Ride on Time

Chapter 113

Shree walked out of the Zumba studio with Mitsuo right after her shift. They sat awhile and talked, mainly to dry off their sweat.
"I'm gonna get showered," Shree said, getting up. "You better go too."
Mitsuo sheepishly grinned and made his way back to the hotel lobby. Shree chuckled and made a beeline for the showers, rummaging in her bag to see if she had everything she needed. She suddenly felt her phone buzz at the bottom of her tote and pulled it out, revealing a text from a name she hadn't seen on her screen for years.
Farhan.
Shree was surprised that he had kept his promise to get in touch with her and opened the message.
Hey Shree
Farhan here
You free now?
Shree frowned slightly as she typed out a reply, saying that she had to pick her brother up from school.
But it's Friday
He's staying back on Friday?
Shree groaned under her breath when she realised that her brother was probably playing video games at home. She sighed and reluctantly told him that she was free to meet him.
Great how about at Sundeer Cafe
BIC
Shree pondered the distance and nodded to herself, agreeing to be there in thirty minutes. She put her phone away and entered the bathroom.
Farhan was her very good friend back in pre-university, being the only ones left out of the girls' and boys' group. But for some reason, she felt reluctant to meet him now. It was like he was a stranger now, a completely different person. Shree was used to seeing him in formal pinstripe shirts with his hair cropped short and neatly gelled up. But now, his hair was touching the nape of his neck, tied up in a tiny half-up do at back.
Did she even know this guy now? For some reason, she didn't want to meet her old friend alone. The BIC building was just down the road, within walking distance. Her brother was much too far away to accompany her so she decided on the next best option.
Shree quickly got dressed and fished her phone out again. She went to Instagram and slid into the direct messages to text Mitsuo.
Hey I need to go to the BIC building for something
Wanna follow?
Mitsuo immediately saw the message.
Sure
I just showered, I'll meet you in the lobby in five minutes
Shree nodded and replied that she would be there as she left the gym and made a beeline for the lobby. She didn't have to wait long before Mitsuo came up, now changed into a t-shirt and floral Bermuda shorts. Shree thought he looked like he was going to the beach but didn't say anything.
"These pants are nice, right?" Mitsuo said, pinching the red fabric of his shorts. "I got them in Old Town."
"The shop in second floor of market?" Shree asked.
Mitsuo nodded. "Yep! How did you know?"
"My brother got the same one in blue," Shree smirked. "Also, you sure you wanna come?"
Mitsuo shrugged. "Sure. The weather's a little nicer today. Where is this building you said?"
"It's down the road," Shree said as they walked out. "Past the petrol station, the driving school, and beside the hospital."
"Hospital... you mean the eye hospital?"
Shree nodded. "That's right."
"That's not far, it's right here," Mitsuo nodded. "Alright, let's go."
So they walked. Down the ramp, and through the petrol station. Shree decided to stop and get a drink for each of them.
"I know we're going to Sundeer, but ya know," Shree remarked.
"Wait, we're going for drinks?" Mitsuo asked in surprise. He pointed at his bottle of soda. "Then what's this for?"
"Just come," Shree sighed. "I'm meeting with my friend, the guy that approached me during that event the other day."
Mitsuo frowned thoughtfully as he remembered that night. "Was it the guy who's father's name I mispronounced?"
Shree nodded. "Yep, and whose sister Vasu hates."
"Why does his family have so many connections with us?"
Shree shrugged. "You don't mind coming with me, right?"
"Not at all," Mitsuo honestly said. "I actually like hanging out with you." He frowned. "Besides, I don't really like his dad. I bumped into him the other day when I went to see Ms. Shruti, and he was like 'you cannot come see the CEO as you wish.'." He even tried to imitate his voice, much to her amusement. "And I replied with 'I wanna see her because I'm her close friend, though I may seem like a shopping tourist who came to meet the CEO of this establishment for fun.'."
Shree burst into laughter as they passed the driving school. "You ah..."
Mitsuo smiled back. "Well, yeah! Tell me it isn't true that Ms. Shruti is our friend."
She nodded. "She is."
The two were silent for a moment until Shree spoke again. "You know, this one time when I was at this driving school," Shree nodded towards the school. "My teacher made me drive from here to Jalan Timur, Section 8, then back. I was stuck behind a lorry during a downhill slope. The lorry feller was just as inexperienced as I was since... well, it was a lorry from here too." Just as she said that, a lorry from the driving school drove past them. "See? This lorry. So the guy was driving very slow downhill, and it's natural that my car was speeding since... well, it was an Axia going downhill. You can imagine that, right?"
Mitsuo nodded and shuddered. "I wouldn't have survived that time."
Shree frowned at him. "Why's that?"
"I don't know, but... but I just freeze whenever I see a lorry in front of me," Mitsuo confessed. "I... I don't know why..."
"Hm," Shree hummed in replied. "I feel you. I'm terrified of the cold. Like, I like it cold and all, but not if it's numbing my fingers. Like seriously, extreme cold can even cause death."
Mitsuo nodded. "I heard about a guy who got locked out once and ended up freezing to death."
Shree shuddered at the thought. "Gosh... that's awful."
"I know..." Mitsuo agreed.
They passed the eye hospital and finally came to the BIC building. They entered and passed a row of shops.
"Is this like a mall or something?" Mitsuo asked.
"No, it's a college," Shree said. "BIC stands for Bangsar International College. Farhan goes here and decided to meet with me."
"Oh..." Mitsuo nodded. "Then what's with all the fast food chains?"
"This is the HQ," Shree pointed at the sign that read QRS. "These fast food chains are under QRS in Malaysia."
Mitsuo didn't quite understand, but nodded nonetheless as she led the way to the Sundeer Cafe at the back. She stopped at the entrance and turned to Mitsuo. "Mitsu, the reason I'm tagging you along is because... I'm not sure about this guy. I mean, he was my best friend back in college, the only two people excluded from social groups and that's what made us friends." She sighed and shook her head. "It's like he's a stranger now, Mitsu. He even grew his hair longer, not that that's a bad thing, but it's just that he seems like a different person now than he was back then."
"Come on, maybe you're just overreacting," Mitsuo said. "He might still be the same person on the inside."
"Well, either way I feel safer bringing you along so there," Shree admitted, reaching for the door handle. "Let's go. He said he's waiting for us."
Mitsuo was surprised at her remark as he entered behind her. It made him feel like a protector towards her, sort of like an honour bestowed upon him. He had a slight smirk on his face as Shree's eyes scanned the cafe and found Farhan waving at the back. Shree took Mitsuo's hand and brought him over, much to his surprise. Farhan wore a smile on his face as he waited for them to come over.