“Ivy, there is a mistake spotted. You need to be careful when you post the entries into the accounts. The grouping of the accounts has its own specific terms. Else when the report generates, the grouping is wrong then I won't be able to analyse correctly or in your exams, you will lose the marks.” Ivy nodded with her sleepy eyes as Jason reviewed his company accounts which were partially prepared by Ivy earlier in the day while tutoring her on her accounting concepts.
Over the past weeks, Jason had begun to admire Ivy more as he spent more time working with her and tutoring her. Knowing he would get too occupied, he had subcontracted his emcee jobs to one of his ex band members, Nick with the hope of trying to get his dealings with Ivy’s father over soon but little did Jason know, things don’t always go as planned.
Ivy was getting sleepy as it was close to midnight but it seemed Jason was not going to stop his reviews. Their discussion usually got carried away till late night and instead of having a good night sleep, Ivy would force herself to do extra practices in the guest room when Jason went to rest for fear she had sleep paralysis which would bother Jason.
Jason too was suspecting she could be dreading sleep due to her sleep disorders as he often noticed her dosing off on the table while studying alone instead of sleeping in bed. He would always remind himself to check on her in the wee hours of the morning to tuck her in bed while Lucky accompanied her as well.
“And when you generate the reports, keep them in the usual formats. Refer to the previous months’ reports as an example. The same for your exam, even though you use shortcuts, show your workings. They will give you marks in case the end answers are wrong…” Ivy was dosing off when Jason realised the time. He caught her head on his palm in a nick of time before she nearly fell off the chair. He placed her lean back onto the chair.
“There may be a lot to learn but she was a quick learner from the way she entered the transactions with minimal errors.” Jason thought. He just wanted her to understand each entry that he took a long time to review. He felt bad when she did not stop him from going on so late.
While browsing the last bit of the accounts, he decided to approve the partially completed accounts by notifying his accountant via an email and calling it a night. He wanted to wake her up to walk herself up to sleep but instead he was reminded of her bad habits. He carried her to her room instead and switched on her night light.
She slept soundly at peace after catching hold of his left palm, sending him surprises as he sat on the ground by her bed side to accompany her for awhile with Lucky snuggling by her other side. He shifted some of her fringe to the side as she stirred.
A glimpse of gratefulness dawned upon him, knowing at this point of time when he was in need of help, he found her but a part of him was still guilty from his initial plan to close his business deal with her father. He was still trying to buy time as the more he discovered about her, the more he didn’t want to proceed with his plan. He let go of her hand gently as he tucked both Lucky and her into the blanket and thought about his stalled plans while he fell asleep.
Hours later, Ivy woke to her alarm drowsily as she pulled herself out of bed and walked to the washroom but midway, she got tangled with her blanket and tripped on to the ground. The pain on her arm woke her up annoyingly as Lucky came by her side to sniff on her. The sight of Lucky lightened her annoyance a little as she patted Lucky before she went to prepare.
She left the house quietly and drove off to pick up Sandra and Andrew by the bus stop near their house for their extra curricular on Saturday mornings. While both of them got into the car, a text message was received. She quickly checked and it was from Ryu asking her if she was in college. She was instantly reminded of the boys she met from Landsfield. Her hectic lifestyle these days had slowly made her forget them and that warm feeling felt from playing just a basketball game with them. She wondered if that warm feeling was how it felt to have siblings.
"Good morning babe!" Andrew greeted her when he hopped into the passenger seat next to Ivy while Ivy grunted as an acknowledgement after replying to Ryu about her arrival with her friends in a while.
"Didn't sleep well? You look like crap!" Sandra commented as she sat in between the driver and passenger seat facing Ivy.
"Yes, late night with Jason on my accounts tutoring and also work." She mumbled as her mind wandered back to a long haul of peaceful nights lately without strange dreams. She twirled her bracelet which reflected the street lights and wondered if it was really because she didn’t sleep well or just because she slept late only when she was in Jason’s house.
"Hey, pay attention when driving… If you can't drive, we can take the bus." Andrew offered as he noticed Ivy was daydreaming again.
"No worries. I'm awake, just tired…" Ivy yawned as the gloomy sky added more sleepiness in her.
"What made you work so late?" Sandra asked curiously as she sat closer towards Ivy’s driver seat .
"I have been doing the data entries of documents and also following the entries from previous months. But there was some new stuff which no one was free at that point of time to tell me where to post, so I made the decision and he was reviewing them while explaining the logic of each transaction as part of tutoring. Something like one stone kills two birds." Ivy explained as she yawned again leaving the both of them yawned together while trying to digest her explanation.
“Oh, stop yawning… it’s so contagious.” Andrew lamented as he enjoyed the gloomy morning scenery which was making him drowsy and soon fell asleep. Sandra too was falling asleep as she sat leaning back towards the back seat.
Ivy noticed they both were falling asleep as she drove slower to avoid bumps and sudden jerks. While she was controlling the steering wheel, she felt soreness on her left arm as she held onto it to gently massage it but accidentally yelped in pain when she pressed on part of her bruise." Ouch!"
