Meet Me In Autumn

7: One Day, She Didn't Meet Me In Autumn

“Katarina Shin! Katarina Shin!” Kat turned her head sideways, catching a glance of her stubborn best friend.

Yuna slowly made her way from the café's entrance to Kat, leaving the sliding door slightly opened out of tush and excitement to get near the counter. “Kat, I heard from Jean that you arrived late? For the first time, running employee of the month!”

Kat's her attention towards Yuna didn't linger for a while of focus, though, as she immediately just went back to standing straight and staring to nowhere. “I woke up late, Yuna. Please, not now,” she replied with a frown, not even turning once more to connect eyes with Yuna while she speaks.

She feels really tired, the exhaustion was almost incomparable to each of those other days she stays up and never really sleeps before going to work. She doesn't know a whole acceptable reason, though, except the additional paranoia she's been feeling right at the moment her eyes fluttered open. Her head was heavy, she feels nauseaous. And if this continues for some more hour, she will undeniably collapse and lose consciousness.

Silence swallowed the two girls, the awkward air remained, as if an angel just made its way across.

Kat cleared her throat, then looked away, trying to focus on sorting containers behind her back. Thankfully, Jean came and walked pass through, so Kat stopped him and glared sharply, “Jean, stop telling her real-time updates, please?”

“He-he sorry, Kat,” the guy apologized, making a finger peace sign, smiling awkwardly.

After patting the guy's back and saying it's just fine, and after reminding him not to do it ever again, Kat turned back to her front, watching as customers move their way in or into the exit.

Yuna's expression, from a teasing, suddenly shifted into a worried one. “Kat, you look… sick,” she mumbled, looking sternly at Kat's face, her pale lips, her tired eyes.

Katarina shook her head in response, “Nope, I'm fine. And I'm working, so may you excuse me?”

Fortunately, Yuna let her go off, all. Kat doesn't know if she has to be thankful that Yuna didn't throw further questions, though, or if she has to be scared and prepare her script of excuse now because Yuna will surely be shooting all the remaining bullets in her ammo when Kat comes back.

Kat deserted the counter with a small, welcoming smile. She walked into one table in the far corner with closed walls, a hidden spot from the café's glass windows. There was a man sitting alone in his neat and extravagant black suit, with a baseball cap — that doesn't actually go with his outfit because of its bright yellow color — on his head, and a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes.

A new customer, Kat supposes.

“Frappé and a slice of chocolate cake, please?”

“Order coming up, sir.”

After a few exchanges of words to clear the customer's instructions about his order, Kat bowed respectfully with her usual warm smile — that they are told to wear while working.

Then, she walked back to where Yuna currently stands straightly. “Yuna, hey,” Kat giggled a bit, “maybe find a seat somewhere? There are still empty chairs. Your knees will hurt if you stay standing there before my shift ends in thirty–”

“Kat, did you even sleep? Were you having enough rest these past few days, or weeks even?”

Kat knew that her worst nightmare is yet to come. With the way Yuna scanned her from head to toe, and the way Yuna shook her head in dismay... it's near approaching.

Not so long after, she felt a strong hand pull her to sit down a spare table situated nearest the counter.

“Hey, Jean! Please take care of the recent orders, it's on Kat's pad!”

“Yes, mademoiselle. Coming over!”

Katarina watched as the guy, Jean, obliged to Yuna's command in no time, and he was even moving voluntarily with a wide smile on his face. Kat, once again, wonders what was going on between Yuna and Jean... but it was on her farthest concern right now.

If not with the fake cough Yuna let out to get Kat's attention, the latter would not be stirring back to reality. “Kat? Answer me honestly, did you have enough sleep?”

“I dozed off for maybe a cumulative three hours?” Kat heaved a sigh, letting out a breathy giggle, “I got up near eleven.”

“Dude, are you crazy or what? You are literally working, and you still have the audacity to stay up for the whole night?”

“I was... thinking of something important, okay? Yuna, don't worry too mucg. I'm quite hard to go through a day without sleep.”

“There's no way that I won't get worried. You are my friend, my best friend even, and it's alarming to see you looking that tired, bothered and ill,” a silence. “Since you look very secretive and doesn't want to tell me a thing, you can just go now, and I'll be taking over. Besides, you are nearly done with your shift in around twenty minu–”

“No, I'll finish the remaining time.”

