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"Once you've accomplished your plan of starting a new life away from the people who are currently suffocating you, I'm gonna be one of the first people who'd be happy for you. Maybe it ain't possible for now. Maybe you're still helpless about the situation, but I believe in you, Ice. You're strong-willed, and I know, someday, you're gonna be able to break free from others' control and make the wonderful life you want for yourself."

Laurence tittered at the crinkles on Isaac's forehead, while the younger man threw him a dubious look.

It had been almost two months since their first encounter on the rooftop. Today, under a cloudy sky, they once again found themselves spending an unplanned moment together in the same place where their bond had started.

Bond, Laurence might have called it, but he wasn't sure what kind of connection they really had. As much as he wanted to say they were good friends, he could not figure out if Isaac felt the same way about him or if the young man had just been tolerating his presence every time he ran into him and tried to strike up a conversation.

Laurence rubbed his palm against his nape and tilted his head to the side, remembering a certain short episode in the hallways the other day.

Wasn't Ice the one who initiated a small talk at that time? Or was it because he was that interested in the plant I was holding then?

He angled a glance at the freshman, who was now absorbed in the pot of cactus near the low wall. That trivial exchange they had last time might not be a big deal, but considering how Isaac had often behaved like a wary kitten around Laurence during the first few days they'd been acquainted with each other, that little effort from his junior brought the older student hope that maybe the other lad had warmed up to him.

Of course, the change was nothing immense. Isaac would still put his guard up, keeping a fair distance in between them, whenever they interacted. Reluctance remained apparent in the younger boy's demeanor, even though he didn't seem to mind it if Laurence came close to him first.

Or he's just shy?

With a sneaky grin, Laurence squatted beside Isaac and nudged his shoulder against the latter's. He stifled a laugh when the first-year scooted a couple of inches away, carrying the pot of cactus with him.

"Tell you what, Ice." The upperclassman propped his elbow against his knee. Resting his temple on his palm, he gave Isaac the fond gaze he often reserved for his little brother. "When the day comes that you've made it, let me know, so I can celebrate with you. I'm bringing you a calathea plant as a present by then."

"Calathea. The prayer plant you were talking to the other day," Isaac murmured; his words might as well be spoken to the cactus since his focus was on it. "Why?"

"Well, I thought you liked it because you seemed to be interested when we were chatting about it."

Isaac twiddled the lace of his sneaker. Neither confirmation nor disclaimer came out of his mouth.

The younger lad's discreet nibble of his bottom lip did not go unnoticed, and Laurence chalked the gesture up to his junior's usual introversion. Aware that it would make Isaac more embarrassed, the upperclassman chose not to point out the reaction.

Though it's kinda cute. Laurence's smile widened.

"And I told you, yeah? Calathea is a symbol of a new beginning. Mom also told me it's the reason the prayer plant is an amazing gift to anyone who's making a fresh start in their lives. It can be a good luck to a friend who'd landed a new job or a welcome present to that neighbor who's just moved into the city. Or that new guy in class. Or, you know, a congrats to a newlywed couple."

"That sounds romantic," Isaac said in a mumble, still refusing to glimpse at Laurence.

"Right? It's unique, too. But some people can't appreciate it 'cause they'd prefer something more..." Laurence motioned his fingers to draw invisible quotation marks in the air. "Valuable. Where'd the saying 'it's the thought that counts' go? It's sad how this world's filled with materialistic people and—" He caught himself mid-rant as he recognized he was digressing.

While his companion remained quiet, Laurence rose to his feet and stretched his arms upward. He walked to the railing to get a quick view of the campus before he turned back to Isaac. "Seriously though, Ice, you better not complain if I give you a prayer plant once you become successful. It's something I want to give you sincerely, so I expect you to accept it with all your heart."

Their surroundings stilled for a few seconds.

"Do what you will." The small tug on the corner of the freshman's lips came off barely perceptible, but there was no mistaking it was there.

Amusement bubbled in Laurence's throat. He now understood that what appeared like Isaac's airy attitude was only the young man's disguise for his bashfulness.

"Oh, right, Rence, I didn't bring anything for that big boss. Foreman didn't inform us 'bout this trip soon, and I got no enough time to find anything. Is it okay for us to come empty-handed?" Kian asked as he navigated the car through the busy highway. Despite the content of his question, his tone was bare of any concern.

Laurence snapped out of his reverie. He lowered his elbow from the window frame and drew his immersion away from the moving vehicles. After giving himself a minute to soak up his friend's sentiment, he shrugged. "We're passing by Engineer's house to pick up his congratulatory gift anyway, and Foreman said he'd already sent his in advance. Guess that should be enough since we're just their proxies. Ah, yeah, Engineer texted earlier to inform us he won't be home, so Auntie Tonya's gonna be the one welcoming us."

