"I'm finally here! After thousands sleepless nights, if I may exaggerate here a little, hours of studying, this girl finally got her spot in Havana College. Got my own student house, like, half-free. It's also kinda near the school buildings and that cute cafeteria. Ah, those cute small houses, of course, meant for students only, are extremely hard to get. Especially if you are the first yearer. BUT I freaking got myself one! Have to thank my friend from high school for adding my name on that list just in time. Oh, I was even prepared to sleep outside if I ever get in this school so a single-room-house is just a big fat plus. I, Viola Park, am the luckiest girl in earth right now, at this very moment. Stars are with me this season."
Now that she had almost ended her narration, Viola finally drops her hype mode and shows the widest smile toward her black haired friend, who is calmly sitting across her at the table, staring back at her with this patient look. "It's so cute! Small entrance with a small spot for a living room area like, small kitchen, bathroom and a small bedroom all the way back of the apartment with bed and closet. Mine includes a second TV even!"
"Are you reading your online diary out loud..?" Kina finally sighs, but still shows back a smile. She has already used to Violas habit of talking like a blogger when she's too excited about something. Well, sure, how she wouldn't be excited. Viola has read and writen blogs, like, through her whole life, so she was easy to slip his online character in real life like this. "But I'm glad you got it. You have talk about it non-stop weeks. So, what was the problem? You said 'without one small detail it's perfect'." Kina drinks from her cola. Waiting what this big 'small detail' actually was.
"I think I got myself a stalker..," Viola finally spells it out, dropping her smile, looking dramatically sad.
"Stalker??" Kina repeats loudly. Loudly enough people in cafe place all turn their severe eyes on them. Realizing she must have spoken quite loudly, Kina waves her hand as an apology. Then looks back to Viola. "Should I move in with you? I can beat his ass!" Supporting her words, she touches her arm muscle, like showing she was the stronger one of them.
"No no no, there was some other guy who scared him away. Some in the same neigborhood, I think," Viola rushes to explain. "But it was kinda scary. That weirdo just pop up from nowhere at my door and didn't say anything even when I talk to him. He only left when that other guy came near and asked what his business there was."
"Wow, that's creepy. But if it was just a one-time-thing.."
"Yeah. I was.. just shocked," Viola smiles then, showing she was now totally over what happened back then. "Nothing REALLY to worry. Cause, you know.. I GOT IN!!"
"We should celebrate! Me getting in my choise of school and you in yours!" Kina clears and stands up, holding her cola like a trophy. "Let's go to Kines!"
- - - -
Two weeks later Viola had settled down completely. After actually moving in her small student-apartment in the house area, everything was going fine. Getting used to the area she would be staying the next school year, getting used to the school practices and moving his last stuffs in. Now, finally, the actual studying in classes started. And not in easy way, as Viola naively expected. Over all it was a miracle she even got in here; she really wasn't a bookworm as students in this very college 'kind of were supposed to be'. Viola likes challenging herself. Likes studying. Really. But her mind is normally so full of everything else than seriously trying to learn something new. She knew she lack of self-control with that issue. So 'study hard and get the best results you can possible get'. That should be her motto from now on.
After finnishing her morning routines in, Viola steps outside and stretches her arms. Sun is shining so brightly it doesn't feel like it's past the summer already. It's still warm out here. Just waiting these last signs of fall to take a hold on the weather totally.
At the same moment Viola lets a deep breathe flee out her mouth, she could spot this figure from the corner of her eye. Someone is sitting on the neigbors terrace, smoking, head down leaning on his hand. Fastly she turns to look at the guy, who clearly wasn't feeling so energy this morning.
"Well someone has a shitty morning..," Viola speaks quietly, smiling, thinking other can't possible hear her. But then guy raises his head. Looks back at her. He definitely could hear her words.
