C7 CHAPTER 07

It had been a few weeks since Dwayne had seen Akira at a coffee shop. When they arrived at the university, they just treated each other like normal classmates. Although he often sees Akira with this dude with her inside the campus. He asked his friends, specifically Marco because they're in the same university, he's just 1 year ahead. He found out that the guy Akira is always with is also a 1st year but in the Civil Engineering course.

It's Wednesday, and Akira's schedule today does not have morning classes. Since her classes are in the afternoon, she didn't go to school with her sister Saiko. It was around half past 11 when Akira woke up. You see, she was too relaxed because she knew her classes started in the afternoon, so she enjoyed watching the chronological order of the F&F franchise last night.

"Kira, it's already noon, why haven't you woken up yet? Don't you have classes?" Her mother's tone is gentle yet authoritative.

Stretching her arms and legs, she lazily responded, "I have, what time is it now?" Yoda, her pet, immediately approached her sensing she was awake.

"It's 11:50. What time do your classes start?"

WHAT?!

"At 12:30!" Akira wasted no time and quickly got up. She didn't even know how she managed to grab her towel so swiftly. Her mom could only sigh as she hurried. For her, it was laundry day, so she carried a basket to collect Akira's dirty clothes.

It seemed like Flash had possessed Akira this noon with how fast she moved right after waking up. If only this were everyday. She couldn't even count how many times her phone had buzzed since earlier. She ignored it and headed straight to the bathroom.

She quickly put on the clothes she had laid out last night after coming out of the bathroom. She wore a brown knitted cropped top and khaki-colored trousers paired with mocha-colored low-cut Jordan 1's. She hurriedly grabbed her bag and phone before bidding her mom goodbye as she left.

"12:15, Kira!" She silently scolded herself. As she glanced at the time, she also noticed the messages. Some were from their group chats, some from Jayden recommending a new show to Akira, and a few from Luna.

The guard at the university's main gate chuckled slightly as he saw her rushing to prevent the gate from closing. "Sir, wait a minute!!!" Her hand was raised like a 'stop' sign. The guard let her in and teased her about being late. It was true, she was late both literally and figuratively. Akira thanked him as she finally stepped inside the university.

She had just payed attention to Luna's messages. She was asking her if she was already at the university so they can at least come to class together. Due to Akira's rushing to get dressed, she didn't notice. Luna also warned her that their professor is on their way to their classes the time she messaged.

When she arrived at the building, she cautiously peeked through one of the classroom doors to see if the professor was already there. "Aaaaanddd he's already there!" Akira mentally face-palmed.

Apparently, their classroom had two doors—one in the front and one at the back. Luckily, Dwayne preferred sitting near the back door, which was always open, so she quickly tapped him on the shoulder. Dwayne almost jumped in surprise when he felt someone tap him from outside. Akira made sure the professor didn't see her because it was risky; he was strict and disliked latecomers once attendance had been taken.

"What are you doing there?" Dwayne whispered.

Mouthing and sign language were their only means of communication because it was difficult. Akira pointed to the professor who was writing on the board with their back turned to the class. "Has he started?" she silently mouthed.

Instead, Dwayne had an idea to avoid getting scolded. During orientation, the professor had emphasized their dislike for tardiness, considering it irresponsible. "Give me your bag. Go through the front door, I'll cover for you. Hurry up before attendance is taken," Dwayne stifled a laugh as he took Akira's bag.

Akira took a deep breath before casually walking towards the door, but deep inside, her heart was pounding hard. "Ms. Buenesco," her professor started as he saw her at the door. "You're la-"

"Excuse me, Sir," Dwayne raised his hand, catching the professor's attention. "She's been here since earlier. Actually, this is her bag. She just had to run to the restroom to solve her uhh... monthly girl problems," Dwayne glanced at Akira, he says casually, gesturing towards Akira's bag that he had placed on a vacant seat beside him.

Luna adjusted in her seat upon noticing Akira by the door and what Dwayne did. "Yes, sir. Actually, she came in at the same time as me earlier," she added, giving Akira 'the look'.

