Chapter 5.1 - Advice

I always have the weirdest dreams.

Waking up from my slumber, I hastily tried to locate my phone. As I looked at the time displayed on the screen, I could only stare at it with deadpan eyes. Obviously, the alarm didn't wake me up.

I sat down and looked around myself. It wasn't the usual dorm room I was accustomed to living, nor was it the cramped tent underneath the cave where we stayed for a week.

It was a luxurious cabin room with four beds on each side. While the two on my parallel were empty, the other one beside me was occupied by Ayanokouji, who was silently gazing at the sea from his bedside window.

Having his fair share of protagonist moment it seems.

After my haziness had faded, I threw the phone in my pocket and walked toward the washroom to splash myself awake.

"Good morning." he greeted after sensing me awake.

"Good morning. Though it'd be a stretch to call it morning anymore. Look, it's already noon outside."

I pointed at the window behind him before opening my bag and getting my towel out.

"Seems like it." saying that, he went back to sea-gazing.

This guy, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, was my neighbor and my cabin roommate, alongside Hirata and Kouenji.

*grumble

My stomach called out, probably because I missed on my breakfast. It was a sense of great embarrassment that the sound was from my own body. My stomach craved fulfillment, lest I wanted it to continue scolding me till I gave up.

"Listen, I'm going up the deck to grab something to bite. Do you want to join?" I said while grabbing a dark long sleeve shirt from my bag.

"I think I'll pass. I don't feel like going out right now."

Of course, he was going to say that. He would occasionally go out to eat, get something he wants, or go to swim. Other than that, he's been pretty much camping inside this room ever since. It's been like this for the last three days since we left that island.

"Suit yourself."

If he's not interested then it's his loss.

🄾🅄🅃🅂🄸🄳🄴🅁

My body somehow adapted to the waving motion of the ship, eventually getting over that accursed sea-sickness. The heaviness in my head still lingered, which was admittedly a bit irritating. But hey, it's either that, or seeing the world spin around me. Whichever's your cup of tea.

I took the ship's elevator to the deck on the top level.

The ship had nine decks in total, plus a roof. The fifth deck was above ground, while the fourth deck was below. The first deck housed both the lounge and banquet area, while the rooftop had the pool, café, and other facilities. The third and fourth decks were for guest rooms. The girls were on the fourth deck, while we guys were on the third.

The guys and girls, were neatly divided. However, there weren't any special restrictions on our movements, so any of them could easily wander through the other's area.

We're prohibited from circulating on each other's level after midnight, though.

On the top deck, many of my classmates appeared to be enjoying summer vacation to its fullest. Both guys and girls could be seen in the pool in their bathing suits, boldly frisking around. The heavy, fraught mood that weighed on us during the test had been lifted.

We didn't need to use points for any of the facilities on the ship, or for food and drinks. Everything was free of charge. No one had to restrain themselves. It was like heaven.

Then again, things weren't really as cheery in the beginning.

As I mentioned earlier, three days had passed since we were dragged out of that uninhabited island. Immediately after our survival test's conclusion, most of the students had been waiting for another bomb to drop. As the school forced everyone to go through a hell week under the pretence of a camping trip, the students no longer trusted the words of the school and were on guard for a while.

But to their surprise, there were no signs of anything. All was peaceful and silent, as if the test really was over and summer vacation had truly started. The students began to relax, and behaved as though the second week was purely a vacation.

This school is truly evil, isn't it?

In any case, even though it would be temporary, I was still happy to finally enjoy this so called luxury trip one could only dream of.

I walked toward one of the restaurants. The cruise ship had many restaurants. The offerings ranged from junk food like ramen and hamburgers to French cuisine.

By the time I reached one of the restaurant, almost all of the seats had already been taken. I was kind of looking here and there for an empty seat like a lost kitten. But I found none. Just as I was about to give up and try another restaurant, an overly familiar voice called out to me.

"Oii~, Levent-kun!"

When I whirled toward the source of that voice, I found a certain pink haired acquaintance waving at me from the corner-most table of the establishment. Our eyes met and she began gesturing at an empty seat next to her.

What is she? An angel?

I then slipped past the crowd and secured the empty seat next to her.

"Before anything let me thank you, Ichinose-san. I was just about to leave too."

"Ehehe... Don't worry. I also wanted to have someone to talk. It was kind of getting boring too, you know?" she replied.

