"Laeli?"
"Mmh?"
"I... wanted to apolog--"
"Again? I thought we had cleared the whole outburst issue yesterday."
"Ah... But still, it was my fault."
Matt looked down, a complicated expression on his face.
"It's just... just..."
Laeli waited for him to finish his sentence, but Matt seemed unable to find the right words that he wanted. He just sat there, looking so... uncharacteristically Matt. The silence was unnerving.
"Matt?" He looked up, a little surprised at the gentle tone. "How do you people say this...'I... I got your back, homie?'"
"...what?"
"Isn't that what people say when they want to comfort each other?"
"Pff--" He laughed, "Where have you been learning your slang from?"
"I overheard some boys speaking in the hall."
The two fell silent again.
Eventually, Laeli grew impatient with the silence. If Matt wouldn't speak, she would have to speak first. Anything to get rid of the annoying quiet.
"Well?"
"Well, what?"
"Are you comforted now? Will you stop looking so sorry?"
"Haha... thanks, Laeli, if you put it that way..." Matt smiled, but his expression was so forced that Laeli scowled.
"No, this isn't working. I don't like it if you're so quiet, it makes this room feel too empty."
"Says the one who always complained about my noise."
"There's a saying that goes 'you never know what you had until you've lost it.' I want... I want you to go back to that happy, clueless person you were before."
"But, Laeli, I just can't stand how I lashed out at you! It was like... like I'd never changed."
"Changed?"
He sighed, turning his head to face Laeli's.
"Did you know? I was once a really unhappy kid."
"Hard to believe."
"No lie! I was always thinking about death and the whole 'what's my point in life' and stuff."
"Then what's with this sudden personality shift?"
"I... I simply realized that my life was short. There was no reason to make it so sad. Since my time wasn't long, I would have to fit all the happy things I would have normally gone through in 70 years into the five that I had left."
"That's..."
"Finding out that you have a terminal illness isn't fun."
"Agreeable."
"But making the best out of the time you have left... I think it's worthwhile."
"Carpe Diem?"
"Yeah, carpay dime!"
"Your latin is lacking."
"I took Japanese. Watashi wa raten o hanasu koto wa arimasen~"
"Sore wa īwake de wa arimasen." Laeli replied, shaking her head slightly.
Matt grinned, "Uwa ̄ ! Anata mo nihongo o hanasu?"
"Hai, sukoshi."
"Wai~ So cool! I didn't think I'd meet someone who could speak Japanese!"
"I speak French, Japanese, Latin and English. My mother insisted on proficiency."
"Ah, so we can speak in a language no one else can understand?"
"You could... think of it that way, I guess.
"I~ēi! Rettsu takusan no tanoshimi o motte iru!"
"Please stop sounding so bubbly in a foreign language. It's unnerving."
So ended day 13.
"Mmh?"
"I... wanted to apolog--"
"Again? I thought we had cleared the whole outburst issue yesterday."
"Ah... But still, it was my fault."
Matt looked down, a complicated expression on his face.
"It's just... just..."
Laeli waited for him to finish his sentence, but Matt seemed unable to find the right words that he wanted. He just sat there, looking so... uncharacteristically Matt. The silence was unnerving.
"Matt?" He looked up, a little surprised at the gentle tone. "How do you people say this...'I... I got your back, homie?'"
"...what?"
"Isn't that what people say when they want to comfort each other?"
"Pff--" He laughed, "Where have you been learning your slang from?"
"I overheard some boys speaking in the hall."
The two fell silent again.
Eventually, Laeli grew impatient with the silence. If Matt wouldn't speak, she would have to speak first. Anything to get rid of the annoying quiet.
"Well?"
"Well, what?"
"Are you comforted now? Will you stop looking so sorry?"
"Haha... thanks, Laeli, if you put it that way..." Matt smiled, but his expression was so forced that Laeli scowled.
"No, this isn't working. I don't like it if you're so quiet, it makes this room feel too empty."
"Says the one who always complained about my noise."
"There's a saying that goes 'you never know what you had until you've lost it.' I want... I want you to go back to that happy, clueless person you were before."
"But, Laeli, I just can't stand how I lashed out at you! It was like... like I'd never changed."
"Changed?"
He sighed, turning his head to face Laeli's.
"Did you know? I was once a really unhappy kid."
"Hard to believe."
"No lie! I was always thinking about death and the whole 'what's my point in life' and stuff."
"Then what's with this sudden personality shift?"
"I... I simply realized that my life was short. There was no reason to make it so sad. Since my time wasn't long, I would have to fit all the happy things I would have normally gone through in 70 years into the five that I had left."
"That's..."
"Finding out that you have a terminal illness isn't fun."
"Agreeable."
"But making the best out of the time you have left... I think it's worthwhile."
"Carpe Diem?"
"Yeah, carpay dime!"
"Your latin is lacking."
"I took Japanese. Watashi wa raten o hanasu koto wa arimasen~"
"Sore wa īwake de wa arimasen." Laeli replied, shaking her head slightly.
Matt grinned, "Uwa ̄ ! Anata mo nihongo o hanasu?"
"Hai, sukoshi."
"Wai~ So cool! I didn't think I'd meet someone who could speak Japanese!"
"I speak French, Japanese, Latin and English. My mother insisted on proficiency."
"Ah, so we can speak in a language no one else can understand?"
"You could... think of it that way, I guess.
"I~ēi! Rettsu takusan no tanoshimi o motte iru!"
"Please stop sounding so bubbly in a foreign language. It's unnerving."
So ended day 13.
Last edited by Sophie on August 6th 2011, 2:34 pm; edited 2 times in total