- 4.
The food was delicious, but I had no appetite.
I’d been on a bus for forty hours, and I had
only eaten a pack of crackers, to save money.
Exhaustion had killed my hunger.
Soon it was midnight.
Mia clapped her hands, and several waiters
wheeled in a huge cake.
It was a three–tiered masterpiece with
different figures on each layer.
They were all dressed in lab coats, which I
assumed were the lab group.
<
At the top was a couple standing shoulder to
shoulder, smiling.
The cake was pushed in front of Liam, and
Mia started to speak.
“Happy twentieth birthday, Liam!”
She pointed at the little figures on top.
“May we continue to reach for the stars.
together!”
What an awkward toast.
Because of that spicy chicken, I still had an
unce of foolish hope for Liam.
I wanted him to reject the cake, to stand up
for me.
<
But he just smiled faintly and thanked Mia.
Then, he folded his hands and made a wish.
The candle light made his face look softer.
All the smiles I’d seen from him tonight had
been more than the past couple of years
combined.
Did his wish have something to do with me?
Or was it just like Mia’s wish, that they would
be successful together?
They were geniuses. I was just some broke
college student.
The gap between us was laid out in a stark
way.
<
So, I figured it was probably the latter.
The candles were blown out, and the room
went dark.
My feelings for Liam seemed to fade a little
too.
Mia started clapping and cheering.
I forced a smile, clapping along.
Mia took a piece of cake and smeared it on
Liam’s face.
He just smiled, and told her to knock it off.
“Oops, I messed up your perfect face, Liam!
“I know how to make it up to you though!”
<
“I know how to make it up to you though!”
