Abigail's POV
As soon as I stepped out the door, the warm sunlight kissed my skin and spread across me like a comforting blanket. I inhaled deeply, letting the air fill my lungs. It smelled faintly of blooming flowers mixed with the sharp tang of car exhaust, a weird but oddly refreshing blend that told me the day was alive and bustling. The sky above was a soft blue canvas with lazy clouds drifting like tiny boats. I adjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder and started walking down the street, planning to board a taxi to Choley's place. My heart already felt light with excitement, and I didn't even bother to hide the goofy smile pulling at my lips.
Just as I turned the corner, I spotted Mrs. Karen. She was arranging a fresh bunch of roses outside her flower shop, the petals bright and dewy in the sunlight. Her shop always smelled like heaven—roses, lilies, and lavender, a fragrance so strong it seemed to spill into the street. Mrs. Karen was one of those people you couldn't help but notice; she had this warm aura, like a fairy godmother disguised as a florist. Though she was in her mid-forties, everyone in the neighborhood jokingly referred to her as the "sweet old lady," but honestly, I wouldn't dare call her old. Her energy could rival any twenty-year-old.
"Hello, Abigail, how are you?" she greeted with her usual smile, wiping her hands on her apron before straightening.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Karen. I'm doing fine," I replied, flashing her the brightest smile I could manage, partly because she deserved it and partly because my mood was already soaring.
"That's good to hear…" she tilted her head and studied me for a moment. Her eyes narrowed playfully. "Oh my, oh my, where are you headed with such a big smile plastered on your face?" she teased.
I giggled, a little too nervously, and waved my hand. "Ohhh… it's not actually what you think. I'm just on my way to see Choley."
She chuckled knowingly, clearly unconvinced. "Okay, dear, if you say so. My regards to your dad."
"Sure thing, Mrs. Karen. Bye!" I said, already stepping away.
"Bye, dear," she called back, her voice floating after me.
"What a funny lady," I thought to myself, unable to stop the chuckle bubbling up. She always had a way of making people feel like they'd just been caught doing something mischievous even when they hadn't.
I flagged down a taxi, and thankfully one stopped almost immediately. The vehicle looked like it had rolled straight out of the car shop—new, shiny, and clean. The seats were spotless, dust-free, and smelled faintly of air freshener. As I settled in, my eyes wandered around, catching the gleam of the polished door handles. They shone like silver in the sunlight streaming through the window.
My gaze drifted forward to the driver. He looked like he was in his early fifties, maybe fifty-two at most. His cap hid most of his hair, but the strands that peeked out were a dignified silver-gray. He was slightly chubby, with cheeks that looked like they could store nuts for winter, and he had one of those rare smiles that extended to his eyes. It was a kind of smile that told you this was a man who had seen things but still chose to be kind anyway.
"Hello, young Miss, where are you headed?" he asked politely, his voice deep but warm.
"I'm headed to Sparkle Street, please," I answered, returning the smile.
"Okay, Miss. Enjoy the ride," he said with a nod, and the car eased into motion.
The city slid past me in colorful blurs. I glued my eyes to the window, soaking in every detail like it was the first time I'd seen it. Shops with bright awnings, tiny bakeries with golden loaves on display, and fashion stores with mannequins that seemed more glamorous than real people. Green shrubs and bushes framed the sidewalks, stubbornly pushing against the concrete as if nature was trying to reclaim its space. Above, the sky stretched wide, dotted with birds gliding freely like they owned the world. I even watched people on the sidewalks—some in a hurry, some strolling, some laughing into their phones. It was like a live movie, and I was the quiet passenger enjoying every scene.
After a few minutes, the taxi pulled up to my destination. I paid the driver, thanked him, and stood for a moment watching the car disappear down the road until it was nothing but a shrinking dot. Somehow, I always did that—it felt polite, like giving a proper goodbye even to strangers.
I walked a little further and stopped at Choley's front door. Pulling out my phone, I dialed her number. True to form, she picked up before the second ring.
"Hey, Choley."
"Hey, girl, wassup?" she replied, her voice lively and familiar, like a hug through the phone.
"Nothing really… just missed you," I said, grinning so hard my cheeks hurt.
"Awnn, I miss you even more, Abi," she replied, her voice softening.
"Are you at home right now?" I asked, though I could practically hear her voice echoing faintly from behind the very door I was standing at.
