And now arriving finals week.

Feeling especially lazy and unhealthy recently. Yesterday I ate pop tarts for breakfast, hot pockets for lunch, more pop tarts in the melancholy afternoon, went to the dining hall for some mac and cheese and salad, and ate an order of wings with my roommate around 1 a.m.

Meanwhile the past few days I've been studying for finals which is pretty frightening. There's not much when I initially think about it but as soon as I actually sit down at my desk and glance at the material with focus there's sort of a lot that's covered. Maybe because they're all cumulative.

Because my suitemates were playing Call of Duty while screaming their lungs out, I had to go to the library to study. I grabbed my bag, put on my wool coat and trekked my way through, thankful that the snow finally subsided. The wind brushed the remnant snow left on the rooftop of a house as it ghastly billowed in the air. Cars were slowly passing through the icy roads. A lampost nearby was buzzing. While a chilly thump of wind blew in my direction, I recalled a conversation:


"You guys don't give gifts to your friends?" Melon asked. "No secret santa or anything?"

She was as usual, stunning. Her hair was smooth as silk, dropping down to about her shoulders. Hiding just behind it were pearl earrings. Today she applied more makeup than usual. A subtle woody fragrance lingered whenever she made hand gestures. She was wearing a white sweater and tight denims.

"I guess not," I said. "Come to think of it I don't actually have close friends like that."

"What a sad life."

I thought about it for a while. "I guess you could say that I don't really have a best friend. I know some people here and there, and they know me. I fit in everywhere."

She twirled her coffee. "You really think so?"

"Sure."

She took her time to look at my face, then down to my clothes. "Well then what about me?"

I looked at my left hand, aware that it finally felt free without the brace. "Say, what do you want for Christmas?" I asked her.

"Your ugly face."

"Sorry, the ugly version is out of stock," I said. "We only have the handsome version here."

She looked down and smiled. A beautiful, cute, subtle smile. Her right eye hid under her hair.

"Then never mind," she said. "I'll just resort to chocolates then."

"Chocolates?"

"I dunno I'm really craving them at this moment. I could really go for something sweet. I guess I'm just that tired because of all those finals."

"What a dumb present."

"Excuse me? Chocolates are mouth-watering."

"Yeah sure. As a present. Why not something better like candy canes?"

"Nothing can really beat chocolate."

"Psh."

I took out a crackling new bar of Hershey's dark chocolate from my coat pocket and slid it across the table toward her.

"What? how?" she froze.

"I know you too well. Let's not see each other," I smiled. "Happy Holidays."