My weekend was a bit dramatic, you know… with the whole body in an alley situation. And I'm not even going to lie, those Bossa Nova girls? They give me the creeps.
Monday came faster than I wanted.
I was already seated in class, early, for once. We had Biology practical, and I sat next to Leo. Yeah, he was both my seatmate and my lab partner.
The atmosphere in the lab was calm. Mr. Damien's voice carried steadily as he explained the practical we were about to carry out, moving between benches with that strict-but-bored expression he always had.
But if you know me, you already know I wasn't paying attention. My eyes drifted around the room while his voice faded into the background.
That's when I saw them, Tasha and Dian seated by the window at the far end of the lab. They were Lab partners.
Dian was laughing softly, leaning a little closer as Tasha whispered something to him. Whatever she said must've been funny because he couldn't stop smiling.
And just like that, my mood dropped.
There was something about seeing them together that irritated me more than it should. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm supposed to be the one by his side telling him the funny jokes he'll laugh to.
"So," Leo said, snapping me out of it, "did you later tell him how you felt?"
I exhaled, sinking deeper into my chair. "No. I flopped."
"That's… not great," he said, wincing slightly.
"I know," I muttered. "I just... every time I'm around him, my brain stops working. I start mixing up my words, overthinking everything… it's a mess."
Leo nodded like he understood more than he was saying. "Yeah. I get that. Had a crush back in high school, couldn't form a proper sentence around her."
I turned to him, a bit desperate now. "So what do I do?"
He leaned back slightly, thinking for a moment before looking at me again.
"Well, all i can say is stop trying to make it perfect," he said. "You're not giving a speech. You're just talking to him."
I frowned. "Easy for you to say, I can't even say hello right."
"I'm serious," he continued. "You keep building it up in your head like it has to go exactly right, and that's what's messing you up. Just… keep it simple."
I looked back at Dian without meaning to, he was still smiling listening to her.
"And what if simple still doesn't work?" I asked quietly.
Leo followed my gaze, then looked back at me. "Then at least you tried. And you'll know where you stand instead of just… sitting here stressing about it."
I didn't answer immediately. He was right, but what if he doesn't feel the same way, I mean duh, he has a girlfriend already.
After class, I headed to the cafeteria and dropped into our usual spot. Krin wasn't around, I hadn't seen him all day, which was werid considering the fact that he's always all over my business.
I pushed the thought aside and focused on my fries, munching quietly.
A moment later, Vic showed up and slid into the seat opposite me, setting his tray down like he owned the place.
"Hey you, what's up?" he said.
I glanced at his tray, raising a brow. "Wow. You actually bought your own food."
"Ha ha. Very funny," he deadpanned, taking a sip of his drink before digging into his rice.
I smirked, popping another fry into my mouth. "I never thought I'd see the day you buy your own meal"
"First of all," he said, pointing his fork at me, "I do buy my own meal thank you very much."
"Oh please, you always find away to steal my McDonald or smoothie any chance you get"
He shrugged, completely unbothered. "that was just twice in a row if your counting."
"Shocking."
He just smirked taking another spoon full. For a moment, we just ate in silence, the usual cafeteria noise filling the space around us, voices, trays clinking, someone laughing too loudly at something not that funny.
Then I leaned back slightly, eyeing him.
"So what about the body we found at the alley? Do you really think it's Jason?"
Vic paused mid-bite, then nodded his head. "Yeah, it's clearly his handiwork"
I signed. "Really, so you mean to tell me that we just risked our lives for nothing, huh?"
He gave me a look. "Looks like it"
I frowned, "What's going to happen now? Don't tell me we going back there cause I'm not"
"Nah, we already did what we came there to do, Jason's on his own now" then he went back to eating.
Soon after, Krin came rushing toward our table, breathing like he'd just run a marathon.
"Hey... mum... everything okay?" I asked as he dropped into the seat beside me, still trying to catch his breath.
"You won't believe what just happened," he panted. "Girls are crazy."
"Excuse you?" I shot back immediately. "You're literally talking to one."
"Oh, not you, Peige," he said quickly, waving a hand. "No daughter of mine is crazy."
"So what happened?" Vic asked, leaning back with his drink, clearly entertained already.
