My Angel

CHAPTER 20

BECKY

'I need to make a plan' I said to myself as I walked to school. My brother—Freen too—insisted on driving me to school, but I declined. Normally, my parents would not let me walk to school alone (the only time they agreed was when Irin stayed the night and we'd walk to school together), but for some reason, today, they didn't oppose me and let me do what I wanted, though I have a feeling that it was the aftereffect of my self-seclusion.

I know that I am determined to push through with my desired course of action, but realistically speaking, I don't know what to do. I know what I want to happen, but I have no clue as to how I'm going to make that happen, so now I am racking my brain for ideas. There has to be a way for me to be able to get my desired outcome, right?

"Bec" the lively voice of my best friend, effectively snapped me out of my thoughts as she wrapped her hands around my shoulder, giving it a shake quite aggressively. "Was the aggression really necessary?" I said with a resigned expression as I stopped in my tracks with her in tow. I am not really in the mood to be in a playful banter with Irin—or anyone—this morning.

"It seems so" she said happily, seemingly showing no care about my current mode. I gave her a death glare just to show (as if she doesn't already know) my irritation. "I have been calling you for the last few minutes" she replied nonchalantly, completely ignoring my stare. "You're the one who hasn't responded to me, so you don't get to complain with my last resort to get your attention" she retorted, successfully and completely putting the blame on me. I simply shook my head, unable to talk back.

"What were you thinking anyway?" she finally inquired after we started walking again "It must be something serious for you to be so deep in your thoughts" she asked seriously, keeping her gaze on me. I made sure to look back at her and say, "Can't you let go of me first?" This time I made sure for her to know that I'm serious, but of course she simply ignored it completely.

I would have been flabbergasted, but I have already grown so accustomed to her and her antics that it simply made me sigh. "That's right, it wouldn't be Irin if she didn't make things go her way" I thought to myself, simply giving up. "What is it? Tell me!" she insisted, more like commanded, and I know that nothing will stop her until I tell her what she wants to know.

"P'Fre--- " I was just about to tell her, only to be cut off immediately with her exaggerated reaction as she once again stopped walking "I should have known it was about your precious P'Freen" the resigned tone in her voice did make me a bit annoyed, but it also made me glad that she finally let go of me. I stopped and turned to face her swiftly after asking, "Do you want me to continue or not?"

"Ok, ok" she said, putting her hands up in surrender "I did ask, so I will make sure to listen" were her words as she once again approached me, linking her arms to mine and prompting me to start walking again.

"As I was saying" I started after letting out a sigh "P'Freen finally came home last friday" I said "Yeah, you did tell me that" Irin interjected, nodding her head in acknowledgement of the information. "Both families went to the airport to fetch her, we had dinner together, shared some stories, and went on with catching up with each other's lives" I stated, and just as she promised, she remained quiet and listened to my every word.

"After dinner, we all went back to their house to get some more time to spend together, more catching up to do, but in groups. There was no problem then" I continued my story, "but..." she once again interjected, and this action simply reminded me of just how much she knows me. I'm really very glad to have her in my life, but there are times that I want her to be oblivious to what I'm feeling.

"But then comes the problem" I said, confirming her thought about the progress. "Freen, Richie, and I were supposed to spend some time together in her room, just like old times." I took a peek at her and was actually glad to see her intently listening to me, so I continued "I went down to the kitchen to get us some food to snack on as we chattered the night away, but on my way back, I heard Freen and Richie talking" I paused for a moment, remembering that night still brings a bit of aching to my heart.

"Richie was asking her about her life. Guess one thing led to another, and Freen ended up telling Richie that she has found a special someone" the words felt like sand in my mouth or food too spicy for me to handle, and that's now causing me heartburn. Irin was not any better, as she showed me a very astounded face upon hearing the news "I suspect that I wasn't supposed to find out that way, but I did, shocked by the sudden news, I went home and locked myself inside my room throughout the weekend" I finished my story, but Irin was left speechless, which was surprising since she is a chatterbox that seems to have a baggage of words and stories with her.

"That reminds me" she started, finally finding her voice again. "Is that why you were not answering any of my calls and messages?" she asked, still in disbelief.

I nodded in response.

"I was so affected by the news that I didn't know what to do; I locked myself and talked to no one for days" I told her "I only came out of my room this morning" I added. The sadness in Irin's eyes was so apparent to me that I had to divert my gaze away from hers to keep myself from crying.

We started walking in silence for the remaining block, both of us contemplating the events that had transpired.

"What do you plan to do now?" she finally asked as we entered the premises of the school. "That's what I was thinking before you so rudely and quite aggressively snapped me out of my thoughts earlier" was what I told her, my voice a pitch higher than normal.

And just like that, we were back to square one.

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