So maybe Jin did tell her not to hang around Kingsley and to watch who she talked to, and at first, she did try to! But she just felt bad about it! Especially since she hung around Donald more and sometimes Kingsley would be there! Though, every time, it seemed like he was ready to leave. Maybe he and Donald weren't friends and more like acquaintances. Were they only together for studying? She didn't know and she didn't want to pry.
And it wasn't like he displayed that he was a bad person. He didn't lack manners like Chance, he didn't smoke as far as she saw, he wasn't drinking underage like Chance, and he wasn't a brash person. He was more...reserved. In all honesty, Lotus kind of enjoyed being in his presence. He was oddly comforting to her the more she was around him. And when he was around when she was with Donald, she found herself less nervous.
'How could Jin suggest that?' Lotus thought, twirling her pencil around as she stared off into space, 'He's not one to lie like that. Maybe Kingsley Kwan is more similar to him in delinquent activity.'
She tensed when a hand fell on her shoulder.
"I'm leaving. I have a group date in a few minutes." Jin said causing her to relax slightly now knowing it was him.
"But—but you can't! Dad said I had to make sure you studied!" She weakly exclaimed.
He slumped his shoulders and softly groaned. "Just tell him I did. I heard one of the girls is super pretty so I can't waste this."
"You need the head start," Lotus told him in a terrible attempt at getting him to stay.
"I told you Lotus, I'll be fine this semester." He patted the shoulder he set his hand on, "And you'll be fine here by yourself. I gotta get going. Bye!~"
She couldn't argue as he rushed away. If she did try to, he would ignore her in the chance her voice did reach him. Her pencil dropped and she looked around at the books that surrounded her. At least she could stomach being at a library alone.
Everyone was quiet and paid attention to reading, writing, or searching for any book they needed. There wasn't much that could go wrong.
With a sigh, she returned to reading through the book in front of her and jotting down notes she thought would help her in her classes when they started again. Just because Jin wanted to slack, didn't mean she wanted to. At least he did something while he was here.
Maybe this time he'd use the notes he took for any tests he had.
Before long, she had finished up, returning books from where she found them and gathering her and Jin's things.
'He left his notebook.' She thought and stared down at Jin's notebook that was opened.
Her brows furrowed as she read what was written on the page: nothing. She flipped to the other pages to find crude doodles instead of anything that could potentially pop up in his classes when he went back.
'This was a lost cause.' She mourned in her mind.
She'd have to tell her parents she had tried to get him to read and write about the materials he read—but she failed. Getting him to study would amount to nothing.
'Maybe I should stop doing his homework.' She thought, having mixed feelings towards that. Yes, his grades ending up dropping because she stopped doing his work would probably entice him to care about his education. But doing his work helped her with her's since he was a year ahead of her. She was able to get an idea of what she was going to be learning the next year which, in turn, helped her get her assignments done faster with better grades than she would get if she didn't get those little peeks.
Would shutting such an easy door be worth it? Any money he had being saved for him to go to college could be used for her and her younger brothers. She was getting a head start and possibly more school money! But she wanted him to have more openings in the future. He would only get looked down upon in life if he didn't go.
Her steps halted before glass doors, the tip of her shoe almost connecting with it. Upon seeing that she was in such close proximity to the glass, she quickly backed away.
Enough with seeing how much of a slacker Jin was, she needed to pay attention. Thinking about it more wouldn't do her any good. She was going to make an embarrassment of herself (what's new?) if she did end up walking face-first into a glass door. All because her head was in another place!
She released a sigh through her nose and tucked Jin's notebook under her arm with the others and stared outside.
"Huh?" She muttered as she glanced behind her at the unsuspecting Kingsley. When did he appear? She didn't him notice until she got the smallest glimpse behind herself.
"Kingsley Kwan?" Her voice was a little higher, craning her neck to look at him without moving much.
Now he cared enough to acknowledge her. "Yes?" He asked.
"Uh, hi!" She chirped, "I didn't expect to see you here!"
"I could say the same."
Lotus sheepishly laughed and opened the door. Hogging the door was so disrespectful, she couldn't stand in front of it all day. As she stepped out, she let go of the door. It would still be open by the time Kingsley walked through, so she didn't need to make sure to hold it.
'Right. Kingsley's only around for a few minutes every time I see him. That's too bad, he seems okay.' She thought before tensing.
