great start. Achievable. Realistic. Already regretting it.

I tapped my pen against my chin. What else?

- Study (but not too hard, let's be realistic).

See? This was called balance.

- Next food.

Because starving to death would definitely interfere with my goal of pretending to be a functional human.

- Lunch break (a.k.a. snack run, a.k.a. my true passion in life).

I stared at the page. This was looking… suspiciously empty.

What else did responsible people do?

I squinted at my notes like they would magically fill themselves. Then, with a deep sigh, I wrote

- Figure out life goals (????)

Perfect. Super specific. Very helpful.

I leaned back in my chair, twirling my pen. Okay, maybe this whole getting-my-life-together thing was harder than I thought.

Then it hit me.

- Songwriting time!

There we go! Something I actually enjoyed. Not that I'd ever admit it out loud, but writing songs was probably the only thing I actually put effort into.

Not that I ever finished them, but hey, details.

Feeling somewhat accomplished, I stretched my arms over my head. That was enough productivity for one night. Time for a well-earned break.

I glanced at my schedule again. Then at my bed.

…Then I flopped face-first onto my desk and fell asleep halfway through my life transformation.

To be continued.