"Eh? You mean you were competing with someone there, and you didn’t like it, so you ran away?" Kevin asked again, still cornering Revan.
Revan, who was already annoyed, felt his emotions rising. His intention was actually to help Kevin, who was confused about his decision to transfer schools.
Revan sighed, trying to suppress his irritation.
"I was sent to that school by my father. Since our relationship isn’t good, I decided to leave that school."
Kevin had already shared a bit about his life. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt for Revan to reveal a little about his own.
Diana and Kevin fell silent after Revan’s response. They hadn’t expected to hear something so personal from him.
"Are you serious?" Diana asked worriedly.
"You’re telling me this—aren’t you afraid I might use your secret against you somehow?" Kevin asked.
"Didn’t you do the same?" Revan countered.
"That’s different. I was forced to tell you because you wouldn’t leave Diana’s side. But you—you chose to say it yourself," Kevin argued.
Revan replied, "I was also forced to because you’re too nosy and talkative."
"Hey!" Kevin protested.
Diana let out a sigh and spoke up. "Whatever problems arise, you just need to be wise. If you're unsure, ask the people close to you—they should know too."
Kevin pondered over her words. He hadn’t even asked his younger siblings at the orphanage yet.
"So, Kevin, do you want to transfer schools? I know you're confused." Diana looked at Kevin intently.
So Diana noticed too, Revan thought.
"You still want to stay at our school, don’t you? Don't make a decision you'll regret," Diana added.
Kevin took a deep breath. "You're right. I still want to stay at our school."
Diana nodded, full of concern.
"I'll think about it again."
Diana was relieved to hear that. "Don't force yourself."
"Oh yeah, Revan, when you were at that school, were you one of the top students in intelligence? You were ranked first here, after all," Kevin asked.
In truth, Revan stood out in both intelligence and wealth. But instead of boasting, he simply answered, "Yeah."
***
During the holidays, Diana spent most of her time working. But only for the most part—she still had time to relax in the mornings and afternoons during the first few days of vacation.
She had planned to invite Kevin and Revan to spend the holidays with her. But in the end, only Revan could accompany her.
Kevin was unreachable and not at home. Diana and Revan had visited his house a few times, but Kevin was never there.
Diana started to feel suspicious. Something must have happened to Kevin. Somehow, she felt it was related to his dilemma about transferring schools.
"Diana, come here! Revan is here," David called out.
"Ah, okay! I'm coming!" Diana quickly left her room and walked to the living room.
"Are you going out again?" David asked as they crossed paths.
"Aren't you the one who told me to do this?" Diana replied.
"Alright, fine. You make it sound like I'm forcing you. This is my amazing suggestion! Don't feel pressured—just go and have fun with your friend." David grinned enthusiastically, clearly in a good mood.
"You seem happy to see me leave. You won’t feel lonely staying here alone?" Diana asked, noticing how David didn’t seem bothered by being left alone during the holidays.
They had always spent holidays together. But this time, David encouraged her to spend it with her friends.
David had been excited when he learned that Diana had befriended Revan. He also saw that she had finally acknowledged Kevin as her friend. David knew she needed friends. He didn’t even mind that her friends were both boys.
David trusted them.
"Of course not! There are plenty of things I can do at home. Besides, if I want, I can go out too." David answered with a big smile.
"Alright, then." Diana continued toward the living room.
She found Revan sitting on the couch.
"Hey, do you mind me inviting you again?" Diana asked.
"You already asked that in our chat last night. And I already answered," Revan raised an eyebrow.
Even saying that made Revan feel weird. He had never exchanged messages with a girl before.
Especially at night—it almost felt like they were a couple. And he had been doing this for the past few days since the holiday started.
Forget it. It’s normal between friends. Just friends. Revan reassured himself.
"Well, I was just making sure," Diana chuckled, scratching her cheek.
"Again. You’ve done this for three days in a row," Revan responded.
Diana had been inviting Revan out three days ago, and today was the fourth day.
Though on the first day, she had only asked, "Hey, do you mind if I invite you?" without the word again.
She also hadn’t said, "Well, I was just making sure," on the first day because Revan had simply accepted her question without complaint and answered directly.
But from then on, this was how she started their conversation every time they met as if they were repeating the same scene.
"Okay, I’ll be honest. I always feel awkward starting a conversation like this. Should I say, 'Hey, how are you?' or 'Finally, you’re here!' or 'I was waiting for you—I knew you’d come!' or 'How was your trip here?'"
Diana started rambling about typical ways people start conversations.
But Revan cut her off. "Don’t. That’s weird."
All those phrases were common, nothing weird about them. But somehow, they just didn’t suit the way Diana and Revan talked to each other. So Revan thought it wasn’t necessary.
"For some reason, I feel the same way. So I guess this is better," Diana said, amused.
"Yeah. But won’t you get bored of it?" Revan asked.
"Are you annoyed hearing the same thing over and over?" Diana shot back.
"No."
"Then why? I'm not bored. If you're annoyed, just say it," Diana replied.
"You know, I’m not a talkative person," Revan said, clearly trying to avoid the topic.
If you’re really that quiet, you shouldn’t have spoken at all from the start, Diana thought, chuckling to herself.
***
"You want to go here?" Revan asked, looking at the amusement park ahead of them.
That’s right. On the first day, they went to the movies. On the second day, they visited a giant aquarium. On the third day, they went to the game center.
And now, on the fourth day, they were at an amusement park. Of course, all of these were Diana’s ideas. She was a normal person who went to these kinds of places during vacations.
But that wasn’t the case for Revan. He rarely went to places like this and was never comfortable with crowds.
But then Diana had invited him to spend the holidays with her. And once he agreed, he couldn’t refuse her choices of destinations.
That had been the case since three days ago when he decided to accompany her.
Though, their outings only lasted half a day, since Diana worked in the evenings.
"Come on, let’s go in now!" Diana said enthusiastically.
She walked ahead, with Revan following behind.