Hastily, she turn around before she could even take a few more steps away from him.
"Can we...talk? We can walk, too." She anxiously asked.
The tall boy dug into his trousers pocket and checked the phone that peeked out before nodding. "I don't see why not." He answered, leading the way by walking first. His pace was normal, for him, but damn, it was fast to her.
It's not like she wanted him to slow down for her, though. Not everyone had to cater to her. Her legs were just getting tired of taking large steps despite them just beginning to walk together. It was like she was trying to do splits every second she was aiming to keep up with him.
"I heard you go to a school near my brother!" She nervously spoke up, watching that group to avoid anything she could stumble over with the wide steps she was taking.
"I might've passed him," Kingsley stated.
That was a possibility considering their schools were near each other and Jin would sometimes walk around before making his way home.
"Maybe!"
She went silent again. None of them made the move to talk. And it was a good thing he didn't seem annoyed.
'Why did I ask him to talk when I don't know what to talk about?' She groaned out inside of her mind.
She looked up at him and pursed her lips. 'It doesn't feel so bad though.' She looked forwards. A soft smile pulled at the corners of her lips, embracing the change.
It felt as if she was getting better at this social stuff. Though, that was probably a reach. Next thing you know, she'd be back to wanting to cry as she was faced with new people and would have to continuously be reached out to or somehow running into said new people constantly to feel okay around them.
"Oh!" She gasped and stared at one of the bushes they were nearing.
Despite flowers not being an uncommon sight in summer, far from it actually, she still loved looking at them. Especially at the side of the path! What she had found she came across a lot of pink ones. So much so that she would hope to see at least some yellows. Though no matter the colour, she wanted to pick at least one flower every time she saw a group of them, but she refrained from doing so. At least, she didn't do it when people were around to see.
"Pretty!" She softly exclaimed, "Flowers are so beautiful, aren't they?"
"They are." He agreed, sparing a glance at the flora.
Her eyes stayed glued to the bushes and she asked, "What's your favourite one?"
"I haven't thought about it."
Oh. That wasn't surprising, just disappointing. But she can make do with this.
"Huh...I think you'd really like sunflowers or daisies!" She finally exclaimed.
"Do you like lotuses?" He questioned.
"Oh, because of my name? They're pretty, but not my favourite. They're my dad's favourite." She hummed in thought before continuing, "I'd say mine is between lilac and peony."
He hummed in acknowledgement before they settled back down to silence.
She went back to looking around, unconsciously picking at the edge of Jin's notebook. Flowers weren't the only nice thing to be seen. The sky was so blue today with little clouds and the weather wasn't too hot, unlike yesterday. It was a good day.
It was peacefully quiet before Kingsley's phone rang.
Lotus stopped just as he did, looking up at him, expecting him to answer the call. The least she could let him do is not keep the caller waiting since she was already taking up some time of his day.
"Don't worry! Go ahead!" She cheerfully said once she caught his questioning gaze.
The tall boy gave a nod of his head before he walked a few steps away from her to speak to the caller. Still, his voice reached her ear and she didn't want to just eavesdrop, so she crept a few steps back.
'Thinking about it, I should get back right now and stop wasting Kingsley's time. Haneul's going to call soon anyway.' She thought.
Lotus shifted on her feet, waiting for Kingsley to get done with whatever conversation he was having so she could properly say goodbye. Wanting to be in a good light in his eyes meant leaving suddenly without a word was not a choice. In fact, such a thing would never be a choice for her...maybe.
Luckily, the call didn't take long, only a few minutes or so. Once he had put his phone back into his pocket, Lotus perked up, ready to leave. Thanks to whoever the caller was for reminding her of Haneul's scheduled call.
"That was Donald Na," He told her as he approached, "He told me to make sure you didn't puke on me."
"He mentioned me— Wait! What?!" She exclaimed a bit too loudly. She flushed and covered her mouth.
"That is so...so..." She tried to find the word for how mortifying it was before shaking her head.
She wouldn't be putting it past the blond to do something like this in the future! He was so mean! Knowing that would embarrass her! He did it on purpose, he was sure!
"I have something planned so I have to go now. Bye, be safe!" She quickly said, barely taking a breath so she could get the hell out of there faster. She didn't want to do anything else that would cause her to recoil in distaste.
And with that, Kingsley continued on his journey with no reaction to whatever breakdown she was having. Good for him.
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