Krin straightened a bit, inhaling deeply like he was preparing himself. "You remember Felisha… the waitress?"
My eyes widened. "Yes, I remember."
"Okay… so we agreed to meet up earlier today. Just to, you know… talk. Get to know each other."
"Hold on..." Vic cut in, grinning. "You went on a date?"
"I wouldn't exactly call it a date," Krin said quickly. "We were just… talking. Getting to know one another"
"Mhm," I nodded slowly, unconvinced. "Continue."
He ran a hand through his hair, clearly still shaken. "So we're out, everything's fine… normal conversation, nothing weird. Then out of nowhere... she just..."
He paused.
Vic and I leaned in at the same time.
"she what?" Vic prompted.
Krin lowered his voice like it was a secret too big for the cafeteria.
"She kissed me."
I turned sharply to Krin, a smile appearing across my face. "Wait... like actually kissed you? Not a peck?"
"Actual kiss," he said, still looking disturbed.
"And?" I pressed.
"And I panicked!" he shot back. "I didn't even know what to do... I just stood there!"
Vic was laughing now, fully invested. "Bro froze."
"I did not freeze," Krin snapped. "I… paused."
"That's literally freezing," I said.
He ignored me. "Then she started saying things like how she's never felt this way before and how I'm 'different' and I just..." he gestured helplessly "...I left!"
"You left?" I blinked.
"What was I supposed to do?" he said, exasperated. "Things were moving pretty fast and... I've never kissed a woman before... jeez!"
Vic wiped at imaginary tears from laughing. "This is the best thing that's happened all day."
I leaned back, studying Krin for a second before shaking my head.
"You know what your problem is?"
He looked at me, already defensive. "What?"
"You're thinking too much like who you were instead of who you are now."
He frowned.
"I'm serious," I continued. "Your situation is weird, yeah, but that doesn't mean you're supposed to panic every time something normal happens."
"Normal?" he repeated. "That did not feel normal."
"That's because you're not a woman no more, your a guy, get used to it." Vic added, still amused.
Krin groaned, dropping his head slightly. "This is a mess."
Vic leaned forward, grinning. "I'll tell you what, you're gonna go back there, apologize to her and make it up to her by taking her out on a nice fancy date."
Krin sighed deeply. "I can't do that, it's... werid."
"Yeah, because you make it that way," I said, reaching for another fry. "Get use to your new life, who knows, you might make her your girlfriend."
I and Vic laughed as Krin signed.
...
Later that night, just like Vic had insisted, Krin went back to Candy's.
The place was packed, voices overlapping, laughter spilling over tables, and music blasting so loud it felt like it was pulsing through the walls. Lights flickered in soft neon hues, and the air felt heavier, alive in a way that was almost overwhelming.
Krin swallowed hard as he stepped in, shoulders a little tense. He still wasn't used to this, the new body but Vic's words kept echoed in his head.
You're a guy now. Start living it.
And he was right. So he pushed forward.
He made his way to the counter, spotting Felisha almost immediately. She was busy, moving quickly, attending to customers, her smile polite but distant. She didn't notice him at first.
Krin lifted a hand, waving slightly. When she saw him, she immediately looked away, ignoring him.
"Hey," he called, a bit louder this time. "Look, I know you're mad about earlier. And you have every right to be."
She did respond, she just continued serving drinks, passing cocktails across the counter, completely ignoring him like he wasn't even there.
Krin exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
"I can see you're busy," he added, glancing around at the crowded room. "I'll just come back when you're less busy… and maybe in a better mood." He turned to leave.
"Wait."
Her voice cut through the noise just enough. He paused, looking back.
Felisha rolled her eyes slightly, though there was less bite in it than before. "I'm taking a break in a minute. We'll talk then."
Krin nodded. "Okay."
He slid onto an empty seat at the counter, hands resting on his knees as he waited, the noise of the bar closing in around him.
After a while, she finally took her break.
They stepped out to the back of the building, where the noise from inside faded into a dull background hum. It was quieter there, just low music leaking through the walls and a few couples scattered around, talking in soft voices.
They stopped near the pool. The water shimmered under dim lights, a deep blue that looked almost too still… almost too deep. Like if you leaned too far, you might not come back up.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. They just stood there, staring at their reflections, letting the silence stretch.
