Love and destiny

35

Later that night, I reached for my phone and called both Johnny and Mila. I sighed heavily remembering what happened during the bowling competition. I hesitated for a while and said to myself, "It is for the best. We need to have a discussion." I dialed Johnny's number first and called him.

"Hello, Johnny." I said to him.

"Hey Alice. What's it? I am sorry for what happened this morning," he replied.

I took a deep breath and told him, "Come to the café nearby our University tomorrow. I need to have a talk with you." He agreed and we ended the call. I did the same to Mila and told her to come tomorrow. I turned off my phone and went to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up and got ready to meet them at the cafe. I yawned and took out a dress to put it on. "Pink dress for today and paired it up with white flats." I smiled. I looked at the time and it was 10 o'clock in the morning. I bid goodbye to my parents and drove to the café nearby our University. 30 minutes later, I arrived and took a seat at the corner of the café. I asked Johnny to come first and had a talk with him.

He arrived 5 minutes later and went towards me. He waved at me and took a seat in front of me. He looked at me, sighing heavily before he began his sentence.

"Hey. So, what do you want to talk about? Is it about yesterday?" he asked.

I nodded and his face expression changed. I looked at him in the eyes and said, "Throughout all the years of our friendship, I never got angry and disappointed in you. However, what happened yesterday was really disappointing and I thought we need to have a talk about this." I paused for a second and asked him, "Why did you lashed out on her all of a sudden yesterday?"

He made an eye contact at me and said, "Well because I can't stand it. How does she act like nothing ever happened between the three of us? Having fun while playing bowling with us without feeling guilty." He then added, "Most importantly, between you and her. I am pretty sure the incident left a scar in your heart too. That's why I lashed out on her yesterday." I looked at him, understood his words. I knew he just wanted to protect me and I know it's not easy to forget the past. However, being stuck in the past would not make it better either.

I looked to the right and saw Mila. There she was, standing at the front door. She was searching for me. I waved my hand at her and gestured her to come here. I smiled at her and said, "Over here, Mila." Johnny looked at me, surprised and asked, "Did you asked her to come as well?" I nodded and said, "Well, I think it is time to have a talk with you guys. Both of you. Let today be our time to have an honest talk with each other."

Mila walked towards me and Johnny. She smiled at me and her faces looked down when her eyes landed at Johnny. She took a seat beside me and kept quiet without greeting any of us. It was an awkward silence for the whole 5 minutes. I started to break the tension between the three of us. I looked at Mila, being straightforward and asked her, "Mila, I think you have a lot of explaining to do. Starting from why you decided to choose Psychology and the rest as well." Mila looked at me with her eyes widened signaling how shocked she was. Then she cleared her throat and began to explain herself. Johnny and I listened to her carefully to every word she said.

"Umm. So you see, the reason why I quit my course, Literature was because of a rumor. There was a malicious rumor about me spread by the mean course mates of mine. I couldn't take it anymore so I decided to quit Literature course. I did think of moving to another university but..." She said.

Johnny rolled his eyes and interrupted her, "Well, why didn't you move to another university then. It will make the situation better. For the three of us." I raised my eyebrow at him and gestured Mila to continue talking. Mila looked at me and nodded. She continued, "But, I have a deep thought about it. I thought to myself that maybe this is Karma for me. This is what I get from what I did to you back in middle school. That's why I-"

Mila paused for a second and Johnny took the chance to make another sneaky remarks like he did before, "Yes, that's right! Serves you right. Now, you had your lessons for what you did to Alice." I looked at him, mouthed, "Stop it!" Mila rolled her eyes at him, continuing her sentence, "That's why I decided to change to your course and want to make peace with you and also Johnny. I know I don't deserve both of your forgiveness but I just wanted to say I apologized for what I had done. I know it's already too late for that. I'm sorry."

Johnny was about to make another remark but I stopped him from doing so. I took a deep breath and asked her another question, "Can I ask what the rumor was about? Was there any way to clear it out?" She looked at me for a few second and then she cleared her throat and said, "It was about my personality and how fake I was. They spread rumors on how I worked at a bar and other related malicious comments as well. It was unbearable. None of it were true and I did try to clear my name. It worked but people's perspective towards me still remain the same. No one wanted to be in groups with me and I was treated like an outcast." She looked down as tears felt down. She cried and I felt sorry for her.

I looked at her and patted her back to comfort her. She looked up. I smiled and said, "Mila, I forgive you. I-'' I was interrupted by Johnny's gasp. He gasped and blurted, "Are you going to forgive her that easily? Have a think thoroughly about it." I smiled at him and nodded, "Yes. I did think about it. I hope you accept my decision."

I made eye contact with Mila and continued my sentence, "Mila, I forgive you. I already did forgive you long time ago. I believe forgiveness is needed for me to move forward rather than being stuck at the same place." I paused for a second, glancing at Johnny and said, "I believe people deserve a second chance. Well, some people. Depending on their situations and circumstances." Mila smiled, looking grateful hearing my words. I smiled back and continued, "Everyone makes mistakes, right? I hope you won't break my trust once again, Mila. I wanted all of us to be friends forever." Mila nodded and I looked at Johnny. He seemed uninterested in what I said. I sighed and said, "Mila, I hope you know and realised now. Do good and good things will come to you. You know that is my life mantra, right? So, I hope you put that in mind and be nice not only to me or our friends but also everyone in this world."

Mila nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, Alice. I will keep in it my mind and thank you for forgiving me. I know I made a huge mistake. I promise I won't do it again. I will try my best to become a better person."