Obliterated Beginnings

• 17 •

Or were they?

The girl beside me shifted, sensing the shift in my body language and I glanced at her with slitted eyes as if she was the cause of my predicament. Her eyes widened and she shifted farther away from me, no doubt thinking I was a psycho. I was far from caring.

Beads of perspiration settled on my forehead and I wiped it off with the back of my hand.

How did this happen?

I had my phone with me all through breakfast at the hotel restaurant, I'd even taken some pictures. From there, we had gone outside to the bus and come straight here, but I couldn't remember it being with me during the bus ride. Could it be that I might have misplaced it at the hotel?

I had to find it. I had to—

Laura!

I'd given it to her when I went back upstairs to make quick use of the restroom. Oh, God. What if she lost it? Laura wasn't the most careful person.

My excitement gave way to fear and I searched for her in the crowd, my movements frantic. Despite her lack of height, she was quite easy to spot and it wasn't just because of the hot pink sweater top she wore, it had something to do with her energy.

"Laura. " I tugged on her arm impatiently when I reached her. Her head whipped around and by the irritated scowl on her face, I could tell she didn't appreciate being approached in such a manner. However, her frown smoothened when she saw it was me.

"Dammit, Eva. Don't do that again. " she whispered. "I was just about to slap you. "

"A slap wouldn't be a bad idea right now, except I'm not sure who's going to be on the receiving end. " If it was another time, I would relish the  surprise my words evoked in her. "Where's my phone? " I asked urgently, going straight to the point.

She rolled her eyes leisurely, no doubt thinking I was overreacting. "Calm down, will you. It's in my pocket right.... " her voice trailed off, a confused frown settling on her face.

My stomach dropped.

Lines appeared on her forehead when she checked her sweater pocket and saw that it wasn't there either.

"I don't understand. I had it right here. " her eyes were two pools of worry when she glanced at me. "I swear I was holding it. Ever since you gave it to me, I haven't dropped it once. I swear, I—" she stopped abruptly and her eyes narrowed.

"What? What is it? "

It felt silly, whispering like this when we were talking about something so important, but we couldn't risk getting caught by Mrs Philomena who seemed to want to bite our ears off for doing something even as basic as sneezing.

"Laura... " I pressed when she just kept staring at me with a look of utmost concentration on her face. If perhaps she remembered where she left my phone, then we had greater chances of finding it before someone else did.

"When you guys came down from the vehicle, I stayed back to make an impromptu video call. But I wanted somewhere private so I used the back seat. " Her eyes met mine. "And I think I might have left it on the back seat when I was leaving. "

Mrs Philomena caught us talking then and she fixed us with an admonishing glare. Laura scoffed, muttering, "Fuck you. " At my gasp of surprise, she said, "If not for her, your phone wouldn't be missing in the first place. "

"How is it her fault? "

"She didn't let us bring our bags in. Lord knows I would have kept your phone in there and not a damn thing would have happened to it. " she fumed.