Chapter 3

Ginny declined Persephone's lunch proposal at first, muttering excuses that she had to take care of her pet duck's food, but immediately clamped her mouth shut, remembering that pets are not allowed inside the dorm.

Some of you might say that she was just saying this as an excuse and that she doesn't have a pet duck to feed, but truth be told, she does. And that so-called pet she has doesn't eat any kind of food if it wasn't organic.

Prof. Beak is a white-crested duck that has a fluffy crest of feathers on his head, making him look like an 18th-century wig-wearing aristocrat. As Natalie would have described it, he's Mozart II—the III—the IV maybe, whatever number suits.

Also, he's a high-maintenance duck that wears colour-coded Hermès scarves and has a Birkin bag as a carrier. She doesn't understand why Natalie always complains when he spoils Prof. Beak a lot. He literally deserves it because he was abandoned by his mom at birth because he was born with spraddle legs.

Ginny nursed him until he was no longer disfigured. It was the first time she ever made an effort to take care of another living thing. And that led the two of them to become more attached to one another.

She mentioned that she had to go to Sainsbury's to fetch some organic fruits and veggies for Prof. Beak. But Persephone, being the stubborn charmer she was, insisted on coming with her to the supermarket.

Ginny is pretty much familiar with how people with extravagant backgrounds are absolutely mediocre when it comes to doing the simplest stuff like grocery shopping, cooking, doing the laundry, etc., because she was like that years ago.

Natalie, her dearest friend, came from a humble family and was the one who taught her how to live a normal life. It took her a while to become less mediocre, but eventually it all paid off since she could do the laundry on her own now.

Imagine her surprise at how knowledgeable and reliable Persephone was when it came to grocery shopping. The latter gave her some useful tips on how to pick the freshest fruits and veggies, which made her envious of how much of a perfect person this person could be.

After that, Ginny's stomach rumbled, which made Persephone chuckle. Ginny grumbled in embarrassment, explaining that she hadn't eaten breakfast. Persephone offered to eat lunch together, not accepting her refusal this time, as she explains not eating on time might lead to some serious illnesses in the future.

Let's just say Ginny is just being nice, which is why she doesn't have a choice but to agree to the latter's lunch proposal. Her initial plan was to have lunch with her just once, and after that, she'd go incognito for the rest of her university days.

Ginny placed the grocery bag under the table and sat comfortably on the chair.

"What do you want to eat? My treat."

They're now sitting in a restaurant a few blocks away from their university.

"Oh, let me—"

"No, I insist." Persephone took the menu and scanned it.

Ginny blinked blamelessly. Persephone wants to buy her lunch, but it should be the other way around since she helped her with all the grocery shopping. It's the least that she could do. Although she doesn't want to argue with that anymore since the latter insisted, she just nods. Once this is finished, everything will be back to normal.

They ordered their respective meals and waited for them to be served.

"Thank you," she shyly utters.

"Pleasure," Persephone beams.

She doesn't understand why the latter doesn't stop smiling while looking at her. She doesn't want to sound overly dramatic yet again, but anyone can fall for that smile—anyone but her.

Ginny doesn't like initiating small talk because it feels awkward. That's Natalie's job. But Natalie is not here right now to save her arse. She averted her eyes from the latter. As she was observing the people outside, a scene caught her attention. Ginny let out a tired sigh.

They're doing it again.

She'd seen the ups and downs of Ashley and Jenny's relationship, and she's sad to conclude that their relationship is nearing an end. Now, the couple is arguing again just around the corner near the restaurant they're at.

"Friend of yours?" She heard Persephone ask.

"No."

"They seem to be fighting."

"They've been doing that for days now. It looks exhausting from what I can say."

"I didn't peg you to be a bit of a nosy person?" Persephone asked in a rather oblivious manner.

Well, that's a very rude thing to say. She wanted to retort but decided not to.

She narrowed her eyes in a disagreeable manner and said, "I'm not. They were just in my line of vision. They always quarrel in public places like this."

She hums, "Probably the issue is much more complicated," and shugs.

"They might as well just break up if they continue to be like that. I think it's better for both of them," she muses in a bored manner.

"Breakups are not always the solution to everything, Ginny."

"Trust me, it is. It's going to save people from getting attached more than mending a broken relationship."

"There's no such thing as a perfect relationship, Ginny. That's the reason people try to fix things."

That is true. Ginny doesn't beg to differ. There's no such thing as a 'perfect relationship'. It only exists in movies and books. That's why being in a relationship in reality is too bothersome.

"Why?" She unconsciously muses, "Why do some people try to mend things that have already been damaged."

It was a statement. A statement since she wasn't really looking for an answer because it has already been answered.

Persephone just smiles and says, "It's because you love the person." It was a simple answer, yet she felt no satisfaction or rationale from such words.

Love. Of course, it's always been the answer. It was the simplest explanation for an unfathomable question. Ginny couldn't fathom what was so good about having a flawed relationship.

Her lunch with Persephone was a bit short, much to her liking. Persephone has a class to attend, but she never fails to show her discontentment about that matter, pouting and looking at Ginny with puppy eyes, saying that she'd rather spend time with her more.

"I'd love to invite you to my flat." There was a hint of mischievousness in her words, "We don't need to do anything. We can just have a movie date, if you want?" and then she winked, a charming one.

Why does it feel like it was some kind of booty call? Ginny could only stammer in utter embarrassment, suddenly not knowing what to say. Persephone just chortled in delight. Her blue eyes twinkled in amusement, loving Ginny's reaction. She placed a piece of paper on Ginny's palm with her number on it.

"Call me, okay? I'll be waiting." She blew a kiss on a dumbfounded Ginny, as she giggled and walked the other direction.