The Right One

Thirteen

As stealthily as she could manage with the extremely dim lighting, Hope tiptoed out of her room and headed for the kitchen. She was craving a snack so bad and knew herself well enough to risk going to bed hungry. She needed all the sleep she could get to make up for the one she'd lost the previous night.

"Hope? Is that you?"

Hope's steps halted and she tapped on her phone screen twice to wake it up. She switched on the flashlight and pointed it at Val's figure seated on the couch, a bowl of cereal in hand. Changing her mind, she made her way over to the couch instead.

"I'm going to pretend it's not weird that you're sitting alone here in total darkness taking cornflakes," Hope said as she plopped herself on the seat beside Val.

Val smiled, munching on a spoonful. "It's NEPA's fault since they decided to bless us with darkness this night."

Hope waved her phone before setting it on the table to serve as an illuminant.

"Low battery," Val replied, catching the drift. "I'm saving power."

"There's a lamp around here somewhere," Hope insisted, glancing around as if expecting said lamp to miraculously appear.

"Yes, and when was the last time either of us bothered to charge it?" Val asked then chuckled at the sheepish look on Hope's face. "Exactly."

Hope laughed. "It's because I'm not used to it jare. My roommate and I never bothered to get another lamp after the last one we had broke. We almost never need it anyway because we have light basically 24/7 and the few times we don't, our phones do the job."

Val shook her head, chuckling. "It's not you people's fault na. Private school students. Go to correct public university where you can go days without NEPA blinking the light. We'll know then if you'll be able to say the same."

Hope chuckled, "So you that went to correct public university, what's your excuse?"

"Forgetful mind," Val answered simply, taking another spoonful of now soggy cornflakes.

Hope's eyes followed the movement and her stomach rumbled, reminding her why she was up that late in the first place. She licked her lips as she felt herself salivating. "See how this your cornflakes is just beckoning on me to come and eat it."

Val shifted away from Hope, creating as much distance between them as she can.

"Is that why you're shifting away like that?" Hope laughed. "What will you do if I just jump on you and snatch the food?"

"You know the way to the kitchen. Don't play rough play oo," Val warned, her expression serious.

Hope stared at her a second before bursting into another round of laughter. "So you're stingy like this. Na wa oo, Aunty Val."

Val's face scrunched up. It was obvious she didn't find the term endearing. "Don't call me Aunty, please. I'm not that much older than you are."

"It's my mum you should tell that one to." Hope scoffed, remembering the time her mum had promised her a beating because she'd called Val by her name. "I've been meaning to ask though. How old are you?"

"Twenty four," Val replied, finishing off the last of the food.

"Really? I'll be roughly your age during my service year as well," Hope observed.

"That's true," Val replied thoughtfully. "Your education seems a bit slow compared to Sophie's. Why is that?"

"You don't know?" Hope asked, surprised Val didn't know her story.