“Don't be stubborn even just for today, please? Just go to her and seek refuge, Kat. You can leave this all on me. After then, go home and rest well, okay? If you're still not feeling very fine tomorrow, contact me or manager Sally. I can cover you up until you're okay.”

“Yuna, you don't need to–”

“Understood, Ms. Shin?”

“Yes, fine,” she raised her hands in defeat. And although the day seems awful for her state because of the unknown, uncanny feeling in her chest, she smiled in gratitude because as the sun sets down, it's a given that she will always have Yuna. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome. Leave your things today, I'll close your locker tight. Now fly, lovebird.”

Relief is all she felt by the time she stepped outside the café and the familiar afternoon breeze surrounded her frame.

And it is as if her adrenaline gushed and her energy suddenly restored in itself. Excitement flowed through her veins and she walked away happily, anticipating the view she'll see again once the intersection comes in view.

It died down in one snap.

Sharon…

She wasn't there.

Kat looked around the place, thinking Sharon must be somewhere else, and found a more comfortable spot that would be somehow hidden from the crowd...

There was no one.

Her vision brushed at the group of trees near Sharon's usual spot, right where she spotted the man standing weirdly the day prior. He wasn't there, either.

She then shifted her gaze to where Sharon usually stands straight, but there is none, no Sharon either. There's no sight of one of Sharon's feet tapping the solid ground out of boredom, there was not a sight of Sharon staring down her phone and scrolling peacefully. Not a sight of her smile when their eyes meet, not a sight of her hair dancing with the wind, not a sight of her lascivious eyes, not a sight of Sharon.

“Oh, yeah, I came earlier today,” lay chuckled upon realizing that Yuna shooed her out of the café at least ten minutes before her shift actually ends. “Right, I'll have to wait a little.”

Kat forced a small smile, then stood there, mimicking Sharon's habit of tapping her foot on the ground. Not long after, Kat found her knees subconsciously started bouncing in boredom — or maybe because of anxiety whenever people would turn to look at her because she stands there straight and doesn't even move.

Click. Her phone lit up. 5:37 PM, it shows.

“She's... late?” Kat asked herself, “she's late sometimes, it's okay, Kat,” she giggled. Going back to last year, she suddenly remembers that Sharon sometimes arrives… late. Although it wasn't a very Sharon thing to do, Kat also knows that it was inevitable.

••••••••••••••••••••••

“Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, Kat. I never thought my exam will take that long, it took me a while–”

“Nah, it's fine,” Kat stood up from slumping on the ground like a lazy sloth. A warm arm received her in a tight embrace, and she buried her face in the crook of the other girl's neck once she calms down after almost an hour of panicking when she didn't see Sharon on time. “How did it go, by the way? You'll ace that one, I know.”

“You're so sure of me. I don't even know how I picked those answers. I'm too eager to leave school, afraid you might think I'm–”

“You always say that, but you still end up having high grades– if not the highest.”

“Yes, sorry about that.”

“What's to be sorry about? I'm actually so proud of you! I've heard that business ad is hard, and you told me you don't even want to study that course, additional burden,” and Sharon couldn't agree more. It's true that she finds it hard most of the time, especially because she wasn't enjoying a bit of it, and she was just forced to study Business Ad for the company she is inheriting from her deceased parents.

“Sha, let me see your papers sometimes, hmm?”

“If I don't leave them in my locker one day, or if I don't leave them home before coming here, maybe I'll let you peek,” Kat's smile widened upon hearing her reply. “Sorry to keep you waiting, by the way.”

“You just took nearly an hour, so no biggie. I can wait here for a week and still be happy to see you after a while.”

••••••••••••••••••••••

That's right. Maybe Sharon has to finish something, or she might still be on an important business as of the moment. If she can still wait for a while, Sharon would surely be on her way, running, and arriving at their place while she pants and chases her breath in exhaustion after a marathon to get there as soon as possible.

Kat decided to sit somewhere, both hands above her knees and a small, fake smile for facade if ever people notices her loneliness.

In order to distract herself, she kept on roaming her eyes. The road also seems silent and not too lively, both sides only has a few number of pedestrians waiting, and it is obviously fewer than the normal days. There weren't so many loud car horns, overtaking, and annoyed growls — only silent drives.

Empty and odd. Similarly to how odd she was feeling that whole day, it was odd. Just how empty her feeling was last night during her sleepless hours, it felt empty. It feels empty without Sharon.

Only that one day, Sharon didn't meet her in autumn.