With Love, Your Idiot

Worst First Day

'"Will you, Ho Jaesung, take Amara Ngam to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do".

"Will you, Amara Ngam, take Ho Jaesung to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

"Mm.. I do...", the N9NE members wipe their tears in the background.

"You may kiss the bride".

Jaesung leans in to kiss me but stops.

"Don't you have college today?"

"What?"'

I get up with a jerk.

"What time is it?!" I take the alarm clock from the bedside table.

"CRAP! IT'S 8:45!! I HAVE COLLEGE TODAY!!!" I throw the alarm clock on the ground and run to the bathroom.

I quickly brush my teeth, shower, dress up and style my hair. I grab my backpack and run down the stairs.

"Aree! The bus is here!!" My mom yells.

"Yes, mae! I'm leaving!"

"Wait, you didn't eat breakfast yet!" I grab a piece of bread from the plate and quickly tie my shoe laces.

"I'm already late, mae! Feed Strawberry for me!! Bye bye!!" I open the door and close it shut.

"Always the same. Why can't she be responsible for once?! I told her not to use her phone last night. Now look!"

The bus takes off without me.

"Dammit!" I run after it.

"WAIT!! STOP THE BUS!!

STOP THE BUS!!!" I scream at the top of my lungs as I run behind it.

A guy looks out the window to see an ugly duck run after the bus.

"Stop the bus. The duck's running behind us", at least that's what I heard him say.

The bus stops and I quickly get on.

"I'm.. sorry..., it won't.. happen again....", I say to the bus driver in between my breaths.

"I don't care. Just take a seat already", he says. I walk further into the bus and I see everyone staring at me.

'You've done it on the first day. Congrats, Aree', I slowly put the bread inside my mouth. I sit in a free seat and eat my bread silently.

"Did she really run behind the bus like that?" A girl whispers to her friend.

"Pfft- What a loser", she and her friend laugh to themselves.

'I can hear you, you know!

Geez..', I decide to look out the window for the rest of the trip.

What you've just witnessed is the sorry life of an ugly duck who wishes to unalive herself after today.

Hi! I'm Amara Ngam. I'm a Thai girl who's trying her best to live life the way she wants to.

How, you may ask? Well, I want to spend my life, laying on my bed as I listen to N9NE and read Jae fanfics.

I'm a hardcore fan, yes.

My very Thai mother thinks it's useless.

Like seriously?! I learned Korean by watching K-dramas and Japanese by watching Anime!! This should be considered a talent!

My very very Thai father always sides with her when it comes to this.

"Listen to your mother, Aree. Stop fangirling over Chinese boys and study hard" is what he always says.

Chinese? Chinese?? I bet the N9NE members would be super offended if they heard that. Aside from Haru, they're all Korean! They're just another flavour of Asian!! It's not that hard to remember!!

'Wait a damn minute..

MY LUGGAGE!! I FORGOT MY LUGGAGE!!'

"....dammit!" I curse under my breath as I nibble on the bread vigorously.

After a long trip of rethinking my life choices, I finally arrive at the college campus.

I quickly get off the bus and fast walk to the entrance.

"Where is everyone going?" I ask myself as I see everyone marching into the auditorium.

"Should I follow them?"

"Yeah, you should", I heard a random girl say as she walks past me.

"...I guess I should then", I press my lips and walk into the auditorium.

I look around.

"Damn, almost all the seats are taken", I look for free seats and spot one.

'Yes!'

Just when I was about to walk upto the chair,

"Oi! You, in the purple hoodie!!" A high pitched voice calls for me.

I look for the source of the voice and spot a guy in a blue vest.

"You looking for a seat?"

"Yeah, actually".

"I have one right here", he motions me to come sit next to him.

"Uh.. Thanks?" I sit.

"So, what's your major?"

"Medicine".

"Oh my god, same! Are you a freshman?"

"No, I'm a second year, actually. I studied at Alvin Starlight University last year.

"Oh? Why'd you change?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I didn't find it convenient".

"Ahh, I see", the guy nods.

I take a closer look at him as he stares at the stage.

Brown hair.. Green eyes.. Fair skin.. Freckles...

'He's actually kinda cute', I continue staring.

The Headmaster of the college gets on stage.

"Good morning, students of Aurora International Groups of University !"