"What's wrong?!" Sandra yelped in surprise as she jolted up from her nap. It woke Andrew too who was turning to face Ivy.
“Nothing.. just a bruise from falling off the bed this morning…” Ivy mumbled. “You sure you can play basketball today?” Sandra asked while fussing with her growing bruise mark. Ivy nodded while wincing. “I doubt so. Look at her wincing. Let’s just jog. Make sure you put the ailment on it or rub it with a hard boiled egg.” Andrew nagged as Ivy nodded as she drove into the college’s car park.
The moment she alighted she saw a familiar figure standing at the far end of the car park in red waiting for her. She smiled and waved knowing it was Ryu.
“Hey! Good to see you here!” Ivy greeted from far as she walked hastily closer to him while Andrew and Sandra trailed behind.
“Hello Ivy! How are you?” Ryu greeted her by bouncing a basketball for her to catch.
“Am well! What are you doing here?” Ivy caught the ball and bounced it back for him to catch as she tried to endure the pain from her bruise which she had forgotten about. “It is a simple gesture of greeting each other in a unique way…” She thought to herself.
“There’s a national competition today. I was reminded of you on the way here this morning. Are you here for the nationals too?” Ryu asked.
Ivy chuckled. “Nope. Just extra curricular.” She noticed Andrew and Sandra were behind her.
“Oh, here… My friends; Andrew and Sandra. And meet Ryu. We met in Landsfield over a basketball match with his brothers.” Ivy introduced as they all nodded in acknowledgement.
“Well, Ivy, come and watch if you have time! Gotta go. Catch up with you later!” Ryu said as he hastily checked the time and saw the match was going to start.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
“Sure! See you!” Ivy waved while Andrew had an idea.
“Yo, since when do you date national basketball boys?” Sandra teased.
“I didn’t date anyone Sandra.” Ivy laughed.
“Wait wait… since their match is going to start, let’s just have a look. After all, we can't play basketball today you see.” Andrew suggested.
“We can still jog… That’s what we were here for after a change of plans.” Ivy said as she walked towards the track field but instead got scurried away by Andrew and Sandra who hastily redirected her to the basketball court.
“Come on! Your friend is playing today! Let’s go….” Andrew persuaded her while Ivy tried to fight them but to no avail.
“Ivy… please… just a while… We will get to jog eventually. Come on…” Sandra persuaded her that Ivy finally gave up going against them and arrived at the court.
The match lasted quite a while as they watched till the end when Ryu’s team won. Andrew and Sandra were willing to resume their extra curricular thereafter leaving Ivy who felt a nostalgic feeling of considering to take up basketball into her extra curricular. As she pondered further she shrugged away the idea knowing her busy schedules were already bothersome. She decided to send a congratulatory text message to Ryu before she left the court to join Andrew and Sandra.
Jason didn’t get to see Ivy in the morning as he slept in till late morning after an exhausted week filled with events. Not having much appetite, he decided to continue with his work in his room after feeding Lucky.
When Ivy arrived at his place from lunch with Andrew and Sandra, she was exhausted that she took a quick shower and a nap with Lucky. It was close to three in the afternoon when Jason’s stomach finally grumbled but he still didn’t have much appetite and decided to fix a light lunch of oatmeal.
He noticed Ivy was home as he went up to check on her but she was still napping. As he stepped out from her room, the sight of the music room reminded him of his practice for an upcoming band battle which was signed up last minute by his ex band leader, Will. He was dreading it but because Will told him it would be their last time, he didn’t want to upset all of his band members and had to agree to it.
He ran on the piano an old record for a while which woke Ivy who recognised the haunting melody which was one of her favorite songs.
She went towards the music room and saw him enjoying himself on the piano. She stepped in and sat next to him to join in with his rhythm part till the end of the song.
“You play the piano so well! Do you take lessons?” Jason praised.
“Not really. Just a little when my friends used to perform at their birthday parties.” She said as she recalled the good times she had when Belinda, Laura and Lance would teach her the basics of piano.
“So, you play by ear?” Jason prompted. “Yes. I actually prefer the drums. It’s the easiest to practice in the air and without notes.” She stood by the side of the drums set and hit a chime before skipping towards the exit of the music room.
“Ivy…” He called out and grabbed a ticket from his music notes file as he walked closer when she stopped midway of skipping out of the room.
“Come and watch my band perform two weekends later.” He passed her one concert ticket as she looked at the details.
“Oh, it’s a competition! Good luck! I will…” She exclaimed excitedly as she skipped out of the room and he trailed her from behind. A sudden dizziness overwhelmed him when he took a few steps down the stairs with Lucky by his side. Ivy noticed he nearly slipped off the stairs when she caught him.
"You're alright? There, slowly. " She helped him to stand back up on the step and could feel the heat from his body. "You didn’t know you had a fever?" Ivy questioned as he tried to make his way down the stairs slowly.
