||SERAH||

"I still have to type my last of the assignments, Sue," I whine following her as she leads me to their dance studio.

"I promise we shall only be there for at least an hour then we are leaving," she retorts not giving me a chance to dodge her.

It's been three days of dealing with the crazy assignments and my brain feels overwhelmed. It has not been overworked in a while and now all it instructs me to do is go home, have a refreshing bath then sleep off the exhaustion. I doubt that I will even be able to type in the last assignment. If I'm not able to, then I'll have to do it tomorrow. It's a weekend and I have a lot of time before the due date Monday next week. At this point, I passionately hate the lecturers for bombarding us with so many assignments all at once.

"Just so you remember, you are going to help me type it in," I firmly state pointing at her.

"I will," she affirms as we enter the hallway leading to their dance studio.

Knowing her, she will look for excuses to dodge the promised task. It will be a miracle if she helps me with the assignment at all. So I don't bother harboring high expectations despite her positive response. As we approach the studio, booming music hits my ears accompanied by cheerful noises from the rest of the dancers who have already gathered there.

"I still don't know why I am agreeing to this," I grumble as we enter the dance studio.

The toxic energy radiating in the room matches that one from our drama team. People are at all times hyperactive and it keeps us motivated to give our best during rehearsals.

"As I said, we will be here for a maximum of one hour. No more than that, I promise," she says trying to fully convince me.

I'm only doing this because I typically don't want to walk home alone. Otherwise, if I had company I would have left hours ago. She is lucky I love her enough to endure the one-hour wait for her.

"Are you not doing any dancing today?" I thoughtfully ask since they dance daily.

"No, we are not. It's a Friday, remember?" she asks as a matter of factly as we walk towards the corner that has empty locker chairs.

Darn, I forgot. I can't blame my brain though. It was tiring enough to keep such unimportant information. Normally, we don't have active rehearsals on Fridays. That's why I'm following her around instead of being in the drama studio. To Sue, Fridays hit differently as she is always going to some party or hangout.

They give her a distraction. To me, it is no different from any other day. I'm always stuck in my house, lodging on my bed since I can't afford a sofa yet, watching Spanish TV series, and drinking coffee to keep me awake till late. Sue hates this side of me but she understands that I am not an active party girl. Only on occasion.

My neighbors make me feel normal as they too don't often go out on Fridays. If they did, then I would feel like a weirdo or some boring girl who has no social life. Nevertheless, I don't answer Sue's question assuming it is rhetoric.

"Anyway, we are just going to meet our recent choreographer and hear what he has planned for us. After that, we are going to leave," she says.

I don't know their choreographer. However, judging from the university's tendency to hire the best, I will assume he is some iconic figure in the dance industry. I'll not be surprised.

"Okay, fine," I begrudgingly accept taking a seat. "It better not surpass an hour. Otherwise, I will leave you and head home."

"It's a promise," she insists with a raised hand.

She puts her small backpack on the locker chair beside me and walks off to greet her co-dancers. Meanwhile, I get my phone and decide to continue reading a novel I started the day before yesterday. Okay, it's more of a play than a novel from Bertolt Brecht. It's titled The Good Person Of Szechwan.

Forty minutes in waiting, I'm ready to start whining again so that she can let me leave. However, as I am about to call her, something draws attention from the outside. Through the large transparent windows, my eyes land on three gentlemen walking up the studio pavement. Confident and purposeful in their steps. As they walk up, they seem engaged in a serious conversation, probably something to do with dance since that's what they all have in common. Maybe the other obvious one; football. Whichever it is, it doesn't concern me.

I recognize Joseph, the dance team leader. He sometimes hangs out with Sue as they are close. There was a time they constantly hung out I mistook them for a dating couple but, Sue later clarified that they were just friends. I don't recognize the other two but I assume they are the choreographers. As speculated, they do look like iconic figures in the world of dance.

"Guys, guess who is back?!" someone shouts as the three gentlemen walk into the studio.

All of them smile and truth be told, they are worth a cliché drooling. The two unfamiliar guys make Joseph look professional and overly handsome today. He is a little out of his ordinary self. It must be the effect of walking with great people. Greatness slowly travels inside you and you don't realize that until it's deeply etched in you and ready to flourish on the outside.

"Mr. Asahd, the genius choreographer," a dude says cheerfully as he walks to greet the most handsome of the gentlemen.

Asahd, I assume that is his real name, returns his brotherly hug with what I find to be an intoxicating smile. I'm not exaggerating even a tad bit. He can be considered as a real definition of physical beauty. Height-wise, he's approximately six' three. His body is averagely broad and masculine. I'm sure he puts a lot of effort into making sure he keeps his physical perfection constant. Also, I'm pretty sure he has a population of girls either crushing, obsessing, seeking his attention, or even stalking him. It wouldn't come by surprise.

"Hello, guys," he proceeds to greet the rest of the group with a deep baritone.

It's almost embarrassing when I realize that I haven't shamelessly stopped staring and following his every move, busy admiring him. By the end of the day, I might end up joining the so said girl population if I keep staring. Something that's unhealthy for me. The dancers respond with grinning faces and offer their hugs at intervals. It's clear that they all love and appreciate him. That's judging by their jovial mood and open-arms welcoming gesture.

Shamelessly, again, I somehow wish that I was one of them. It would feel nice to even shake his hand leave alone the hug. Seemingly, I'm going crazy as we speak. It's like I am in a daze that someone needs to slap me out of. Then again, if I really was in a daze, I wouldn't comprehend the current events taking place. Which means I'm presently active and doing nothing but drooling over the handsome man.

