Wrong Arrow

20

The classroom's busy. The teacher's giving a lecture something about physics. Vaeri's close to falling asleep while Pearl's doodling to keep herself awake. And Zach? He's observing from the side, situated beside the entrance of the classroom. For the whole day, he made attempts to have Stell and Pearl meet up. But they all failed. She didn't show up on the rooftop at the same time he did and the guy couldn't make it to the cafeteria due to soccer practice. At this rate, you'd say they were practically made for each other. Not showing up at the right time and when needed.

Other than that, there's something else occupying the young cupid's mind. "Pearl." If he were human, his voice would be loud enough to reach the whole classroom. No one bats an eye. Not even Pearl. He tries again.

"Hey, Pearl."

"Hey, grandma." That one was harsh but it didn't make her look at him.

No response. Zach tucks his hands inside his pockets, digs his heel into the ground, and twists his body to face the other side. Away from the classroom.

"Of course, she won't hear you stupid." He tells himself. From a distance, he spots a familiar figure approaching him from the left side of the hallway. Where has he been the whole day? He has no idea.

"And that'll be all for today's lecture. Make sure to pass your assignments on time." The teacher dismisses her students. She takes her files and brings the closer to her chest and exists the classroom. Mutters begin to sprout within the classroom as chairs graze the surface of the floor.

Harper shows up the next second, standing beside Zach. "Is she gone?"

"Vaeri?"

"Who else?" He peers over Zach's shoulder and sighs in relief. "Great. She's still here. See you later man." Patting Zach's back, he runs inside and stands in front of Vaeri. "You have to go to the cafeteria now."

"Um Harper.. buddy." Zach utters with floating fingers. He's trying to grab the other cupid's attention. "I don't think she can hear you."

"You don't think I know that?" Is the reply he gets. Vaeri grabs her backpack and rushes out of the classroom right after giving Pearl a hug.

"Hey! Come back here! You're not supposed to leave ye- Hey!" Harper runs past Zach to chase after the escaping student. Pearl grabs her notebooks and dumps it inside her backpack. She then reaches for the edge of the chair and drags it underneath the desk. As she makes her way out, Zach trails behind her with an anxious look.

Maybe a little tap on the shoulder ?

He shakes the thought away. The thoughts running through his head were equivalent to what others refer to as intrusive thoughts. It's against the rule to try to come in contact with humans.

Pearl plugs in her earphones, walking without stopping. He continues to follow her. And like always, Stell isn't anywhere to be seen. Despite Zach's effort for them to meet up, the plan never seem to work. Today, he'll return without much accomplishment. This task's taking longer than he anticipated it to take. Normally, he'd have the job done within a week. Three days if he was lucky.

If there’s one thing Zach had learned about Pearl, it’s the fact that she hates it when things aren't in their right place. Vaeri eventually arrives home and properly places her bag on the racket. She slips off her shoes and strides in the direction of the kitchen.

Zach waits beside the entrance, leaning against the wall as he observes the human. Pearl circles the counter, putting her phone on top of it. She reaches the fridge and opens it. The light that shines makes her face glow in a soft shade of white. Zach clears his throat.

Peel brings out the ingredients of what she’s about to be making.

“You should change your clothes first.” The young Cupid mutters under his after so much minutes of silence. Seemingly embarrassed by what he just said, Zach rubs the back of his neck and clears his throat once again. He looks away too, staring at the floor. Were the tiles always this clean?

Pearl clears the counter and gently places her ingredients on top of it. She then lifts her arm and arms. Zach blinks his eyes at the coincidence. Her nose scrunches. A bitter expression scatters all over her face. And just like that, she leaves the kitchen. An invisible scent of lavender lingers in the air when she passes Zach. He ponders in thought. "Guess she didn't smell that bad."

Pearl heads upstairs, her footsteps filling the walls of the house. In the process, she flickers the lights on. Zach wonders his eyes and glides over to the counter where a recipe book sits. Her phone's fixated right next to it. The young cupid nibbles the bottom of his lip in thought.

Should he or should he not?

His job requires him to bring two humans together. By any means. As long as you don't come in contact with a human. It won't be wrong to use her phone and text Stell. He's done it before with his other clients in the past, so this shouldn't be something concerning.

Yeah.

It shouldn't be that hard.

But why on earth is he hesitating? He reaches a hand forward, attempting to grab the item, but his fingers go right through. "You don't see that every day." He tells himself with a side jerk of his head. He attempts to grab it again but, like the first time, his hand goes right through.

He stares at his hand with furrowed eyebrows. And then reaches for the recipe book. This time, he's able to feel the texture. Lifting it up too. Zach rolls his eyes in annoyance. "So you can grab the book but not the phone, uh?"

He places it down and tucks his hands inside his pockets and pokes the inside of his cheek.