“You did WHAT?” Biru gasped, hiding his mouth behind his hand. Chandra sighed.

The two of them were sitting on the balcony of her sister’s shared house with Elga, a mug of tea and two cups of coffee sitting on the table between them. The tin of cookies that Biru had brought was almost empty as the late afternoon breeze swept through the neighborhood, keeping the three university friends cool.

“You ran away?” Biru asked incredulously, laughing.

“Jeez, you’re just like Elga,” Chandra groaned, covering her face with her hands.

“Oh, you haven’t heard the best part yet,” Elga gripped Biru’s shoulder. “When she walked up to her and said hi, Chandra was like—‘Hah, me?’” Elga laughed. “Like who else?!”

The both of them cackled, Biru instinctively dodging Elga’s palm as she habitually moved to slap his arm.

“Alright, I get it,” Chandra grinned beneath her hands despite her embarrassment. “I didn’t know what to say!”

“And here I thought you would be all cool and say something like,” Biru leaned back in his seat to imitate Chandra’s body language. “‘Oh, hey there. Long time no see.’” he broke out of his act to laugh. “But noo!” 

“To think I lived to see the day that Chandra gets flustered,” Elga giggled, gently pinching Chandra’s arm in the way that she does when she teases her.

Chandra shushed them and playfully swatted Elga’s hand away. “Stop it, you’ll disturb the others in the house.”

“Oh right, yes of course,” Elga said, straightening her spine and placing her hands in her lap in mock-proper fashion. But one glance at Biru and they were both giggling uncontrollably again, clamping their mouths shut with their hands.

“Guys,” Chandra said smiling into her mug, knowing that they had been friends long enough for them to only be teasing her. She took a sip of tea.

“Alright, alright, we’ll stop for real,” Biru laughed, reaching over to take his cup of coffee and balance it on his leg. “It’s just so refreshing to hear you flustered over meeting an old classmate.”

“Yeah, it’s been years already,” Elga took a cookie from the tin and bit into it. “I thought you guys would be cool by now.”

Chandra began to say something but couldn’t find anything to actually say.

“Honestly,” Biru said, continuing the conversation. “It didn’t seem like she was upset to see you or anything. Why’d you run?”

“I… actually don’t know,” Chandra confessed, looking down and watching the dark surface of her tea swirl inside of her mug. “I really don’t.”

She let the statement hang in the air as Biru and Elga looked at each other. 

Elga reached over to pat the top of Chandra’s knee. “Well, it doesn’t really matter now. It’s good to have you back!” she leaned over to give her a hug.

“Yeah, I was starting to worry about you in the big city,” Biru grinned, easily changing the subject in the way Chandra knew he did to lighten the mood. “Our skyscraper-less hometown humbly welcomes you back.” 

Chandra smiled at them from Elga’s arms, taking in the love of her two friends before her. “I’m really happy to see you guys.” 

Elga hummed happily in response. “What did you tell Nadira, by the way?” she asked, slowly releasing Chandra from her hug to pick up her cup of coffee. “Are you going to go see the grad students again?”

“I haven’t actually responded to her.”

“Do you want to go, though?” Biru asked.

Chandra hesitated. “Maybe...?”

“It sounds like they all just wanna hang out with you, t-b-h,” Elga said. “There’ll be a bunch of people there, so you don’t have to talk to anyone you don’t wanna talk to.”

“Yeah and you can just treat it as a casual thing,” Biru added. “If they talk about anthro stuff you can just focus on that and not on personal things.”

Chandra chewed her lip. 

“Dra, you’re overthinking it!” Elga laughed and patted Chandra’s back. “Everything is gonna be okay.”

“Alright, I guess I’ll think about it,” Chandra said, making a note in her mind that she would actually think about it.

“And who knows!" Elga continued. "Things could’ve changed—people change. Not Biru though,” she side-eyed their friend. “He’s still the same as ever.”

Chandra raised her eyebrow at Biru. “Are you still going out on random dates?”

“Dra, he saw three different boys within the span of 24 hours!” Elga groaned, pointing at the guiltless culprit.

“Well. I’m too much of a free spirit to be tied down, I have to say,” Biru’s smug smile was apparent as he took a sip of coffee.

Chandra laughed. “You sound like a textbook fuckboy.”

“Right?!” Elga said, exasperated.

Biru tucked his hair behind his ear. “You guys are simply jealous.”

“Get outta here!” Elga laughed, lightly slapping his arm.

“I guess those things actually work, huh. The dating apps, I mean,” Chandra commented.

“Depends on what you’re looking for,” Biru said before turning to look at Chandra suspiciously. “Why, are you thinking of downloading one?”

“Wait,” Elga looked pointedly at Chandra. “What if we actually set you up on a dating app?”

Chandra laughed incredulously. “Me?” she leaned back in her seat. “You know I don’t really care much for those kinds of things. Besides, I’m only here for a couple of weeks.”

“But Dra, you’re hot stuff, you know. So many people have gone after you but you’ve been single for basically your whole life,” Elga lamented. “Who knows, you might find someone that you actually like.” 

“She’s right you know, you are hot stuff,” Biru smirked at Chandra. “Ooo—and I actually have the perfect bio for you, this could be fun!”

“Oh, alright,” Chandra caved in to let her friends have their fun, knowing that she probably won’t be using the app anyway.

“Yes! Phone, please,” Biru reached his hand out for Chandra’s phone.

Chandra passed it along and took a sip of tea as she watched her two friends fuss over creating her profile. She grinned into her mug as she felt her spirits lift. 

She was never the most talkative one in the group, unless it was about something oddly specific that she was interested in (like their anthropology studies when they were undergrads). In a way, she was happily content with being the friend who provided solid ground for her friends’ mutual chaotic energy.

“Okay, so we’ve got your photos all set up and now on to your preferences,” Biru said, tapping through the settings on the app. “Distance—not too far. Age—let’s cap it at 10 years older. Gender—” Biru and Elga paused and looked at each other before casting a glance at Chandra. 

Chandra pretended not to notice.

“Well, looks like we’ve set up most of your profile,” Elga turned the phone around to show Chandra her new dating profile. “What do you think?! You can change it whenever.” 

Chandra leaned forward and squinted at the bio that was written on her phone. “‘I get a little lost in my own mind but I wouldn’t mind getting lost in there with you,” Chandra threw her head back and laughed. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“But Dra, this is so you,” Biru snickered, taking Chandra’s phone back. “Alright, I’ll be the judge of who is deserving of you,” he proceeded to swipe through the options that became available.

“Oh my god,” Elga gasped, looking over Biru’s shoulder. “Dra, told ya you’re hot stuff. You’ve got like 15 matches already.”

Chandra choked on her tea.

The sound of a bakso seller clinking their spoon against a ceramic bowl accompanied the laughter and shouts of the three friends on the balcony. The sun continued to dip lower in the sky as one person felt quietly thankful that she was still able to have her friends by her side.