Nora didn’t expect to follow through her idea. The pathway was bumpy, littered by rocks in various sizes and, sadly, her shoes have thin soles from overused. The pain can be endured enough for the travel but the silence between her and Janice wasn’t. Like a bomb waiting to be explode, Nora’s mouth just can’t be restrained anymore.

“So,” she begins and bits her tongue at the hum she hears. A sound of disinterest that topples her confidence. Nevertheless, she persists. “How’s school?”

“You sound like my dad,” Janice compares and Nora just accepts it.

If ever reincarnation exists, then her next life would expectedly be a middle-aged man that fart in his sleep and make awkward conversations with his daughter.

Nora sighs. “Not the first time I heard about that.”

“I know.” The answer caught her by surprised. “Lily talks about you a lot.” Then, it wasn’t.

Nora chuckles, nervous in the discussion Lily was willing to say to other people about her. It flatters her, resurfacing the confidence came back tenfold and she grins at the thought.

“Good things, I hope!” Nora exclaims.

Janice shrugs, however. “Yeah, you could say it like that.”

She smirks at Nora, leading the way to a commercial building with a gate on the side. They entered, hearing the creaks from the rusted metal and looking at the dried paints of the gate. The staircase leading upstairs have better material and Nora holds onto the handrail with firm grip.

Good things are good unless seen otherwise and Nora wonders what other parts of herself were exposed to the rest of the Medical Technology Department.

They entered the only door present and Nora was surprised by the newly-painted walls and varnished floors. The hallway was long with bedroom doors on either side. There was a kitchen at the end with another staircase near the dining room.

“The bathrooms are upstairs,” Janice explains and unlocks a room near the kitchen.

“Everything’s new,” Nora says, “well, except the gate.”

“And the landlord has yet to decide to fix it.”

Janice’s bedroom was exclusively hers and the decoration displayed her full control on the space. It’s the fairy lights and pastel sheets and curtain that took Nora’s attention. There were also a few succulents placed on the window sill.

“Cool place,” Nora compliments, sitting down on the edge of the bed – like the very tip to be specific.

Janice opens her closet, taking out the unform she hangs inside. And begins to take off her shirt.

Nora shuts her eyes closed, covering her face with her hands for privacy. “Um,” she starts, hesitant. “Should I leave?”

“No, stay here,” Janice replies and Nora listens to the shuffles of clothes. Along with soft thud of clothes placed somewhere.

She was sure Janice turns on the air conditioning of her room.

“You can look now,” Janice tells her and, slowly, Nora did what she was assured with. She wipes her hand on her jeans, eyes squinting from possible nudity and sighs as Janice has her uniform on. Discomfort still has yet to fade but it was a normal reaction.

Nora stares at a picture placed on top of a desk – a selfie of someone wrapping an arm around Janice. Both of them smiling, cheeks tinted with red and so was their lips. Their hairs prepped and both were wearing dresses, at least that’s what Nora can conclude from the top alone.

“Is it really weird to have a framed picture?” Janice questions.

“People prefer polaroid these days,” Nora says.

Janice shrugs. “It’s not like I was the one who made it but I appreciate the gift nonetheless.”

“Oh,” Nora expresses.

Janice stood up from the chair and plops down next to Nora. She took out her phone and shows an app before tapping it to present the account Janice has made for herself. “Take out your phone,” she requests and Nora did without a doubt in mind.

But, still, she asks, “What for?”

“I’m going to make you digitally visible for the single ladies in the area.” Nora tightens her grip from the explanation and dodges Janice’s hand as she tries to grab it.

“What if…” Nora bits her lip, worry grew from the idea. She’s scared at the possibility, the what ifs that holds her in place. But she had already slept with Selene and with pretty girl’s reputation seemingly well-known in some circles.

Had she already been outed by someone else?

“I don’t want people from my hometown to know about me – my sexuality that is,” Nora explains, hiding her phone under thigh and fiddles with her thumbs.

“If you’re worried about being outed by the person, you’re sleeping with then don’t be,” Janice reassures her, patting Nora on the shoulder. “Lots of people here are in the same position as you.”

“You think so?” Nora questions.

Silence before Janice eventually sighs to intervene the quiet.

“My dad thinks I’ll become an old maid someday because I never shown any interest to the boys in my high school,” Janice confesses with a shrug. She looks annoyed, more so with a snort she presents afterwards. “He never considers the girls that hangs out in my room. But I do like men, maybe not as much as women.

“Just enough to find them physically attractive, I guess,” she adds, lying down on the bed with hands spread out on the blanket. “The important thing is that you’re not the only one struggling to hide behind a mask of expectations. If they do out you, then they’re stupid because they’re outing themselves too.”

Nora took out her phone beneath her thigh. She brightens the screen, unlocking the password she had made and scrolls through her notifications. It’s a distraction, one she wasn’t welcoming entirely but a relief she has for the seconds to delay the inevitable decision she’s going to make.

Besides, it wasn’t like Janice was pushy with the idea.

She received a message from Lily and Nora reads it: ‘Take a nap after accompanying Janice, Nora 😊 Maybe do some homework afterwards before going back to class… ‘

“Lily…” Nora says her best friend’s name.

“Yeah, she wanted me to help you,” Janice responds immediately.