The three of us went to a local diner. To my surprise, there are lots of university students that I recognize here. They probably went here to either celebrate their good performance during our midterms or just like me, comfort each other after doing badly. 

Shin and Yukino were talking for minutes while I simply fell into a daze looking outside. 

“So? Anything new in ur so called normal life Aoi?” Asked Shin.

“Now that you mention it, I feel like someone might be bothering me for a while”  

“What do you mean?” 

“There’s someone inviting me to join his  writing club, the name’s Haruto”

“Do we even have one? I think I heard that name from somewhere”

“Oh, he’s my classmate in one of my minor subjects. He’s even inviting people in our class to join ” Said Yukino

“I guess he’s planning to create one huh?. I’m not joining though”

“Well,  I knew you wouldn’t after all that’s happened. So? How will you deal with this Haruto guy?” 

Yukino was a bit shocked and confused hearing those words from Shin.  Shin knew all about this stuff, but I wish she’d  be more secretive about it. 

“I’ll just continue to decline, he’ll give up eventually” 

Will he really give up? I hope he does. I don’t want him wasting time on me after all and if I continue to reject him, I’m bound to feel bad about it. I’ll have to deal with this soon before things get out of hand. 

“Have you guys heard about the trip next week?” Asked Shin.

“Yeah I think, how about you Aoi?”

I nodded. 

“I heard it will be in a small countryside near the mountains for 3 days and 2 nights. I’m so excited! Should we buy some stuff like snacks and clothes?” 

“I don’t know about the clothes, but we should definitely  buy snacks.” I really love snacks so that’s a must have for me during trips.

Though it’s a bit unusual, our university usually does trips like those in high school in our second year. Every course has its own trip schedule since it will be hard for the university to accommodate the large number of students. The three of us will be having the trip at the same date since the three of us have the same majors. 

“Should we meet tomorrow then?” Asked Yukino.

“Sure.” Answered Shin.

I guess I can’t decline now so I simply nodded. 

The plan for tomorrow was to meet at a local mall by 10 AM to canvas for things that we need to buy. For me, it will mostly be snacks but I'm 100 percent sure that Shin will only be using this as an excuse to go on a shopping spree. I wonder what type of person Yukino is on these types of things. Does she only buy things needed or does she also like shopping so much like Shin. I guess she’s the type to buy clothes. Her fashion sense is top notch. She wears clothes such as oversized shirts and  jeans that would really fit her petite body type. And those jordans, most of them are really rare. I would die to get my hands on those shoes. 

So the next day, to my surprise I woke up really early. The cold breeze coming from my window was so refreshing as it blew my curtains right into my face. It’s only 6 AM so I decided to go for a morning jog. I put on a track suit that I had way back in high school. I guess I grew a bit taller. It’s my first time wearing this in a while and it feels a bit small for me. 

As I jogged around the neighborhood, my face felt really dry because of the cold air. But waking up in the morning and doing this actually makes me feel good. There are barely any people except for my old neighbors who always pass by this area for their morning walks. 

I wondered when was the last time I did this. I bet it was way back in high school. I would go train for hours in the morning and afternoon. But c’mon, I barely ran for 10 minutes and I’m this tired already? I guess all that smoking has taken its toll on me. 

I drank water from a water fountain located at the park near my apartment and sat at the bench to rest for a bit. I can’t  believe that I brought my pack of cigarettes with me but forgot to bring a bottle of water. I need to set my priorities right. I lit up a cigarette and enjoyed the quiet neighborhood during this hour. 

This neighborhood is usually lively from noon to late afternoon. But in the mornings and at night, it is usually quiet. But I must say that the silence between morning and night has its own vibe that makes it both beautiful and peaceful in its own way. It’s a bit sad and lonely though if you imagine how deserted this park is during these times. 

“Hey mister, you’ll catch a cold if you sleep here.” 

I woke up all flustered and checked the time. It was already 9 AM. I fell asleep for almost 2 hrs without even noticing. Thank god this kid who woke me up while passing through the park. 

“Thank you kid, take care on your way to school!” 

I quickly ran home and found myself catching my breath again once I arrived at my apartment. I’m about to be late again so I need to prepare my breakfast and take a shower before meeting up with the two. Well I’m not surprised that I’ll be late again. What’s the point of waking up early just to sleep again? 

I finished preparing and it’s already 10:05 AM. I’m late so might as well take my time going to the meeting place. Today marks the start of our 1 week break right after our midterms exams finished. Should I bring my motorbike? But I’m saving money. Ah I’ll bring it just this once. 

I arrived at the meeting place at around 10:20 AM and saw Shin with an angry face from far away while Yukino was waving at me and smiling. Why can’t Shin be like Yukino? We definitely need to work on her temper. At this rate she won’t be able to find the man of her dreams. 

Shin’s typical dream man should have traits such as good looking, smart, gentleman, and rich. Those are really high standards but it’s acceptable. To be completely honest, Shin is among the high ranking people in our university. She’s good looking,  has long hair, and smart. Her fashion sense is just as good as Yukino’s. But her temper, it really needs a whole lot of work. She usually hides her true personality so I feel bad about her future boyfriend. But kidding aside, Shin’s a good person overall. 

“Late as usual are we?” Said Shin while approaching me real fast. 

The moment she reached my space, she quickly dragged me by the ear and said “You lazy kid! Come here quickly. We  have a lot of shopping–.. I mean essential things to buy and you have the guts to show up late?” 

“I’m sorry c’mon let go of me now” 

“I’m sure he’s  sorry, Shin. Let him go now haha we’re grabbing attention.” As Yukino laughed at both of us.

This is so embarrassing.