Just Get Through Today, Pt. 2

Our next class is chemistry. Same building, different floor, and somehow it still feels like an uphill trek.

Koga was the first to groan as we entered the lecture hall.

"Man, thank god Chiaki isn't in this class. I don't think I could've handled another one of her post-rejection pep talks."

"Dude, chill," I said, half-laughing, half-exhausted.

He raised an eyebrow at me, like he was trying to read my soul.

"I am chill. That was me being chill."

I rolled my eyes and found our usual seats near the back. We always sat there — close enough to hear the professor, far enough to disappear if needed.

Still, as much as I told him to drop it, I couldn't help but agree.

He's not wrong.

I didn't have it in me to sit through another class pretending everything was normal. Pretending I was normal. Chemistry might not be fun, but at least it came with a Chiaki-free environment. A full fifty minutes where I didn't have to put on a fake smile and pretend I wasn't still replaying every word she said in my head.

So yeah, maybe I was glad she wasn't here, too.

Even if I couldn't say it out loud.

Just as we were getting settled, the professor strolled in with a stack of papers that could only mean one thing. The second he reached the podium, he clapped his hands once — loud, sharp, decisive.

"Alright, everyone. Hope you all had time to study the material from yesterday's lecture, for today... we have a surprise quiz."

Koga and I froze like statues, eyes locked forward. No expressions. No reactions. Just blank stares and a deafening silence between us.

Inside, however, we were both screaming.

Koga leaned in close and whispered, still not moving his lips. "Did you study?"

I slowly turned to him, equally deadpan.

"Bro. I got rejected last night. What do you think?"

"Right. Okay. Valid."

We both stared ahead again.

Another long silence.

Then, simultaneously, we exhaled the kind of soul-crushing sigh that only truly defeated college students could produce.

"Guess we die here," Koga muttered.

I nodded solemnly.

"I'll see you on the other side."

The professor began handing out the quizzes row by row. Each paper placed onto a desk sounded like the toll of a funeral bell. When mine finally slid in front of me, I picked up my pen with the air of a soldier preparing for a losing battle.

This is it. Calculus class was merely a warm-up. This… This is now war.

With the solemn resolve of a man signing his own death certificate, I reached for the top corner of the quiz.

My fingers trembled.

I flipped the paper over.

The next second, Koga and I sat in complete silence at one of the tables inside the campus café.

Slumped. Lifeless. Our souls thoroughly evacuated from our bodies.

The drinks sat untouched. A sad little jazz track played softly over the speakers, as if the universe was mocking us with the soundtrack of despair.

We didn't say a word. Didn't need to. Our eyes stared off into the void, like two traumatized veterans who had seen too much.

Today... We had lost the war.

Koga leaned back and exhaled the breath of a man thirty years older than he actually was.

"Why was question fourteen written like a riddle from the Riddler himself?"

I just stared at the ceiling and whispered, "Dude... I didn't even make it to question fourteen. And how many questions were there?"

"Thirty..."

A long silence followed.

Then, finally, Koga nodded. "We're gonna fail this semester."

I nodded back.

"Absolutely."

Suddenly, a voice called out our names. "Ah! Koga! Taka! There you are! Why aren't you guys... reading the... g-group chat...?"

We both turned to see a girl standing there. Thankfully, it wasn't Chiaki this time.

"Oh. Hey, Yue..." I mumbled lifelessly.

"How's it going, love?" Koga struggled to say.

Yue raised a brow.

"...What the hell happened to you guys?"

We gave her the brief rundown of how our day went. First, the encounter with Chiaki, which explained my mood. Then the chemistry quiz, which kind of sealed the deal for both of us.

"Seriously?" she sighed. "The hell were you two doing yesterday, jerking each other off?"

"Hey, man. I got rejected. Not only that, she also told me she was seeing someone else. Spare me a little."

"Fair. And you, Koga?"

"Ahaha... W-well, you see... I was being a good friend and comforting my boy, Taka! Right?"

"I'm pretty sure you were asleep when I messaged you about it."

"H-hey!"

Yue snatched Koga by the ear, forcing a yelp out of him.

"So you lied to me," she muttered.

"W-wait! Let me explain!"

I watched as they went back and forth like a newlywed couple. Koga was desperately trying to appease her while she sat with her arms crossed, facing away.

Yue is a long-time friend of mine and Koga's girlfriend. We met each other way back in middle school. Come to think of it, Chiaki was also a part of that little clique. We were kind of like our own clique until high school, where Chiaki started distancing herself from Koga and Yue. Never knew why, but I was blinded by love at the time, so I ignored it.

What a mistake.

Once the chaos between Koga and Yue died down, we finally found a moment of peace. Well... relatively speaking.

Yue grabbed Koga's iced latte and took a sip, then glanced at me with a look that said she'd been holding something in.

"So~" she started, dragging out the word. "You gonna tell me how it went down? With Chiaki, I mean."

"Same way it always goes down. I ask her out, and she rejects me. This time, though... She said she's into someone else. And that she still wants to be friends, of course."

Yue's face twisted into a grimace. She clicked her tongue in the way she always does when she's disappointed but trying not to say something too harsh.

"Ugh... So even college couldn't change her. No, actually... I think it made her worse."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

She crossed her arms, eyes narrowing just slightly.

"Don't you remember? Back in middle school, Chiaki and I were inseparable. I thought we were gonna be friends for life. But then high school happened... and she started chasing that popular girl status. Wanted to hang out with girls who wore makeup to gym class and guys who think they're all that."

"Hah. Didn't know you held that much in."

"I don't usually care. People grow up, you know? But with Chiaki, it wasn't growth. It was just... pretending to be someone she wasn't. Like she was embarrassed by who she used to be and actively tried to bury that side of herself. She even stopped talking to Koga for some reason. And you— well... You were the only one she still kept around."

"Yeah. I figured I was the exception."

"You weren't," she said flatly, her voice softened only by sympathy. "You were just convenient."

That one stung a bit, but deep down, I knew she was right. Looking back on it, I was always there for her. Whenever she didn't wanna be alone or when she needed a shoulder to cry on. Even then, she never saw me. Instead, she turned to some other good-looking guy whom she'd never even spoken to.

"Sorry for spilling the cold water on you like this, Taka, but I'm pissed off right now. I was never a fan of the way she treated you like you were the second option. For your sake, I never said anything, but it's different now. We're grown ass adults, and she's still keeping up with her childish behavior."

Yue glanced out the window, watching the bustling courtyard.

"Sure, she didn't mean to hurt you... but that doesn't mean she didn't. And now, she's acting like nothing's wrong and still trying to keep you next to her just for you to get hurt again. Uh-uh, nope. I ain't gonna stand by and watch that shit happen anymore."

Koga, surprisingly, didn't chime in. He just quietly placed his hand on my shoulder in the most uncharacteristically supportive gesture he's ever made.

"Yeah. I get it," I finally said. "And thanks, Yue. I really appreciate you."

"Always, man. Anyway, enough about her. I say we plan a fun night to reset your emotional karma. Drinks, food, maybe karaoke?"

"I'm in," Koga said, already perking up.

Yue pointed at me.

"And you, broody boy. You don't get to say no."

I gave her a small smirk.

"Not like I have plans anyway."

"Good. It's settled then."

We clinked our drinks together like a deal had been made. No more talk of Chiaki. At least for now.