The ticking of the clock makes me drum my fingers to the beat. I peek at the ticking clock and it is one minute until Christmas break. I sigh as I arrange my things for my part-time job at Starbucks, wrap my brown scarf around my neck and wear my furry coat then the bell ring. Loud cheers and yells are the first thing I hear in the classroom. I stand up from my seat then sprint in the hallways of Brooklyn College, passing random people and teachers.

          As I go outside, chills from the winter air are running down on my bare skin and my spine then there is a tall and skinny girl, whose hair is wavy short and brunette, drumming her foot on the pavement and gazing at her watch. I slowly walk towards the brunette and holler her name.

          "Riley!"

          "Alice, do you have any idea what time it is right now?!" She yells at me almost to my ear, creating loud and irritating ringing in my ears.

          "I... I'm sorry. I... I just got out from class." I pant from all the restless running earlier and massage my ear from Riley's yell.

          "Well, we don't want to be late or we will be fired."

          She grabs my hand and starts dragging me, causing me to dash to work. I am not prepared for this at all because I just finish sprinting but I guess she is in a hurry to work as always.

          "H-Hey!" I exclaim.

          While Riley was dragging me to work, we overtake several people on the streets with strange glares on their faces but she doesn't care about that at all. I know I like sports and all but this is too tiring, especially in the winter. After we sprinted past two more streets, she suddenly halts, causing me to crash on her back. This makes me curious why she stopped so I have to ask.

          "What's wrong?"

          "Wait. Someone texted me."

          Riley takes her phone from her bag and suddenly grins while replying to whoever she is texting. She seems to be happier recently. She always whines about homework and is very moody, especially if anyone gossips bad things about me, her and even her interests, but she is still a trustworthy and reliable friend. However, that grin of hers reminds me of something else. No, it is not a jubilant memory but, for some reason, it reminded me about an anguished memory.

          A year ago on Christmas day, that was exactly two years after Mitch confessed his feelings to me, was the worst Christmas I had in my entire life. I was going home from my part-time job at Starbucks with a gift on my hands. I received a text from Mitch, saying that he needed to meet me by the tree where we spent Christmas two years ago. With a grin on my face, I ran to the tree which was a bad idea on my part.

          "Hi, Mitch."

          I was about to hug him but he took few steps away from me. He said nothing. He stared down at the snow, trying to avoid my gaze at him.

          "What's wrong?"

          "I'm sorry, Alice."

          "What?"

           "I can't do this anymore."

          "What do you mean?"

          "This relationship needs to end."

          I tightly clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. I attempted to restrain myself from crying but it failed miserably. I listened to the snow crunching from his boots as he approached me but I took few steps back, staring at the snow and watching my teardrops fall to the ground.

          "W-why?"

          "I have to protect you."

          "From... what?!"

          "I... I'm not supposed to tell you."

          "You know what? Goodbye!"

          I forcibly removed my necklace from my neck, threw both the necklace and the gift to the snow and ran away from him. I listened to Mitch calling my name but it didn't stop me from running away. I felt my heart crushing and a painful sensation in my chest. Tears quickly escaped from my eyes as I ran away from the person I don't want to talk to.

          Ever since that day, Mitch and I didn't speak to each other anymore and we lost contact from each other. I never heard anything about him ever since our break-up, even from my family, my friends and Riley.