a sun that never sets

CHAPTER ONE | TIMELINE IN A SCI-FI TRUCK

"OKAY, LET ME get this straight." I was sitting across two of my friends in a cafe, and one of them was blushing. Furiously. The other was just as shocked as I was. "You've had a boyfriend since... like, last year, and you didn't tell me."

"In my defence," Mina Cheung protested, "I told like, two people. You guys are the third."

I just stared at her.

It was the end of summer and I was out with my friends for one more girls' day out. Mina and Jenny Wong have been my friends since primary three, and despite the physical distance that existed between me and them now, we'd always remained good friends. And among the two, Mina was the one who I'd always seen as more akin to myself, at least in personality and values. Mina was athletic, smart and slightly taller than me, which was an impressive feat in Hong Kong. Jenny, meanwhile, had this fascination with being elegant that often backfired, not that any of us would ever tell her that to her face.

Case in point, both Mina and I had already finished our cakes while Jenny was still only halfway through it, and wiping her mouth with every bite she took.

Which was why Mina and I had started a conversation, and how she accidentally let loose that she'd had a boyfriend and never told any of us.

Jenny, with a purposeful slowness, placed down her fork, dabbing her mouth with her napkin before meeting Mina's eyes. "I'm disappointed in you."

"As am I," I declared.

"You had a boyfriend and you didn't introduce any of his friends to us?"

Blinking, I turned to face her. "Jen, I think you're missing the point here. This is about trust, okay? This bitch here decided not to tell us—"

Jenny waved her hand, cutting me off. "No. This is about her having access to boys and not introducing them to us—"

Mina tossed her head back. "Well, I was trying to keep it a secret, wasn't I?"

"I cannot believe you've done this," I said, shaking my head slowly. "I just can't believe it."

Mina rolled her eyes. "This is why I didn't tell you. Because I knew that would be your reaction. Dear god, Hon, we're like, fifteen, this is very normal, and we're not all you."

  "You're fifteen! You should be focusing on grades! Not dating!"

"I don't know about you," Mina said, leaning slightly forwards, "but I can do both at the same time."

I rolled my eyes in return, turning to Jenny. "You don't have a boyfriend, right?"

"I don't, but I might as well have considering how frequently Amelia comes to me for relationship advice."

Okay, I knew about Amelia and her many exes. There weren't actually that many, but Amelia was a year younger than me. Was I just too conservative, or were my friends just far too ahead? I'd thought this was only a phenomenon in the UK, but clearly it was spreading quickly in Hong Kong as well.

I was beginning to think it was a me problem rather than a they problem.

It was slightly concerning.

But I didn't say that. I understood, somewhat, why Mina didn't tell me. I'd be against it. It was so clear I'd be against it. I'd always made my stance on dating at a young age clear, and I'd always found it ridiculous. Mina wouldn't have wanted that negativity, which I got. But it was still slightly irritating, that despite having been close friends for so many years she still didn't tell me about something this big.

The fact that they'd been together since last year, well, that mostly meant this relationship might genuinely be long-lasting. Which was good.

And Mina was a smart girl. I was sure she could manage.