Chapter 8

My eyes opened up by the cold breeze that I felt on my face. With a swift moment, my eyelids flashed open up and I looked at his inverted face. As my eyes looked at him, he gave a smile.

"Good morning." He said with a smile.

"Oh." I swiftly tried to straighten my position. The sudden action caused us to bump our foreheads.

"Ouch!" We both said it in a collision.

Moving forward, I stood up from the sofa and turned around to face him. He was standing behind the sofa.

"I am sorry." I said in a calm voice.

He rubbed his forehead and faced me. "Alright." He said.

"How long was I sleeping? Is it morning?" I asked. I don't know when I fell asleep. It feels like a pretty big sleep and I feel refreshed by it.

"Not too much I guess." He said. Displaying the food that he bought, he spoke again. "And it's still night.

"Ah. I see." I said.

There was an awkward silence among us for a couple of minutes. I don't know what to say next. Should I have said, ok let's eat? or should wait for him to invite me? One thing will make me too friendly and the other too distant. Our string of connection is lying in the middle of these two things.

"So, ain't you hungry?" He asked and made his way to the open kitchen of the house which was behind the sofa, on the right.

I followed him. As he began to open the covers and take the food out. I took the plates out of the stand and rinsed them with water. Though the utensils are thoroughly washed, I would prefer to rinse them before using, irrespective of their cleanliness.

He chuckled when I kept the plates on the platform.

"Was there something to laugh about?" I asked with a perplexed expression on my face.

He shook his head. "Your hygiene habit hasn't changed." He then stated.

"Why would it change? is it bad?" I questioned while arranging the plates.

"No. It's good." He said. "I like it." He added with utmost seriousness in his voice.

The words halted the words of my hands. Clearing my throat, I went to get the glasses and water. "I'll get the water." I said, without looking at him. I could feel his gaze on me. He was expecting me to see him, which I couldn't dare to do. My mind is not yet set to establish any kind of relation of connection that could be more than friends. My only goal is to study and achieve the success that I dream of. Only then, I could think of anything else. Any kind of distraction or hurdle in life will set me off my track. And I don't dare to take such a risk. Avoiding things, for now, is what I prefer.

Filling the two glasses with water, I returned holding them in my hand. I couldn't find a tray to put the glasses on, so I placed one glass beside him and came to the opposite side of the platform with the other glass.

It was a platform less, a table more with four stools, two on each side opposite to each other. Comfortable enough to sit and eat.

He brought two plates of noodles and a bowl of fried chicken wings. Along with there were two glasses of soda. I am not a fan of soda but could have it, which helps to digest late-night food.

We were eating in eerie silence when he suddenly spoke. "So, how's your college?" He asked.

His sudden question took me by surprise, as I was expecting none of us would speak. Not to act oddly, I answered in a casual manner. "Far better than expectations," I said.

"Un hun?" He said.

"What surprised you the most about it?" He asked, looking at him. Holding the fork in his hand, he was waiting for my answer.

I am not a person who likes to talk while eating, but it looks like he was in a mood to talk.

When I think about the question, the smoke and the guardian popped up in my head. I cannot speak about it. I don't even know whether it's real or not.

"The door." I lied.

"I art of the sun and the moon. The opened book at the bottom and the pens and handles were the real beauty." I explained.

Yes, It was beautiful. But it didn't surprise me. I knew about it before. I saw the pictures on the internet. Of course, seeing it, in reality, was amazing. However, it was not the answer to his question.

"Made any friends?" He asked another question after taking a spoonful of noodles in his mouth.

There was food in my mouth, so I took the time to answer. Gulping the food, I answered. "Not yet. it was just a day." I said.

"And you are already slow in this process." He said.

My hand which was picking up the chicken wing, stopped its process in the middle. And this time I looked at him. "Why?" I asked.

He burst into a chuckle.

"Hey!" I said. "Why are you laughing again?" I asked.

"Look at your face." He said. Placing the back of his hand in his mouth, he ended his chuckle with a cough.

Pushing the stool back, I washed my face in the kitchen sink. Taking a tissue I cleaned my face and returned.

"Is it fine?" I questioned.

This time, he burst into a small laugh. I couldn't understand the reason for his laugh now. Knitting my brows, I stared at him.

When he finally stopped his laugh, he straightened his form and faced me. "By face, I mean expression." He said with a serious face.

"Then why did you say face?" I said.

"It's a way of saying." He said.

I stood there like a stupid for a moment. Walking quietly towards the stool, I sat on it.

Dusting my dress in awkwardness and arranging the long skirt, With my head down, I asked in a calm low voice. "What was wrong with my expression?"

He stood up from the stool, I didn't dare to raise my head. Bending forward toward him, he gave me a pat on my head. I raised my eyes to look at him.

"Too cute." He said, leaving me awestruck at his words.

His action hiked the awkwardness that I was already in. I didn't know how to react or what to say next. Nor did my mind give me any action to move. I stayed there still. For a moment and then for another. Until he moved his hand and was back on his stool. Considering the option - ignore as the best choice. I ignored him, his words, and everything related to it and continued to eat my noodles. This time my hand didn't stretch out to pick the chicken wing. I was still with my head down, tugging the noodles in my mouth. My head was raised only when I was done eating. I then took the bottle of soda and gulped a sip. The sudden reaction of carbon dioxide on it gave me a cough. He quickly passed the glass of water to me. Taking a sip, I thanked him with a nod.

"If you can't drink soda then don't force yourself." He said.

I could feel the voidness in his voice.

"Oh no, I am fine." I gave him an assuring smile. "It was just a big sip." I then said.

When he was finished eating too, he picked up the plates and began to put them in the sink. I offered to wash the dishes, but he refused by saying I was a guest in his house for today and he didn't make guests work. When we were done in the kitchen, I didn't know where to go, so I stayed there beside the sink, looking out of the window to make it less awkward.

"Here." He passed me a bowl.

"What is.." The bowl was filled with fruit and nuts and ice cream. It was overfull making a peak of the mountain. "I can't," I said.

"Why not? He asked. "Don't you like this flavor?"

I don't like the resin in it. But that has nothing to do with right now. I was full.

"I have no space left in my stomach," I said.

"C'mon. Who doesn't have space for ice cream?" He protested.

"I really can't." I said. He didn't move his hand away. And the ice cream in it was starting to melt. "At least make it half." I said.

Affirmatively, he went back to the fridge and returned with half of it. Though it was half it looks full. The half of the mountain was cut but the bowl the full.

However, I took the bowl with a forceful smile not to look rude anymore. But I didn't know whether my stomach would accept it or not.