Anning after getting home got all frustrated, all of a sudden, and closed her room's door. She was lying on her bed haphazardly, facing the ceiling.
She muttered something under her breathe and ran her hands through her hair, resting them on her temples, while looking above wide- eyed.
She was in a trance, when she suddenly heard a knock on the door. She hurriedly got up, schooled her expression and opened the door.
Her mother was standing there, looking at her with furrowed brows and asked, " What are you doing, locking yourselves as soon as you come home ? And you haven't even changed....."
She waited for Anning's answer.
Anning quickly racked her brain and came up with a futile excuse, " I was going to change, but.... m- my clothes are nowhere to be found. So I was searching for them. Did you gave them for the laundry ?"
Her mom, " No. Look carefully. Always throwing things, without any sense of responsibility. "
Ehh ?! Isn't it too much. Why does it seem like someone have started a fire beforehand.
Then she heard her mother continue, " ....Come and eat after freshening up."
She then goes to set the table. Anning then again closes the door, changes into casual clothes and goes for the lunch.
Everyone has already eaten, only she and her mother was remaining. They both ate together, chatting about her academic progress, studies and the trip.
Distracting herself by doing assignments didn't seem too bad ; and soon the day came.
In these previous two days, Baizhi and Anning were both behaving like same pole of a magnet, always repelling each other.
And in between, Sizi was enjoying herself to the fullest.
Today, all the selected students were to gather in the campus of the college and report to the coordinator , who was professor Qing, to commence the trip.
They were travelling by bus as usually done by schools or colleges. The bus was scheduled in the morning and was already here, that's why everyone has to report themselves early in the morning. Some were still sleepy from the earliness.
Anning has come prepared, bringing all necessities along with the lunch forced on her by her mother.
The guardians were also there, while boarding the bus. Anning's mom bid her goodbye through the window and waited for the engine to start.
Anning somehow felt her mother was holding her tears. And maybe she really was, because her daughter was leaving her care for the very first time and for such a long period. Anning tried her best to make the atmosphere light and forced a smile on her face while distracting her mother from this depressing environment.
Yes, depressing because, everyone has literally started to cry in separation. Some parents were even bothering the teachers to take care of their 'naive' children while on the trip.
Anning literally find these things cringy as hell. Thankfully her mother knows that she doesn't like these and she was the last to bother about crying.
Finally, the bus started moving forward, giving a jerk to the passengers all the while blowing its' horns. Anning, in the process of making the atmosphere light, was caught completely off- guard.
And thus was thrown backwards, most probably....
in someone's ... arms.
But before she could process anything, someone else was thrown into her arms.
Instinctively, she caught the person who was going to fall and almost getting her head bumped against the rod beside the seat for 'keeping the passengers stable'.
That person was also trying to balance herself but because of the sudden crowding, she rather slipped more and held Anning's arm for support, while saying, " I'm so sorry. It's jus....."
Another push,
-which again made them further close, despite of the invisible space left between them.
Anning sensed the discomfort of the person by suddenly getting thrown into someone else's arm and tried to make some distance between them.
The one in her arms raised her head flusteredly, and Anning found herself staring at those familiar peach blossom eyes.
Wait... Wha....
Baizhi !
Hundreds of poppers exploded in her head altogether and she just kept staring at her. All other thoughts just evaporated from her head before even taking any shape.
She kept staring at her face and felt the crowd was suddenly pushing too much and her hands which were keeping the distance, started to loose down and rather curled around Baizhi, such that others couldn't touch her or push her.
Baizhi gazed at Anning wide- eyed as if don't know where to put her hands on.
Embarrassed, she lowered her eyes and kept holding Anning's arms for balance.
And Anning...
She just stared down at her, taking everything like how thick Baizhi's eyelashes are and kept fluttering at every single breathe she takes, how her cheeks went all red till the tip of her ears.
She noticed just how good it is to be taller.
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