End Journeys
Time Games

"Today's lecture. Tasks are gathered next week" the lecturer said ending the lecture session at the last hour of the afternoon.

"Ruby I want to talk" call Albert.

"Ah, uh. Go ahead" replied Ruby.

Albert took Ruby's hand out of class.

"What's wrong?" ask Ruby.

"I don't want our relationship to be strained" replied Albert.

"spanned? Take it easy, it's not gonna happen. At least for now" Ruby replied.

"Did my statement last night make you uncomfortable?"

"Actually, I'm still afraid to have a love affair. For some reason, if anyone expresses feelings to me whether it's serious or playful I remember what happened that night" replied Ruby.

"But I'm serious."

"Then? You said serious but not yet going out. I was honestly confused" replied Ruby.

"I'm just expressing what I feel for you. I am comfortable and like you more than friends. But to be in a relationship and to establish my status I can't because I want to focus on learning and pursuing my goals" Albert explained.

"Then the point?"

"I'm just expressing how I feel" Albert answered Ruby's question.

"alright. If that's what you want, you just focus on what you want to achieve. We live our days as normal as friends" Ruby replied.

"Are you angry?"

"Why am I angry?"

"Because I didn't give you certainty."

"certainty? What certainty?"

"Status of our relationship" replied Albert.

"Albert, I understand. You need to focus first. I've also said, even if you formalize our relationship, I don't necessarily want to. You know my own fear."

"Does it still keep shadowing you?"

"At certain moments. Suppose like yesterday when you expressed your feelings somehow the shadow appeared," Ruby explained the situation.

"Want me to take you to a psychologist?"

"Ah, no need. I will recover by myself" replied Ruby.

"Ruby, will you wait for me?" ask Albert.

"waiting? Waiting what do you mean?"

"If all my business is done, I will formalize our relationship" Albert said.

"Albert..."

The trash can near the entrance of the class fell rolling. Lauren, Rosa, Ava, and Penelope are eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Oh my God, you are so adorable" Rosa said.

"Hey, you eavesdropping?" ruby and Albert's expressions instantly changed.

Ruby hasn't had time to answer Albert's question, but Albert goes into class to pick up his bag.

"I thought you liked each other" Ava said.

"He likes me" Ruby argued.

"Didn't you keep your feelings for her? The slightest?" ask Lauren.

"Actually he's not my type. But he was very kind and polite," Ruby replied.

They eat in the cafeteria. This time Albert did not come along because he had lunch with Thomas and some other male friends.

"Huh, what is this. It's been hours to go home but there's a sudden assignment" Penelope lamented.

"What duty?" lauren asked in shock.

"You check yourself in the class group" asked Penelope.

Ruby, Ava, Lauren and Rosa check their phones. There was an announcement from the class coordinator about the group task that must be collected two more days because the lecturer last week did not teach and only had time to give the task.

"Why does he want to give us a job?" Rosa complained.

"It's so annoying" Ava complained.

"It has. Let's finish this meal and go to the library. The sooner you finish the better," asked Ruby.

"today? My God, this is so tiring," Rosa again complained.

The library is crowded with students at the return hour of campus. They just read books because they are lazy to go home like Ruby has done lately, or make assignments together.

"Hi" said Evelyn.

"Hi Evelyn's. You're here to do chores too?" ask Ruby.

"Yes," Evelyn went by.

"What's wrong with her? Very disrespectful" Ava told Ruby.

"Maybe her mood is not good because of this sudden task," Ruby tried to think positively but still Evelyn's cold attitude made her think whether she was wrong so as to make Evelyn angry.

"Don't think too much" Ava said, holding Ruby's hand to a table. Rosa and Lauren were already sitting around waiting for Penelope to search for the book while grumbling and enduring the sleepiness. Penelope came with three thick books in her hand.

"This is a book we're going to use as a reference source for this damn task" Penelope said.

His loud swearing sound provoked the attention of the elder brother sitting near them.

"Fucking assignment? Be careful when you speak" said a woman.

Tense atmosphere. Ruby tried to melt the atmosphere.

"Sorry to disturb your comfort" Ruby said.

"Of course it's very disturbing. Brutal girl" the woman told Ruby.

"Hey, I cursed. Why did you say my friend was a rude girl when she apologized politely?" Penelope started to ride the apoplexy.

"You all seem to be the same hahaha," said the person as he got up from his chair.

The commotion provoked the attention of the entire library until they were reprimanded by library officials.

Their other classmates came to them.

"Ah, no. Just misunderstand me," replied Ruby.

"Ruby, why did you apologize for my mistake?" ask Penelope.

"It would be better if we did our job in a calm state, right?" answer Ruby.

"But you have to be polite. He's our level brother" Evelyn said.

"Ruby has nothing to do with this issue" Penelope replied.

"Stay, because you are together so you can fight the same thing" Evelyn replied.

The librarian told them to go out to solve their problems, then they could go back to the library.

