The scorching heat of September persists, feeling stuffy and hot. The weather forecast says it will rain today, but by noon, the thin and translucent cloud cover shows no signs of change. Less than a week into the new school year for grade 11 students, most people's minds have not yet fully returned to school.
The classroom was filled with students who were not paying attention to the lecture, and Katherine Lopez was one of them.
Today, she is more distracted than the first day she returned to school.
She was not sleeping on the table, nor was she reading her favorite comics. She was just resting her chin on one hand, occasionally taking out her phone from the hole in the table, lighting it up, and quickly putting it back, not looking very happy.
Janice Adams, who was sitting next to her, noticed this and leaned in closer, gently poking her arm with her finger and whispering, "Katherine, are you waiting for a message from someone?"
Katherine Lopez looked at her sideways, lazily lying on her desk, and muttered, "Damn."
"Hmm?" Janice Adams asked curiously, "Did Mrs. Lopez forget to tell you some important news?"
"No." Katherine Lopez did not hide it from her good friend whom she had known since childhood, "We had a fight, and I'm waiting for her to apologize to me."
Janice Adams: "What? Mrs. Lopez actually got into an argument with you?"
Janice Adams was not surprised. She and Katherine Lopez had known each other since childhood, and were very familiar with each other's and their parents' personalities.
In her memory, Katherine Lopez's parents were the best and most open-minded parents she had seen, besides her own. They were not like most parents who set limits for their children, and did not demand that Katherine Lopez achieve a certain rank or get into a good school.
They only wish for Katherine Lopez to be a carefree and happy little princess.
Janice Adams' words surprised Katherine Lopez. She couldn't understand why her mother, Mrs. Lopez, was suddenly so respectful of her and unconditionally supportive, not only disregarding her protests but even yelling at her.
Katherine Lopez felt very aggrieved, "She's about to have a son, of course she wants to be tough on me."
Janice Adams was stunned, disbelievingly asking, "What son? Is your mother pregnant?"
"..."
Katherine Lopez paused, glancing at her, "No."
Accepting the accusing look from her friend, Janice Adams sheepishly said, "Wasn't the mother of that person in the neighboring class pregnant last semester? So that's why I guessed that, I'm sorry."
Janice Adams pulled her sleeve, "Can you tell me in detail the reason you had an argument with Mrs. Lopez?"
Just as the bell rang, Katherine Lopez also expressed her anger to her friend about Mrs. Lopez's actions.
Before coming to school in the morning, Katherine Lopez was informed by Mrs. Lopez, who had been waking her up and having breakfast with her, about the request she had previously made to transfer to their school.
The son of a good friend who is studying, will live with them before graduating from high school, and go to and from school with Katherine Lopez.
Regarding the matter of Mrs. Lopez's friend's son coming to transfer to the school, Mrs. Lopez mentioned it once to Katherine Lopez during the summer vacation.
That time, Katherine Lopez was busy watching idol videos, when Mrs. Lopez instructed her to take better care of her good friend's son at school from then on.
She responded with a perfunctory "mm-hm" and did not take it very seriously.
After all, that person just transferred to their school, not to their home.
Until this morning, she was informed that the other party was going to live in her house and even occupy the guest room she used to store her dolls.
Katherine Lopez can accept that her parents are distracted in caring for their friend's son, but she cannot accept them making the decision to have the other person live with her
Before deciding, I did not consult with myself, nor did I seek her opinion, I just notified her.
She is also a member of this family, and she also has the right to agree or disagree.
For this, Katherine Lopez blew up directly.
She asked Mrs. Lopez angrily why she hadn't told her that person was going to stay in their house.
Janice Adams was taken aback by what she heard, and asked, "What did Mrs. Lopez say?"
Katherine Lopez fumed, "My mom said she was too busy and forgot."
She knew Mrs. Lopez was busy with work, but that was not a good enough reason to convince her.
Then what?
Katherine Lopez said angrily: "I told her that I don't agree with that person living in our home."
Janice Adams hesitated: "Mrs. Lopez did not agree?"