"My apologies, I am quite late--" he pauses when he sees what seems like a familiar face to him. "Oh, Julia, nice to see you once again," he smirks and the group laughs as if they are sharing an inside joke.

Julia is Sue's classmate. A quite famous dancer and model who has won a few modeling competitions according to her IG account and also here at the university.

"I can't say the same, Asahd," Julia retorts and Asahd heartily laughs while the rest continue with their laughter as well.

It's no doubt that this is an effect of an inside joke. Julia approaches him with a smiling yet pouty face. When she gets to him he pulls her into an endearing hug that has an unexpected, indecipherable, and disturbing feeling inside me. I ignore it since I'm not sure what it means.

"It's nice to see you, really," Asahd affirms as he retreats from the hug.

I need to get out of here before I graduate into a creepy watcher or worse end up crushing on Asahd. It's not so hard with his perfection.

"It's nice to see you too," she remarks with a sweet smile before she joins the rest.

"So, how have you guys been?" Asahd asks continuing with his previous business. Steve, raises his hand as if he wants to say something. "Steve, want to say something?" he asks and Steve nods in response. "Nice."

"Personally, I'm doing great, thank you for asking. I have nothing much to say other than it is relieving to see you here."

"Why is that so?" Asahd asks with a raised brow to show his interest.

"We have three weeks to the festivals and we have nothing in mind that seems to work," Steve responds and everyone in the group mumbles or nods in agreement.

We indeed have three weeks to the festivals. That is limited time considering we officially started rehearsals two days ago. However, it's still much time for a dedicated team. Asahd thoughtfully watches them as he crosses his arms over his chest. A moment later, he smiles and shakes his head before proceeding to speak.

"You mean you guys called me three weeks to the festivals," they nod in response. "You must be very confident in yourselves," he adds.

"We sure are confident in ourselves but we have more confidence in you," Joseph says in a serious tone.

"We have the best choreographer, so we have no stress," Julia chimes in. "We believe in you and we also believe that we are going to get the best for the festivals."

"Okay, I hear you," Asahd humbly smiles.

"It's true," another dude agrees only making him smile more.

"I'm humbled to know that you have so much confidence in me," Asahd states. "Now, on to business. Are you guys ready to bring the trophies back home once again?" he enthusiastically asks.

"Hell, yes!" they respond matching his enthusiasm and bringing back the toxic energy that had drifted off for a while.

"Great. We shall officially start our rehearsals on Monday. Today, I just want to see what you guys have learned so far. Oh, I can see several new faces. Are these the freshmen?" he asks directing his question to Joseph.

"Yeah. We held auditions a week ago and we got them to join us," Joseph responds.

"That's great. Welcome to our great dance team. Hopefully, you will learn and grow into the best dancer versions of yourselves," he says to the freshmen who nod as if in agreement.

"If we are ready, we shall start with you guys," he says referring to the old members. "Later on, I will want to see what the freshmen have got. Everyone okay with that?" he asks and they all nod in response. "Perfect," he utters before proceeding to take a seat on one of the locker chairs by the window.

He places his black leather backpack on the one beside him and then turns to speak to his partner who is already settled for a moment. I don't know why he didn't bother to introduce himself but perhaps he will. As the dancers prepare to stage their dance moves, I take a moment to reflect on whatever just happened. It's at this moment, about twenty minutes later that I have taken my eyes of a single man. Sure I have flipped them severally between the group but mostly my gaze was on him. It's like I got entranced. A wrong move that I need to make sure doesn't happen again. I know better than to crush or fall for someone like him. It always ends in tears and a broken heart.

Feeling out of place, I stand and start walking out. I wave goodbye at Sue and she nods in acknowledgment. It is obvious they will be dancing for a while and I can't stay here waiting. Through my walk, I work hard not to stare at Asahd's direction which I'm gratefully successful at. My phone starts vibrating in my pocket once I step outside. Upon retrieval, my eyes fall on the display to see that it's my mom calling. A smile curves on my lips as I slide on the answer button.

"Mom," I call into the phone as I walk down the walkway towards the central parking lot.

"How are you, dear?" she asks in an excited yet concerned tone.

She always makes a point of calling me every day to check up on me. Some will find it nagging but to me, it only proves how much she loves and cares for me.

"I'm doing fine, mom," I respond stepping into the main drive that leads to the main gate.

"It's nice to know that. I am sorry I haven't sent you any money. Things are not so good here but I will send it once I get a hold of it. In the meantime, your dad will send you the little he has gathered," she apologetically explains.

I called them the other day to let them that I needed addition in my upkeep money. I'm literally going broke but I will endure for the time being until they send me the little they will get. I know it is not easy for them since they are struggling to keep our small fruit store in business. We had to take a lot of money from it last month for my eye treatment and glasses. Then there was the completion of my semester fees. Totally understandable.

"It's okay, mom," I tell her in a soft and understanding tone. "There is no need for pressure, I still have some money left with me," I assure her.

"Thank you for understanding. Have a nice evening," she softly says. "I love you."

"I love you too, mom. Say hi to dad for me."

"I will," she states before hanging up.

Sue was going to be my company on our way home. Now I guess that I'll have to walk on my own. Oh, I can listen to music. I fish in my hoodie pocket, retrieve my earphones, connect them to the phone, and put on music. At least this way, I'll not get bored and the distance won't be long.