Echoes of a Silent Beat

Chapter 13: Sleepover!

Guess what? I didn't sleep. