Traces of Midnight Fallacies

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

I stared at her eyes slowly widening while looking at him. Our class for that day is over and we are here at the kiosk where my friends and I are hanging out. There was a meeting that took place at the gymnasium earlier that we didn't attend because it looks like we don't need to be there. The meeting was over and they only talked about the homeroom meeting.

There were students who went home first while my friends and I stayed at the vacant kiosk to waste our free time before going home. We met some people from higher levels earlier, but it seemed like they had other plans, so they decided to go home.

I guess we are the only remaining students here from the lower levels because some of the students we met look like college students.

"Are you f*****g serious, Kevin?" Celeste hissed at Kevin, who was now busy playing online games on his phone while leaning on the stool.

It seems like he doesn't notice Celeste's presence in front of him. And if I were her, I might get upset because it looks like he doesn't care about her sentiments for him. He doesn't even pay a single attention to anything Celeste says in front of him.

"Aren't you ashamed of Macey Kai? What if she has a lot to do with the activities in your strands? What if she's doing something important and is just ashamed of your request? "she added before she snatched his phone from him to get his attention.

"What the…"

"f**k you for not giving your attention to everything I tell you!" she said, which made him chuckle a bit.

If I were him, I might have kicked Celeste for snatching my phone. It looks like he was serious a bit while playing that game.

"Aren't you ashamed of Macey Kai? What if she does a lot of work?" she continued before she put her arms on her waist while irritatingly looking at him. "The audacity of you to plead with other people."

"It's for your own good, Celeste," he replied, which made me lift my lips.

Instead of listening to them, I just turned my attention to my phone to continue reading on a website that I searched for a while ago. They kept blabbering about Macey, while I did nothing but listen to their arguments. I don't even feel like I'm able to focus on what I'm reading because it feels like I'm focusing on myself while listening to them.

"Why?" Kevin asked her. "Don't you trust Macey Kai?"

Celeste groaned because of what he said before I heard her punch Kevin's shoulder, which made him burst into laughter.

"I do have trust in her. You're the one I don't trust anymore," she answered.

I shook my head while listening to them. I was about to continue reading the website when I felt a group of students approach the kiosk where we were. I lifted my head and when I saw Macey with her friends, I was no longer surprised.

She handed Celeste her textbook with a smile creeping on her lips before turning to me to wink at me. I smiled back at her before turning back to my phone to continue reading the website.

"Thank you and I'm sorry for the inconvenience Kevin brought you," Celeste said, which made them laugh.

Kevin groaned at what she said, but he didn't speak anymore because he had already distracted himself by playing games on the phone that Celeste handed him back. I heard them chat a bit about random stuff until I heard Macey call my name.

She winked at me as if there was a message she wanted to convey to me. "I'll wait for the cheesecake, Charm!" she reminded me before she waved her hand.

Celeste's narrowed face darted to me when I lifted my eyes to call Kevin to ask something. My tongue twitched when I saw her serious eyes while glaring at me as if I did something wrong to her.

"What is she referring to, Charmaine?" she asked suspiciously, which made me roll my eyes at her. I think I'm used to it.

"A compensation for answering your pre-test in calculus?" I answered as if I was asking her.

Her eyes narrowed because of the tone of my answer to her, so that I shifted in my seat before I revised my last answer to her.

I explained, "A thank you gift for assisting me with your work," but she just stared at me. "Come on, Celeste. That's okay. That's normal!"

She crossed her arm above her chest before I saw her lifting her eyebrows. "Is she asking for a compensationt?" she asked.

"No," I answered before I looked at Kevin to ask for help, but it seemed like he was busy playing with his phone. I looked back at her, which made her raise her eyebrows. "They keep on asking for my cupcakes. I do have some free time tomorrow, so maybe I'll just bake it after our class. "

"You said a while ago that you don't have any vacant time this week?" she asked, as if I had said something wrong to her. "That's why you almost rejected me earlier, but luckily, here comes my hero—Macey Kai!"

"Then just be thankful and don't interfere with my gift of cheesecake for her on Friday," I hissed, which made her chuckle.

I turned to the wristwatch I was wearing before I decided to stand up while carrying my backpack. Celeste seemed like she had guessed my plan to leave, so she stood up from her seat.

"I think I need to go," I said before I looked at Kevin, who until now was still busy playing with his phone. "I need to shop for my ingredients for my cupcakes tomorrow."

Because of what I said, Kevin lifted his head and finally lost what he was playing. Celeste noticed him, so she questioned him about his actions, which made me chuckle.

"What are you doing?" she asked him when we left the kiosk. "You are not allowed to go with us, Kevin!"

"I'm not going with you, and I don't want to be with you either," he answered back, a bit proud of what he said. "If you don't want my presence beside Charmaine, then look for a lampost you can accompany. Don't meddle with me."

I know that they were just teasing each other, so instead of mediating their argument, I added more fuel to their fight.