Their professor seemed to accept the excuse and nodded slightly. It's a good thing he hasn't started taking attendance yet, so technically, Akira was still on time. "Mhmm... take your seat Ms. Buenesco, I'll be taking the attendance now."

Akira felt a sense of relief hearing that. She walked straight to the seat at the back where Dwayne had placed her bag. "what I'd tell 'ya, I got you" she chuckled softly as she sat down. Dwayne quietly laughed and breathed a sigh of relief. She thought she would be waiting outside for 1 1/2 hours because she wouldn't be allowed in.

"Thank you," she whispered softly enough for Dwayne to hear. He responded with a slight smile and nodded. The professor began calling out names for attendance. Silently, Akira pulled out her phone. Typing to thank Luna too for reading the situation and going along with it.

The rest of the class went by smoothly. Though it was a bit boring because their class here lasted 1 1/2 hours. In the last remaining minutes of class, the professor mentioned mid-discussion that there would be pairings happening. They would create a strategic plan if they were to start a business. How would drive their chosen business to success using the strategic planning methods that the pair would come up with?

For the fun part, it wouldn't just be easy answering questions like an essay part of an exam; instead the professor's idea was more like a research-style paper. Meaning, the paper would have Chapters 1-5. The final bound paper would be their final exam before the term ends.

Is it possible to withdraw from college life? Is there an option to 'Quit' or 'back to Main Menu'???

On the bright side, the professor made sure he was open for consultation once they started the paper.

Akira snapped out of her thoughts when their professor spoke again in the middle of her silent rant. "These are pairings, okay? Who else doesn't have a partner? Kindly raise your hand."

Akira slowly raised her hand while scanning the class to see if she was the only one without a partner. AM I REALLY THE ONLY ONE LEFT???

"Mr. Alvera, why don't you partner with Ms. Buenesco since you two are the only ones without partners," the professor said. Akira shot a glance at Dwayne beside her, CONFIRMED, his hand was also raised.

Dwayne nodded. "Yes, Sir," he said, lowering his hand.

As if on cue, as soon as the professor wrote their names on the list of pairs, he bid them farewell, signaling the end of the class period. Dwayne chuckled at Akira's expression as she packed her things. "Are you okay?"

"I think I spaced out when I heard about the pairings," she faced Dwayne while slinging her bag over her shoulder.

He chuckled and walked with Akira out of the room towards their next class. "Same here, I'm already stressed out and we haven't even started."

Dwayne glanced briefly at Akira when he saw her laugh. It reminded him of the genuine smiles and light laughs she shared last time at the local café where he saw her with that guy. It was just like this. Genuine.

When they settled into their next class, a few minutes later, a teacher from the faculty arrived to inform them that they couldn't have their Communications class today due to the teacher's urgent absence. This meant that the next hour of her scheduled class was given as a free period.

Students started to leave the room one by one upon hearing that their subject was declared as free period. "Let's go to the cafeteria, Akira. I'm hungry," Luna complained about her hunger.

"Sure, I feel like eating too," Akira replies, grabbing their belongings and heading out.

The cafeteria was a bit far from the building where they were currently located. There were vending machines downstairs, but that's not what they were looking for right now. They wanted something to fill their stomachs, not just a drink.

"How are you going to start your Strategic Planning with your partner?" Akira's voice sounded lifeless. She found the workload too much. Plus, if there was anything she disliked in high school, it was their research subject. She thought she had escaped it, only to find out that their subject in strategic planning was all about researching too.

"Actually, I don't know either," Luna chuckled. "I guess I'll discuss it with my partner first. She said the guidelines are on the subject's online announcement board, but she'll still discuss each chapter."

Akira sighed heavily as she thought about the workload. Other subjects were also assigning tasks. They were in line at the cafeteria to buy snacks when suddenly someone tapped her and said, "Kira~!"

Jayden received a loud smack when Akira faced him. He pretended to be hurt while holding his shoulder. "You really have a bad attitude, I should really be holding up a sign saying NO TO VIOLENCE HERE!!!"

