Kim had notified the teacher responsible for their building. She said the Electrical and IT Department had just sent someone to look at the damage. It was a peculiar scene; the corridor and other rooms were brightly lit, while the only black space was their room.
Renata and Millie huddled together on Millie's bed. Eventually, they grew bored, it's been a half-hour, and no one was coming.
"Where are you going?" Millie stood up, following Renata, who was restless and about to leave.
"Maybe it's quicker if we go to the IT department. Why don't we go there?"
"Wait, I think I hear Kim's voice." Millie went out the door, and Renata followed her.
As Millie said, Kim was outside with three guys; one of them was Wilson. When Renata stepped out of her door, four pairs of eyes were looking at her. Wilson instantly caught his friend's eyes while turning back his body, he managed to stand between Renata and the electrical guy, a man in his twenties.
"Come on, man... don't ruin my fun....." The boy, who was ogling at Renata earlier, protested at Wilson's hand, which covered his eyes completely.
"KIM!!!! GET THAT KID TO COVER UP!!!! SHE'S PRACTICALLY HALF NAKED!!!!!" Kim dragged Renata and Millie inside their room before she closed the door at Wilson's roar.
"What were you thinking, dressing like that?" Kim grumbled at Renata as she threw a pair of PE uniforms.
"What? You saw me earlier, too; you didn't say anything back then." Renata put on the PE uniform immediately.
"I didn't realize what you wore earlier, but you know there will be guys coming over here."
"It never crossed my mind." Who would think of what they were wearing in this kind of situation?
Kim let the guys in to assess the damage; Renata crossed her arms and stood beside her bed, leaning on a wall. Wilson glared at Renata, making her uncomfortable.
"Didn't I warn you about being inappropriate? Are your ears still working, or there's nothing between your ears?" Renata could see he was furious. "Your wish is not my command; do you think I'm your Genie? I can wear However or Whatever I want inside my room."
If Wilson had been a dragon, he would have been breathing fire. "You are insufferably being difficult." They both stared at each other; no one wanted to back down. "And you.are.overreacting." Losing his composure, Wilson left Renata to talk with the electrical guy and Kim.
"Woah.... What the hell happened? Had typhoons just struck?" The boy helped pick up the cables, the ports, and any electrical things lying on the floor.
"Shut up, Hunt." Millie seemed to know the boy. "Why are you guys here? Where's the teacher?"
"They have a big project, upgrading the fiber optics or something. So they ask Wilson to help Mr. Dunn here. I was idling anyway, so I followed him." The boy changed his attention to Renata. "Hi, you must be the one who yelled at this stuck-up guy on the registration day. I'm James Hunt, his roommate." James offered his hand to Renata, who blushed at his words.
"I'm Renata, the girl who cried because of him. Nice to meet you, James. I wish your roommate is as friendly as you are." Renata shook his hand.
"He is very blunt sometimes, but he's the best guy around here once you get to know him better." James grinned at her.
"I have fragile feelings and ego, so no thank you."
"Oh, no, what should I do now? All my data is in there." Millie's trembling voice startled Renata, and she promptly approached her.
"The component is burned, short-circuited." Mr. Dunn told her. "I guess that's why the circuit breaker popped."
"I'm so sorry, Mil...." Millie could see how worried Renata was; she didn't blame her; it was an accident. What worried her the most was her tons of homework; she would need all the data on her PC.
"I think I can do something about the PC. Can you deal with the rest, Mr. Dunn?" Wilson removed the PC case and handed it over to James.
"Yes, except for the Ethernet port. We need to buy it first."
"Then use the one in our room temporarily; we never use it anyway. Hunt and I use Wifi."
"That will work, Wilson." Wilson nodded and left with James in tow. "Now, who is responsible for this mess?"
"I did, Mr. Dunn." Renata quickly admitted to him. "I will inform my father about what happened; he will be responsible for the cost."
------------------------Bear Family Chat Group------------------------
Renata : Dad, something happened. I accidentally broke the electrical sockets and ports in our rooms and triggered the circuit breaker. I also broke Millie's PC. The school will send you the bill soon.
Renata: I'm really sorry, Dad.