Celeste said she didn't have anything to do at their house, so she agreed to accompany me shopping for the items I'd need for tomorrow. Kevin asked her if she was done with her activities, but she did nothing but answer contrary to the answer that Kevin and I wanted to hear from her. It seems like she doesn't want to tackle her difficulties in accountancy, so she hasn't even answered us again regarding that subject.

Kevin, on the other hand, seems like he has no plans to go home early because it looks like they haven't gotten along with his daddy yet. I planned to bake extra cupcakes tomorrow for his family, so that somehow he and his parents could get along and ease their fight.

I know the feeling of having no parent to take care of you and I don't want to share that with my friends in this unusual world. I don’t want to make them feel the suffering I experienced with or without my parents. They were complete and I don’t want to know that they were having a bad relationship with their parents, just like what I experienced in reality.

We went to the nearby supermarket, as planned, to look for the ingredients I'll need for baking tomorrow. They also suggested that we need to have a sleepover tomorrow at home because I’m sure we’ll spend the night through the dozens of cupcakes that we were planning to bake.

"I know you lost half of your memories, and I'm sure one of the ones that got lost was your skill at baking cupcakes!" Celeste insisted, which made me nod.

She was holding my phone to at least type in the memo the ingredients I listed there earlier while they were busy arguing with each other a while ago.

I was busy examining the containers of the milk I was holding that I would use tomorrow. I tried to compare it to the containers of milk suggested by the website I was reading earlier. They weren't exact, but it seems like it's better than nothing.

"You even searched for the recipe online!" she added that I just laughed before I looked at her. "Are you serious, Charmaine?" she asked while scrolling down on my phone.

"Stop meddling with my accounts, Celeste!"

I tried to snag my phone from her, but it seems like she is faster compared to me because I can’t reach her. Kevin was busy looking for almonds in the right corner, so I'm sure he didn't notice us. He looks serious while holding the two packs of almonds, and just like me, it seems like he is also comparing the two he is holding.

"How to bake red velvet cheescake? How do you turn off your oven? "She said this while reading my recent search box. "How to know if you were in an unusual dimension?"

I finally took my phone out of her hand before hurriedly deleting my history tab. Celeste looked at me suspiciously, especially when she read the website I entered last week.

"What are you searching for?" she asked while staring at me. I did nothing but maintain my look on my phone. "Why are you interested in the unusual dimension? Have you ever been to that?"

"No," I said sparingly before turning to face her. "It's just that I'm interested in knowing the mysteries behind the world now."

"You're so weird," she said, which made me chuckle. "It's already late. Get everything you need and pay at the counter with your slave!" she hissed while ponting at Kevin's direction.

I chuckled because of what she said while Kevin looks like she's busy shopping for the almonds he's still checking. I left Celeste's side to approach and to help him to pick something. It looks like he felt my presence, so that he smiled and looked up at me.

"My father loves almonds," he started, which made me nod before I turned to the two packs he was holding. "Do you know how to bake pastries with almonds included inside of them?"

I nodded slowly in front of him, which was magnified by his smile.

I smiled at him, "I don't know if I can, but I will try my best to help you," before I snatched the pack he was holding. "That's the main point why we're going to sleep over in our house tomorrow. You will help me bake goods for our friends, and for your dad as well."

He smiled at me. "Charmaine, do you already know that you are the best of all the girls I have met?"

I chuckled a bit at what he said. I don't know, but I felt my face heat up because of what he said. I’m not hoping for what, and I know that this isn’t because of the romantic excitement he’s making me feel right now.

If I felt these kinds of weird feelings about him, does it mean that Charmaine still has feelings for him? If there is, I can't intervene with it. I’ll let the two of them talk when I get back to reality… if that thing happens unexpectedly.

When we finished our shopping, we decided to line up to pay at the counter. There are only a few people in the supermarket because the night is already deep. It seems like there is a curfew these days because when we heard the horn of another police mobile that saw us at the terminal, we were even given a warning that we just laughed off.

I called my dad to pick me up at the terminal, which he did right away. Just like I expected, Daddy warned us when he arrived at the terminal to pick us up. He even saw the police mobile talking to the students we were with at the curfew we met at the terminal.

"You can ask your mommy if you plan to shop at the supermarket, Maine," Dad said when he picked us up. "You don't need to cut with your class and spend the night on the street while being chased by a police mobile."

I pucker my lips when I adjust the seatbelt on my side. Celeste was now hiding her laughter, while Kevin looked serious, but there was a ghost of a smile on his lips while listening to daddy preaching to me.

"We're not being chased by a police mobile, Dad!" I reasoned out, which made my friends burst into laughter.

Dad looked at me irritably because I had raised my voice, which made me look at him apologetically. I saw the ghost of a smile hiding on his lips, which made me just keep quiet on the side while listening to his sermons.

It looks like my day today is a bit long, especially when when we arrived at the house, it was mom who preached to me as well. They were not mad at what I did but remained serious in their voices. At the end of our discussion, I apologized to them before I both hugged them to prove my sincerity in apologizing to them.

My mom helped me to place the groceries that my friends and I bought before I decided to go upstairs to finally rest my body and prepare for another day tomorrow.