"Not only did she not agree. Mentioning this, Katherine Lopez's emotions became somewhat out of control, "She also said I was selfish, saying that the house is so big, and that person moving in wouldn't affect me at all, and why wouldn't I be willing to let them stay."
"Talking about this, Katherine Lopez's voice choked up, with tears welling up in her eyes, 'From childhood to now, she has never been harsh with me, but now she is speaking this way about me for the sake of an outsider.'"
Katherine Lopez feels extremely resentful just at the mention of the two words "selfish".
She is selfish, but are they not excessive?
"Don't cry, Katherine." Janice Adams hurriedly comforted her, "It was Mrs. Lopez and the others who were wrong, don't be sad." Katherine Lopez cried for a while, sniffing: "Anyway, she has to apologize to me, and I told them... I don't agree with that person living with us. If they insist, I won't go back."
Only her threats didn't seem to have any effect on Mrs. Lopez. From this morning until now, she had not received a single apology or concession message from Mrs. Lopez.
Katherine Lopez felt a pang of bitterness.
Seeing her red-rimmed eyes, Janice Adams was a bit flustered. "Just wait a little longer, you know Mrs. Lopez is quite busy in the morning, there are many things the hotel needs to deal with. Once she's done, she'll definitely give you a call."
Katherine Lopez nodded and turned to look out the window, "Then I'll wait and see."
With Janice Adams' comfort, Katherine Lopez's mood improved a bit. Unfortunately, it did not last long. When the school bell rang, Katherine Lopez's good mood disappeared.
One day has passed, and Mrs. Lopez has not sent her a message or called her.
Katherine Lopez said she wanted to run away from home, and she actually did so.
She walked out of school, glanced at the car parked nearby that was there to pick her up, turned around and walked away in the opposite direction, then sent a message to the driver pretending to explain, telling him not to wait for her and to also tell Mrs. Lopez that she had run away from home.
Katherine Lopez turned her phone to silent mode, tugged her backpack, and ran forward. She ran a long distance before stopping, out of breath. There was a thin layer of sweat on her forehead. Katherine Lopez raised her hand to fan herself and tilted her head to face the wind blowing in from the distance.
It's too hot.
As evening approached, autumn had set in, but the weather in the northern city was still as hot and sweltering as the summer days.
Under the shade of the tree, Katherine Lopez took a moment to catch her breath. Her phone only had a few calls from the driver Gregory, with no calls from her parents. She didn't know whether they hadn't taken her runaway seriously, or if they were just busy.
Katherine Lopez looked at the motionless phone and opened the WeChat top contact. Her conversation with Mrs. Lopez was still there from last night, where Mrs. Lopez, who was working overtime at the hotel, reminded her to go to bed early, as she might not be back home until one or two in the morning.
Suddenly, a tender voice pierced my ears.
"Mama, Mama."
Katherine Lopez unconsciously turned her head and looked at the larger and smaller figures standing at the cotton candy stall in the distance. The little girl was wearing a pink princess dress and was swinging her mother's arm while whining, "I want to eat cotton candy."
The woman carried a pink kindergarten backpack, bent down and patted the little girl's head to comfort her, "Darling, eating too much cotton candy will ruin your teeth, shall we not have any today?"
"Not good." The little girl refused, reaching out to hug the woman's thigh and pleading, "Mom, just take one bite, okay? I'll take one bite too."
The woman seemed unable to refuse her daughter, who was so cute, and could only compromise, "Okay, okay, mom will buy it for you."
"..."
Watching the mother and daughter who had just bought cotton candy walk away, Katherine Lopez's eyes glistened slightly. She bit her lip, lowering her eyes to stare at her still silent phone, switching the silent mode back to normal mode, before taking a step towards the cotton candy stall.
"Would you like to buy some cotton candy?"
Katherine Lopez nodded and said, "Do you have any green ones?"
Boss: "How many servings do you need?"
"A mess."
Got the green cotton candy, Katherine Lopez took a bite, not as good as the one Mrs. Lopez bought her. Adhering to the principle of not wasting, she took it.