Kind of like panicking after realizing this guy actually catch her words, Viola waves her hand. Sometimes she was just too honest with her thoughts, even speaking them out without thinking. She has to clear herself! "Sorry. I was still awake when you came back last night. Or, your friend had to carry you in so I'm not sure were you..," Viola cuts her words when she realizes she's yakking again while remembering last nights scene. Was she just bothering the other?? "Are you ok? Need some medicine? For your hangover? You have one? Or... not?" Guy doesn't say anything. Just calmly keeps staring at her. Clearly having this annoyed look on his face. "I'm sorry. I need to go. Now," Viola takes a U and runs back inside, takes her school bag and then leaves through her front door without looking toward the guy anymore.
"Damn, I should learn to keep my mouth shut once in a while," she sighs while rushing her steps toward the school buildings. Her neighbor might now think she is some kind of weirdo, stalking her neighbors doings. That she is not! She just happened to be awake last night! Not! Her! Fault!
- - -
"Viola! Over here!" Kina is waving at her, has got a table for them, close to windows.
After hearing her friends voice, Viola gives a wide smile back and heads toward these two girls sitting inside the school cafeteria, both holding their lattes. "Good morning," Viola happily greets while sitting down, looking now the blonde girl who she hasn't seen a while. "Layla. How is it going?"
Layla is the same age as Viola and Kina, a medicine alumna as her formal studing tag. You could say it was kind of her destiny to get in the medical field sinde her family all work or have worked in the field way or other. When Viola was aiming to the media field, as simple as that, Kina was aiming to be a professional fashion league, as how she called it; she was only interested in styling and want to be a professional make-up artist one day, already having multiple tutorial videos around IG and UTube, having skills but still lacking some professional touch. Her school is near this very school Viola and Layla were in. Actually almost across the street, in the same area, just a totally different college. These three know each other all the way from their middle school. And it was quite fortunate they all decided to aim to the same neighborhood colleges. Kina got in the Susil College, Viola and Layla were now in Havana College.
Layla monkeys her phone, only glancing toward Viola once as a greet. She is clearly looking somehow annoyed. Or bothered. "Good. Just dumbed one of my best friends."
That wasn't how Viola assume her friend to say the very first thing, so she felt quite abashed after hearing her words. "Ha?"
"Remember the guy she talk about earlier," Kina immediately clears out, being the one who already was aware what's going on. "Her childhood friend from her hometown?"
"Kina, I'm upset, not mute," Layla tsihs back. She might feel moody right now, but she doesn't need another person to explain her. "I wanted to get in the same school as he, sure. But now, suddenly, he confessed his feelings for me and... I don't know! He said he likes me but I have never felt the same way. At least not anymore. Maybe.."
"Ha..?" Viola mumbles.
"So she dumbed him," Kina explains when she thought Layla took too many seconds to not answer. "And now she fears she lost him for good."
Now Viola shows this relaxed smile. She has used to think simple, so she finds this dilemma as simple as that; nonsense. Nothing to fuss about. "Hey, aren't you already pass that teen-feelings stuff? Seriously, if your feelings are not mutual then you both can just move on. Why your friendship should suffer from that?"
Kina and Layla were both looking at her. Yeah, this was defintely how Viola was seeing the world. Simple. Clear. No actual worries what so ever. "....We are eighteen.. We are teens..," Kina has to speak out, trying to clear they indeed have reasons to act through their feelings rather than through pure sense. It's, like, their thing.
"We have a wrong person here to talk tricky topics as this..," Layla sighs out.
"Ha!? So I'm wrong?"
"No..," Layla corrects smiling. "You are not wrong. True. I told him how things are and.. well he didn't say anything more. Just 'Ok'."
"'Ok' is not 'ok'!! Point is if you cross the friend-line there is no turning back!" Kina yells. Once again people around them were looking at them, begging some manners.
"Maybe he just needs some time to erase his feelings and then he's fine. Aren't guys easy like that anyway," Viola wonders, smiling, not really thinking too much of it. "Dad always says we girls are the ones making everything too complicated. Guys are simple."
"True. Give him time," Kina agrees. And fastly changes the topic. "So, you two have time after school activities? I was planning head to the mall. Care to join me?"
"I have to work today," Layla gives her negative answers.