Ichinose was sitting there all by herself, which I did find a bit strange. Usually I would find her surrounded by her classmates, or at least near Kanzaki.

"Really? So, I just happened to fit the bill, huh? You wouldn't have invited me if you weren't bored?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Eh?" Ichinose began panicking. "N-no! I- uh.. I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I just... It's just-"

"Don't worry. I was just messing with you." I reassured.

"Huh? You were?" Ichinose sighed in relief. "Good grief, Levent-kun. Because of your expression, I thought you were genuinely upset with me."

I guess she couldn't tell whether I was joking or not.

Now, that's exaggerating things. I mean, there's no way I'm that unreadable, right?

Right?

"Yeah, sorry about that. But hey, at least we're here now. What did you order by the way?" I asked, trying to avert the topic.

"Hmm... I just got here myself. So I haven't ordered anything yet." she responded.

"I see. In that case, let's call the waiter."

"Alright."

In a few seconds, a well dressed young man in uniform came and took our orders. I looked at the menu to find something that interested me. Meanwhile, Ichinose ordered some omurice and salad. After a few more seconds of contemplation, something finally caught my attention.

After writing down our orders, the man bowed with a smile and left toward the counter. It didn't even take them a minute to deliver our orders correctly. That's what you call a 'Top Notch Service'. Easily comparable to one of the hotels in Bali or Dubai. (Not that I've been there, but you get the general gist of it.)

From that point, I was beginning to question why the government went out of it's way to fund such an expensive trip annually. It was not cost-effective at all. Anyone could come up with billions of other cheap efficient alternatives. But why this?

Well, let's not question the logic at play here.

🄾🅄🅃🅂🄸🄳🄴🅁

"Uhhh..." I unintentionally let out a groan.

"Pft..." Ichinose giggled, barely able to keep her composure while looking at my dumbstruck expression. Looking at the monstrosity that was in front of me, I couldn't blame her either. Some peculiar glances were coming at our direction too.

Ahem!

I will say this now, and it's kind of embarrassing to admit that I made a mistake by ordering something like that in front of a girl. Before ordering, my eyes naturally ended up landing on the last and the most expensive looking dish of all. So I kind of went along with it.

After hearing my order, even the ever smiling waiter gave me an awkward look and asked if was sure about it. At that time, I was confused, but oh boy!

Go ahead, guess what I did?

Even though it was almost noon, I was yet to have my breakfast, so I wanted to have something 'light' if I could. That's why I ended up ordering a...

...n extra large beef pizza with extra mayonnaise, extra chili and extra cheese!

(With pineapple toppings ;)

"....."

Hey, I know what you're thinking. Don't give me that health freak nonsense, okay? It's free.

"But to think that it would be 'that' extra?" I muttered to myself.

I was marveled, awestruck, astounded, breathtaken...

How embarrassing! I think I even blushed a little due to the embarrassment. Every cell of my body were now scolding me for being an idiot.

How was I supposed to finish it? Where do I even begin?

It would've been a different story if Ayanokouji was here, but he wasn't...

"Levent-kun, you sure have no restraints today, huh?" Ichinose awkwardly chuckled.

Please kill me!

"Tsk tsk... Ichinose-san. Let it be known that I do have my restraints. It's just that this is one of those moments in life where you let go of these retrains and enjoy as much as you can." I lectured, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"True. Of course, you're not wrong about that, haha!"

"Hah~" I took a deep breath and exhaled once.

Holding the knife on one hand, and the fork on the other, I began cutting the pizza into small pieces. Unfortunately, as soon as the knife touched the pizza, the 'extra' content began spilling out, making a mess out of my plate. Ugh...

"By the way, Levent-kun. Congratulations on your class coming first on the special exam." Ichinose said out of nowhere.

"Oh. Uh, thanks..." I responded awkwardly, which she accepted normally.

"Your class must've worked so hard, huh?" she added.

"You can say that. But honestly, I think we were just lucky that time." I replied nonchalantly.

I wanted to avoid discussing about that particular subject with her as much as possible. If I went ahead and engaged in a carefree conversation, I may or may not end up unintentionally giving away some info.

"After seeing what you guys did back there, I was almost certain that your class would come out on top. It honestly came as a shock to me." I added.