"I will be fine. I will just take some medication from the first aid box in the kitchen" He mumbled. "I will take you to the doctor." She insisted as she knew he needed more than just fever tablets from experience especially when he couldn’t even walk properly.
He finally noticed the blue black bruise on her left arm. “What happened there?” He pointed at her bruise which Ivy didn’t want to explain and it triggered him to press on it resulting in Ivy yelling in pain. “Ouch!” She smacked him as he chuckled at his tease being successful.
"Well I'm a healthy man you see. I rarely fall sick. So there’s no need to worry about me. As for you, put some ailment on it before it gets ugly." She rolled her eyes at his nuisance and excuses that she went to grab her car keys and pulled him towards the main entrance before forcing him into her car.
“Told you I will be fine. It’s just a common cold and fever…” Jason whined while Ivy drove. She was thinking about his schedules in the office. It has been so packed that he hasn't had any emcee jobs for a few weeks. She wondered if tutoring her was taking the toll on him.
“So, you have been busy not travelling on weekends for the band competition?” He nodded in silence although it wasn’t the main reason as he continued to enjoy the scenery. He felt tired and wasn’t in the mood to explain to her. Ivy raised an eyebrow as she wondered if it was true. She tried to pry further as she was worried if she was the cause of him falling sick.
“Is the company doing alright? You have been so busy lately.” Ivy asked as she stopped the car while waiting for the red traffic lights to turn green. Jason was caught off guard at her question as the troubles with his growing business demands flooded his mind.
“You know the first time I saw you and you mocked me about my business, I was wondering if you were a spy.” Jason recalled as Ivy laughed while keeping her eyes on the red traffic lights.
“You still remembered what I said? Oh please, forget all of it. I’m sorry anyway. I know I went overboard that night because I thought we would never cross paths again.” Ivy apologised as she continued driving when the traffic lights turned green.
“It’s alright because all that you pointed out on the cash flows, the business failing was spot on.” Jason said, sounding down. “The Romance part was spot on too…” He added on in his mind.
“Oh, bad cash flow? How bad is it?” Ivy prompted.
“Not that serious anymore. It’s just a matter of time an investor will fund the company. It’s just that he is looking for his missing shareholder to discuss the merger.” Jason tried not to give away too many details for fear she would figure something from her past which could destroy his plans.
“Missing shareholder? What do you mean?” Ivy raised an eyebrow trying to pry while turning into a corner.
“One of the significant shareholders was the owner’s missing daughter. In order for the merger to be successful, the missing daughter has to agree to the merger. Although her shares are held under custody by her father but by now, she should be old enough to exercise her rights and her father respects that. I, as a third party, should respect the potential investor decision too. Hence, I’m trying to look for alternatives or the missing daughter.” Jason explained while trying to watch Ivy’s reaction if there were any changes but Ivy’s look gave him an affirmation that she had no clue at all of the situation he just spoke about.
“That’s very noble of you. Well, get down. Let’s get you checked first.” Ivy said after parking the car and alighted to drag Jason to the clinic.
After the consultation, Ivy prepared a simple porridge dinner for the both of them as he rested the entire afternoon. She remembered to prepare Lucky’s meal too which consisted of half a chicken breast, an omelette and some fish oil designated for dog’s food.
Jason, who was awake from the fragrant smell of dinner while asleep at the couch the entire afternoon, greeted Lucky who was enjoying his meal.
“Oh, you’re awake. Here, I’m not a great cook and you didn’t have much in the kitchen. So…” Ivy explained as she scooped the porridge while he took a seat and waited for her to serve.
He was reminded of the video recording from her debate which he recorded. “Here.. try some.” She served his porridge portion and there was an omelet on another serving plate. He scooped a mouthful of porridge and found dried scallop pieces. She was watching him and waited for an expression but he kept eating quietly.
“Sorry if it’s too bland because there…” She stopped talking when he put down his porcelain spoon and checked his phone.
“Ivy…” He said as he watched her twitching her mouth.
“Thank you. It’s delicious. I have a gift for you.” He said in a playful tone as he showed her his recordings of her debate.
She watched with excitement. “Thank you! Can I send it to myself?” Ivy asked with her eyes glued to the video.
Jason was looking at her while waiting for her to look at him with her question before answering but he was reminded, she always has that bad habit as he rolled his eyes. “Yes, please…” He mumbled on purpose while washing the dishes.
“Alright, done!” Ivy, who heard his soft mumbled which sent more excitement into her, subconsciously hugged him from behind while hitting the send button on his text message to her. Jason’s annoyance was cut short when he was caught by surprise at Ivy’s gesture as he stood letting the water from the tap floor while staring at Ivy who was already skipping away with Lucky into the living room.
It’s been awhile since someone ever hugged him which made him forget what it felt like or how it was like to do simple gestures to please others. He recalled the reason he agreed to the band competition for the last time which sent him a bittersweet feeling.