"Hi, it's Rose." She quickly glances at Silas, he was looking at Liam the whole time he was standing but he moves his eyes as she stands and starts flipping the page of a book he has been holding.
"Hey, Rose."
"I don't know what I'll be pointing at exactly. So please be patient with me."
"Sure."
"So, as Liam was saying, whether it matters to have little experience on your resume or not…"
"I have already answered his question. If you're referring to the same…."
"It's not the same actually. So I've tried applying for some clubs and associations, they have interviewed me and stuff you know. Every single one of them pointed out that I've been president at three high school clubs and I have never been called again. I'm in no doubt that I have shown them enough confidence that I can do the job. I'm confused with the whole situation." Rose breathes finally. Now, everyone is looking at her once again. Except Silas. He whispers something into the guy sitting next to her, then stands up, and without looking anywhere he leaves the room. Rose feels extremely annoyed. She is embarrassed as well. Ethan finally speaks, his voice is soft and calm, "Rose, see here, actually I'm afraid if I really have any answer for your concern. I'm not saying you're not qualified or anything but there could be more qualified people who might have more vision to work with the club. I'm no place to talk. But I really wish you good luck, some clubs are still recruiting members, you can try them. Also, you may want to wait a few days, sometimes the clubs have a hard time choosing executive members. And HBSA would like to welcome you if you show us enough dedication to your passion. We'll open our application to join the HBSA soon. I really hope to see you there."
Rose sits down and quietly asks her friend, "Ann, please tell me that I just didn't embarrass myself."
"Of course you did not. You asked the right thing. Everyone has to know that you are too brilliant to be kept up alone."
"Did you see Silas leaving?"
"Yea, I did." Seeing where this is going, Ann relaxes her posture, "And it has nothing to do with your question. I promise. Cute, handsome guys can be grumpy sometimes to show off."
"He looked annoyed."
"You don't have to observe him, Rose. Maybe he has work to do or a call to make or…. or… look he is back." As Ann informs, Rose looks at him and they make a second eye contact, he immediately looks down.
The session ends after 30 minutes. It's 7 pm already. Rose gets on the public bus, it's empty today, she's the only one. She asks the driver, "Is there something wrong? You have no passengers."
"There will be a storm coming at any moment now. There's no people. Hope some will get on at the next stop"
There's a knock on the bus door, the door opens, Rose sees Silas coming up. She tries giving him a half smile and he looks away within a second. She feels her cheeks heated up quickly. She is frustrated and mad with him. He has been acting totally moody since the day after orientation. He sits on the next row of Rose. Rose sees him taking out the headphone from his bag. She pulls out the unfinished book and starts reading.
On the 3rd stop, some drunk guys hops in, they are all wet. They're eyeing everyone. Before Rose could see any of them getting in, someone sits beside her. She turns to look and finds Silas beside her. She jerks off her head and looks ahead and sees the drunk guys. They look young. As she opens her mouth to speak Silas says, "I didn't want any of those sitting next to me."
"Oh." Rose utters.
After 2 stops, Rose says,. "Isn't this your stop? Why aren't you getting off?"
"How do you know that it's my stop?" Silas asks, furrowing eyebrows.
"Cause we take the same transport." Rose eyes him suspiciously.
"Oh, yes." He shrugs a little, "I have some work to do. And your stop?"
"After two stops." Rose replies.
"Wow, I'm getting off there too."
"Shouldn't you be just at home? It's raining hard." Rose regrets saying this, she doesn't mind if he gets stuck in the zone.
"Yea I know. It won't be late. Anyway, Is your house far from there?"
"No. One minute by walking."
Silas' posture is relaxed now. He asks again, "So why were you standing on my stop that day when I was with Tyler?" My Stop hits Rose's head. "What is he thinking? Is he asking whether I was waiting for him?" Rose feels intensely weird at the moment. She's super concerned now whether Silas is suffering from multiple personality disorder. He's talking to her as if he hasn't been ignoring her the whole day. She finally replies, "I was waiting for Wayne. He wanted to go with me on the first day. He's always meant to be late. So….yes."
"Got it." He replies.