"I can say the same too, haha. Although we weren't sure if we'd come out first, we were at the very least expecting to get a few more points." Ichinose bit her lips. "But I guess Ryuen-kun had something planned against us."

Obviously, class B had lost their bonus points because of one mistake. After sheltering class D's Kaneda, he went ahead and exposed class B's leader Chihiro Shiranami, making them lose all their bonus points, with an additional fifty points penalty for having their leader guessed. It must've been heartbreaking for them to see all their hard work go down the drain.

"Regardless of what the results were, I think you did a great job as a leader, Ichinose-san. That's what matters the most." I cheered.

"Thanks, Levent-kun. You guys did great too." Ichinose replied.

We then went back to silently munching on our foods. My eyes would sometimes glance at her direction in-between every bite. One good look at her gloomy expression and I understood that she was still feeling depressed due to the results from the uninhabited island special exam. The recoil of being a leader was getting to her. When the team fails, it always feels like you were somewhat responsible for the failure, like a burden. And you can't help but beat yourself about it.

Make no mistake, Ichinose was a great example of a leader. But someone as kindhearted and pure like her was yet to face the real 'dirty politics', something Ryuen and Sakayanagi were already accustomed with. Ichinose's 'power of friendship' type of outlook was mere wallflower in front of something of such grand scale like that.

I'm sure one day she would face the reality and somehow come to terms with it. That's how things should be.

"By the way, Ichinose-san. Are you perhaps thinking about joining any club?" I replied before stuffing my face with another big bite.

"Hm? Clubs, huh?" After my question, Ichinose momentarily stopped eating and began pondering about something.

"I'm not sure if it counts as a club but, I do want to join the student council." she added.

"Aweady shinking vig, huh? Ishinoshe-shan." I replied in a muffled voice.

"Hm hmh.. Yeah!" for some reason, she chuckled. "First finish eating your food, Levent-kun. I could barely understand anything."

"Showwy." I hastily gulped down the food.

"Ahem.. Sorry about that. Believe me, I'm not being myself today." I added. For some reason, I've been acting stranger than usual around her.

"It's alright, I know how you are. But at least it's kind of fun to see this side of you, haha." Ichinose replied.

"Good grief." I sighed.

"And? What about you? Do have any club in mind?" Ichinose inquired.

Club, huh? Although I was the one to bring this topic, I hadn't really given it any serious thought. While it wasn't mandatory to join any club in my previous school, I still thought it was quite interesting, so I decided to join one. I mean, I never had the chance to to try out something like this before coming to that school.

I joined the Go-Straight-Home-After-School-Club.

All jokes aside, if align my interests and my capabilities, I think the only club suitable for me would be...

"Was there any book-related club? Like a reading club or a literature club in this school?" I asked.

"Not that I know of. But I think there should be at least one in this school. You'll have to check if you want to join."

"Of course. Let's see, if I do find something."

From there we continued talking about rather mundane, yet meaningful topics until Ichinose was done. I could barely stomach anything anymore, so I called the waited and asked for a bag to take the leftover pizza as parcel. I've learned from my mistakes today.

Definitely.

🄾🅄🅃🅂🄸🄳🄴🅁

After I was done embarrassing myself in front of Ichinose, I decided to return to my room. Although Ichinose invited me hang out with some of her friends, my social battery dangerously close to being flat. So I excused myself. I took the elevator and reached the third deck where my room was.

When I got there, I noticed some wet blotches scattered about the hallway floor, heading toward our room. When I followed the trail, I discovered a rather interesting scene.

"S-sir! Please don't walk through the hallway while you're still dripping wet!"

A young bellhop hurried toward a man, nude from waist up, wearing nothing but his speedo.

"Ha ha ha! It appears you've found me, eh?"

Yes. The man was Kouenji. He slicked back his wet hair, scattering droplets of water.

"This is the fourth time already! I've already told you, please dry yourself off after you leave the pool. If you don't, you'll disturb the other passengers." the bellhop let out in frustration.

"Disturb? But I've no memory of disturbing anyone. I don't dry myself off with a towel on principle ever since reaching the age of reason. Haven't I already said? 'A fine man, dripping with water,' hmm?"

As humorous I found the whole ordeal, I wanted to have nothing to do with it. My room was on that direction. So in order to avoid being dragged into something bothersome, I attempted to silently walk past them, trying not to get noticed by him.

"Oh ho? Why, if it isn't our leader-boy, hmm? What a coincidence."