"Oh god, not this again", the guy sighs and holds the side of his temple.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

"He says the same goddamn speech every year".

"How do you know? Are you a third year?"

"Third year? Nope. I'm a second year. It's just that he said the same speech last year and according to my cousin, he says the same speech every year".

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, it's true!"

I rest my back and listen to the speech in silence.

"Anyways, since we're the same major, we'll probably be put in the same class. Do you know which class you're in?"

"They said it was class 2-B".

"Nice! we're in the same class.

What's your name?"

"I'm Amara Ngam. You can call me Aree".

"Amara? That's a nice name.

I'm Pierre. Pierre Dubois".

"Pear?"

"Pierre! Pierre!! It's not that hard".

"Haha.. I'm sorry", I laugh awkwardly.

"So, where are you from?" He asks me.

"I'm from Thailand".

"Oh. I'm from France", he points to himself.

'He's French?! His American accent is so good though!'

"Really? Where exactly in France?"

"Paris, the city of love!"

"Nice! I like Paris!!"

"Great! Then, you'll like me too. I'm sure", he smiles. I laugh.

"Let's see, Dubois".

"Please, just call me Pierre", he says as he turns towards the stage.

"Let's do our best to make this year the best year. Once again, welcome to Aurora International Groups of University!" The Principal says and ends his speech.

The crowd claps as he walks down the stage. We clap even though we didn't listen to a single word he said.

Pierre gets up from his seat.

"Come on, let's go", he says and I follow him out of the auditorium. We walk down the hallways.

We walk past a bathroom.

'Bathroom! I should go put some makeup on', I think to myself as I stop walking.

"What's wrong?" Pierre asks me.

"Oh, nothing. I need to use the bathroom. I'll meet you in class", I say and turn my back to him.

"Do you even know the way?" I halt.

"I knew it.

It's on the second floor. You can ask for directions from there. See you in class!" He says as he walks away.

"Okay! I'll see you there!!" I shout back and walk into the bathroom.

'Oh my god! The bathroom's so pretty!!' I walk up to the mirror and take out my compact powder. After applying it, I take out my eye liner and start applying that too. Then, I comb my hair and style it more neatly.

'I should wear some perfume', I take out my pocket perfume and spray some on myself.

'Okay, Aree. This is your first day in college. You can do this..' I breath in and out slowly and start packing all the stuff in my bag.

I take my phone out and dial my mom.

"What do you want, Aree?"

"Mae...

I forgot my luggage", I tell her nervously. Mom goes silent. I hear her sigh after a few seconds.

"Ha.. I don't have the strength to fight with you today. I'll ask your dad to drop it off at your dorm after your classes are over".

"...oh. Thanks, mae".

"Mm.. Take care".

"Okay! Bye bye mae. Love you".

"Mm", mom hangs up.

I keep my phone in the pocket of my hoodie. Then, I fast walk out the bathroom and to the second floor. I see a blonde girl walking into her class.

"Excuse me! Um.. if you don't mind, can you tell me where class 2-B is?"

"Oh, no problem. If you walk that way, it's the second class to the right".

"Okay, thank you so much!" I say and fast walk to the class.

"No problem".

I reach the class and stand at the doorstep.

"Alright now, Mr. Roberts. Can you come up here?"

A guy in black walks towards the front of the class.

"Everyone, this year's class president will be Nathaniel Roberts. Any objections?"

The class stays silent.

"I'll take that as a no. I expect highly from you, Roberts", the professor says as he pins a batch on his chest.

"I'll do my best, professor", the guy says and walks away to his seat.

"Um.. Excuse me, sir...?"

"Yes, come in", I walk in.

"I'm uh, new to this class".

"Amara Ngam?"

"Yes, that's me..."

"You're late on your first day", the professor frowns.

"I know. I'm sorry, sir".

"Everyone, this is Amara Ngam. She's your new classmate. Introduce yourself", she says.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Amara Ngam. You can call me Aree. I'm a transfer student from Alvin Starlight University. Please take care of me", I say and bow to them.

"Go take a seat".

I look for a seat when I make eye contact with Pierre at the third row to the front.

He waves at me and mouths me to come take a seat next to him. I walk towards him and sit next to him.

"Psst! Jack!" He calls for the guy in front of him, the class president.

He looks back.

"What?" He whispers.

