《5 Stages of Heartbreak》


 Prologue

    It was a stormy night, and I shivered under the blanket I shared with my boyfriend. My group had planned a four-day, three-night trip to my hometown. We were by the beach, and it was naturally chilly; although nobody predicted a storm, we still had enough thick blankets to keep ourselves warm. We had just put a pot of water on the stove to boil three minutes ago, and it was now bubbling to the brim, indicating it had boiled.


    ¡°We have the choice of coffee or tea,¡± announced my best friend, Sophia. ¡°Tea for us,¡± another of my close friends, Darius, replied. He and his twin were technically identical. ¡°Alright, Max,¡± Sophia replied without a glance.


    ¡°Fuck you! I¡¯m Darius!¡± Darius replied, his words tinted with a teasing tone. ¡°Too bad, I¡¯ve got to look at where I¡¯m pouring, or you won¡¯t even get a cup of water,¡± answered Sophia coolly. We¡¯ve all gotten used to each other''s ways of speaking and temper, so it was pretty easy to get a comeback that hit hard.


    I smiled. It has been eight years since we first met, and I just couldn¡¯t believe it was our second last year at school. It certainly felt funny, being a sensible senior that all the juniors admired and looked up to. Not just that, but we also have to set an example to the juniors, which really stinks. I had a skill for getting into mischief, and it wasn¡¯t easy for me to follow the rules. Now, we could all act like first-years for a while, as it was guaranteed the teachers weren¡¯t going to let us off as easily as we usually did when we got into mischief when we were younger.


    I felt a particularly strong breeze and felt goosebumps form beneath my skin. I was used to the always sunny southeast Asia and not at all used to feeling cold. Often, we were sticky with sweat and needed an electronic fan. To think that I was shivering out here was a dream, only possible if I went to Europe.


    I felt my boyfriend¡¯s arm wrap around my shoulder, warming my upper body. Heck, his body was a natural furnace. Under the safety of the blanket, I took his free hand and squeezed it. He only smiled at me absentmindedly in reply. ¡°Nobody¡¯s going to drink coffee so late at night, Sophia. Anyway, it¡¯s around time we started getting ready for the rest of the night.¡± My boyfriend Ee Zhen replied. ¡°But anyway, we¡¯ll have tea.¡±


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    Being the eldest of the group, Ee Zhen always had that more sensible air about him. Don¡¯t get me wrong, he isn¡¯t completely all sensibility and boredom. He has a knack for getting into trouble.


    ¡°Oh, quit acting so like an adult. We still have 3 nights till we have to check out. We just made it here today.¡± Renae pouted, and I giggled happily. Seeing the usually so serious and mature Renae acting like a 3-year-old child was hilarious. Renae threw the pillow she was cuddling on at me, and I yelped loudly, making everyone jump in surprise and then laugh.


    ¡°Asshole,¡± I muttered.


    ¡°I¡¯m not deaf just yet,¡± replied Renae with an exaggerated cheerfulness in her tone.


    ¡°Haha, very funny. Anyway, Sophia, I¡¯m pretty sure making 7 cups of tea doesn¡¯t take like, 10 minutes,¡± I replied.


    ¡°But you¡¯re the expert when it comes to tea brewing!¡± Sophia wailed. ¡°Of course you don¡¯t take so long!¡±


    Honestly, Sophia wasn¡¯t wrong. As my father absolutely adored tea, I often ended up brewing him a pot of tea when I could be cuddling a pillow on the sofa reading. Due to his obsession, I also acquired an excellent taste for tea. Normally, after dinner or on stormy nights, I would sit down by the dining table, sipping a cup of tea while reading (something my mother always discouraged).


    ¡°You want me to help?¡± I decided to offer some help; if not, we were never going to get our hands on a cup of tea.


    Sophia nodded vigorously, making her fringe jump up and down. I left the warmth of Ee Zhen¡¯s arms and the soft blanket and walked over to Sophia. ¡°Here, pour the tea into the cups using both hands.¡± I demonstrated by putting one hand on the handle and the other on top of the teapot¡¯s lid. ¡°I got it now!¡± Sophia told me enthusiastically. I stood next to her as I carefully handed her the teapot. As she took it, I wished that she could see her own face. It glew brightly, making her look years younger. The look in her eyes simply described joyfulness. I chuckled, finding it funny that she should get so happy over learning how to pour tea.


    ¡°Are you coming back, or not?¡± I heard Ee Zhen ask me, and I turned my head over and beamed at him. His was extremely attached to the group, especially me. Zheng Jie, his brother, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t quite so sociable. I walked back to him, allowing his arm to wrap around my waist, and the other put half the blanket around me.


    ¡°Can you guys quit being so lovey-dovey here? You¡¯re not alone, y¡¯know.¡± Zheng Jie stated. He hated it whenever we were together, being my ex-boyfriend. He once shared me with Ee Zhen, but that ended when he decided to break up with me.


    ¡°No.¡±