"You're so noisy, I don't even know you!" Akira jokingly says, even pretended to step away.

"Fine, no more Frappuccino for you next time!" Childishly, Jayden stuck out his tongue at his best friend.

"Oh, by the way," Akira remembered Luna was with her. "This is Luna, my classmate in other subjects. Luna, this is Jayden, my friend."

"Don't believe her, I'm actually her sibling, she's just ashamed of me," Jayden jokes.

Luna laughed as she witnessed their banter. In the end, they both looked foolish, goofing around with each other.

Jayden wandered off to the cafeteria to buy snacks even though he had only asked to go to the restroom. When it was their turn in the queue, Akira ended up buying a clubhouse sandwich, which she surprisingly liked when Luna bought one for her last time, a cheese waffle on a stick, and a bottled juice to drink.

Is this what they call Stress Eating???

When they settled at one of the tables inside the cafeteria, Jayden passed by their table and mischievously took one of Akira's two clubhouse sandwiches, exclaiming, "Very nice meeting you, Luna!" before running away.

Luna chuckled at how goofy he could be. "That guy's really crazy. Sorry about that, you witnessed our silliness," she said.

Honestly, Akira's mind was still clouded with thoughts about what to do in her other subjects, especially in Strategic Planning. She was overwhelmed with work. Surely, she needed to reduce her workload. Thankfully, her remaining tired brain cell thought of checking the guidelines on the online announcement board.

She found out that the entire paper's content was outlined there, including the types of businesses they would focus on. So everything was already laid out; it would be easier once they discussed it and started, at least with an outline.

It was their last subject for the day. Just a few more steps and Akira would feel liberated. Just kidding. Just a few more hours to wait and they're going home. The last subject was straightforward and light, focusing on morals and desirable traits of an employee or entrepreneur for better employer-employee relationships. The professor was kind enough not to assign any take-home tasks or advance readings to avoid adding to the students' workload.

When the bell rang, Akira took her time arranging her things in her bag while Dwayne silently stood by, waiting for her to finish. In the past weeks, it had become Dwayne's habit to wait for Akira and walk out of the building with her. She didn't mind the company; in fact, it was better now that they were partners in a subject. It was an advantage because they were already familiar with each other, especially since they would be spending a lot of time together working on their paper.

"Oh, Dwayne, I was thinking..." She paused in her steps and faced Dwayne. "About the Strategic Planning, I checked the guidelines on the online announcement board earlier. Maybe we should start drafting some ideas for the type of business we'll focus on for the whole paper."

Dwayne nodded. "If you're okay with the idea," Akira added somewhat hesitantly. "I'm open to other suggestions if you have a more effective one."

Dwayne took a moment to respond, pondering what else was on his agenda for the day. "Hmm... my only plan after class was to buy pet food for my pet. Other than that, nothing else. Let's start now, if you're up for it," he suggested. "To lighten our workload a bit, it seems to be piling up."

It was indeed piling up.

They both agreed to work at Coffee Project in the mall. Coffee shops were scattered around their area, and this seemed like the quietest place where they could work peacefully. Plus, it was convenient since Dwayne could buy pet supplies at the same mall without having to go far.

Yes, a thoughtful plan, right?

Dwayne offered Akira a ride to the mall where they would work. Who was Akira to refuse? Just kidding! It would save on fare, it's so expensive, and some other tricycle drivers charge too much!!

Silently, Akira noticed a familiar gray Honda Civic beep once Dwayne clicked the key to unlock the doors. She racked her brain trying to remember where she had seen this car before. Or maybe it just looked similar. Dwayne also wondered as Akira paused.

"Is this your car?" She looked puzzled.

"Yeah, why?"

Akira scoffed as she processed where she had seen it. "I knew it was you," she chuckled.

"Huh?"

"Coffee Shop. You were with someone... I saw you ran towards this car," she tapped the hood of the car.

Both ended up laughing and discussing the events of that day throughout the entire ride to their destination, with occasional pings from Dwayne's phone being heard.