Lie Again! Chapter 20

<Chapter 20. Far From Homecoming (4)>

 

 “What? Who? When!”

 

“Tennis club 11th grade. Yesterday.”

 

Joey, her voice filled with excitement, pressed close to Amanda and bombarded her with questions. Amanda, holding a hamburger in one hand and an essay in the other, responded with only brief answers. It was a concise response that answered only what Joey asked. 

 

“Mandy, why do you never tell me anything?”

 

Amanda absentmindedly chewed on her burger, letting Joey’s whining go in one ear and out the other. She still hadn’t looked up from her essay even once.

 

“Amanda.”

 

“….”

 

“Excuse me. Can anyone hear me?”

 

Joey forced a smile and waved a hand in front of Amanda’s eyes.

 

“….”

 

Jin nervously glanced back and forth between the two. Joey was definitely smiling, but to Jin, it seemed like she was actually upset. 

 

However, it seemed that Jin was the only one paying attention to Joey’s mood. Ruth and Dustin nonchalantly picked at their fries, talking about who might win the NFL game on Thursday, while Amanda remained absorbed in her essay. 

 

“You didn’t ask.”

 

Amanda’s answer was a beat late.

 

“You could have told me first. I tell you everything, though…” 

 

“About that, I’m a bit tired.”

 

“….”

 

Joey’s expression stiffened. Jin rolled her eyes and looked at Ruth and Dustin with a pleading glance, silently asking for help. However, the two of them were so engrossed in their conversation about football that they seemed oblivious to the silence settling between the two girls. 

 

“I’m not curious either.” 

 

Amanda added as she turned a page of the stack of papers, her iron-frame glasses making her seem even more detached than usual.

 

As Joey stared at Amanda, her expression slowly faded away. Jin, unsure of what to do, fidgeted in her seat. She felt like she should say something, but before she could speak, Joey lifted the corners of her mouth again.

 

“…Alright. Since I’m curious, I’ll ask! So, who is it? What kind of person are they? How did they ask you?” 

 

It was the cheerful voice typical of Joey. Her eyes sparkled as she eagerly awaited Amanda’s response. 

 

Joey returned to her usual self, clapping or laughing enthusiastically at Amanda’s words, but Jin couldn’t shake the uneasy look in her eyes. 

 

“Why does no one ask me to go with them? Why doesn’t anyone ask me out…”

 

“Let’s go with me.”

 

Didn’t they? Dustin interrupted before Joey could finish her sentence. Just a moment ago, he had been talking about the Dolphins and the Jaguars, but now he was quick and sharp in his response.

 

Jin looked at Dustin in disbelief. Ruth, who had been talking with him, wore a similar expression to Jin’s.

 

“Ugh. Fine, let’s go. Then Jin, you can go with Ruthy.” 

 

Joey let out a deep sigh and accepted Dustin’s suggestion. It seemed like she didn’t even consider that Dustin had made a homecoming proposal. Her response was so indifferent that it made Dustin, who had tensed up nervously, look even more out of place. 

 

The hesitation came from an unexpected place. Ruth remained silent, only rolling his eyes in response to Joey’s suggestion. Joey, noticing this, shot a glare at Ruth.

 

“Answer me!”

 

“Hmm… Alright then.”

 

Ruth shrugged and laughed as if he had no other choice.

 

“Wait a minute.”

 

Then, he grabbed the remaining French fries on the tray and quickly started moving his hands. 

 

A few minutes later, Ruth lowered his hands and tilted his tray to show it. 

 

“Want to go together, Homecoming?”

 

On top of it, the fries were making crooked letters.

 

HOCO WITH ME?

 

They must have run out of potatoes, because everything after HOCO was written with ketchup. The ketchup letters written on the small tray became fainter as they went on.

 

When Jin laughed at the sloppy letters, Ruth laughed awkwardly along.

 

When Jin just laughed and didn’t answer, Ruth playfully shook Jin back and forth to ask for an answer.

 

SAY-? (What’s the answer?)

 

“YES.”

 

Joey filmed the scene with a touched expression on her face. 

 

* * *

 

“Hey, look over there.”

 

At the intriguing mumble of someone, the faces of those gathered in front of the cabinet turned toward a certain direction. The children’s expressions, upon recognizing the passerby, lit up with the excitement of having discovered something interesting.

 

Jin, who was pulling a book from the cabinet, glanced over at the direction they were looking. 

 

At the end of the hyena-like group’s gaze, Pablo was walking by. Among them, someone with a lot of energy shouted loudly toward Pablo. 

 

“Hey, Miche! You said stuff like this was childish, but here you are wearing a costume today? What a total nerd!” 

 

Haha, laughter erupted from the surrounding group. A few nerds, dressed similarly, mimicked Pablo’s signature move of pushing his glasses up with the back of his hand. The blatant hostility in the air made Jin furrowed her brows. 

 

Pablo was dressed no differently than usual. A blue checkered shirt, a large black bag that looked like a turtle’s shell, and glasses he would frequently push up.

 

It was a typical nerd outfit, but that didn’t give anyone a reason to insult him.

 

The idiot who had thrown the insult grinned, clearly hoping that Pablo would show signs of fear or even start crying. However, contrary to expectations, Pablo gave no reaction and quickened his pace. Without even glancing over, he walked forward, his profile cold and indifferent. 