"Auntie Tonya..." Creases appeared in between Kian's brows, along with a crooked smile on his lips.

Empathizing with his close coworker, Laurence simpered.

Antonia Abel, a kind woman in her fifties and their superior's wife, had the tendency to hold any visitor captive in their house for hours to give them a tour of her mini museum and impart trivia about her most prized antique collections. Even though they could tell Auntie Tonya was respectful enough to stop if she was asked of it, her sweet-tempered nature always made it hard for anyone to deny her of sharing her passion.

On the bright side, she also loved to feed her guests—the younger people above all. And she cooked the best pasta dishes.

"And here I was wondering why we had to meet up a few hours earlier. I thought there was a place you wanted to drop by first. If only I knew it was going to be Engineer's house," Kian grumbled.

"Hey, Engineer said he'd asked Auntie Tonya to prepare creamy carbonara and macaroni fruit salad as our consolation. Ain't that a good thing? We don't know if there's gonna be any food for us nobodies at that party we're heading. Best to be prepared."

Kian steered the car through the corner. He produced a heavy breath, yet the shadow of dread lifted from his expression.

As Laurence espied the signposts displaying the streets named after flowers, an inspiration occurred to him.

"Ah, by the way..." He contemplated. "Can we drop by somewhere before meeting Auntie Tonya, after all?"

The short driver hummed his curiosity.

Laurence returned his eyes to the car's glass window, studying the different establishments along the way. "Do you know if there's any plant shop here nearby?"

"Huh, are you going to buy another cactus or something like those you have in your apartment? What do you call them again?"

"Succulents. I didn't buy any of those. I'd grown them from the stems an older lady gave me."

"An older lady?"

Going by the skeptical tone, Laurence pictured a frown settling on Kian's features. It was not a trouble to guess the direction of the shorter man's imagination.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, won't ya?" Laurence grunted. He peeked at his companion through the front mirror. "It was the sixty-year-old widow living near one of the roads we'd worked on a couple of months ago. She gave me those stems, saying succulents and cacti are low-maintenance, after I mentioned it would be nice if I'd have time to take care of plants too, like the ones she had in front of her house."

"Is that so?" Kian offered a half-hearted nod. "Then what do we need a visit to a plant shop for?"

"Well..." Hesitation took over Laurence for a moment, impelling him to deliberate whether he could go with the idea in the end. He made a solemn face as his rapid pulse left him with a surreal optimism that it might be worth a shot. "I want to look for a certain plant. It's supposed to be a great gift for someone starting anew in their life."

He anticipated another question from Kian, but it didn't come. Not even a single comment.

Taking the silence as his cue to keep talking, Laurence said, "Pretty sure it may not matter much to the new boss, and more likely it's gonna be considered junk among all the expensive gifts the big shots are hundred percent to bring. Fine, he can throw it away. It's gonna be all his to do whatever he wants with it anyway. But yeah, I think we should give him something too. Anything, if only for formalities."

The shorter man did not show any sign he was listening. Nonetheless, Laurence noticed they had strayed into a different street, and a signboard bearing the business name 'Glimmer Garden' in bright green and red paints greeted his vision.

Laurence cracked a hollow chuckle as soon as he gathered enough nerves to burst out of his flabbergast. He covered his eyes with his left palm and hung his head.

In an attempt to create a little space between them, he pressed his other hand against Isaac's chest. However, his shaky limb—Florence's shaky and slim limb—had no strength in it to budge the bigger man.

Ah, this is freaking annoying.

And yet, he could not decide exactly what was pissing him off so much. Laurence had always regretted his failure to uphold his promise to that young lad, notwithstanding that he was denied the chance to fulfill it. He was upset with the situations that forced them to drift apart. Moreover, he was frustrated with Isaac for creating the impression that he couldn't care less about his existence. That all those times they'd spent together, all the memories and conversations they'd had more than ten years ago, meant so little or nothing to him.

That Laurence Villegas was just one of the hundred nameless passersby in Isaac's life.

But now you're telling me you can recognize me in this stranger's body? When you'd never given a flying fuck before? And what? Do you damn expect me to jump out of joy and receive you with freaking open arms? What do I even matter to you, punk?

Laurence sighed, letting out the last remnant of his incredulous snicker. He withdrew his palm from his eyes and glared at the young boss's ever-so-impassive expression.

Through a frosty smirk, he said, "I don't know what kinda wacky fairy tale you're trying to make up here, Mr. Ruiz, but I can only guess you must have been working so hard that the paperwork had fried your brain. This is concerning, sir. I believe you need to take it easy and give your mind enough rest so it ain't gonna act funny again."