Chapter 3: A Good Day

The project involved researching diseases and proposing advancements to old methods or coming up with new methods on how to cure them or treat their symptoms. Pairs are required to either dress up in Halloween costumes on the day of presenting a not-Halloween-related project or create a project that is related to Halloween (blood research, inquiry on decay and mummification, bone diseases and their causes, and many others). Extra credit could be earned if both requirements are fulfilled. As everyone was sitting in groups of two, I heard students talking with either excitement or moans about their project. Every group had laptops or phones out, preparing slide show presentations, or researching their topic. While trying to concentrate, a lot of girls around my table were glaring at me. I, a short, nerdy, band girl, was sitting with THE Jordan Min, the tall, hot, smart guy that was practically every girl's type. I tried ignoring them, frowning as I tried to come up with a project idea when Jordan tapped my shoulder. As I was turning towards him, he held up his laptop and pointed at the screen. There was an article about epidermolysis bullosa, or "butterfly skin disease", the condition where one has skin as fragile as a butterfly wing that it can blister or tear with even the smallest touch. I grinned widely with approval, because I wanted to become a dermatologist in the future, and held up my hand for a high-five. Jordan smiled and returned it. Enthusiastically, Jordan and I jot down ideas on how to present our project.

"Jordan, do you mind if we also dressed up in Halloween costumes? For the extra credit."

Jordan looked over at me, then shrugged.

"Sure, what do you want to do?"

Grinning, I thought up many ideas, but none of them seemed to really fit with me and Jordan. Finally, a great idea came to me, and my eyes lit up.

"...Could we be butterflies?"

Jordan looked a little taken aback by my suggestion, but the corners of his lips started to go up.

"Because it's the butterfly skin disease?"

Laughing, I nodded, and he gave a small chuckle.

"Alright, we can be butterflies."

I cheered and told him I would take care of the costumes. After that, we started to research more on the butterfly disease, while I also texted my already-graduated friend, Belle Laurent, who was an intern at a fashion studio, about my costume idea. She needed to design a couple-costume but didn't know what to do, so I asked her if she could do my and Jordan's costume of butterflies for our project. She quickly texted back, saying she would do it and we only needed to come by to her studio sometime this week to get our measurements. I turned to Jordan, asking if he was free on Friday to get measurements for our costumes. He looked surprised but said he was so I texted Belle and told her we'd be there on Friday. Belle replied almost instantly with a million thank you's and heart emojis. Laughing, I put my phone back into my backpack and continued working on our project.

After three days, it was finally Friday. Jordan and I met up at the bus station near our school, and the bus drove us to a street one block away from the studio Belle was working at. After entering the studio, I was immediately engulfed in a great hug from Belle. Laughing, she let me go and waved to Jordan.

"I'm so happy you guys could come! Sera, you really saved me from having to come up with a project. You mentioned it'll be about butterflies right?"

I nodded.

"It'll have to be in colors of black, white, red, orange, or purple. Maybe green too, because it's Halloween-themed," I said. Belle nodded at my statement. I could see the wheels turning in her head.

"Okay, let's go get you two measured," she said and dragged me and Jordan to the center of her studio, where there were two raised platforms.

After Jordan and I got measured, she started sketching some ideas. "You're free to go you guys. I'll send Sera the designs in one day and if you two like it, I'll start working and should be done in one and a half weeks."

I calculated in my head and nodded in agreement to Belle because, by the time she'd be done, we'd have our costumes just in time for our project. Belle grinned, then ushered us out of the room, saying she'd be busy now. Before I could go out the door, Belle pulled me aside and whispered to me, "He's a cutie, you know?" and grinned mischievously to me. I rolled my eyes.

"Sure, but we're both waaaay out of each other's leagues," I replied. Belle laughed, then winked to me.

"That's what they all say~," she said in a sing-song tone, before pushing me out of the door after Jordan and waving goodbye. I rolled my eyes at her, smiling, and waved back. Belle then quickly shut the door. There was a momentary awkward silence. Then, Jordan and I looked at each other.

"So... do you want to come with me to the café over there so we can work on our project?" Jordan pointed to a cozy-looking café that was across the street. I nodded because Jordan and I both came with backpacks with our research instructions and laptops to work on our project after going to Belle's. We headed over to the café, opening the door to the sweet smell of baked goods and the bitter odor of coffee. We headed to an empty space and ordered drinks, an Americano for Jordan, and a vanilla frappuccino for me. After we got our drinks, we hurriedly secured a table in the corner of the café, right next to the cafe's window. On the way, many people stared at us. Well, they stared mostly at Jordan. Gasps of "Oh what a handsome person" and "Is that his girlfriend?" were the majority. I internally rolled my eyes but tried to keep a neutral face on the outside. Finally, we were able to sit down. Mentally tired already, I pulled my laptop, my phone, and my earbuds out of my bag and set them carefully on the desk. After plugging my earbuds into my phone, I played some BTS as I was working on our PowerPoint project. It was a quiet, comfortable atmosphere around me and Jordan, except for the occasional glances of outsiders at our table. At times, we'd speak to discuss what we just wrote, but mostly we were efficiently going along with our project, working together in harmony like cogs in a clock.

After working for another hour, I paused and looked outside the window. The sunlight shone through the glass, splitting into rainbow shards on the floor. I glanced at Jordan, seeing he was looking at the same thing I was. We made eye contact, and then both chuckled. After exchanging a few words, we continued to work, but my heart was beating quickly.

Maybe it was the sun, maybe it was the nice atmosphere of the café, but my cheeks were flushed and my heart was warm. I smiled as I was typing and thought, "What a good day."