 

The boy, who had been directly ignored, clenched his fist in frustration, but as those around him quickly lost interest and shifted to another topic, he muttered some curses under his breath and turned his gaze away from Pablo. 

 

Jin, who had been looking at them with discomfort, quickly grabbed her book and walked away from them.

 

 

“Hello.”

 

Jin, who had been sitting by the window and watching the outside, turned her head at the greeting that came from beside her. Pablo was pulling out a chair next to her. 

 

Jin briefly glanced at Pablo, but soon felt relieved. There was no sign that he was upset about what had happened earlier. 

 

“Hello, Pablo.”

 

Pablo nodded and stared at Jin.

 

“You’re being a jock today.” 

 

“Ah… mhm. It just happened.”

 

“You seem a bit different.”

 

“Well… maybe I’m usually a bit… never mind.”

 

Jin, once again pondering what she had been like before hearing from Pablo that she seemed like a different person, swallowed her words uncertainly.

 

“Ahem, I meant that the way you usually are is better.” 

 

“Thank you.”

 

Pablo, who had been watching Jin, gave a small compliment in response. On top of that, he pushed his glasses up as if to act nonchalant.

 

Jin, who found it amusing that her usually smart friend was awkward when it came to expressing emotions, smiled and thanked him.  

 

“…Just so you know, I’m not dressed as a nerd today.”

 

“I know that.” 

 

Jin nodded quietly as she stared at his self-deprecating smile. At her calm response, Pablo cleared his throat and turned his head away.

 

The bell rang, and at the same time, Mr. Ross entered through the door. Jin also focused on Mr. Ross and straightened her posture. 

 

“…Yeah. Me too.” 

 

By the time Mr. Ross began explaining today’s lesson, Pablo’s response came a little too late. It was a very faint voice. If it hadn’t been during the brief pause Mr. Ross took, Jin might have thought she had misheard it. 

 

Jin laughed softly.

 

* * *

 

Jin was a little out of focus. She had almost broken the beaker twice already because she couldn’t concentrate. 

 

The cause was Butterfield, who was cleaning in his nerdy outfit behind her. After secretly glancing at Butterfield, Jin managed to catch the beaker she almost dropped for the third time, safely placing it in the storage and letting out a sigh of relief.

 

‘Was I this weak to someone’s appearance?’

 

Today, it felt as if she had eyes on the back of her head, with all her attention focused on Butterfield. Following his every movement, to the right, to the left.

 

That was understandable, because the neatly dressed Butterfield exactly matched the type of person Jin usually admired. Polite, not careless, upright and steady, and someone who seemed like he would have a cautious and serious relationship. 

 

Butterfield’s real appearance was the complete opposite. 

 

Jin pretended to check the time and subtly turned his head to glance at Butterfield’s profile standing in front of the sink. 

 

The afternoon sun traced the elegant outline of his nose, while the wind gently ruffled his usually messy brown hair, exposing his forehead. 

 

It felt like admiring a masterpiece. More like an oil painting than a watercolor. Time seemed to flow slowly. 

 

“If you want to see it, just look, Jin.”

 

At that moment, the figure in the painting suddenly spoke. Butterfield tilted his head slightly and met Jin’s gaze. The silver frames of his glasses reflected the light. 

 

Jin, startled, flinched and shrugged her shoulders. She tried to turn her head away, pretending not to notice, but then fixed her gaze back on Butterfield. It felt as if turning away after every word he spoke would make her lose. 

 

No, to be honest, she had a slightly stronger desire to openly watch Butterfield. 

 

‘He’s really quick at picking up on things. But then again, he asked me to look.’

 

The thought that today might be the last time seeing Butterfield in his nerdy outfit made Jin feel a little bolder. For a moment, the two simply stared at each other in silence.

 

The still hot October sunlight brightened Butterfield’s right face standing in front of the window. His green eyes, touched by the light, shone a soft pink. On the other hand, his other face, buried in the shadows, gave off a bleak impression. Even though he was smiling lightly. 

 

The playful boy and the ruthless and arrogant man stared at Jin at the same time. Which one was the real Evan Butterfield?

 

“You…” 

 

After a brief silence, Butterfield trailed off his words, scanning Jin from top to bottom. Was he going to say that Jin looked like someone else too? If Butterfield said that, Jin was ready to ask what exactly was so different this time.

 

“You’re better as usual.” 

 

Jin’s expression changed mysteriously at the ambiguous words that were neither a compliment nor an insult. 

 

“Throw those pants away because they don’t suit you.”

 

Butterfield pointed to Jin’s short shorts and added. What’s wrong with this? Everyone said it looks good on her, though.

 

Jin, who thought Butterfield’s words were an insult, glared at him.

 

“You’re better now.”

 

“Ah, thank you.”

 

Butterfield, who was not affected at all by the mean words, smiled. Annoyed, Jin tried to act curt a few more times, but no matter what he said, Butterfield effortlessly brushed it off, eventually causing Jin to let out a small chuckle.

 

The two finished cleaning in a calm atmosphere. It was the first day where neither of them got annoyed or left with a stiff, frustrated expression.

 

“Goodbye.”

 

“Yeah, bye.”

 

Jin and Evan greeted each other for the first time as they left the classroom.