Tanglawan, a new land that emerged from the ruins of what was once the Philippines, continues to flourish, as facilitated by the Exorbit, a government-owned microchip introduced to a person's body. Everyone feels safe and well taken care of, with th...
Trigger Warning: The chapter may present a scene that may be perceived to be hinting xenophobia and classism. Reader discretion is advised.
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"Are you excited about tomorrow? I'm sure you are," Agui's baritone voice echoed through my head in a monotonous manner, with weird pauses in between.
"I'm not! Dream on," my voice echoed back in my head in the same monotonous manner.
"Oh really? I know you can't wait to see my handsome face. You're just in denial."
I snorted as I tried to suppress my kilig when I readily recalled his face with just my memory, and without even using my Exorbit to check on the snapshot that I took of him. I would not even dare to do so, for the matter, for I still fear seeing our failed compatibility meter. I guess I will try to check again later when we meet up.
"Maybe it's you that's excited to see me? You kept pestering me about tomorrow," was my only reply, a half-hearted attempt at deflecting his teasing. The truth is, I have always been missing him, but I did not want to give him the satisfaction of hearing that from me immediately.
"Well, okay. It's been almost a year. I really can't wait to see you. Don't you feel the same way?"
I still gasp whenever I hear him say it through the exoMail, even though I have repeated this part of our conversation countless times since I woke up.
"Alright. I missed you so much. I can't wait to see you, too."
I haven't heard from Agui again after I told him that, which made me rethink if I overdid it and if it rubbed him the wrong way that I was too forward with how I felt. But I also tried to console myself into thinking that he might have just fallen asleep as we have been talking since midnight. Ugh, I do not know anymore! This is driving me nuts.
I sighed as I put on a purple hoodie on top of my white shirt, a color I want to take ownership of to show my individuality while still adhering to the dress code of Keepers. I then scrolled back to our latest conversation while I tie my black canvas shoes, unsure if our meetup is canceled or not.
Thankfully, I need not think about it anymore, for a new message from him popped up just as when I was about to repeat that part of the conversation to check if I missed something that made him not want to reply to me anymore.
"Hey, sorry, I fell asleep and just woke up now. Have you prepared already? Can't wait to see you later."
I heaved a sigh of relief when I heard his exoMail. At least he is not mad at me.
"Yeah, see you in a bit!" I replied in the exoMail while I looked in the full-length mirror against my bed to do some final checks on my appearance–from securing my hair pins to smoothing out any wrinkling in my clothing. Not that it may matter much later, but I just want to make sure that I look well enough to not embarrass Agui.