Fuck!

I frantically started looking around to see if there was anyone nearby to overhear. Luckily, we were the only ones in the hallway at that time. Kouenji's thoughtless words would've put me in a difficult position if it wasn't like that.

"As elegant as ever, huh, Kouenji?" I sighed. "Is there something you want from me?"

"No, no, I've no real business with you. I've simply acknowledged you because we are schoolmates. Also, though we are certainly not alike in terms of position, you are my roommate."

Kouenji flipped his hair once again, scattering more water, which splashed my face and shirt. I could only brush myself in disgust.

Despite what was happening to me, the bellhop watched this tragedy unfold with a grin. 'Oh yes, yes, I sympathize with the pain you're feeling… not!' is probably what he was thinking.

"I see. Then I guess I'll be on my way. You can continue going down whatever business you had with him" I responded before walking away, the poor bellhop looked at me in betrayal for leaving him to deal with this 'anomaly'.

I kind of felt bad for leaving the bellhop... not really.

I managed to escape from Kouenji and headed back toward my room. But soon I realized that he was coming back here as well. I felt uncomfortable, every single second when Kouenji was near me. Despite having Ayanokouji back in the room...

"....."

Let's just say him being there doesn't make any difference. I think Hirata was probably the only 'normal' person on our cabin.

Wanting to avoid such an awkward atmosphere, I quickly returned to my room. To my surprise, Ayanokouji was no longer there. I then dropped my parcel on my nightstand and turned around. As I didn't want to stay in my room just yet, I walked toward the elevator and eventually landed on the second-level.

Just then, my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw that I'd received an email. A certain girl was calling me..

🄾🅄🅃🅂🄸🄳🄴🅁

"Hahhh… Haaah..." Sakura, who'd sent me the email, was making several anxious, pained sighs.

"What's the matter, Sakura-san?" I asked.

"Wah! L-Levent-kun?!"

Sakura was so surprised that even I questioned whether I was being too harsh with her or not.

"Hey, I'm sorry. Did I surprise you?" I lowered my voice, almost whispering.

"N-no, no. I'm just kind of strangely nervous is all."

Was she nervous about meeting me?

"Levent-kun, you're roommates with Hirata-kun, Kouenji-kun, and Ayanokouji-kun. Right?"

"My roommates? Yeah, you're right. What about them?" I was having a hard time understanding what this girl really wanted.

"Oh. Well, to tell you the truth, I…I'm a little worried about the people I'm sharing a room with."

Oh, I see. Sounds like she was having problem adapting to her roommates. Sakura wasn't good at socializing, anyway. Nor was 'I' back in my collage days. So I could easily relate to where she was coming from.

"Are you not getting along with them?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. I have mixed feelings. I do want to get along with them, but I also want to be alone, too. I'm just hopeless, aren't I?" Sakura replied, tears welling up on her eyes.

This hopelessly innocent introvert!

"By the way, who're you rooming with?" I curiously asked.

"Oh. Didn't I tell you?"

"I don't think you did?"

"It's Shinohara-san, Ichihashi-san, and Maezono-san."

Oh...

Crap!

After hearing those names, even I ended up getting a second hand depression. I honestly did not want to hear those names from her.

Shinohara, was pretty much a second version of Karuizawa; pretty much Karuizawa's right hand, really. She was very hard to get along, especially if you went against her ideals. She could be rather relentless against people she didn't like.

I didn't really know much about Maezono, but I had a bad impression of her. She had a bad attitude and seemed quick to pick a fight. She was probably the hardest type of person for Sakura to deal with.

Ichihashi was usually rather mature, but also headstrong. I couldn't imagine she thought much of Sakura, so she probably wouldn't go out of her way to befriend her.

Even if Sakura tried her hardest to bridge the gap between them, if they didn't like her guts, they'd pretty much hate her. That's how these girl-groups worked. It sometimes made me question if they were more notorious that the Yakuza behind the scenes.

"You're doing great, Sakura-san. Good job." I praised Sakura.

I even wanted to pat her on the head for how good she was doing holding by herself. I mean, she hadn't cried until now. I think even I would end up crying on the first day if I were in her place.

All jokes aside, she really was doing great.

"So, you called me here to get some advice, correct?"

Sakura nodded. "I... just thought any advice from you, Levent-kun, would be good?"

