Tell Me Again, My Love

But it was empty of Jeremy"s car.

She pursed her lips but was not angry or frustrated. Once she was done checking her messages, she put the phone back into the pocket and searched for a seat to sit. She did not want to go to the cafeteria, knowing how many would rush there for lunch. Also the library. No. Better look a place empty of people so she could eat her lunch in peace.

She found a suitable spot right underneath a tree. No one else was there.

She sat on the huge root and took out the paper bag of the fast-food Jeremy bought for her this morning. A wide smile curled on her lips as she arranged four burgers on top of the paper bag. The packets of ketchup provided were littering around the burgers. There were no French fries left. She ate them all this morning.

As she was about to take the first bite, her phone rang. She frowned.

"Who is this ruining my lunchtime?" she groaned as she put down the uneaten burger and reached for one of the tissue papers provided to wipe her hand. Then, she reached for her phone and looked at the screen. It was from Jeremy.

"h.e.l.lo, J," she greeted.

"Babe, I"m sorry I wasn"t able to meet you. I"m still in the office. I just realize the time not a minute ago," he apologized profusely.

"It"s okay. You should focus on your work," she replied. Truthfully she did not mind he was not here accompanying her for lunch. She knew how busy he was dealing with everything and did not want to be the reason he ignored his tremendous work.

"I"m on the way. I"m in front of the elevator," he said, tapping his foot impatiently for the door to open the door quickly. It was not quick enough for him. Time was running out and the elevator seemed to take its own sweet time to go up to his floor.

"It"s okay. I am having my lunch right now. You don"t have to come. Once I"ve finished my meal, I will start revising the note. You should have your lunch. You can"t skip any meal just to get here and accompany me," she told him. She knew how stubborn he could be and tried hard to change his mind.

"But…"

"Jeremy, listen to me. It"s okay. You don"t have to come. Go and have your meal. In fact, I can go home by myself. You just focus on your work. Don"t skip your work because of me. I don"t like it," she said rather firmly, hoping this time it could go through his thick head. But she had no confidence actually. He was more than stubborn once he decided on something.

"But…"

"I want to eat now. Talk to you later after I go home. Bye," she no longer has the mood to talk with him. She quickly ended the conversation and dropped the phone beside her burgers. She reached for her uneaten burger, the one she already unwrapped and about to eat before the phone call, and took a huge bite.

It was already cold but still delicious. She closed her eyes and let out a moan. So delicious. So good. If only this fast-food brand would take her as their amba.s.sador so she could eat them every single day without the need to spend any money. She devoured the burgers happily while planning to inform Mei Li to find a chance to get this brand.

She finished all four burgers in no time. She washed them all down her throat with a huge bottle of water. Her stomach was full and she was happy.

Now it was time to go fresh herself a little bit at the washroom before she started to do a quick revision before the second paper of the day started. She threw the paper bag into the wastebasket and skipped happily toward the building, heading toward the female washroom.

She just finished wetting her face with the cold water to freshen herself and stood up, only to realize a group of girls surrounding her. She groaned under her breath. What now? Couldn"t they find another appropriate time to do this? They were in the middle of the exam, for G.o.d sake!

"What do you want, Irene?" she asked, turning around to look at the leader of the girls, Irene. She knew this girl was the one leading the others to surround her. What did they want now?

"What is your relations.h.i.+p with Jeremy? The Jeremy?" Irene stressed his name, crossing her arms angrily.

"Can we talk about this after the exam? Don"t you all need to do last minute revision for the next paper?" Ryn asked back, crossing her arms as well.

"You…" Irene pointed a trembling finger at Ryn. How dare this girl retort back to her.

"We have about an hour more before it starts. I don"t know about you all but I do need the extra time to read," Ryn said, frowning.

The girls, except for Irene, checked the time on their phone and gasped. They needed to do the last-minute reading before the exam. This subject was taught by Ms Magnolia, the strict and very grumpy lecturer. They did not want to get low marks and have to repeat her paper again next semester. No... no... no...

"Irene, maybe we should..." the girls all looked at Irene for permission. Time was running out.

Irene glared at them. Why would they be so afraid of one paper? As long as they could score other subjects, they could get a good grade in the end. Besides, she already promised them that they could all have industrial training at her father"s company. So why should they be afraid?

"Irene, please," Rebecca begged. She did not agree with this ambush but everyone else was afraid to say no to Irene. Truthfully, she had no idea why they were looking for Ryn. She was not there when Irene and the girls b.u.mped into Jeremy and they did not tell her about the meeting. She went to her hometown and only came back yesterday, just right on time for the first paper. Hence, she was a bit confused.

"Irene," the other girl cried.

Ryn watched as Irene"s face was filled with frustration and anger. She hid a grin when after five minutes struggling internally, Irene finally let out a groan and stormed out of the bathroom. The girls quickly followed. All but Rebecca.

"I"m sorry. She"s having her period," Rebecca apologized and quickly followed behind the rest.

"How long are you going to be a follower, Rebecca? Don"t you have your own thought and feeling?" Ryn asked.

Rebecca stopped but she did not turn around nor answer Ryn. Five seconds later Rebecca continued her walk, acting like she did not hear anything.

Ryn shook her head in bemused. She could see the struggle in Rebecca but knew Rebecca was still not ready to face this. She was still used for being a follower.

Ryn shrugged the thought off and went outside. She still needed to read the notes Jeremy prepared last night. She did not want to fail this paper and repeat the subject next semester. She was ready for industrial training. Unlike her other cla.s.smates, she only has this semester to study on the campus. Next semester she could start her training and then she could graduate. All was thanks to the first and second semester when she took more than her other coursemates. It was a struggle but she managed to score better than she thought. Hence, this semester she only needed to take the few subjects left, well, including the horrifying Ms Magnolia"s subject. She deliberately left Ms Magnolia subject to last after hearing so many stories about her cla.s.s. In short, even though she could be considered as Harry"s junior based on the time she started studying here, she would graduate at the same time as him. And she did not think it was important enough to tell him the news. Which was why he thought he would lend her his notes for the subjects she would take next semester.

She saw some of her cla.s.smates were already gathering in front of the hall. Their focus was on their notes. Those who were chatting was actually discussing about the subject. Everyone was so serious of their revision, none of them even noticed Ryn joining their "club".

Ryn found an empty s.p.a.ce to study. She rested her back against the wall and quickly took out the note Jeremy gave her. She ignored the glare coming from Irene. Every second counted. She could not waste any of these seconds just to stoop to Irene"s childish behaviour. Nothing was more important than memorising the keynotes. Jeremy told her that she could score once she memorized everything.

It felt like five minutes of reading before her alarm made a sound, signalling her it was time to go into the hall. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. Why was the time flying so fast? She did not think she memorized enough to answer the paper! Oh no, what should she do now?

She wanted to read more but everyone was walking into the hall. She sighed and put the notes into her bag. Her shoulders slumped down as she followed the rest. She felt like crying. She felt like she would fail this paper. She did not think she could answer the questions. Oh no, what should she do now? 

Did this mean she would retake this subject next semester and postpone her training? Which mean she would only graduate next year? No... no... no... she did not want to repeat this subject again.