"I should find a job..," Viola sighs. And realizes she has no energy for such today. "So I'm definitely free.."
"Cool! Draw me a map to your house. I will pick you up and check that house of yours."
- - -
"It should be somewhere here..," Kina mumbles while walking around the streets where all these small houses located. Every small house looked exactly the same to her, so she was close to lose her way. "After a turn, a second house from the left..? This should.. probably be it. But..," Kina is standing near one of the houses, staring this weird man crouching in front of the window on the side of the house, like searching something from the ground or cleaning windows. "It's not this.. Am I lost..?" She should just ask the right direction. "Emm, excuse me..," Kina opens his mouth and waves to the man. But suddenly this man jumps up and simple runs away, leaving Kina freezed on the spot. "Ha??"
"Kina?" The girl opening the door and waving to her is non other than Viola, looking happy to see her. No idea about her guest who just ran off. "You made it!"
But Kina takes her time to answer, when she was just trying to make sense what she just witnessed. She looked confused. Then finally she yells. "OMG was that your stalker!?"
"WHAT!" Viola runs out, looking around, trying to catch someone on her eyes. "Was that weirdo here again?"
"The pale, skinny man," Kina explains while waving her hands. After witnessing it herself she felt kind of shocked, realizing this stalker situation might be actually quite serious. "He was just standing in front of your window. That's it! I'm calling someone.."
"That's scary," Viola sighs, already overthinking how her school life would be basically over now. "And I finally settled down nicely.. Do I have to move..?"
"NO! You are not going anywhere. That freak is," Kina says back, not letting other fall to despair. "I'm gonna stay with you until the guards will find out who that pervert is. You have a number or do I call cops??" While raising her voice and making her solo scene she realizes someone was standing in front of the house next to Viola's house, looking toward them. "Oh, he is your neighbor?"
Viola turns her look toward the guy. Immediately showing an apologizing smile. "Sorry, were we too noisy?" she takes a hold of Kina's arm and pulls her inside her house, whispering the rest of her words. "He must have a bad hangover, I bet. So let's not disturb him more.. And, maybe that stalker got scared when you caught him in act. He learnt his lesson. Let's not over react. We don't need cops.."
"You are too optimistic," Kina shakes her head, already checking the place out. "If nothing else then we should at least get you a guard dog."
"Pets are not allowed.."
A guy next door is calmly eyeing girls while they walk around the house, loudly talking and going through their incredible stupid sounding plans against the stalker if he will show up again. He lights his cigarette and turns his eyes back forward. "Stalker, ha?"
- - - -
Viola ja Kina were sitting inside Viola's house, eyes on the TV screen, laughing. The day has already turned to evening. Since it was dark outside, their plan was to keep the outlight on the whole night so they could catch their stalker more easier. But really they weren't so into it anymore, guarding what is going on outside. The game they were playing was more interesting so they kind of forget the whole deal for now while having so much fun.
"You know, you found a very wrong place to play these sick hobbies of yours," the black haired guy calmly states out loud after kneeing slowly down next to the older man, whose actions haven't gone unnoticed from him. Man was taking a video with his phone. Of these two girls sitting inside. Taken through the window. While man hides in the bushes.
When man understood he wasn't alone, he fastly moves his look toward the other, trying to hide his phone immediately, seacrhing words to talk back. But the younger is faster. He grabs the phone from mans hold, straightens his back and jumps back, taking the phone out of others reach. "No need to play hard to get. I already have your number. Your whole phone, to be precise," guy shakes the phone gently, smiling, letting the video keep going, making sure mans face gets clearly on tape.
"No, I didn't.."
Younger sighs. There was no way man could simple talk himself out of this. "This is not your house. And it's freaking creepy to see someone in your position to peek young girls like this," guy keeps, searching his own phone, making a phone call. "I got you on video, so let's just end this, shall we."
- - -
"That was one fun sleep-over party," Kina sighs and jumps out of the door, welcoming this new morning with a wide smile. Viola is walking behind her, turns to lock the door.
