A New Chance

I trudged into the professor’s office and looked him dead in the eye. He had lost most of his brown hair and had a white shirt on with black trousers.

“May I come in?” I asked.

He furrowed his eyebrows and stared at the floor.

“Yes. What happened was unfortunate, but you should apply to the department with your medical records. I hope you’ll be able to make up the exam,” he said.

I handed him the photocopied documents with a shaking hand, which was the one unscathed.

“I was hoping to drop the semester,” I said.

Gulping hard, I blinked a few times as he took the documents, but he was only staring at my bandaged hand.

“Drop the semester? Arisa, you should contact the support centre first.”

“Alright. I’ll try. Goodbye.”

“So soon? Bye, Arisa.”

Checking my watch, I walked out and went down the lift. My stomach felt hollow, so I took a right turn and went to the nearest cafe.

It was bustling with the chattering of students. Leaning in closer, I could hear the clinking of plates against cutlery.

I hope it won’t be too expensive.

Walking past the dessert fridge and the chalkboard with the savoury pasta listed with various prices, I went to the corner fridge.

Then, I grabbed a sandwich, an apple, and a drink, and went to the counter to pay. From the corner of my eye, I saw Polly and Rebeca.

“Polly, Rebeca! Hey,” I said, waving with my bandaged hand.

The two of them looked at each other, and Polly rolled her eyes. My heart sank at once.

Kareena has already wired the ticket money from my account to Polly’s. I don’t know what’s wrong. Maybe she didn’t receive it?

After I swiped my debit card at the counter with a beep, I took my lunch items to their table.

“Polly, you received the money, right?” I asked.

“Huh? Yes, I did.”

“Oh, okay.”

I stared at the ground and picked up my lunch from the table.

“She must think of herself as such a hero,” said Rebeca.

“What?” I exclaimed.

“You’ve heard it right. I can’t believe you did something so… dare I say, heroic. All for a guy who’s never going to care about you,” said Polly.

“It doesn’t matter if he cares or not. I did it because…”

“Because you wanted the spotlight.”

“That’s not true!” I said.

The two of them giggled loudly. I stood there, unable to move.

“Hey, Arisa,” said a girl.

I turned around and saw Rei from a few semesters ago. The two of them stopped laughing.

“Yes?”

“Please sit here with me,” she said.

“Oh, thank you,” I said, dragging the chair away and sitting across from her.

She had shoulder-length dark hair, which framed her oval face. Her brown shirt was tucked into a midi skirt, and she wore plenty of rings with nail polish. The two of us ate in silence. I stared at my wounded hand as I had my meal.

After I was done with my first sandwich, Rei whispered, “They’re gone.”

“Ah, that’s a relief,” I said.

She nodded as she had her pasta.

When her plate was empty, she said, “You shouldn’t listen to them. It’s a miracle that you remained friends with them for so long.”

I nodded and finished my food.

Rei is right. They revealed their true selves after something bad happened. Well, at least I got to see the concert thanks to them. Yay, The Rockstar Brigade knows me now!

“Well, thank you for everything!” I said.

I got up and turned around.

“Arisa, wait.”

“Yes?” I said, facing her.

“There’s another art exhibition today. I heard that students have made watercolour paintings of sea creatures. Let’s go see it.”

“Sure.”

At that moment, I wondered why my voice sounded so low and teary. I meant to say it in an energetic way. My body didn’t allow it. As we all know, it is difficult to make our bodies lie.

“Please lead the way,” I said.

“Alright.”

We walked out in silence. I could hear the sound of the gentle breeze. Bees buzzed around in the blooming flower beds.

“We have to cross the road,” she said.

“Yep.”

After the pedestrian signal turned green, we crossed the street and found ourselves in front of a grass walkway that led to a glasshouse.

After looking at the vibrant fish, octopi, sharks, and starfish painted against a washed-out blue background, I began imagining what would happen if Isaac were here. Would he point at them and make comments? Maybe he’d be inspired to write a song! But most likely, he wouldn’t care much.

Ah, who am I kidding? There would be a massive crowd if anyone heard that they were here. But what if Isaac was just a normal guy? Well, I’m not sure I’d ever talk to him unless he were in the Psychology Department. He would be in a music program, I guess. No matter what, he’ll always be unattainable.

“Well, Arisa, I’ll be on my way,” said Rei.

“Oh, goodbye, Rei.”

“I had a good time with you.”

“So did I. We should meet more often.”

“Yes, I have you on my social media. I’ll message you there.”

“Great. Bye, then.”

She waved and said, “Bye.”

As soon as she left, I began thinking of Isaac.

Should I call him? Would it be okay? Well, I’ll have to start looking for jobs. Maybe he can get me one.

My brain released the hormone epinephrine into my blood, and my heart beat faster than ever. I took my phone, and I realised I hadn’t saved his number. So, I started my journey home.

Crossing the streets several times, I saw a stray cat, a few homeless people, and two girls who carried shopping bags. Amidst all this, there were a few trees planted near the cement pavements.

I feel quite sorry for some of these people. Well, I haven’t got any money to offer.

At least, I reached home and boarded the lift. Ringing the doorbell, my heart raced once again.

I should calm down. This is just my body’s fight or flight response. At this point, I’m too scared to call.

Kareena answered the door and said, “Well, what happened with your course?”

“I was told to contact the student support centre.”

“I see. Lunch is ready.”

“I’ll have mine in a bit.”

“Arisa, don’t be too late! Have your lunch soon.”

“I will.”

Ah, I shouldn’t have had those sandwiches.

I entered my room and closed the door behind me. Kareena knocked on the other side of the door loudly.

“What?” I said

“Arisa, why did you close the door?”

“No reason.”

I closed the door once again and locked it.

Now, where is that notebook?

I rummaged through my books, notebooks, and colour pencils.

Where is it?!

There it was on the desk, tucked away in a corner. My fingers trembled as I turned the pages, but I couldn’t find it.

Flipping the pages back, I found it at last.

In very messy handwriting, he had given his autograph, a phone number, and had drawn a smiley face. In tiny letters, he had written “Call me.”

Does this mean anything?! Of course not. I’m too delusional. Always jumping to the utmost ideal conclusion is well… not ideal.

I saved his phone number on my smartphone at once, which had a puppy charm on it. Of course, my delusional self added a purple heart next to Isaac’s name.

Not only was I smiling like an idiot, but my body had also gone cold.

I dialed it immediately.

Here it goes.

Every passing beep of the outgoing call made me clench my teeth harder.

Yeah, he’s not going to respond, is he? I might as well cut the call now.

“Hello?” said a slightly deep voice.

AH! OH MY GOD!

“Yes, hello.”

“Who is this?”

“This is Arisa.”

“I’m sorry, who?”

Ah, he already forgot about me…. I should’ve known.

“The person who saved your life,” I said, swallowing.

“Oh! Okay. Sorry.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, what can I do for you? You can send me your money transfer details, I’ll make sure you get it.”

“Umm, thank you very much for that. But instead of that, could I have something else?” I asked.

“Huh? Like what?”

“Would it be possible for you to get me a job?”

“A job? I mean, yeah, definitely. We must have some sort of opening available. Tell you what, I’ll save your number and get back to you with details.”

“Oh, thank you!” I said.

“No worries. Alright then, I was in the middle of a practice break. Bye.”

“Bye.”

He cut the call. I grinned and began humming one of his songs. Soon, I was spinning around in circles with my phone in hand.

Woohoo! I’m getting a job with none other than The Rockstar Brigade!