“We’re going to McDonald’s for breakfast first, then we’ll go find my junior classmates.” With the previous experience in mind, I followed the formula I had established.
At 9:35, the two of us left McDonald’s and arrived at JOHN’s house, taking about 5 minutes. Except for Tommy, the king of tardiness, everyone else was there: JOHN, MACO, THIA, CALEB, FELICIA, MASKY, plus me and her. Counting in order, there were a total of 8 people.
Hearing the sound of a motorcycle, everyone stopped their chatter, preparing to leave. Tommy’s motorcycle had a girl on the back; her name was Gloria, his girlfriend and also my junior. With that, everyone was present (10 people, a bit like a small class reunion; I suspected they were here to squeeze me for money, and I couldn’t help but pat my wallet. Sigh! Being a senior is tough).
“It’s still early; shall we go to the tea house first?” The one who spoke was Tommy, the leader of this group of exploiters. So… there was nothing to be surprised about!
Upon arriving at the tea house, after arranging everyone in their seats and ordering our items, I planned to introduce Hallie to everyone, and she was sitting right next to me.
“Um… this is Tommy, the current president of our wind band, and he is…” I introduced one by one, and Hallie responded with a friendly smile.
“Senior! Aren’t you going to introduce her to us? She is your…” Felicia said with a mischievous tone, and before he could finish, everyone started to tease.
I knew this situation would happen (introduce her to you? Here we go! I was already prepared for this!). Just as I was confidently about to present the lines I had thought of the night before, Hallie suddenly spoke up.
“I am your senior’s girlfriend, my nickname is Hallie, and you can also call me senior sister. Or… big sister-in-law!”
Big sister-in-law? Upon hearing these two words, the teasing factors in everyone started to stir restlessly again.
Huh? Girlfriend! This… this doesn’t seem to be the lines I had prepared. Of course, the scene was not what I had originally imagined.
“Please! Oh my god… you guys… you misunderstood.”
“Hey! Listen to me, it’s not what you think…” My expression was like a fire had broken out, hoping everyone would hear what I was saying. However, their expressions told me one thing: stop explaining.
I once read an inspirational book that said if you want to achieve comprehensive victory, you must grasp absolute initiative (offensive power). But looking at my current state… it shouldn’t be hard to imagine, right? I couldn’t help but doubt the author’s intention in writing that line, as if he had experienced something similar.
I felt like a defeated, drowned dog. Suddenly, I understood why Napoleon ended up depressed after the Battle of Waterloo. The reason was simple; after he fell into the water, no one quickly handed him a towel, only a bunch of people watching the joke unfold. He couldn’t stand the cold words of others, so he died, just like I was feeling now. A once-great hero ended up like this, which was truly lamentable.
“Senior, don’t be sad!” Finally, a sympathetic guy spoke up. At least not everyone was enjoying the joke.
“Yeah! If the big sister-in-law doesn’t mind, you…” The teasing resumed, and I felt like a little dog that had just crawled out of a gutter, only to be kicked back in.
Hallie, on the other hand, appeared very composed, not only chatting happily with them but also occasionally holding my hand and leaning her head on my shoulder, acting like a real couple. However, this sweet feeling really couldn’t make me happy.
“I am your girlfriend now; your behavior is too awkward.” She leaned close to my ear and whispered. Then, she placed my right hand on her shoulder.
Awkward? I could only smile bitterly. To be honest, I maintained this expression all the way until the bill was paid.
“It’s about time; we can go to MTV to watch some videos.” Tommy pointed at his watch and loudly told the others.
Oh? MTV? If he hadn’t mentioned it, I would have completely forgotten about it; this seemed to be the main event of the day. Everyone was already in high spirits, and upon this reminder, they became even more excited (after all, they were the exploitation group; as long as someone was paying, it didn’t matter where we went). Truly, human nature is treacherous! Sigh…