Then, at the exact same time they blurted...
"I'm sorry..."
They both stopped, glancing at each other in surprise.
A small, awkward pause.
"You go first," Krin said, nodding slightly.
Felisha took a breath, then another, like she was steadying herself. "I'm really sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have done that."
Krin scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah… it was kind of weird."
The moment the words left his mouth, he winced slightly, realizing how that sounded.
"I mean... not weird like you're weird," he added quickly. "Just… unexpected."
She let out a small laugh, looking down at the water. "Yeah."
Silence slipped in again, softer this time. Krin shifted his weight. "I should apologize too. About the way I left. It just... happened too fast."
"I know, and I'm really sorry" she said again, lowering her head slightly, like she was still embarrassed by it.
He exhaled, eyes drifting back to the pool. "It's okay. I'm just… not used to that kind of thing."
Felisha hesitated, her fingers lightly brushing against each other as she gathered the courage to speak.
"Um… I know this might be a bit early to say," she started, her voice quieter now, "but I really like you. Like… from the first day I saw you."
Krin stilled. His gaze dropped to the water again, watching the faint ripple of their reflections. For a second, it looked like he was searching for the right response… or maybe just trying to understand what he was feeling.
"Felisha…" he began slowly.
She looked up at him, hopeful but nervous.
"I don't think I'm where you are," he admitted, carefully. "Not yet."
Her expression faltered, just a little but she didn't look away.
"It's not that I don't like you," he added quickly. "I do. I just… everything's new to me. I'm still figuring things out."
She nodded, swallowing slightly. "Okay."
"I don't want to lie to you," he continued. "Or rush into something I don't fully understand."
There was another pause. Then she gave a small, understanding smile. "That's… actually fair."
Krin let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
"But," she added, tilting her head slightly, "that doesn't mean we can't take it slow… right?"
He glanced at her, there was no pressure in her expression now. She seemed a bit hopeful.
"Yeah," he said after a moment. "We can do that."
Her smile softened. "Good," she said feeling relieved.
...
"And that's all that happened," Krin said, finishing his story as he leaned back slightly in his chair.
"Well, dude… for what it's worth, I'm proud of you," Vic said, lounging comfortably with a book held up in front of him like he was actually studying.
We were seated at the group study section of the library, gathered around one of the round tables meant for 'serious academic discussions'...which, clearly, we were not having.
"Wow, mum," I added, shaking my head with a smirk. "You really outdid yourself there. That's… impressive. Look at you... starting to think like a man, huh?"
We both let out small laughs.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Krin muttered, rolling his eyes as he forced his attention back to the book in front of him, clearly trying to escape whatever teasing was coming next.
"Alright," Vic said, snapping his book shut and leaning forward, suddenly interested. "Now that that's settled… let's move on to you, Peige."
Both of them turned to look at me and I already didn't like where this was going.
"Yeah," Krin added, glancing up with a knowing look. "You seem to have all the advice when it comes to living life, but you can't even tell Dian how you feel."
I scoffed lightly, crossing my arms. "That's different."
"Is it?" Vic raised a brow.
"Want some advice?" Krin offered, way too casually.
"No," I said immediately, turning my head away. "Not from you, mum."
Vic snorted, "What about me"
I scoffed. "I'd rather take advice from a mentally ill patient than you two."
"Ouch. That hurt my feelings," Vic said dramatically, right before his phone rang.
The sound cut through the quiet library, earning us a sharp glare from the librarian, a grumpy-looking woman who'd probably been waiting her whole life for a moment like this.
"No noise," she snapped. "Either you silence that… music box, or you exit my library."
"Will do, miss," Vic said quickly, already fumbling with his phone as he stepped a little away to take the call.
The call didn't last long, when Vic came back, something was off. His expression had changed completely. His jaw was tight, eyes sharper, like something had just snapped into place.
He grabbed his bag in one quick motion.
"What's up?" I asked, already standing, my stomach tightening at the shift in his energy.
"It's Kora," he said, his voice lower now.
My heart skipped. "What about her?"
"Something happened," he added, glancing between us. Then, more quietly... "To the motel."