In other words, she was relying on me. As much as I wanted to support her, I also knew that she needed to become strong on her own. I will give my support, but if she got too reliant on me, that would be counterintuitive. Ayanokouji had already warned me about it once.

Let's see...

"Okay, now listen to me. I'm not trying to back talk about anyone here. But, your roommates are... well, how do I say this? They're kind of difficult to get along with. So I don't expect you to try that."

I had several people in mind for her. For example: Hasabe who was already showing interest in hanging out with Sakura (thanks to your's truly). Or, Inogashira who was just as introverted as her. Or, Onodera who pretty much got along with everyone.

As for male partners, I think it would be best if she refrained from interacting with the other boys, except for Me, Ayanokouji, Hirata, Akito or Yukimura.

I guess professor can also be excluded as he seemed more interested in 2D girls rather than 3D.

"Then... what should I do?" Sakura squealed.

"Hm. Well, even though I said that they're hard to get along, I guess you can't really avoid them either, can you? Hm... as expected, this is quite difficult." I muttered to myself trying to brainstorm for an idea.

"I'm.. I'm sorry. I guess I was being a nuisanc-"

"I have an idea." I snapped my fingers, not letting her finish that self-deprecating sentence. "It's kind of weird, but believe me. It works like a charm."

"What is it?" Sakura timidly asked.

"First, you should ask them for small favors, doesn't matter how small. For example, ask them to pass down the towel, or turn of the light off etc. You get the gist, right?"

"Hm! Hm!" Sakura nodded with a somewhat serious face.

Cute.

"And when they do, don't forget to thank them, okay? Remember, appreciate them for whatever grand contribution they did for the betterment of the world. You should see a slight change in their behavior toward you, even if it's very little."

"So, I ask them for small favors and... thank them. Is that... correct?"

"Yes, that's it." I nodded while crossing my hands in satisfaction. "People like it when they are praised or appreciated by the others. You thanking them for their small contribution would make them feel more appreciated, more validated. Their mood will get better. They would unintentionally want for more appreciation from you. Their image of you will become more positive. Hopefully this way, they'll eventually start opening up to you more and more."

No, I didn't pull this out of Doogle or the internet. It was the result of my many years of living with random roommates and bachelors. My professor was also partly to thank for poking the interest of human psychology in me.

"Let's try it right now. Come up with something small and ask me to do it, then thank me later." I demanded.

"N-n-now?" Sakura stammered.

"Yes. Now!" I affirmed.

I think Sakura has a problem articulating her thoughts properly. Whether it was her shyness, or her fear of people, it didn't matter. In that unforgiving world out there, not everyone would be as understanding as me. So I had forceful pull he out of that shell.

"C'mon, Sakura-san. Time is ticking."

"Ah! W-wait... I... Uh..."

I intentionally pressured Sakura. Time is of essence during a conversation. You need to think and process everything quick, before coming up with an answer and articulating.

"Uhh... Levent-kun... Um.."

We usually do it unconsciously as it turns into a habit after doing it ever since we learn to talk. But for someone like Sakura, I guess she even needs practice on that. It's kind of cute, but at the same the kind of concerning. What a klutz, I must say.

"LEVENT-KUN!"

"Yes!" I unintentionally straightened my posture like a soldier when I heard the sudden shout from her.

"Ah! I'm so sorry for shouting!" she bowed in a perfect ninety degree as an apology. Her eyes were darting in circles. I could swear her eyes were replaced with those comical spirals and such... Probably just an imagination.

"It's okay. So, have you decided what I should do?" I asked.

Don't think I'll let you go before you show me results, Sakura~

"That... I'd... Like you to.."

She mumbled something in the end which I couldn't hear. For some reason, she was blushing furiously after saying whatever she said.

Was it something lewd?

"Come again? I didn't hear it." I pressed for answer.

"Hngg!!" Sakura tightly clutched her skirt before dropping the bombshell. "Levent-kun, c-can you pat my head?!"

"....."

That... was unexpectedly bold of her.

"Uh... I mean, okay. If you're fine with me, I guess?"

I raised my hand and gently put it on top of Sakura's head.

"Hwa!" Sakura let out a cute noise.

I began feeling her head in my palm. It was my left palm, the one that was scarred by Horikita only three months ago. That scar was still there. But as soon as I began moving my hand, I started feeling... quite nice actually.

