Back then, Robert was in fifth grade and kept coming over to play. He’d visit me several times a day, and I told him I could only join him once I finished my homework.
When I still had two more sets of homework to do, I took out my school bag and found it empty.
Robert, being his single-minded self, stole my exam papers, thinking that this would make me available to play with him.
After losing the homework, I was so anxious that I rummaged through the house but couldn't find it.
Just as I managed to get a photo of the homework to make a photocopy, Robert showed up, eager to take credit.
"Hey, I throw that homework away, so you don’t have to work on them anymore."
He held a basketball in one hand, and his face was covered with dust. He smiled proudly.
Robert was a troublemaker at school, frequently skipping classes and avoiding homework. He was the type who didn’t care about consequences.
On the other hand, I was a diligent and earnest student who never missed an assignment. I was also quite sensitive and feared criticism.
I was furious and immediately kicked Robert out, leaving him with a parting shot. "Don’t come looking for me again. I won’t talk to you anymore."
To help me focus on my studies, my mom soon arranged for me to board at school. After we moved, I lost touch with Robert.
It was said that Robert visited me several times after that, but we kept missing each other. It wasn’t until my mom’s spontaneous New Year’s visit that we finally bumped into each other again.
It had been so many years, and it wasn‘t a big deal. I didn't expect that Robert still remembered it.
I patted his shoulder with a generous smile, like a mentor, and said, "It's okay. I’ve long since forgotten about it."
Unexpectedly, my words backfired. Robert looked even more aggrieved and said, "I even went to the University of Chicago to look for you..."
"Really? I don't think I saw you."
Robert gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing with a hint of anger. "You were riding a shared bike with some guy with dyed yellow hair right in front of me."
"Yeah... that might have been two boyfriends ago. He was quite frugal and always used shared bikes whenever we went out."
In college, with the freedom to date, a decent-looking guy confessed his feelings to me. Without giving it much thought, I said yes. However, we broke up soon after because our ways of handling things were completely different.