"Sis! I noticed that someone is always calling you on your cellphone. Who is that?" Ayana asked Quira as they walked through the school gate.
It had been two months since Quira know Lance, and in those two months, there wasn't a day that he didn't call her on her cellphone, so Ayana was really curious about who was always calling her sister.
"Ah! That's Lance. He's my friend, on the phone," Quira replied gently to her sister.
Ayana was puzzled by her sister's answer. She furrowed her brow and asked, "What do you mean a friend on the phone, Sis? He calls you all the time, but you haven't met in person?"
Quira nodded then say, "Yes! I don't know him in person because we haven't meet yet. When he first called me, he said he dialed a wrong number. He thought he was calling his friend, but it was actually my number accidentally dialed."
"Oh! So what happened next? Did you become friends right away?" Ayana face is full of disbelief.
"Yes! he's really nice."
"Oh no! Sis, what if he really know who you are? and it wasn't just a wrong number? That person might want to scam you," Ayana warned her.
Quira laughed at her sister and replied, "Don't worry. He doesn't know my name."
Ayana was surprised by what she said. "Huh? Then what does he call you if he doesn't know your name?"
She suddenly felt shy about telling her sister what he called her. But with the way her sister was looking at her, she knew she had to say it. "Um... He calls me Angel. But don't worry, I'm not that stupid to get scammed so easily." After saying this, she said her goodbye and headed to her own classroom because the bell was about to ring.
"Oh, okay, Sis" her voice full of doubt. "I'll see you later after school," Ayana replied and turned away while waving as she walked.
"I'll see you during lunch break," she said to her and then started walking toward her classroom.
Not much happened while she was in class.
When their class ended. She was pack her things to go to the canteen for lunch, three of her friends suddenly approached her, and Tina even clung to her arm.
"Friend, this weekend is football game event. You have to join us later, okay? We're going shopping, We need to buy the best outfit for the game!" she said excitedly while shaking her shoulder.
She was about to decline, but Mae spoke up. "And you can't say no, it's your first time watching. You need to dress nicely; otherwise, people might think your our maid with that outfit!. You dress worse than my grandma!" she said dramatically while looking at her dress.
She just nodded at them. Tina let go of her grip. "That's better, see you later!" she said and started to walk away. "After class, we're going to the mall! Don't keep us waiting," she added.
She just shook her head and walked out of the classroom to find Ayana in the canteen.
WHEN she arrived at the canteen, Ayana was already there. She was sitting alone in their usual spot. She walked calmly toward her sister, who noticed her and waved in her direction.
She sat down in the empty chair across from Ayana and asked, "Have you been here long?"
"Not really. I just got here a minute ago. What do you want to eat? I'll buy it," she asked while standing up.
"Anything is fine. You know I'm not picky with food! You decide," she replied to her sister while she open her bag.
Ayana didn't bother her anymore and walked to the food stall. She took out a book from her bag and started reading. Ayana didn't take long to buy the food. She returned with two trays. She handed one tray to her, saying, "Here sis, this one's on me because I'm a nice sister." She smiled while sitting down.
"Thank you." That was all she replied, which made Ayana give her a look.
"You know,! You're really boring to talk to. You're so annoying! Does it bother you to praise me sometimes!, like right now?" she pouted while taking a bite of her food.
"Are you still not used to my attitude?."
Ayana's expression turned sour at her response. "Why is it that when you're talking to Lance on the phone, you're so chatty? I can hear you, you know! So don't you dare deny it. You almost told him everything you did all day. But with ME,! YOUR SISTER!, you barely say anything!." She shouted, her face flushed as she spoke. It was clear that she was really annoyed with her.
Feeling shy, Quira forced a smile at her sister and started eating. She didn't respond to her because she knew it would just prolong the conversation, and she was really hungry.
Ayana sat down with a huff and started eating angrily. She even rolled her eyes at her, which she ignored, so Ayana stopped. Quira thought she would finally have some peace while eating, but she was wrong because Ayana spoke again.
"By the way,Sis!you have to come with me to watch Liam's game this weekend. You don't have to tell me who Lance really is; it's fine as long as you come with me to watch my boyfriends game," she said softly with a puppy eyes look.
"Why? You never took me with you before!" Quira asked, surprised because it was the first time she had been invited to watch a game.
