Rudy and Janet were walking to school, alone. Usually, Janet would have been happy to spend some alone time with Rudy, but she wasn't.
Rudy seemed to be in a bad mood, and he hadn't spoken a word since they began their walk to school.
Janet felt anxious.
"Where is Alice?" Janet asked hesitantly, seemingly afraid to start a conversation.
"She is sleeping."
"I see…"
"..."
"..."
Once again, the atmosphere had turned quiet. Janet didn't know what to say or how to start a conversation.
"I… I am surprised you came to pick me up when Alice isn't coming…"
"I had something to do at school. And I didn't want to stay at home," he replied without moving his gaze.
"Is… that so…"
"What about you? Why are you going to school if you are not going to participate in any sports activities?"
"Because I don't want to stay at home."
"..." Rudy glanced at her without saying anything.
"I am not trying to copy you. I really don't like staying at home. Mom is sick again and can't go to her night shift. Or she would sleep during the day, and I would be bored.
I can't even watch television when she is sleeping, so there is nothing I can do." She shrugged and continued, "I don't have siblings either, so I can't annoy them."
"Understandable," Rudy nodded.
"Come to think of it, you now have a sister. How is she? I mean… Do you get along with her? Step siblings usually don't get along well with each other in early times."
"What do you mean by early times?"
"Like… the time after your parents get married, and you get step-siblings."
"Oh, you mean that way. Yes, you are right. It was pretty awkward between Lucy and I, but now everything is alright."
Rudy's mood no longer seemed grumpy, so Janet was relieved, and she could talk with him without being scared of him snapping at her.
"What about your step-brother? Eric told me your stepfather had two kids. One son who is older than you, and the other is a daughter who is a week younger. Do you get along with him? What's his name?"
Rudy's mood once again turned grumpy.
After noticing the sudden change in his mood, Janet gulped down and added, "Sorry if I am going personal. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"It's not like that. My step-brother's name is Paul, but we haven't talked since the day after we first met. Actually, he hasn't contacted anyone since that day. Maybe he wasn't happy with his father's marriage? Who knows… but I certainly don't."
"That's possible. But since he was a university student, he can take care of himself."
"He sure can," Rudy smirked from the corner of his lips.
They talked for a while and reached the school on time. The first half of the school had classes, while the second half had sports. Still, there was no attendance as they only did the revision of the syllabus.
Sadly, Rize's lecture was in the second half, which was canceled in exchange for the sports activities.
Rudy had nothing else to do, and he was bored, so he decided to watch the sports event.
Janet only came to school because she wanted to talk and spend time with Rudy, and she had decided to leave with him, But when she learned that Rudy was going to stay and watch the event, she decided to participate in the girl's race.
The girl's race was the same as the boy's race, but they had to get a flower from the boys instead of the ribbons— like the girls did. However, some girls were against the idea and didn't want the boys to give flowers to them.
So they changed the rules and made it so that girls were also allowed to stand instead of boys. The couples, of course, wanted to give and receive flowers from their lovers, so they prepared themselves for the race.
Janet was unaware of all that before she wrote down her name in the participant's list. Obviously, she didn't want to receive flowers from any boy other than Rudy, but she didn't have the courage to ask him to hold a flower for her.
Nevertheless, Rudy got himself a beautifully bloomed flower and stood in Janet's lane without even asking.
Janet saw a boy standing in her lane, but she didn't know it was Rudy.
'What should I do? Someone is already standing in my lane. I don't want to get a flower from someone else, even if it's just a sports activity. Should I run away? But I will be punished if I don't participate in a sports activity after writing my name down.
What if I pretend to be sick and go to the infirmary? But that will get everyone's attention on me. And it's… cliche. What if I run but fall on purpose and get myself injured? I will be automatically disqualified from the race.
Yeah, let's go with that. And maybe… Rudy will come to see me if I am injured? I have to make sure I fall carefully and do not hit my face. I don't want any visible scars on my body or face.'
[Get set! Ready! Go!]
The race had started, but Janet was lost in making her plan. She was already the last and lost her chance to get a headstart. Still, she wasn't worried as she had no intention of finishing the race.
She first planned to fall at the very start of the race, but now that she was the last, she had to put some effort into making her fall look convincing. She changed her plan and decided to run at least halfway.
Just as she was about to execute her perfect fall, she glanced at the boy standing in her lane and realized it was Rudy. She was confused and happy at the same time. Regardless, she decided to continue the race.
However, it was too late. Her legs had stopped working when she saw Rudy, and she fell flat on her face. Luckily, she fell on the grass, so it didn't hurt, but her knee started bleeding.
"I… suck… I suck at everything."
