Winter Quarter 2016 Week 1 Tuesday
After barely catching the bus, I headed toward the back. Sitting down, I reached into my backpack for Yukie’s book, staring at the people around me. A woman with glasses and a loose ponytail writing on her tablet caught my eye.
“Good morning, Tomo,” Kyoi greeted, putting her stylus away.
“Kyoi, this is… a rare sight. Never expected to see you here,” I answered.
“I’m not Felicity. Unfortunately, I do not have butlers and maids serving me. I take the bus just like everyone else,” Kyoi said with a slight smile.
“I see,” I said, taken aback by her response.
“Tomo, we will train on Friday night. This should be the best option, as it will give you ample time to complete any assignments on the weekend,” Kyoi informed me.
“What? I haven’t even… fine. I’m assuming you’ll be there,” I protested, but gave up.
“I expected some resistance, but it appears you’ve made up your mind. That’s good to know. You can’t go into this half-heartedly. By the way, how was your first day of winter quarter?” Kyoi questioned.
“Alright, but my math professor is a pain though,” I replied.
“Talk to Long. If it’s the same one I think it is, you might want to ask him for any old notes or tests,” Kyoi suggested.
Why was Kyoi so nice today? Not to mention, she was wearing glasses which felt weird. In my mind, she was always the type of person to have her hair untied. Her personality in battles clashed too much with her current one, too much dissonance. Regardless, she did make a good point.
After chemistry lab, I headed toward the student lounge. Shan and Ko were present, but not Zhuyu. I took a seat at the table, witnessing Shan jot down similar diagrams as last time.
“Yuki! It’s been awhile, I’m so excited to see you! How have you been?” Ko greeted me with an immense amount of energy.
“Alright. Ko, you’re pretty pumped up. Is she always like this?” I asked Shan.
“Eh, it depends. Ask her to tell you some amazing stories that have happened to her,” Shan responded.
I glanced at Ko, who responded with a smile. I’m sure she had some great stories, but this wasn’t the right time. Plus, they were probably weird, considering the type of person Ko was.
“Shan, where’s Zhuyu?” I asked, looking around the area.
“He doesn’t have class today. Did you need him for something?” Shan informed me.
“I guess it isn’t important. Just something math related,” I replied.
“You could ask Tess anytime. I’m sure she’ll help you,” Shan recommended.
“Yeah, but I feel like I’ve been too much of a burden for her already,” I revealed.
“Oh, oh! Yuki, did you know tacocat is tacocat spelled backwards?” Ko suddenly exclaimed, giving me an expectant look.
I blinked, lacking a proper response. I gauged Shan’s reaction, hoping for a hint about handling her sudden words. Shan looked indifferent and stared at his laptop without saying anything. Oh come on, don’t do this to me. I know you heard it, don’t pretend.
“I…. did not know that. You must really like cats,” I mustered.
“I love cats! They are amazing. Sometimes, I rub my head against my cat’s fur to relax,” Ko remarked, nodding her head.
That was obviously the wrong response. Time to reevaluate my options. Could I just stop talking and hope Ko would do the same? Maybe Shan would lend a helping hand. Judging from experience, I doubt that would occur. Fine, no choice, but to continue this conversation.
“I see. How many cats do you own?” I asked.
“Four and a dog, but I’ll be moving into an apartment nearby soon. I don’t know if I can take my cats with me. I’ll really miss them,” Ko replied.
Taking a closer look at Ko, she wore a beanie with a cute cat face design on it. Her love for cats was definitely strong. At least I knew what to get her for a present, if the situation ever arose.
“Yuki, have you ever…,” Ko began.
“Ko, don’t scare her like that. Tomo is traumatized by your exuberant display of affection for cats,” Shan finally joined the conversation.
“Oh, that might have a bit too much. Yuki, how have you liked college so far?” Ko asked, changing the conversation to a more standard topic.
“It’s been tough, I guess,” I answered.
“Hmm, I can definitely understand. Oh, today’s Tuesday! I have work, time to check the bus schedule before I’m late!” Ko realized, taking out her phone.
While she checked her phone, I pulled out my chemistry notes. Although there wasn’t lecture today, I still wanted to review. Shan, at times wrote on his piece of paper.
“I have to get going now! See you tomorrow!” Ko said, waving goodbye.
Shan nodded at her words, writing down numbers on his piece of paper. I felt relieved. Ko was a weird person and I didn’t think I would get used to that for awhile.
“Where does Ko work?” I asked, curious about the type of work a person like her did.
“She’s an assistant advisor at a school somewhere,” Shan revealed.
Well, that was unexpected. I didn’t know Ko too well, but that kind of job didn’t seem to fit her. However, outward appearances were often deceiving. Still, I wondered if her students held the same opinion of her as I did. She was probably more competent during her job. I mean, she had to be, right?
Another school day passed by. I arrived home later than yesterday, after Felicity asked to compare notes. Yukie was already in the kitchen, helping Mom out.
“Yuki, you’re home. I wish you could cook as well as your cousin. It would make life much easier for me, you know?” Mom said.
“Auntie, you shouldn’t be so hard on Yuki. She does what she can,” Yukie defended me, flipping a piece of fish.
“I have to get on her case sometimes. It would be terrible if she can’t cook for herself when she’s finally out of this house,” Mom grinned.
“That’s true. If you ever require assistance in this area, I shall provide it,” Yukie offered up her expertise.
“I appreciate it. Everything looks good,” I said, glancing at the food.
After dinner, I headed up to my room. Friday was a training day. In that case, I needed to take care of any potential homework. Checking the syllabus, there was indeed a chemistry assignment due on Friday. I began working on it, hoping the first week’s assignment wasn’t too hard. I moved away from my computer and then realized I probably had math homework too. I checked the math class syllabus, seeing no homework due on the first week. Oh, what a lucky break. Time to keep going, and see how much more I could finish, before it was eleven.
