Fall Not

EPISODE 3

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Amid their argument and trouble, the door behind them opened. It both made them cover their faces and quickly kneeled on the floor turning their back at the opened door, ready for an earful sermon. Claire and Lay sighed in frustration knowing that tomorrow they’ll be expecting to be called to the Guidance Office to explain themselves, again.

“Hey...” a lady came out the door wearing pajamas and sleepy eyes staring at the two. “…Do you still have time to unwind? Amazing!” Sam gasped. She is also a college student, but they are one year ahead of Sam.

She handed them a sparkly clanking key.

“Oh! Our keys!” both exclaimed and Lay hurriedly grabbed the key.

“Wait…where did you get this Sam?” Claire immediately asked since both forgot who was supposed to be carrying the key. She looked at Sam who was standing in front of them and they were still kneeling pitifully in front of their locked door.

“Haze gave me that,” she replied. Claire and Lay stare at each other’s eyes surprised by the answer. “He told me to give it to you since you just threw it in front of his door, so he thought that you were asking him to keep it for you,” Sam explained to Claire.

No one is not confused at all.

“O-okay, anyway, never mind. Thank you.” Claire grabbed the key from Lay and unlocked the door, Lay followed her, and Sam also got back to her room and locked the door behind her.

Out of tiredness from running, Claire lays hastily on their bed while Lay sits on the sofa.

“Why? I mean just how on earth did that key be in front of Haze’s door? Did you, by any chance, go to his dorm earlier?

Lay is still wondering about what just happened and her eyebrows are about to become a little bridge while Claire is just staring at the ceiling, not interested to answer at all.

She stopped digging what could’ve happened earlier.

Lay rests beside Claire, and both take a glance at nowhere. All they can hear now is not a chirping bird nor a sweet lullaby from the freezing air but boredom and the deafening silence that is itchy in their ears.

They both sighed, again, out of disappointment and dissatisfaction. Because they could just wish that time would fast forward, that tomorrow will be skipped, and when they wake up, a year already passed.

“Can we just be absent for tomorrow’s event?” Lay said out of nowhere and giggled.

“As if it’s possible.” Claire just closed her eyes and quietly went to sleep. They need to get enough sleep for tomorrow after their graduation.

“Tomorrow will just pass Lay, after that we’ll not be imprisoned in this dormitory anymore, we are free the next day.” Both curved a smile.

“You hate school, huh?” Lay questioned.

“Who loves school anyway?” She argued then rolled her eyes.

“Could we be able to live out our dreams?” Lay somehow smoothly diverted the topic.

“That’s a nice and tricky question. Come to think of it, when we get out of this school, will there be more opportunities for us?”

“Well, if there isn’t enough work for us, then let’s do our job, you, being the cook, since you’re good at it and I’ll be your…” Lay stopped for a moment and thought, “… I’ll be your investor.” She added.

“Should we just marry?” an absurd question coming from Claire, that makes Lay disappointedly cringe. Claire looks at her face which shows nothing but an indecipherable image.

Claire must be thinking life as a married woman will be 10x easier than working 10 hours a day as an unmarried woman.

“What?! Marry?” Lay responded and raised one of her eyebrows. “…Do you think that will be easy? I can’t even imagine myself being in a relationship, and then what, marry someone? That is the weirdest suggestion you can ever present, dear. Instead, I will build a house for myself then die, single.” Lay said then giggled.

“I’ll join you then. We’ll build a house for us, just the two of us.”

“Hey, don’t tell me. You like—”

“A BIG NO! It’s just that, you’re afraid of darkness. Besides, you have no other friend aside from me, am I wrong? So, I’ll join you then. For your wittiest information, I’m just a concerned citizen here, duh.”

“Okay, then you’ll also be my chef.”

“You’ll do the dishes.” Claire follows.

“Let’s grocery together!” both exclaimed out of excitement.

They haven’t been able to prepare or even think if ever that moment is to come. They only have in them pure imaginations of what they want to happen after they graduate college. To not marry and live together.

Their escape, for now, is to graduate and be freed from what they thought prison, their university, and its Dormitory. They wanted to look for a job as soon as they graduate and do whatever they want.

To achieve their goals, their dreams and to be independent.

Where they can decide for themselves.

There are so many things they plan to do before reaching theirs, to go abroad, to not just window shopping but to buy expensive dresses, to eat in a 5-star restaurant and enjoy like it is their last day on earth. That is somehow a payment for the whole 4 years they stayed in a Dormitory and were never able to go outside unless they celebrated holidays and birthdays with their families.

Little did they know that the outside world will not always be the same. Their desires will not stay still in their hearts, they also have an expiration date. There will come a day that they wish they just stayed inside the school for another 20 more years.

Dreaming is free and light, but once you live out your dream, it’s starting to be expensive and hard.

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