"Well, I don't have anyone to go with. Everyone there are their friends because they all go to the same school, and I'm the only one from a different school. It feels out of place, so come on, Ate, please go with me. You know I dump all my fake friends that's why I'm alone now" She looked at her and made a cute face, even pouting and squinting her eyes like a child.
"What game are they playing?" she asked, curious because it might be far away. She hated traveling far, especially since their parents might come looking for them.
"It's a football game! Do you know how good they are at playing football? Especially Liam's brother; he's the star player of their school. And don't worry my sister, the game will be held at their school, so we won't have to travel far."
When she heard this, she almost choked on her food. She coughed loudly, and Ayana stood up to get her some water.
"What are you doing?! Just take it easy with the food," she patted her back.
Quira stared blankly at her sister. Her mind couldn't process what she had just said. "W-W-What did you just say?"
"Which part? The part about taking it easy with the food?" Ayana asked, confused.
"Not that. The part about where you're going to watch the game?" she clarified.
"OH! That? Didn't you hear? I thought I was clear when i said that.," she said, still puzzled.
"J-Just tell me," Quira said, knowing she had heard it but wanting to be sure.
Ayana nodded and said, "At Liam's school,. Why? Don't you want to?"
She looked even more confused by Quira's reaction.
"A-Ah! It's not like that. It's just that, um, there's something..." She didn't know how to say it because she suddenly blanked out from nervousness.
How was she going to explain to her sister that she didn't want to go there because of Jake? She was panicking inside as she remembered Lance.
"YES, Lance might know what to do." She quickly grabbed her phone from her bag to call Lance.
When she got it and turned it on, it didn't open, and then she remembered that she hadn't charged it at home earlier, and it had very little battery left when they went to school. She looked at Ayana and said, "Can I borrow your phone for a moment? I just need to make an important call. I promise to make it quick."
"Who are you calling,?" she asked curiously.
"Just! I just need to borrow it for a moment because my phone is low on battery!" she said restlessly to her sister, who was puzzled by her.
Ayana pulled out her the phone and put it on the table in front of her. Quira quickly took out a small notebook from her bag and opened it. It contained important notes, including passwords, numbers, and all her essential information.
She flipped through it, and when she found the number she was looking for, she took Ayana's phone from the table and quickly dialed. When the other line answered, she stood up and walked away from Ayana.
Ayana shouted after her, "Wait,! Where are you going? That's my phone you're using, and why are you walking away? Hey,! Come back here!" But no matter how much Ayana called, she ignored her.
When the distance is enough that Ayana can't hear her from, she finally spoke. "L-L-Lance, what should I do?" That was the first thing that came out of her mouth. Her voice sounded like she was about to cry as she said it.
It took a while before the person on the other line spoke. She even heard him clear his throat before saying, "Quira? Is that you?"
Quira was surprised to hear the voice on the other end because it wasn't Lance's voice. She pulled the phone away from her ear and checked the number in the small notebook she was holding to see if she had dialed the right one. When she confirmed it was correct, she spoke.
"Yes, it's me. W-Who am I talking to? Why do you have Lance's phone?" she asked the person on the line.
"Lance? Who is this Lance you're talking about? You called my brother's phone Quira. I was even surprised when i see that Ayana was calling my brother's phone because she doesn't know his number." Quira's heart started to race when she heard what the person on the other line said. "And I was even more surprised that it was actually you calling him."
"Why does he know Ayana?"
Wanting to be sure, so she asked again."W-Who are you?"
"Huh! Can't you recognize my voice? It's me, Liam." He even laughed. "You're unbelievable."
Quira couldn't speak after hearing that; an idea began to form in her mind, and because of that, everything she had said to Lance on the phone flashed back to her. She felt like she was going to faint from it. She instinctively grabbed onto the wall beside her.
"Liam!What are you doing with my phone?" she heard an angry voice on the other side. It was faint, so she knew that the one who's talking was far away, and she recognized it immediately. She even heard something clatter.
"Jake! Why does Quira know your number and she's calling you Lance?" she heard the man who answered her call shout.
"Shit! Why did you even answer my phone?" he said in a panic. When Quira heard this, tears started to flow from her eyes, and her chest tightened suddenly.
"Hello! Angel! Let me explain..." She didn't let the person on the other line finish speaking; she quickly hung up the phone.
"All this time,.. You're just messing with me." She sobbed as she said this, staring at her phone.