Chapter 260.

Chapter 260.

Chapter 260. Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect. (3/5)

When she stood up from her seat, I picked up my jacket from the back of the chair. The two of us wandered around the underground tunnels through the university in search of somewhere private to practice. I didn’t bother wearing my jacket since it was pretty warm inside so I carried it around under my arm.

When we made it all the way to the university’s gymnasium we turned back. There wasn’t anywhere good. We passed through the university center again, this time in the direction of the museum I frequented. Anytime we thought we found a decent spot, some random stray student would walk by.

When we came up from the underground tunnels to the first floor of the building with the museum I grabbed her hand and stopped her from proceeding further. When forced to a stop so suddenly, she asked, “What is it?”

I didn’t want her to stumble upon my little sanctuary that very few students knew about.

I looked around to try and find something I could use to not raise her suspicions of why I didn’t want her to proceed any further.

My eyes suddenly lit up when I noticed a short offshoot hallway to our side. I’d forgotten about the washroom in this building. It was a single room washroom designed for handicapped people. If it was here, unlike the large public washrooms around the campus which multiple people could use at once, it was nearly impossible we’d be discovered.

Not many people used this washroom because of the low traffic to it. Sunday, there would be even less.

“There’s a good place over here.” I pointed to the side, down the hallway.

“Won’t people see if they pass by?”

I dragged her by the hand down the hall and rounded the corner into another small hallway parallel to the main one we were in. When I opened up the door to the handicap washroom her eyes lit up.

“Oh! So there was an isolated washroom like this here? Good catch.”

“Yeah.”

She dragged me inside without any sign of reluctance.

“Hey, should you really be okay with dragging a guy into a washroom like this?” When inside the washroom I put my jacket down on top of the counter beside the sink.

“What’s there to fear a phony devil?”

“I’m still a guy.”

“But you’ve got a girlfriend already. Rather, shouldn’t you be the one scared right now? You’re locked up in a washroom with a scary goth girl like me.”

“Who’d be scared of the little goth girl who was so scared she slid down the wall onto the ground when I left the school lab that day.”

“I wasn’t scared!” She flared up when I provoked her and grabbed my collar pulling me closer with her right hand as she intimidatingly glared me in the eyes.

“Haha. How scary~”

“You should be scared or else I’ll do something that really scares you.”

“Oh? You think you can scare me? You’re just an obedient domesticated little puppy who’s always chasing after the student council president. You’re all bark and no bite. What’s there to be afraid of?”

“All bark... and no bite?” She bit her lips frustrated because she couldn’t refute my evaluation of her.

Her breathing sped up whenever our faces drew near.

“It just doesn’t feel the same,” she muttered out with our lips nearly touching.

Obviously. I never faked the kiss with Alicia after all.

“Then, should we give up?”

“No. I want to keep trying until I get it right.”

“You’re so stubborn. Why do you insist on it being perfect?”

As I spoke she pulled her head back. She moved back in close with her eyes shut when she responded, “I want to be an actor in the future. If I can’t even make a convincing kiss scene with someone I don’t actually have any feelings for, I’ll never make it in the industry.”

“Oh? The scary goth girl wants to be an actor? But what about your tattoos and piercings? Won’t they be problematic?”

This time she moved her face more to the side and her cheek brushed against mine. She let out a hot breath of air as she spoke, “I’ve mastered how to cover them up with makeup.”

“Oh? Have you now?”

“Yes, I’m confident in my ability to hide them. When I get into university.”

“You mentioned you were going to university before, was it to become an actor?”

“Yes. I’ll enter the faculty of arts for theatre. I feel like pretending to be someone’s girlfriend isn’t bad for gaining experience.”

“Do you want to make it big and be famous one day?”

“Of course.”

“You want to be looked at by others?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that why you like dressing like this? Because it draws people’s eyes?”

“Maybe. Are you going to laugh at me and call me delusional?”

She’s like a caged bird who wants to spread her wings and fly high in the sky.

“No, I won’t laugh. I think having a dream like that is fine and all... but, if your dream is too far out of reach, you might crumble when confronted with the reality of how difficult it really is to get there. University isn’t necessarily a place to fulfill dreams. It can be a place where lofty hopes and grand aspirations go to die. What really matters in university are the connections you can make there. Your grades come second.”

She might actually be presented with an opportunity to make a very strong connection. That was the only reason why I told her this.

“Connections? They’re more important than grades?”

“Yeah. You could have good grades, but if no one is willing to put in a good word for you, you may never find work in your field. When people say luck plays a factor in success, what they don’t say is that it's who you are lucky enough to meet. If you’re not at the right place at the right time and you miss forming that connection, it can be the difference between life and death.”

“I see. I’ll keep that in mind.”