It was morning, and the sound of my mom moving around the kitchen woke me up. She had been up since 6 a.m., preparing breakfast for my little brother, Evan. I got out of bed, helped her finish up, swept the house, and cleaned the sitting room until everything looked perfect. When Evan's food was ready, I packed it neatly into his lunchbox and waited with him for his school bus. After a few minutes, the bus arrived, and he waved goodbye to Mom and Dad before hopping in. The house fell quiet again. I took a quick shower and got dressed for school. Mom asked me to eat, but I wasn't hungry, so I just smiled and told her I'd be fine. Dad was already rushing outhe had people waiting for him at his officeso he dropped me off on his way.
As soon as I got to school, I texted Mary to ask if she'd be coming, but she replied, "Nope, not today." A few minutes later, our course rep announced in the departmental group chat that there'd be no lectures. Then I rememberedlast night, Jovi had told me she'd be coming to visit if I was free. I smiled at the thought and quickly texted her. She replied, saying she was still in her lesson but would sneak out during their break. That made me laugh. Typical Jovi. While waiting, I passed the time editing a few videos on CapCut for TikTok and my WhatsApp status. Just as I finished, Jovi texted again. She said one of her friends wanted to come along to see her male friend at my school, and that the girl was cool. I told her no problem and sent directions for where her cab should stop. A few minutes later, I started walking toward the spot, scanning faces. Then I saw herJovi, in a black crop top and blue jeans, her braids bouncing slightly as she walked. Beside her was a girl who looked a bit like her. I smiled to myself. Woo, twins, I thought. Jovi saw me and grinned. We hugged, and she said, "Elaria, this is my friend Daphne. Daphne, meet my friend Elaria."..."Heyy," I said warmly. Daphne smiled shyly, her tiny teeth making her look even more innocent. After a bit of small talk, Daphne asked where the school café was apparently, that was where her male friend wanted to meet. I led the two of them there, but Daphne went inside alone while Jovi stayed with me. We started talking, laughing about random things. I told jovi ,Daphne kind of looked like her. "I know, right?" she said with a smile. Then she texted Daphne, asking if she could come in and grab a drink she said the boy would pay. Jovi disappeared into the café for a few minutes, then came out with a drink and that mischievous grin she always had. We kept talking until Daphne finally came out, smiling faintly. The three of us wandered into an empty classroom to sit and chill. We laughed, talked, and shared stories. Daphne didn't say much she had this calm, innocent vibe about her but I found her sweet.
After a while, Jovi's phone buzzed. She read the message and sighed softly. "Daphne said we have to go. She's supposed to be home early." I tried to hide my disappointment. "Already?"..."Yeah," she said, smiling. "But I'll come again soon."... before they left Daphne collected my number then I walked them out, waving as they left. My chest felt warm but also heavy. I loved seeing Jovi it always felt like sunshine on a cloudy day but I couldn't ignore that tiny pinch of jealousy I felt watching how close she was with Daphne.
Still, I smiled all the way home. Some days, even short moments with certain people can feel like entire memories.