Fragile

Cold from the Rain, Warmth of Her Smile.

Thursday, 4:00 a.m. Jack Ernest's apartment

The sound of raindrops violently falling on the metal rooftop of the apartment was enough to disturb the sound sleep of Jack. As he rubbed his eyes, he saw that a storm was brewing outside, and it seemed to be a strong one. Besides the thunderclouds and rain, he also saw the sleeping figure of Miss Kate Summers beside him on his bed, still asleep, not minding the fact that it sounds as if gunshots were tearing at the rooftop. At first, he was shocked, but recovered immediately after he remembered what had happened on that fateful night yesterday.

It was the night when the teacher confessed her feelings towards him, something that he had, never for once, anticipated.

"Miss? Miss, I know that it's very early, but I have to wake you up. We still have to go to school...", Jack said as he gently shook his History teacher's arm while she still lay asleep comfortably on his bed. She responded by taking off the blanket that was wrapped around her and mumbling something to Jack about classes being cancelled due to the storm, and that the faculty of the school had already predicted such an event, and that there was no need to worry about anything related to school for today.

Jack let out a sigh, and proceeded to go to his bathroom to take an early shower. He wanted to impress Miss Kate Summers by cooking breakfast for her and showing her how capable he was of the living-alone lifestyle, which he had already been accustomed to, anyway. Years of living alone in a small apartment definitely did the job of forcing you to know how to act independently, Jack silently thought to himself, another silent thought for the billionth time in his usually non-eventful and boring life.

As he took a very cold shower, he fondly remembered the time when Miss Kate Summers covered him with her umbrella one rainy day, also remembering that it was the first time he had ever gotten close to having a small conversation with her. Of course, the poem he had made about that day did not escape his mind. These he thought of because of the rather loud pitter-patter of the heavy raindrops upon the apartment roof.

Once he was finished, he changed into his usual house clothes-which consisted of a shirt, jogging pants, and a jacket, since today was a cold day, due to the winds brought about by the storm. "Woah, she sleeps like a tranquilized animal", Jack muttered to himself as he saw his still sleeping History teacher, although he never saw such a sight in real life, and was thankful for not having ever seen a tranquilized animal before his eyes. He stretched for a long period of time as he thought about the next task he was excited to prepare for: cooking breakfast for both Miss Summers and himself.

The aroma of well-cooked bacon and eggs wafted in the air as the sound of a sizzling pan filled Jack's tiny room within the apartment. He was concentrating intensely on his cooking, that he did not notice the shadow which had suddenly loomed over him.

"Woah. You know how to cook meals, huh", Miss Summers said, amused by the fact that Jack was indeed good at cooking, as she looked at the bacon and the eggs. Surprised that the teacher was already awake, Jack nearly jerked with fright the moment he had heard Miss Summers' soft voice. He turned to her.

"So. You're already awake. That's weird; I am sure I saw you sleep like a rock a moment ago", Jack replied to his teacher's comment. She ignored this as her eyes remained fixed on the bacon and eggs, and this led Jack to release a small laugh as she looked liked a hungry predator with her eyes set on the prey. In truth, she was actually appreciating how well the meal looked with her eyes. The bacon showed no signs of being burnt; there were no hard, black edges on it. As for the eggs, it was cooked sunny-side up style, and the whites and yellows of the eggs were very clear, and again, the sides were not burnt.

Miss Summers held her nose close to the food that Jack had prepared for their breakfast and sniffed. She turned to Jack and looked at him. "You know, Jack, guess how this looks like. A guy cooking breakfast, and a girl who sleeps on the guy's apartment room as if the room was her own", she says to Jack, smiling as she does. Jack turned off the stove and turned to look at her. "Yeah? What's with the sudden realization?", Jack asks Miss Summers.

Miss Summers, again, smiled. "It's as if we're a couple, like, husband and wife."

At this, Jack's cheeks were flushed with red. Suddenly, he felt his teacher hugging him from behind. Her pale, thin arms were wrapped around his waist. "H-hey, you can't just suddenly do thing's like thi-" His words were interrupted by another sudden act of Miss Summers kissing his lips. Jack could not find words to say as she pulled away from him. "Jack? How was it? Was that kiss fit for a wife?" Jack blushed even more as he realized that she was simply teasing him, but he retaliated by pinching her cheeks and her nose. "Let's eat", Jack said to his teacher when he was done enjoying how soft Miss Summers' cheeks were.

The pair was about to eat the delicious meal when they were interrupted by three loud knocks on Jack's door. "I'll get it. You can eat ahead, Miss", Jack said as he ran for the door. He opened it-and revealed on of the greatest-or the worst-coincidences in his life. It was the landlord's daughter, the girl he had a memory of. Jack's definition of her "fierce beauty" had not changed, and now, that lady-girl, rather-was standing outside his door. Her messy crow's-nest hair and ever-red lips had not changed.

"Payment. Rent. In case you don't remember, I'm the landlord's daughter", the girl asked of Jack.

Jack wanted to see how she would react this time. "Rent? This early in the morning. Five a.m., dark outside, and you're here asking for rent, huh. Your mother must work you hard", Jack replied to the girl. At first, the girl scowled at him, but immediately lost interest as her head was tilted to look in the direction of Miss Summers.

"That your elder sister, or what?", the landlord's daughter asked. "Uh, n-no she's a-a visitor, if you will. She's my...my tutor", Jack nervously answered. Jack took out a few bills from his jogging pants pocket and gave the money, a pained expression on his face as he placed it upon the girl's hands. The girl looked at Jack for a while. "Hmm. Thanks. See ya."

Jack resumed his breakfast with Miss Kate Summers. He talked to her about the girl, about how they had met once when he was new in the apartment on his seventh grade year, and about he had closed the door on her at first, and finally, about he had failed to know her name, even until now. Miss Summers smiled at Jack's stories, and a little bit of sunlight peeked through the dark, gray storm clouds. The immense cold had been replaced with a bit of warmth, and all was right with the world.