"This is the girl I told you about, Aree", he whispers back. He looks at me.

"Hi", he whispers to me. I wave back him.

"Class is about to start, so pay attention", he finally says and turns towards the board.

The class starts and it's super boring. Pierre starts yawning and decides to sleep and I can't really concentrate since I only had bread this morning.

The morning classes went by very slowly and it's finally lunch time now.

Pierre stretches his body after a long nap.

"When are you going to be responsible and pay attention in class?"

"Oh, Jack. Don't worry 'bout me. You know I can pass the exams even without listening to the professor's rambling".

"Ugh. Come, let's go get lunch".

"Yeah! I'm starving. Aree, come with us".

"Uh..." I look at them both awkwardly.

"...come", the guy says and walks towards the door. Pierre grabs my hand and we walk out the class behind him.

'H-He's holding my hand! What kind of kdrama is this?!'

We walk to another class.

"Class 2-A? What are we doing here?" I ask Pierre.

"Oh, we're going to get our friends and then we'll go to the cafeteria".

"Friends?"

"Yeah, we're a group of four".

"Vian", The class president calls out.

The students in the class go silent at once . I just stare at him in disbelief.

'He made the entire class silent, wow'.

Two girls look our way and walk towards us.

The girl on the right is super short and slim. She has her long black hair in a ponytail, and she has the same badge as the class pres. Looking closely, she also has a hearing aid on her right ear.

The girl on the left is taller compared to her. She's also blonde and chubby, which makes her look super cute. Coincidentally, she's also the girl I asked directions to before class!

"Hey, Niel. Let's go", The black haired girl says.

"Hm".

"You're the class president again? Nice\~", The blonde haired girl says to the him.

"Well, it's nothing new. Now, is it?" The black haired girl says.

"Hey, you're the girl from earlier! Hi!" She waves at me. Pierre is still holding my hand so I wave with the other.

We make our way towards the cafeteria.

I couldn't help but notice everyone staring at our direction. If I'm more accurate, they're staring at the class president.

"Is your friend famous or something?" I ask Pierre.

"Who, Niel?"

"Is that his name?"

"That's what we call him. His name is Nathaniel. Everyone in college knows him".

"Why's that?"

"To put it short, he stands up against all the bullies in our college. Many fear him for how scary he looks".

"You're making him sound like he's the hero in some movie of some sort", the blonde girl giggles.

"Eh, I tried".

"Wait, so you lied?"

"Lied? No. It was the truth", he smiles.

We walk to a table with 6 seats.

Everyone takes a seat.

'Should I sit....?' I think to myself.

"Aree, what are you doing? Sit down", Pierre gestures me to take a seat.

"Who's this seat for?"

"Oh, nobody. That's just an extra seat".

"Yeah, like yours", the girl with the black hair stares down at me.

'Ouch. She just called me an extra', I steal a glance at her and avoid eye contact.

'...what's with this atmosphere?' I ask myself mentally, as she continues to stare at me.

"So, you're a new student?" She asks me.

"Uh yeah. I'm new here".

"Uh huh. Where are you from?"

"I-I'm from Thailand.."

"Where did you study last year?"

"Uhm.. Alvin Starlight University", she frowns.

"That's actually a good college. Why did you come here?" She rests her back on her chair.

"For personal reasons", I avert my eyes.

'She's super scary! She's as scary as Nathaniel!'

"Hey, we're back!" The blonde girl says with three plates of food in her hands.

"Stop it, Vian. You're scaring the poor girl", Pierre says as he places a plate of food in front of me.

"Hmph! I was just asking!"

"Yeah yeah", he sits next to me with his plate and places 5 orange juice boxes on the table. I just stare at him.

'How in the world did he bring all this in his hands?'

"When did you leave?"

"When she was asking you all those questions. I'm super hungry. Can we eat now?"

"Uh, sure", I say and start eating.

"What's your name?" The blonde girl asks me.

"I'm Amara Ngam. Call me Aree".

"Nice. I'm Kailynn Lanier. Call me Lynn".

"Nice to meet you".

"I'm Vivian Thompson", the black haired girl says.

"But we like to call her Vian", Pierre says.

"That's because you're close to me", Vivian adds.

"She'll let you call her Vian soon enough, don't sweat it", Pierre tells me.

"...."