Renata : m(_ _)m
------------------------ INCOMING CALL : POP ------------------------
Being a father had to be a taxing job, especially if his daughter was quite a handful. She constantly kept her father on his toes, slept with one eye open every night, and had a hole (or two, or more) in their wallet that no patch could ever close. This was also the case with Patrick Tan, her one and only daughter, actively torturing him with her antics. Nothing compared to how challenging she could be. Graduated from an Ivy League college; immigrated to the US permanently with nothing on his hand but a loving wife, growing a business from the ground that eventually spawned a few branches. None of them let him lose a good night's sleep; he would take them on again with a breeze. However, everything changed when a harmless tiny bundle of joy called Renata was born.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"Tell me the truth, are you really OK? No harm at all? We were talking about electricity just now; any faulty could send you to the hospital, or worse, you could be dead." Her father's anxious nagging voice started to get on her nerves.
"I'm alright, Dad. I wouldn't talk to you if I were dead, would I?"
"Don't roll your eyes at me, young lady!!! This is a serious matter." Gosh... how did he know?
"Really, I'm OK, Dad. Everything has been handled perfectly, the electrical thingy has been repaired, and it's late now. Can I go to sleep? I have class tomorrow." Patrick sighed deeply and said his goodnight, ending his phone call.
------------------------
Renata's stomach had been in knots since this morning. It was the day Lyle promised to play squash with her; she was nervous about it, but mostly excited. Millie's warning faded as the time drew closer to meet him. Who was she kidding, Renata had anticipated this moment since last week. She was in such a good mood that she didn't even notice she was skipping a little on each step.
Her mind couldn't hold anything in class as her head was full of a certain teenage Greek god. Did she grin herself in English class before her tablemate elbowed her? Yes. Did she get caught daydreaming by the killer Ms. Sitar, the Algebra teacher? Yes. Did she pour her French onion soup onto her Crazy burger? Yes, that was soggy and yucky.
Hell, she even entered the wrong classroom and just realized it after half an hour. But who cares? She had butterflies in her eyes. The electricity catastrophe happened just last night, and today the sun shone brightly. She was walking on a rainbow bridge all day.
When Renata arrived at the squash Pavillion, many students aside from her had already been in their place. They had been stretching as a warm-up before the training started. She stood at the very back, and not long after, Lyle joined her.
"Hi, are you late too?" Lyle's dimple smile melted Renata on the spot; she could only nod like a simpleton.
So many stretch moves had to be done: arm & leg swings, back rotation, lunges, etc. Sweat had started to show on her face.
The instructor blew his whistle. "Alright, glute stretch time, do it with your partner. Each leg four times for 30 seconds."
Lyle's partner was Renata; he laid down first. "E-excuse me." Renata blushed when she touched his leg. For the entire 2-3 minutes, she didn't dare look at his eyes. And then they switched.
"You are.... stiff, Little rabbit." Could this be more embarrassing?
"Yeah, I'm a bit stiff.... I mean, I'm usually not... stiff.... this gluten..... uh.... gluteal is not my best...... I never good at it...." His chuckles made her face hot.
'Holy blondie, what the hell am I blabbering...... a~nd he is touching my legs.... I'm not going to wash my legs for a week......'
The instructor blew his whistle again, and the training started. Everyone stood up and rushed to pick up their rackets to practice their forehand and backhand swings.
"You are gripping it too tight." Lyle's voice startled her. "Your hold on the racket should be firm but not rigid. Should I show you how?" Before she could answer, Lyle had already positioned himself behind her.
His right hand held Renata's right hand, while his left hand grabbed her left hip, his racket left on the floor. "Relax your wrist; let me lead your move."
"The arm swing is just an extension of the power that comes from the rest of the lower body........" Lyle could speak about the Noble prize for all she cared but nothing registered in her head. His lips spoke too close to her ear, and his breath tickled her neck. How could she concentrate on what he was saying? She had goosebumps all over her body.
"Are you listening, little rabbit?"
"I-I...."
"Do you always wear this get-up every time you play squash? Do you have any idea how sexy you look right now? White sport tank top, mini white skort, and this ponytail, I want to wrap my hand with it and pull it back."
Suddenly he tightened his grip on her left hip and pulled her backward. She gasped when her back bumped into his tight chest, and something else.....
'Holy dolly, what's my ass just bumped into? Was that........'