Lin An
I pushed myself up from the bed sheet, the early morning breeze slipping in through the half-open window. It was cool, carrying the faint, familiar scent of tea. Grandma was already awake.
The floor was cold under my feet as I made my way to the bathroom, toothbrush in hand, pausing for a moment at the doorway to glance down the narrow stone path outside. The sky was pale, the quiet only broken by the distant sound of a rooster.
After brushing, I took a quick shower. When I came out, my hair damp, Grandma was by the table, stuffing a large tiffin box into my bag.
"Why such a big box?" I asked, walking over.
"Didn't you say your friend keeps eating your lunch?" She smiled warmly. "So I made extra today."
Friend? No, she wasn't. It had been two months since she'd come into my life, and in all that time, I hadn't spoken a single word to her—not really. She never spoke to me either. She just… followed me, ate my lunch, and sometimes used my things without asking.
"She's not my friend," I said flatly.
"Yes, yes—your bench-mate," Grandma corrected, still smiling.
Just then, Suya appeared at the front entrance, dressed in her school uniform—skirt to the knees, crisp white shirt, navy blue blazer. Her short dark hair was tied neatly at the back, cheeks flushed from the morning air.
"Ah, you're still not ready!" she said, her tone half-scolding, half-playful.
Suya was my neighbour and my self-appointed walking partner to school. Not that I'd ever asked her to be. She had simply decided one day that she would be, and that was that. That's the kind of person she was—kind, cheerful, and stubborn in her own way.
"Give me ten minutes," I said, heading back inside to change.