“Oh nothing, I just scratched my neck so aggressively that it bled.” She quickly adjusted her collar to hide her neck. 

“Wh- what?” 

“It was itchy, you know…  mosquito.”  

“What type of person would scratch themselves till they end up patching like you, all just because of a little mosquito?” Her mum squinted her eyes as she pinched her pinky finger and her thumb together.

“...Well… It happens…“ She sat down and was going to take her breakfast,  “Then who’s gonna send me to school?” 

“If you leave the house now, you can still catch the bus.” Her mum pointed to the clock hanging by the wall of the kitchen. 

“...”

“Bye, mum!” With a sandwich in her hand and her bag in another, she quickly ran out of the house and headed for the nearest bus stop in the neighborhood.

Rosie barely managed to get to school on time. She got to her class, put her books on the table, and sat on her chair panting. She got off at the wrong stop earlier and almost got lost. She ran more than a mile and reached her school just before the bell rang.

During lunchtime, Rosie went to the canteen to get lunch. 

Bethany and Jessica found it very strange because she didn’t get anything from the canteen before. She usually didn’t even need to buy lunch. They were wondering if there were any special items on the canteen’s food menu that she went to get.

“...It’s not like that… It’s just… I forgot to bring my lunchbox today.” Rosie looked down, avoiding their gaze.

“...Oh…” Bethany and Jessica exchanged glances.

“Well… we could share, right? Jessica?” 

“Yeah, you could have some of mine.”

“Thanks guys…” 

Lunch was quiet. They had their lunch as usual except this time, no luxurious bento boxes and “envy-inducing cuisine”. 

They walked back to their class afterward. Bethany and Jessica were seen walking together arm in arm. They were chatting and smiling, talking nonstop back and forth about Septh or something… this and that among other things. I bet they are fans now… 

Rosie, who was walking behind them stopped. She watched their backs as they walked further and further, slowly stretching the distance between them. 

If it was Mica… 

She felt lonely. Like being forgotten. Maybe… just maybe… what Mica said was true, she thought. They were not really close to her. If it’s Mica, he would always notice her, wait for her, and give her anything she wants…

“Rosie why are you standing so far? Come on walk faster, you’re gonna fall behind.”

Rosie snapped out of her thoughts, then walked a little faster to join them back to class.

Without Mica’s ride, Rosie took the bus back home. She watched as Bethany and Jessica left together while she walked alone to her bus stop to wait for her bus ride home. 

Back home, Rosie waited for the Roxhojens to visit. And surely they did today as well. She waited in the living room and sprung up off the couch when she heard them arriving. The moment she opened the door, she was greeted by both Mica’s parents. 

“Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Roxhojen.” She looked around, “may I ask, where is Mica?”

“Um, Sweetie…” Mrs.Roxhojen glanced at her husband. Both of them looked nervous.

“Mica’s… at his grandparent's house. He’ll be staying with them for a while.” Mrs. Roxhojen patted Rosie’s shoulder.

“Oh! No biggie! Tell him I said hi. ” Rosie hid her emotions and forced a smile. She turned and headed upstairs back to her room. The living room became lively as soon as her parents came by to greet them. They were having a great time it seemed. Rosie glanced at them by the stairwell before she went back to her room.

She closed her bedroom door and sat by herself by the window. She looked out the window, across the house just in front of her.. Thoughts were swimming in her mind. It’s been an awful day, she thought. She missed Mica so so much… 

It was quiet in her room. Outside was peaceful, birds were chirping, and the sun was bright and warm. The rays that crept into her window, elongated her shadow on the bedroom floor. Her shadow gave off a sense of loneliness and sorrow. Her hand was tightly clenched against the sweater on the left side of her chest. The pain in the heart had been slowly eating her up, more than the pain in her neck or anything she felt before. This was the first time she ever felt lost. 

She looked at her phone. There were no messages or calls, not even one. He never texted or called, not even once. She opened his chat and typed a few sentences. Deleted them all, and typed again. Until she carefully examined it over and over again, she clicked send. For a moment, there was no reply. Her heart sank. She watched her phone the whole day like a hawk, taking it everywhere she went so she could get to it as soon as it had any notifications.

The next day, there was no response. And the next day, and the next…

Just like that, she kept waiting for his response. She had texted and tried calling him multiple times over the past few days but all were either unanswered or left on read. And then, she was blocked.

THE END

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

NO! IT WAS NOT THE END!! IT MUST NOT!

If he won’t come to me, I’ll come to him! How dare he block me! HOW DARE HE!!

Rosie was determined to get him back!

It was Friday, and Rosie had a plan.

End of Chapter 10