Sakura's pink hair, quite befitting for someone with that name. I could even smell the scent of the shampoo she used. Unsurprisingly a peach themed one. Her hair were smooth, silky and soft, as if I was petting a shy cat. it almost felt as if my scar was fading just from petting her. My movements caused a soft ruffling noise, which surprisingly calmed my heart.

"Kyuuuuuuuu....."

With closed eyes, Sakura made a high pitched noise in a low volume. When I looked at her, I found her as a blushing mess. Never thought I'd see this with my own eyes but, her face was beet red in embarrassment.

Wait, is that steam coming out of her head?

"....."

"....."

It went on for a few more seconds. Sakura was getting patted while making those squeaky noises, while I was standing there, awkwardly- No, that'd be lying. To be honest, I was very much enchanted by that feeling. It warmed the coldness of my heart. So much that I forgot that time was a thing in this world.

At some point, Sakura couldn't bare it any longer. So she shook my hand off her head. No!

"Um... T-that should be enough." Sakura stammered.

"I see..." I responded. "Then, good luck out there."

"Th-th-th-thank you, L-Levent-kun! I'll have to go n-n-now! Bye!" Sakura said before running away.

I stood there for a good few seconds, completely taken aback by the boldness of such an unexpected person.

"Huh? Levent-kun? What are you doing here?" a female voice called out to me which pulled me out of my trance.

"Kikyou, huh?"

My classmate and quite literally my verbal punching machine, Kushida Kikyou appeared from behind, taking me out of my trance.

"I could say the same to you. What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I've made plans to go see some girls from Class D today. Do you want to come, Levent-kun?"

Well, there was always the diplomatic, socially acceptable way of putting things. This was probably one of em. In other words, I had to find a polite, diplomatic way to refuse.

"Maybe some other time."

Besides, I've already had my fair share of embarrassment for the day.

"Oh, that reminds me, I feel like this is the second time we've talked since getting back to the ship."

"Indeed. As a matter of fact I almost began wondering if you were intentionally avoiding me or not." I raised my eyebrows.

"I-I'm sure that's just your imagination, haha."

What's this? Kikyou just stammered.

"Whatever, how has it been these days?" I asked nonchalantly.

"It's been great, if you set aside the fact that I have to deal with those perverts and their gazes." Kikyou replied, slipping her mask a little and letting her true thoughts out. Of course, her expression was of the usual 'angel' Kushida persona.

"You sure have it rough, huh? Being the most popular girl and everything..."

"You don't know half of it." she sighed.

"Obviously, because one, I'm a guy. And two,  I don't chase after validation."

"Oh shut up!"

"Same to you, Kikyou."

Most of the time we've met up, it was either her needing to vent some of her emotions on me. Or, it was me using her social skills for collective gains. But as the time passed by, we both began seeing this relationship less and less objectively. Kikyou can entrust me with her true self, so she eventually learned to speak more frankly around me. Meanwhile I did find our bickerings a bit amusing, so I ended up indulging her a little bit.

"By the way, don't you think this trip has been awfully peaceful the last few days?" she asked.

"Yes. And? What of it?"

"I don't know. It kind of feels... eerie, if you know what I mean?"

"Eerie, huh?" adding to the fact that she pretty much jinxed everything exactly right before the event.. "Yes, I guess I'll have to agree with you on that."

*Ding!

Just as I finished that sentence, our cell phones started ringing at the same time. There was a loud, dinging sound that meant we'd received a message from the school. Usually it was a message with new instructions to follow, or some kind of modification to an event. The phone would make a sound even if it was on silent. Clearly, it was a message of high importance.

"What is it?" Kikyou looked at me, puzzled.

I pulled the phone out and saw the message. After reading the first few words, I immediately understood what it was about. I took a deep breath and sighed.

"The beginning of a losing battle."

[A/N: I'm sure you understood this after reading a few paragraphs. I didn't really take this chapter too seriously. This is kind of like my attempt to write a slice of life. Levent was acting a bit different, a bit more proactive this time. I kind of imagined him coming to terms with his new reality and opening his heart a little after the last chapter. (only a little. A tiny tiny bit ^ ^)

Also, the dream Levent had at the beginning of the chapter... It was that fragment I wrote earlier where... you know what happens ;)

Make that whatever you will ;]

Enjoy for now, because one day I may end up writing the most depressing shit ever! Hahahahaha!]