Checkmate ⚢

Chapter 9 Number

"Hana!"

She turned around to see Fallon and Liezel had just arrived carrying groceries.

"You've only just arrived now?" Liezel raised an eyebrow in her visible eye. "You had no class the whole afternoon."

"Ehehe, I had errands to run for my photo shoot this weekend." Hana turned the key in the lock, her arm turned as well, exposing the phone number written on her wrist. She'd stopped thinking about it until Liezel grabbed her arm and pulled it up to see the blue evidence of exactly what had kept Hana after school.

Liezel frowned. "Whose number is that?"

"It's... Well... I...."

"Hana," Liezel snarled.

"It's Althea Lancaster's number!" Hana blurted. Heat rushed her cheeks.

Her roommates' eyes widened as Liezel released Hana's arm. They stared, mouth agape, eyes still as big as saucers.

"Oh, how wonderful! Who would have thought you'd be so lucky!" Fallon cheered on her but Liezel didn't say a word.

Not that she had to.

The astonishment on her face was enough to make Hana a little squirmy. Looking away, Hana opened the door to their dorm room. Cool air rushed out and blasted into her blazing hot face. Relief rushed to her—sort of. Now she just needed Liezel to quit staring at her like she'd lost her mind.

They headed inside—Hana heading straight to her desk to retrieve her laptop, Liezel going straight up to her space, Fallon setting down the groceries neatly in the cupboards as she took some sodas and heated some popcorn.

At least their normal routine would put some distance between the girls and give Hana time to think about how she would explain how she got Althea's number while Fallon and Liezel marinated in whatever ideas she conjured about Hana and Althea's new relationship.

"So what did you pick out for us, Hana?" Fallon asked as she sat two of the bottles of soda on the nightstand next to Liezel.

"Doctor Strange."

"Awesome," Liezel said as she plopped down on the purple beanbag on the floor. "Marvel again."

"Yes!" Hana said. "You're okay with it right?"

"I guess," Liezel muttered. Clearly, something was bothering Liezel, but she had always been the type who wouldn't volunteer to talk about things.

The movie started to play as Fallon dumped half the popcorn into a bowl for Hana and Liezel.

They'd seen Doctor Strange many times; Hana even knew most of the words by heart. Liezel never contributed to these conversations. Yet Liezel focused so hard on the television, she acted as she'd never seen the movie before.

"Okay, what's wrong with you?" Hana asked, sitting forward on the bed.

"Why do you have Althea Lancaster's number scribbled on your wrist?" Liezel blurted as if the question had been playing on an infinite loop in her brain. She didn't look at Hana when she asked. Instead, she kept her wide eyes glued to the laptop screen.

An awkward silence filled the room, turning the air almost smothering. Fallon had the urge to fidget as Liezel kept her weighty stare focused on Hana, but she didn't move