That fluffy cotton candy slowly makes its way into my mouth.
While walking, Katherine Lopez finished eating and realized that she had unknowingly arrived at the comic book store she frequented.
This manga house has a yellow exterior and a unique, anime-inspired decor. The manga house is located in a quiet alley in a bustling urban area, not far from Katherine Lopez's school and home.
At this time, there are not many people in the comic book store.
Katherine Lopez walked in and the boss, who was sitting in front of the computer wearing black glasses and had her hair in a bun, looked at her with some surprise, "Is it Friday today?"
Katherine Lopez is a regular at the comic book store, the owner knows her and is quite familiar with her.
During the last semester, Katherine Lopez would only come on weekends or Fridays after school.
"No." Katherine Lopez tugged on the strap of her backpack, not wanting to reveal her low mood. She forced a smile and said, "I finished the manga I borrowed last time, and I want to borrow a new set."
Upon hearing this, Raymond smiled at her gently and said in a soft tone, "Go on, I just picked up a few limited edition items from customs yesterday. Take a look and see if you like them." Katherine Lopez replied, "Okay."
In the comic book store, time always passes very quickly.
Katherine Lopez decided to browse through her favorite comic book genre to distract herself.
I don't know how long I had been looking, when suddenly there were peals of thunder outside.
In an instant, a torrential downpour suddenly fell.
Katherine Lopez was lost in thought, watching the water splashing on the glass. The rain she had been hoping for had finally arrived, but her phone remained silent.
At that moment, the phone rang. Katherine Lopez abruptly lowered her head, staring intently at the caller ID, her fingers moving slightly, choosing to reject the call rather than answer it.
After hanging up, her phone vibrated, it was a message from Mrs. Lopez.
Mrs. Lopez: "Katherine, where are you now?"
Mrs. Lopez: "There was a bit of an issue at the hotel where my mother is, and I just finished dealing with it."
Mrs. Lopez: "Katherine, don't be moody, answer your mother's call. Your mother is very worried about you, send your address to your mother, and your mother will come to pick you up."
Seeing the stream of messages popping up, Katherine Lopez rubbed her nose, deeply feeling that her mother had not taken her words to heart at all, just treating her as having a small temper like usual.
The phone rang again after a while.
Hearing the noise, the customer opposite who was reading a comic book glanced over at her and frowned slightly.
Katherine Lopez said "sorry" in a soft voice, then picked up her backpack and walked out.
The summer rain comes and goes quickly. In a moment, the rain intensity has diminished considerably.
As Katherine Lopez stood under the eaves of the comic book store, she hesitated whether to answer the fifth call that had come in, when a passerby rushed by and bumped into her arm. The phone slipped from her grasp and fell into a nearby puddle, splashing water.
"..."
Katherine Lopez looked up and saw the back of the person who had run into her without even apologizing, speechless and at a loss for words. Misfortune never comes alone.
She took a deep breath to calm herself, preparing to go out in the rain to retrieve her phone, but she didn't expect someone to have gotten to it first.
In the hazy rain, the figure with a black umbrella entered her field of vision. From Katherine Lopez's perspective, she could only see the person's ankles and slender wrists when they bent down.
In the dim light, the hand grasping her phone had pale skin and distinct knuckles.
Katherine Lopez lost consciousness, and someone approached her with a decisive stride.
In that moment, the hazy night became clear. Katherine Lopez held her breath, her gaze moving from below upwards, landing on the striking face that had intruded into her pupils.
And then, the young man's grip on the umbrella handle naturally shifted towards Katherine Lopez, blocking the rain falling on her.
He lowered his eyelashes, handed the phone to her, his voice cold and clear like a mountain spring in winter, piercing into her ears, "Did you hit something?"
Katherine Lopez stared in surprise, looking into his clear, brilliant black eyes.
In the shadows of the lamps, they stood under the dim umbrella, their gaze meeting.
That moment, the drizzling rain had fluctuations, pounding on the black umbrella like a taut, trembling heartbeat.
Suddenly, a whistle was heard in the distance.