"Evely. If we are together and close friends, does our relationship mean the same? I can't believe your mind turned out to be so shallow" Lauren said.

"What's the matter, Evelyn? You seem so angry with me, now" asked Ruby.

"What's? Don't you fucking know!" evelyn answered in a high tone.

"God! You told me to be polite. Now your attitude is like this to Ruby who asked politely to you? Well you just licked your own spit" said Penelope.

"Friends if we keep this up our task will not be completed. Let's just do the task, it's not important to argue about things that are not important" Ruby said.

"Ruby!" exciting Albert.

Ruby who had walked a few steps immediately stopped and turned her body towards Albert.

"Why are you like this?"

"This how?" ask Ruby wonder.

"Evelyn advised you for your own good but you said it wasn't important" Albert replied.

"Albert you misunderstood. That's not what I mean," Ruby tried to explain.

"I didn't expect you to be like this" Albert said.

Ruby who had been holding herself back was no longer able to hold back her emotions.

"You people!! What wrong? There was a commotion in the library I tried to calm down and the matter was over. Suddenly Evelyn came and made a fuss by accusing me of being bad. And you, Albert. You were not in that moment. I'm trying to get this done so we can get the job done right away. I ignored Evelyn's vague accusation that seemed to hate me now. But you said I didn't appreciate it" Ruby left them.

"Albert your attitude is outrageous

And you, Evelyn. Watch your mouth. There are many witnesses inside who are aware of the real events" Ava said, who ran after Ruby.

"Albert. I know you like Evelyn but you don't deserve to be rude to Ruby" Thomas said.

Albert left them.

"Thomas. What do you mean Albert likes Evelyn?

Penelope and Rosa were also very surprised by Thomas' statement. Because they just found out Albert has expressed his feelings for Ruby. Meanwhile, regardless of what Lauren did to Penelope, they went to the ladies' room together.

"I mean.. Albert told me that he liked Evelyn" Thomas replied.

"What?"

Ruby shows up with Ava.

"What's wrong? I don't understand the atmosphere" asked Thomas.

"Albert has just expressed his feelings for Ruby" replied Lauren who appeared with Evelyn.

Ruby just kept quiet in the face of the situation.

"I'll just go" Evelyn left them all behind.

"Evelyn was acting that way to Ruby because she liked Albert. That's core. I taught him a lesson, he said" Lauren said.

"Let's get our job done" Ruby returned to the library.

Task is almost done. The wall clock in the library already shows at 8 p.m. Ruby's phone rang but she ignored it. The call was from Albert.

"What this bastard wants again after being caught red-handed" Penelope said.

"Let's go home. It was a tiring day" Ruby said.

They each went home. Ruby went straight to the bathroom and soaked in her bathtub.

"Lord, why am I always like this when it comes to romance," Ruby said as she soaked her body.

For about 45 minutes he soaked and finished his bath. She dries her hair, wears skincare and wears her nightgown to get ready for bed but suddenly Amy knocks on her bedroom door.

"Sister, your friend is looking for you" Amy said.

Ruby checked her phone. There was no message from her friend who said she was coming to Ruby's house. Ruby was a little disturbed.

"Sister?" Amy called Ruby once again.

Ruby peeked out of the window. There were two men in the dark of the night.

"Amy, who is that?" ruby asked without opening the door to her room.

"I asked her name first" Amy's footsteps could be heard moving away from the door.

"Sister. His name was Sam and Albert" Amy replied after coming out and asking the names of the two men.

"What more do they want after ruining my day," Ruby almost said a rant thankfully she could control herself.

Ruby opens the door and tells Amy to come in.

"Amy, tell me I'm asleep. I don't want to meet them. It's up to you to make excuses" Ruby said.

In about 10 minutes Amy hasn't been back to tell me. Ruby did not dare to peek for fear of being caught lying when she was asleep. Until the sound of the roar of the motorcycle, Amy returned to Ruby's room.

"Sir, brother Albert said he was sorry. And Sam's sister just left this," Amy said as she gave Ruby a flash.

"Thank you Amy, now go to sleep" Ruby turned off her room light. Amy comes out of Ruby's room.

Ruby rushed to get her laptop and opened the flash. But there's no file in it. He wanted to ask Sam about the flash but remembered that Sam had blocked it.

Notification of incoming messages to Ruby mobile phone.

"Ruby I'm sorry. I want to apologize to you" Albert wrote.

Ruby simply reads the message and then deletes it and deletes some other messages.  He intends to delete some of the chat messages that he received in the last few days, and he realizes that Sam has unblocked his contacts.

Ruby decides to return the flash to Sam, but leaves it to a friend who happens to be Sam's classmate. Ruby, of course, doesn't want to see Sam anymore, and neither does Albert. However, it was just the intention of Ruby to restore the flash because there may be something that makes Sam give a blank flash to Ruby.

"I have to blacklist them from my life" Ruby told her mirror image.