"Can you call it a party with just two members in?" Viola smiles, still feeling a little tired, like she hasn't even totally woken up yet. "Come on, let's go. I'm almost late. The first lecture is starting soon."
But Kina is kind of ignoring her words when she sees that handsome neighbor standing outside in front of his own front door again, this time smoking and having his morning coffee with him. Looking like he too just woke up himself. "Good morning!" Kina loudly greets and waves her hand. No shame whatsoever.
Her loud voice does the trick. Guy looks back at them. And politely answers with a smile. "Good morning." But then his phone starts to ring and he turns his focus on it.
"Good morning," Viola speaks quietly, feeling beaten since she totally missed her first real chance to greet her neighbor normally.
Being totally clueless about others inner emotional fight, Kina is already moving ahead, forcing Viola rush her steps to catch up with her. "What kind of lecture is it, making you so excited?"
"I'm really not excited. It's about architecture or something. I don't understand it at all! It's part of my obligatory studies so I have to be present to pass..," Viola explains, already knowing how her brains will just stop functioning the moment their teacher starts speaking. She was a poor auditory learner.
But Kina sees only opportunities here. "Sounds fun. I have time before my first class. Can I came in??"
- - -
Not that long later the lecture is about to start. After making sure about a hundred times Kina really wanted to come in voluntarily, Viola and Kina were now both sitting in the middle of the auditorium, waiting with the rest of the students. To kill some time, Kina is going through Violas textbook, while Viola uses her laptop.
"They still use real books? I don't understand any of this..," Kina says while trying to make sense of the very subject. "Thank god I didn't want to become a journalist like you."
Viole hums back, totally agreeing. "It's part of my college studies. I'm not even sure do I wanna be a journalist or designer or what."
"The world is all open to us!" other calls, trying to give some positive energy to her friend there. "But I'm not a fan of this kind of lecture sittings. When it's gonna start??"
"It's late. About ten minutes..," Viola takes her phone from the level in front her, checking the time. "I'm wondering what is taking so long."
"I heard the original teacher, Professor Hanmer, is in sick leave so there was a new substitute instead," the guy sitting in front of them turns to look at them, smiling. There was no way people around them weren't aware of their presence, mostly because Kina was a pretty noisy girl.
"The sub is that pervert!" girl next to the guy clears, clearly having some personal experience since the look on her face was full of spite. "He got in girls locker room last week. 'Accidentally'."
"Is this school full of perverts?" Viola sighs.
"Maybe it's the same man as your stalker," Kina smirks, not really believing so but still making a point. "If so we should embarrass him right here and now!"
But just before Viola is about to say something back, someone opens the front door and lets himself in. The small talk slowly calms down while this shockingly young looking man steps on the teachers area in front, dropping a pile of papers to table. Finally he turns his look toward the students, eyeing how many there actually were to take this lecture. "Good morning all, please sit still so we can start," guy finally speaks with loud and clear voice. Now that aura made it clear he was here to teach.
"Wait, isn't that..," Kina whispers, taking a better look at the person in front of them.
"As some of you must know, Professor Hanmer is sick or pretends to be so we ain't gonna enjoy his presence for a while. The substitute they found was a scamp and are not here anymore. Sadly, I was the only stupid one to answer the call so they got a substitute's substitute," guy answers those unspoken questions while quickly writing his name on the large whiteboard behind the teachers desk. "My name is Maxi Wahn. Nice to meet you all. This is the book you need," Maxi raises this blue covered book people to see. "Today I'm trying to introduce you to the subject as simple as possible so please bear with me. Next time I will have something more organised. Any questions?"
"Isn't that your neighbor?" Kina quietly asks excitedly, smiling, now looking Violas surprised reaction.
"I think it is..?"
- - -
A few days later Viola is walking home while reading one of her study books, listening some music. When she gets closer to her house, she could immediately spot her neighbor lying on his sunchair in front of his house. Guy was clearly sleeping, having a small grey colored cat relaxing on his chest. This sight freezes Viola, she isn't sure how to react. Because this whole situation was just way too cute to ignore.
