It started at 9:30 p.m
She had just sat down with her iced vanilla latte, lazily on the couch .
Unknown:
"You looked tired today. Still beautiful though."
Her fingers froze on the cup. She hadn't posted anything.
Not a story. Not a reel.
No sleepy selfies.
She hadn't even brushed her hair that morning .
She did a little when she wanted to go to school - yeah a little .
Some still stuck out like a thick forest .
So he seen her this morning at school Raye thought biting her bottom lips with a smile .
"Jane." Raye whispered, wide-eyed.
Her best friend looked up from her laptop with a mouth full of bagel.
"Whuh?"
Raye shoved her phone into Jane's face like it was evidence in a murder trial.
"This! This text. He saw me today."
Jane blinked, chewed, blinked again.
Then— "Girl, no. Absolutely not. We are not doing this."
"Doing what?" Raye asked, already knowing the answer and ignoring it anyway.
"Do you know what this means?" Raye whisper-shrieked, pacing in front of their small sitting room like someone about to confess to a crime.
Jane slurped her iced chai like it was her full-time job.
"Nope, but I know I'm about to regret asking."
"It means he's real. He saw me. He's close. This whole time—why can't I notice him " Raye said smacking her fist on her open palm.
"Or," Jane said flatly, "what if he's a 50-year-old man named Dennis who lives in his mom's basement and Googled your name after seeing you in a store ?"
Raye stopped pacing just to send a glare at Jane who pointed at her laptop using her hand to demonstrate that she was zipping her lip.
Jane leaned back even though she was asked not to speak again she still did but this time she was serious .
"Raye. Babe. What if he's catfishing you?"
Raye did not handle it well.
She Googled statistics.
She watched three YouTube videos titled
' How I FOUND OUT MY BOYFRIEND WAS A BOT .'. !!!!
She even messaged the number back asking: "Are you a bot?"
He replied within seconds.
Unknown:
No. I am total real , very real cupcake .
She whimpered.
Jane smirked over her laptop. "Okay, either he's real or that AI's flirting game is elite."
Raye stared into the middle distance like she was on a true crime podcast.
"What if I'm falling in love with a voice that doesn't exist?"
Jane stared at her grinning with an ear plug on "yeah that would be total _hectic ", she chuckled watching her friend sit back down on the couch . "Are you maybe forgetting something ?".
Raye looked at Jane with a frown " we met the class president , submitted my assignment , bought some books , did laundry and wait _ em " she paused a finger placed on her lip thoughtfully before her eyes widen "oh no biology test ".
Jane smiled nodding as she watched Raye scramble to the side picking up her iPad .
It was already late in the night and she wanted to search a presentation that was tomorrow.
Raye walked back and forth how was she to read and probably say this tomorrow in class without a book .
She smacked her head a little too harsh which she rubbed after a few minutes.
She couldn't believe she forgot about the presentation.
She looked at Jane who was busy on her laptop as she asked . "Have you started ?".
Jane raised her headphone " me , oh no just jamming to some music _ of course am trying to put this in my head ,the words are too hard to pronounce ".
Raye groaned stomping her feet on the ground like an angry child as she quickly ran upstairs to get her backpack.
She would have to stay all night long and be serious _ so she turned off her phone before settling on her iPad .
Raye and Jane walked quickly to the biology hall , both looking like they were dressed by clowns .
They did so much revision and had poor sleep .
They were currently in – Department of Biological Sciences
Lecture Hall B2, projector on, strict professor pacing with a tablet in hand .
Raye and Jane walked into the class ,part gasping for air because they were running down the stairs and also shock to see Mr Ellington who was glaring at them .
They quickly walked to their seat as Jane whispered .
"Ray , why do I feel like we are already losing marks before we even started ".
Raye couldn't agree less _ but their hard work !!!
She sighed dropping her textbook on the desk " even I saw the future through his glare . All this teachers are just purely mean "
" Mhm " Jane hummed as she looked at Mr Ellington who now had a new haircut .
Was a hair cut ....more like he shaved his whole hair and with the way it shone , it seem like the barber was trying to remove his skin too .
She muffled a laughter while Raye turned to her , brows drawn together in a frown she asked .
"What got you cackling this early morning ??".
Jane didn't say anything but tipped her head to Mr Ellington .
Raye stared at the man , there was no changes in his dressing though _awfully the same but ...wait _.
Raye coughed out trying to muffle her laughter before resting her head on the desk .
"I could clearly see myself "Jane whispered as Raye slapped her shoulder playfully .
"You are going to get us in trouble, later " she said taking in a deep breath they turned to Mr Ellington who cleared his throat .
"Alright. Presentations on 'Cellular Adaptation in Extreme Environments'. This is 30% of your grade. You have five minutes each. No slides, no notes. Just your brain and your mouth. Let's see who actually belongs in this department."
Raye turned to Jane before whispering .
"Let's see who belongs in a padded cell."
Jane moved closer, still keeping a steady gaze on Mr Ellington she muttered just enough for Raye to hear her .
"Wanna switch bodies for ten minutes?"
"I would have said yes , but I doubt we would benefit anything from each other " Raye said while Jane sighed helplessly with smile .
They had both been in the same situation , reading very late before the test .
Biology wasn't a speech in English it was much more harder _ for one ,the words brought smoke to your head when you think about them and they were so hard to pronounce.
Unfortunately Mr Ellington wasn't a nice man who would let it go for pronunciation mishap _ he will minus a mark and then another .
One mark gone _ forget about your whole test.
The man literally judge by first impression.
Raye was about to open her text book where she kept a small note to do a quick revision when she heard Mr Ellington say .
"Raye Marlowe . You're up."
She froze head still down staring at the paper eyes slowly opening wide , hands in the air close to her book , where she was about to flip a page .
WHAT !!!
Did nature have to be this cruel to her .
Jane eyes went wide open glancing at her friend at her side , she couldn't help but grin widely ..
WOW .
nature sure had a way of knocking people of balance .
...and maybe their breaths too .