Hyperventilated

Chapter 5 - Encounter

Anne is looking outside her windows trying to appreciate and praise how beautiful the sky is when the dusk comes. The sounds of birds chirping on the roof make her miss her village's environment. It is peaceful. Not bustling which is better to her liking than living at her parents' house yet still, she is grateful as she could feel the calmness and is vigorous greater than before she turns 18 nonetheless.

She attempts to comprehend what had happened to her life especially yesterday afternoon not until someone diverts her attention. This one person taps her shoulder twice. She is startled and almost shrieks with a curse word which makes the other crack up to the point where Anne got slapped umpteenth times on her forearm.

She looks at the other weirdly while fuming in anger. That person playfully apologizes while she rolls her eyes and mutters unsatisfied quips over in an audible whisper before she explodes. She unintentionally made it a tad louder. "Oh shhh-! What the?!!" She burst out though it is uncommon for her to go to the roof. "I'm sorry..." She adds.

"But you're lucky that I didn't punch you on your adorable round face Ja when you pattered me! I almost!" She spits while rubbing her forearm to soothe the huge red marks on it and faking her roars laughter shortly afterwards. Something is wrong with her.

"Neither you heard we knocked on your door nor you answer so... ya, I gradually opened it and here we are... and your mom let us in by the way. She thought you're with us. I bet you didn't tell her" Raja explains with apologetic eyes for breaking into her room without her permission.

"Ah, really? Sorry for the shouting earlier... And yeah, I didn't tell my mom that I'm gonna head home early today" She pauses briefly and seconds go by just like that and what feels like minutes.

The two of them could sense there is an air of melancholy. They feel bad as they come at the wrong time. 'O-oh this is not good' 'Who made her mad? What a b*tch' They regard and gauge her mood after that before one of them decided to ask a query.

"Um... are you okay?" Farah asks as she feels Anne is hiding something from them.

She also prays silently to make sure the latter is in a good mood and would tell them what causes her irate outburst. Perhaps. This is a rare case because she is a serene and light-hearted type of person as well as jocular at times yet peculiar. She had never shown this negative kind of demeanour. Farah and Raja are fidgeting while waiting for her reaction and answers. She then unhurriedly dallies to her bed.

"I'm good. Ya, good... Um..." She answers and subsequently ponders whether to tell them what happened yesterday or not.

"I'm a bit stressed since this week is a hectic week and I've some reports that I didn't finish yet" She decided to tell them at midnight. Or maybe not?

"I need to send all reports by next evening... and... there's this one lecturer who keeps throwing insults at my classmates and me just because two of them accidentally texted her on lunch break and after working hours last Friday" She explains and pushes the trifling thoughts away for now.

She considers telling them ideally regarding another matter instead. It did happen and vaguely made her mad. She wants to find the logical reason first behind what had occurred to her yesterday afternoon before telling them about it. She could not lie that she undeniably did not finish some reports as well. Her desk is messy with files and folders. The dustbin is full of crumpled papers too. They did not ask more questions regarding the dejected things that she has come about after that. They did not know she got something else to tell them and take no notice of it.

Meanwhile, Raja makes up her mind later that there is a misunderstanding between Anne and her mother which is common since she also did fighting with her mother to boot every once in a while. She believes Anne will be much better tomorrow as long as she and Farah are there to solace and cheer her up. Conversely, Farah knew Anne needed someone to talk to. She will not let her best friend kept it all by herself and hold a grudge later on. That would just make things worst. She cannot help herself to ask Anne further either. She and Raja silently begin to sit next to her.