It was a stormy night, and I shivered under the blanket I shared with my boyfriend. My group had planned a four-day, three-night trip to my hometown. We were by the beach, and it was naturally chilly; although nobody predicted a storm, we still had enough thick blankets to keep ourselves warm. We had just put a pot of water on the stove to boil three minutes ago, and it was now bubbling to the brim, indicating it had boiled. 

“We have the choice of coffee or tea,” announced my best friend, Sophia. “Tea for us,” another of my close friends, Darius, replied. He and his twin were technically identical. “Alright, Max,” Sophia replied without a glance. 

“Fuck you! I’m Darius!” Darius replied, his words tinted with a teasing tone. “Too bad, I’ve got to look at where I’m pouring, or you won’t even get a cup of water,” answered Sophia coolly. We’ve all gotten used to each other's ways of speaking and temper, so it was pretty easy to get a comeback that hit hard.

I smiled. It has been eight years since we first met, and I just couldn’t believe it was our second last year at school. It certainly felt funny, being a sensible senior that all the juniors admired and looked up to. Not just that, but we also have to set an example to the juniors, which really stinks. I had a skill for getting into mischief, and it wasn’t easy for me to follow the rules. Now, we could all act like first-years for a while, as it was guaranteed the teachers weren’t going to let us off as easily as we usually did when we got into mischief when we were younger. 

I felt a particularly strong breeze and felt goosebumps form beneath my skin. I was used to the always sunny southeast Asia and not at all used to feeling cold. Often, we were sticky with sweat and needed an electronic fan. To think that I was shivering out here was a dream, only possible if I went to Europe.

I felt my boyfriend’s arm wrap around my shoulder, warming my upper body. Heck, his body was a natural furnace. Under the safety of the blanket, I took his free hand and squeezed it. He only smiled at me absentmindedly in reply. “Nobody’s going to drink coffee so late at night, Sophia. Anyway, it’s around time we started getting ready for the rest of the night.” My boyfriend Ee Zhen replied. “But anyway, we’ll have tea.”

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Being the eldest of the group, Ee Zhen always had that more sensible air about him. Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t completely all sensibility and boredom. He has a knack for getting into trouble.

“Oh, quit acting so like an adult. We still have 3 nights till we have to check out. We just made it here today.” Renae pouted, and I giggled happily. Seeing the usually so serious and mature Renae acting like a 3-year-old child was hilarious. Renae threw the pillow she was cuddling on at me, and I yelped loudly, making everyone jump in surprise and then laugh.

“Asshole,” I muttered.

“I’m not deaf just yet,” replied Renae with an exaggerated cheerfulness in her tone.

“Haha, very funny. Anyway, Sophia, I’m pretty sure making 7 cups of tea doesn’t take like, 10 minutes,” I replied.

“But you’re the expert when it comes to tea brewing!” Sophia wailed. “Of course you don’t take so long!”

Honestly, Sophia wasn’t wrong. As my father absolutely adored tea, I often ended up brewing him a pot of tea when I could be cuddling a pillow on the sofa reading. Due to his obsession, I also acquired an excellent taste for tea. Normally, after dinner or on stormy nights, I would sit down by the dining table, sipping a cup of tea while reading (something my mother always discouraged).

“You want me to help?” I decided to offer some help; if not, we were never going to get our hands on a cup of tea.

Sophia nodded vigorously, making her fringe jump up and down. I left the warmth of Ee Zhen’s arms and the soft blanket and walked over to Sophia. “Here, pour the tea into the cups using both hands.” I demonstrated by putting one hand on the handle and the other on top of the teapot’s lid. “I got it now!” Sophia told me enthusiastically. I stood next to her as I carefully handed her the teapot. As she took it, I wished that she could see her own face. It glew brightly, making her look years younger. The look in her eyes simply described joyfulness. I chuckled, finding it funny that she should get so happy over learning how to pour tea.

“Are you coming back, or not?” I heard Ee Zhen ask me, and I turned my head over and beamed at him. His was extremely attached to the group, especially me. Zheng Jie, his brother, on the other hand, wasn’t quite so sociable. I walked back to him, allowing his arm to wrap around my waist, and the other put half the blanket around me. 

“Can you guys quit being so lovey-dovey here? You’re not alone, y’know.” Zheng Jie stated. He hated it whenever we were together, being my ex-boyfriend. He once shared me with Ee Zhen, but that ended when he decided to break up with me.

“No.”