Parallel love 💞
Parallel love 💞
Crushing the crushes 💔
Chapter 16
It had been a month since Pearl walked through the gates of Crestvile University with wide eyes and a heart full of hope. Now, the novelty had worn off — replaced by long queues, registration stamps, worn-out pens, and unending payments.
Between faculty clearance, departmental dues, school ID, lab manuals, and course registration fees, her once heavy envelope of money had thinned out drastically. Almost a quarter gone — and she hadn't even paid for an apartment yet.
She sighed as she stood in another queue outside the admin block, the sun high and merciless.
"Crestvile doesn't want us to graduate. They want us to suffer," someone muttered behind her.
Pearl turned slightly to see a tall girl with braids and confident eyes. "Tell me about it," Pearl said.
That was the beginning of her friendship with *Kelly*.
Kelly was everything Pearl wasn't — outspoken, bold, and full of gist. But somehow, they clicked. Within a week, they were sitting together in lectures, complaining about the same lecturers, and occasionally sharing lunch when money allowed.
"You're too calm, Pearl," Kelly would often say, popping gum between words. "If I had your quiet charm, I'd have already hooked two boyfriends and a side crush."
Pearl would just laugh.
*At home, things were calm. Surprisingly.*
Jason barely spoke unless necessary, but his cold front had melted into a strange, quiet rhythm. Sometimes he'd turn down his music when she studied. Sometimes she left him food without saying a word.
They never talked about it. They just… understood.
Frederick, on the other hand, had turned into a proper campus boy. Friendly, everywhere. Everyone seemed to know him, and he was always coming home late with stories and new slang.
"Pearl!" he called one evening, bursting into the apartment. "Tell me why this guy said I look like Justin Bieber today!"
She chuckled from the kitchen, "He lied, Fred."
He gasped. "Hater!"
Their banter was easy, comfortable - like siblings.
****
Pearl had barely settled into the back seat of the lecture hall when Kelly came crashing down beside her, breathing like she'd run a marathon.
"Girl. You will NOT believe what just happened to me," she said dramatically, already opening her water bottle.
Pearl blinked, "What now?"
"That guy—" she pointed discreetly at a tall, lean guy near the projector screen, "—the one in the grey shirt? He's been STAAAARING at me since Monday. I thought maybe he had sense and was shy, so today, I made the move."
Pearl raised a brow, not liking where this was going. "Wait... move like how?"
"I walked up to him. Looked him straight in the eye and said, *'Hi, I've seen you staring, you might as well ask for my number.'*"
Pearl nearly choked on her breath. "Kelly!"
Kelly waved her hand, "That's not even the painful part. Do you know what he said?"
"What?"
"He said, *'Oh… I thought you were someone else.'* I asked who, and this guy said, *'You look like one mad woman that roams near my compound back home.'*"
Pearl froze.
Kelly threw her head back and groaned. "Pearl. Mad. Woman. Do you know I've been using my last lip gloss on this campus?"
Pearl burst into laughter, the kind that had tears in her eyes.
"Stop laughing!" Kelly hissed, slapping her arm. "My heartbreak is fresh!"
"I'm sorry," Pearl said, wiping her eyes. "But you're wild. Who just walks up to someone like that?"
Kelly crossed her arms. "You people that wait for men to speak first are why good boys pass us by."
Pearl smiled, still shaking her head. Kelly was many things — loud, sometimes delusional, often embarrassing — but never boring. And maybe that was what Pearl needed in her life right now.
Someone to remind her not to take everything too seriously.
*Later that day*
Pearl looked at Kelly, who was ranting about one lecturer's "burnt biscuit" shoes. She smiled. As they walk towards the faculty block.
Maybe it was time. A new rhythm.
And maybe, just maybe, a little more chaos.
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