"why are you doing this to yourself rinae?!"
"where's that composed side, up for adoption?"
"what the hell is going on??!" she scolded herself, although she would never conclude an answer to her own question.
ryxin stared at her as if she was being possessed. "what are you ranting about, sis?" he questioned with a questionable look.
she froze, getting a sense of deja vu. "n-nothing. it's nothing." she spoke awkwardly. her little brother knew what it was, but let it slide.
"got it." he replied and left, leaping on the couch and watched television. rinae watched him leave and went back to fixing her own mind. she started doing different chores just to distract herself, instead it made the house look like a spotless mansion which left ryxin drop his jaw.
"seriously, what's going on in your mind?" he perked, clearly flabbergasted. he didn't hear a reply from his sister who was facepalming herself from embarrasement.
he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "just go to bed, you're clearly out of it— and it's late, we got school tomorrow." "alright..." she sounded awfully dreadful, and moved up to her bed.
ryxin was about to move as well when he saw through the window, and walked towards it. Snow was falling gently, every flake starting to cover the high ground around the pavements.
"ah, i forgot it's that time of the year around." he muttered, breathing out near the glass surface and finds a patch of cold air blurring up the surface. he began tracing on it and wiped it away.
both of them, especially ryxin, woke up later than their usual time the next day, rushing themselves to go to school. they took a cab instead of walking as they did everyday to go to school.
Being late to school as well, Alixis took a cab on his way. it was a smooth ride till he reached school and got down out of the cab.
A tall man, most probably in his 40s, stood near the gate. Alixis froze on sight, and lowered his head down as he walked past him and went through the gate. The man wanted to follow him inside, when he stopped him.
"parents aren't allowed inside the campus during school hours." he instructed, but his tone was more of an order, as he stared at the man with no form of positive expression. "got it?"
he stressed the last word before looking away, rushing inside realizing he wasted time.
The man looked at his hostility and moves away from the gate, getting inside a car worth of millions and drived away with an assistant.
"sir, do you have other motives to get him back?" The driver asked to the man behind, glancing at the rear mirror occasionally. "Not much. let's go in the afternoon." he spoke wearily, the man's age affecting his own voice.
school finished earlier for rinae, giving her good time to work in the café. A task of working part-time which makes other's give up is like a hobby to her. she looked rather hooked up than feel tired about her own job.
since winter came, a lot of customers came in for hot beverages. it was quite a challenge to maintain facade and excellent service as a pre-matured young woman during this period.
it took up to 7:00 pm to finally set herself free. maybe this could be the first time she almost threw in a towel. she sat on one of the counters and breathed a deep sigh.
"man, this is a bit tiring." she muttered to herself.
before her time period in the café, alixis also came out as soon as school finished. his smile dropped when he saw the man again, ignoring him and going ahead when the man stretched an arm between his path, standing in front of him now.
he looked at him dead in the eyes.
"i told you to not interfere in my life anymore-"
"ï know. but this is urgent. i want you to-"
"help in your business? get some specialized agent for your company. it's practically illegal to hand such a business to a child anyway— and i clearly mean your child."
he talked as if he could predict each word the other man said.
"hear this out, i'm definetly not taking back each word i cursed you into back then. stop wasting my time and use your time to waste on that damned business of yours."
The man was furious, "Alixis!" but he walked away again, starting to hope in every second that his father wouldn't follow him behind.
The man got back in the car, muttering to himself, "right. someone like alixis cannot be compromised for such petty attempts."
occasionally he'd turn around and empty not wanting to see an expensive car following his footsteps. eventually he sighed in relief and looked straight, going to the café to see rinae again.
he waved at her casually which was enough to make her jerk off like a cat. he grinned slightly, trying to suppress a chuckle.
"w-what are you on about this time?" she looked flustered and annoyed at the same time. Alixis stood in confusion, blinking twice, "i'm not equipped with any sort of snarky comments, don't worry." he smiled, finding her small reactions cute despite all that happened.
rinae hummed, looking calm after taking a deep breath, "your usual latte, i suppose?" alixis denied.
"i'm looking for something different this time. how about hot chocolate?" she took the order in her head and nodded, "alright, coming right up."
"'coming right up' huh?" he muttered, noting that sentence everytime she takes an order.
rinae came in with a cup of hot chocolate and placed it on the table, watching him take a seat and holding the cup in his hand. he sipped the drink, often blowing to cool it down.
rinae looked slightly flustered, which made him notice and smiled. "wanna try some?" he asked, nonchalantly.
she looked surprised, would someone ask this to a waitress or a worker? she hesitated, but his change of tone covered such thought, "you won't get fired for this, i'll handle it."
she looked reassured somehow, then stepped closer and took a seat next to him, taking the cup from his hands and sipped a little, leaving a tiny stain at the side of her mouth.
"i-it's good..." she muttered, keeping the cup aside with caution. she felt a stain of chocolate at the side of her lips and took a tissue to wipe it off. she nodded a thanks and got up, when alixis pulled her hand and made her sit down again, holding her hand firmly.
the small action made her mind go places again, this time more visibly.
"i like you a lot." he confessed in a whisper, then didn't make another reply. he spoke in a way that didn't seem like a confession, so rinae would not burst out. he let her hand go and got up, "thanks for the hot chocolate. it was good." and left, with rinae leaving only a speechless expression.
"am i... supposed to crash out or take it as a joke?" she muttered again.