"Yeah, I'm at home… but why are you asking?" she sounded puzzled.
"Well… check your front door," I said, laughter already bursting from me.
"OMG, no way!" she screamed, and I heard the thundering of her footsteps rushing downstairs.
The door swung open and there she was. "SURPRISE!" I yelled, cutting the call and throwing my arms wide like a complete fool.
Choley squealed and hugged me so tight I thought my ribs would cave in. "You're suffocating me," I gasped, struggling to breathe.
She pulled back immediately, looking guilty. "Sorry about that! I wasn't expecting you. Come on in."
"Well, it wouldn't have been a surprise if you had known, would it?" I teased, following her inside.
She smirked. "Well, guess what… if I wasn't home right now, you would've ended up surprising yourself."
I squinted at her, mock-offended. "Hmm, true, but I knew you'd be too lazy to go anywhere on a Saturday afternoon. Hehehe."
"Whatever," she said, rolling her eyes. Then, almost instantly, her face lit up. "Girl, I have missed you sooo much. Uhh, what should we do first? Should we watch a movie? Paint our nails? Do karaoke? Or skincare?" She waved her hands dramatically as if physically juggling the options in the air.
"Choley, calm down!" I yelled, grabbing her by the arms and shaking her theatrically. We both burst into laughter.
"Okay, okay. Let's first paint our nails, and after that, we can watch a movie while they dry," I suggested.
"Not a bad idea! Let me go get the polish," she said, prancing away in an exaggerated funny walk.
"And I'll pick the movie," I called after her.
From upstairs she shouted, "Ummm… anything interesting, but no horror, got it?"
"Got it!" I replied with a mischievous grin already spreading across my face.
She returned with a box filled with nail polish bottles in every shade imaginable—reds, blues, greens, glitters, even one that looked like it had tiny stars floating inside. I was momentarily mesmerized, but then the thought of my prank made me smile even wider.
"So, which movie did you pick?" she asked, suspicious already.
"Oh, just a random one from the recommendations," I said innocently, though my tone probably gave me away.
"I don't trust you. If I find out it's horror, I'm going to kill you." She mimed strangling me, complete with sound effects.
I stuck out my tongue. "We both know that's not gonna happen."
"You're such a child," she muttered, but her lips twitched with amusement. "Get over here so we can start painting."
"Just because you're older than me by one year doesn't make me any less of an adult," I retorted, skipping over after placing snacks on the table.
"It actually does," she said smugly.
We finally got to work. We both picked transparent polish topped with glitter for our fingernails, but for our toes, I went bold with blue while she chose a playful pink. We admired our work like proud artists before heading to the living room with snacks, blankets, and the secretly terrifying movie I'd queued up.
At first, it wasn't scary—slow buildup, dramatic music, harmless characters. But then, suddenly, a monstrous mouth appeared on screen, and Choley screamed so loud I nearly fell off the couch.
I collapsed into uncontrollable laughter, tears streaming down my face, my legs kicking like a lunatic.
"Ohhh, I am so going to kill you, Abi!" she shrieked, grabbing pillows, slippers, anything she could find, and hurling them at me as she chased me around.
The living room turned into a battlefield, me dodging like a ninja while she threw objects like a madwoman. This went on for minutes before the movie reclaimed our attention. Despite her dramatic protests, we ended up finishing it—her screaming every five minutes while I laughed myself sick.
Afterwards, our nails looked gorgeous, glossy under the light. Too pretty to risk cooking, so we decided to order pizza instead. After choley had placed the order for the pizza, we launched into our favorite tradition: karaoke, aka "Our Very Own Live Concert."
We grabbed wooden spoons as mics, blasted the music, and then I started playing "Dance Monkey by Tones and I" and we started singing.
"They say, Oh my God, I see the way you shine", I sang as I dramatically covered my eyes
"Take your hand, my dear, and place them both in mine", she sang, dramatically coming to hold my hand.
"You know you stopped me dead while I was passing by, and now I beg to see you dance just one more time", I sang on my knees
"Ooh, I see you, see you, see you every time, and oh my, I, I, I like your style", she sang
"You, you make me, make me, make me wanna cry, and now I beg to see you dance just one more time", I said pretending to cry.