"Niel, introduce yourself", Vivian says.

"....Nathaniel Roberts. Nice to meet you".

"Nice to meet you too", I smile awkwardly.

The others start talking about their summer vacation and about this morning. I stay silent and eat my food.

'Ugh, I'm thirsty', I reach for a juice box.

'It's so far awayyyy', I get up when suddenly, I somehow trip over myself and fall face first on the table.

My right hand decides to betray me and ends up landing on the juice boxes.

Of course, one had to be open.

And of course, it had to be next to Nathaniel.

I end up squirting the entire juice box onto him. Nathaniel immediately gets up and brushes his clothes with his hand.

The cafeteria goes silent.

'....crap'.

"Aree! You okay?" Pierre checks up on me.

"Omg, Niel. You're drenched in orange juice", Lynn says.

I correct my posture and apologise to him.

"I-I'm so sorry, Nathaniel! I didn't mean to-", he gestures me to stop.

"Can't you be careful? Are you blind or something?" He asks me, doing his best to control his anger.

"I'm so sorry, I-"

"What? Are you gonna say that you didn't do it on purpose?"

"Niel, stop", Pierre tries to stop him.

"It's your first day here and you're already going around squirting juice on people? At this rate, you won't be able to survive even a week in this place".

"Niel", Vivian intervenes. Nathaniel glances at Vivian and then at me.

"......

Tch! So annoying.." he glares at me and leaves the cafeteria.

I just stand there like the idiot that I am.

"I am so sorry about him, Aree! He's always like that. Please don't take it to heart!!" Pierre apologises to me.

"Please sit down".

"Actually, I'm done.." I smile at Pierre and take my plate.

"Wait. Take this", he hands me a juice box. I glance at it and then at him.

"....no, thanks", I fast walk, throw the plate away and walk out the cafeteria.

I go back to class and sit in my seat. I take a glance at Nathaniel's seat as I rest my head on the table with a sigh.

"Ha....."

'WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS I THINKING?!?! HOW DID I EVEN MANAGE TO DO THAT?!? UGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

First, I miss the bus. Then, I forget my luggage. And now, THIS!

My wedding with Jaesung got interrupted, for THIS!?

(She's talking about the dream, of course.)

Worst first day ever!' I mentally scold myself and hit my head multiple times against the desk.

Pierre walks into the classroom with a few other students behind him.

"Oh my god, what are you doing?!" He runs up to me after seeing me bang my head against the table countless times. I stop and look at him.

"I'm rethinking my life choices. This is normal", I tell him as I stare at him.

"Don't beat yourself up for this. Just apologise to him when he comes. He'll accept it. I bet he'll apologise for insulting you too", he sits in his seat to my left.

"How would you know?"

"He's my friend. I know him.

Look, and here he comes now!" Pierre points to Nathaniel. He's changed into a sports jersey.

"Jack! Come here!!" Pierre yells for him. Nathaniel looks at him and then at me.

"...shit", I swear under my breath.

"He's coming this way! What do I do?!" I whisper yell at Pierre.

"Just talk to him", Pierre says calmly.

Nathaniel stands next to my desk. I stand up. He stares me down with his cold eyes.

"U-Um.. I'm sorry for what happened at the cafeteria earlier. I didn't mean to do that. I..

I tripped", I press my lips nervously.

".... I'm also sorry. I shouldn't have said that stuff to you. You didn't even do it on purpose..", he scratches his neck and looks away.

"Let's be good to each other here after, yeah?" Pierre gestures us to shake hands.

Nathaniel stretches his hand towards me. I look at him.

"Come on, Aree. Shake on it", Pierre says.

I slowly reach for his hand and shake it.

"There! Now, you're friends!!"

"Everyone, take your seats!" The professor comes in and we let go of each other's hands. We sit in our respective seats and wait for the class to start.

"Roberts, since when were you in the soccer team?"

"I got my clothes dirty, ma'am. So, I'm just borrowing this", Nathaniel answers.

"Alright", and the professor starts the class.

I somehow end up staring at Nathaniel for the rest of the class.

"Um.. Aree?"

"Yeah?"

"Does your forehead not hurt..?"

"Huh?"

"It looks.....bruised", I rub my forehead.

"Actually, it does hurt.

Ow.." I whine to myself as I rub my forehead.

"Anyways\~