After getting more closer, Viola carefully searches her phone and takes a picture. Showing a satisfied smile after checking out if the photo came out good, she quietly goes in her house. She doesn't want to scare the cat away. Or disturb this sleeping guy. Maxi, was it? That's a strong sounding name. But still kind of cute.
While she was conscientiously studying, at least trying for the record, Viola occasionally kept looking out the window to follow this cute moment outside which was getting even more and more bizarre. Another grey cat has found his resting place on Maxis chair, lying halfly on his other leg. Guy himself is still deeply sleeping, clearly, according how unaware he seem to be about his sleeping buddies.
But soon this fun picture is about to shatter. Viola witnesses how Maxi finally moves his body a little and yawns while stretching his arms. "Damn heavy..," Maxi mumbles and opens his eyes, moves his head up a little. His eyes meet with these two cats who were staring back. All of them just freeze for a second. Until young man curses. "Hey! I'm not your bed! Geh weg!" Maxi tsihs while he pushs himself up to shit. Cats immediately run off, both on their own way, leaving this humanbed behind. After Maxi catch up with the reality and is finally woken properly up, he yawns again, holding this annoyed look on his face. "Whatta hell, whos pets are you..? Pets are not allowed.."
Girls cheerful laughing is what stonishs him next. Maxis neighbor was now standing at her doorway, phone on her hand, smiling to him. "That just made my day. Hilarious."
"You took pictures but didn't save me..?" Maxi clicks his tongue to this unhumorous situation while laying back down. "Modern youths have no manners."
"How old you think you are..," Viola snaps back. She walks closer, knees down next to Maxi's chair and shows the latest photo in her phone. Making other drop his mood. "Cute, right?"
"It.. is a good picture," Maxi has to admit.
Girl shows the other photo from earlier. "Right? They were so calm with you. I though they were your cats."
Suddenly Maxi takes her phone with a fast move. "Send 'em to me."
"Hey!" Viola yells, trying to get her phone back.
"Just a second..," but Maxi doesn't give up. He has added his number in and now sending the photos to himself though oXiTalk. After that he gives the phone back while searching his own from his pocket. "Gonna use one as my phones background." Phone rings. He has just received the cat photos.
Finally guy shows a smile out. He was visibly in a good mood suddenly. Viola sighs and knees back down, eyeing the guy who is still using his phone, probably really changing his phones background. "Hey, we have been living next to each other a while but haven't really introduced ourselfs. I'm Viola."
"I know. Viola Park. Where it's from? Viola? Runs in your family?" Maxi smilingly turns his look to meet with hers.
"It's weird, I know," Viola sighs, thinking Maxi must be teasing her now. "It's a flower name.."
"Flower name? I was thinking Shakespeare first..," Maxi clears his thoughts. "And, it's not weird. It's a pretty name. Suits you."
Wow, Viola wasn't sure how to handle this quite straight praise. Was he hitting on her? Or just being boldly honest, not thinking too much? "You are Maxi, right? I'm actually participating your lecture. Don't understand a thing but at least sitting still. I thought you were a student as well. Not someone teaching.."
"Well you are not wrong, I am a student, second year," guy smirks and moves his eyes back on his phone. "And don't you worry. Even if architecture is not your thing, it really doesn't matter. Hours in are all you need to pass." Maxi yawns again, putting his phone back in his pocket. The changing of his background was success, leaving him satisfied.
Viola hums, smiling. "So, I gotta get back to study," she says then, getting up. "I can't act as carefree as you, 'mr teacher'. Oh, but before I forgot.. I haven't thank you yet. Wasn't it you who dealed with that stalker the day I first moved in..? Told him to scram? Thank you."
"Ah, him. Yeah. He shouldn't be a problem anymore. So don't worry about him either," Maxi clears, moving back down to l, closing his eyes.
Once again, Viola hums as a yes. She hasn't seen that stalker ever since the day Kina caught him red-handed. So he really must be gone now. "Good night or sleep or what ever this lazing is," Viola snorts and waves her hand. "I go now. See you again."
"See you. Good studying."