And then we shouted together "So they say, "Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh I've never seen anybody do the things you do before". As we were dancing, laughing and moving like crazy people.
After that we danced to and sang some of Cardi B's songs, then after some minutes our pizza arrived, so we rounded up our concert and went to the dining table to eat the pizza as we talked.
"So choley, how's work?"
"That job is as stressful as hell but I need to make a living, so I've got no choice but to keep going", she said as she let out a sigh.
"Come on, it can't be that bad." I said as I smirked.
"Oh it's that bad girl",she said.
"I'm even in search of a job since Nicholas will be home by next week to be helping dad out with the restaurant"
"Woah, what a coincidence, there's a vacancy in my place of work", she said.
"Really", I said as my face lit up with a smile.
"Yeah", she said as she took a bite out of her 3rd slice of pizza. "I'm pretty sure you even have all the qualifications but I wouldn't even advise my worst enemy to apply", she said as she shoved the remaining bits of pizza into her mouth.
The smile on my face suddenly disappeared and I asked "But Why??"
"Because It's the post for a new secretary for the Vice-president of the company", she said as she stared at me, like I was supposed to understand the danger in that sentence but I just stared at her in confusion and she knew I was confused.
"Meaning??", I asked
"Okay, here's the thing none of the secretaries he has ever had lasted more than 5 months", she said
"Why?"I asked now, feeling a bit curious.
"They quitted of course", she said as she rolled her eyes. "He is cold, arrogant, demanding and so stressful but he is very handsome", she said while practically daydreaming about him.
All I could think about next was the pay, and so I asked "How much is the pay?"
" Hmm…probably around a hundred thousand dollars", she said as if she was trying to capture the exact figures up in the air.
I nearly choked on my pizza when I heard the pay,then I said in disbelief "Really?"
"Yeah", she replied
"Then it's probably worth it".
"Are you sure?..... Is it really worth your mental health?", she asked as she slowly smirked at me.
Then I said "you and I both know that our mental health is totally worth it", then I made a silly face at her, picked up the last pizza slice and started running as I ate it.
"Abigail!!! I'm so going to kill you", she yelled and started chasing around the house for like 3 minutes. When she finally caught me I had already devoured the remaining of the slice, then she started using a pillow to beat me but I shielded my face while shouting "I knew you have always been jealous of my beautiful face now you are trying to ruin it"
"Oh I'll do more than ruin it", she said as she continued hitting me.
I then suddenly ran upstairs and crashed on her bed, she chased after me and laid beside me as we were both breathing heavily and tired. We both slept on the spot we were in.
I suddenly opened my eyes trying to recall where I was then I saw the face of my terrorist best friend. I stood up, went downstairs, took my phone and checked the time. It was 5:00 PM and I needed to start going to the restaurant. The next rush hour was about to start and dad would be alone.
I hastingly packed my things, went back upstairs and kicked choley playfully on her butt.
"Ouchhh, what was that for?", she asked probably still feeling sleepy
"That was for attacking me with a pillow", I replied.
"And I would gladly still do it again", she said while smiling with her eyes closed.
"I always knew you were a witch, anyways I need to get going so I can meet up with the hour rush at the restaurant", I said as I turned to start leaving.
"Wait let me escort your small ass out the door", she said as she laughed feeling so proud of herself.
"Hahaha very funny ", I said while rolling my eyes.
She then got up and followed me down the street to look for a taxi. And not too long after we found one, I got in and told the driver who wasn't as charming nor polite as the other driver earlier but was definitely young where I was going.
When he started moving I brought my head out the window and started shouting and waving bye to choley like a lunatic until she was out of sight.
For the rest of the ride I was quiet and I'm pretty sure the driver thought I was a psychiatric patient because some few times I caught him staring at me through the rearview mirror and it isn't that "she's cute" kind of stare but the "hope she wouldn't slit my throat from behind as I drive" kind of stare, So I stared at him back giving him a creepy smile one in a while and then I would put my hand in my purse as if I was preparing to bring out a knife anytime I caught him staring at me.
We soon got to my street, then I got down and was about to pay when he suddenly drove off. I couldn't help but laugh like a mad woman but then I realized I was in public so I composed myself well.
Then I checked my phone for the time and saw it was some few minutes before the restaurant usually started getting crowded with customers so I began to run till the reached the front door of the restaurant but I paused to catch my breath.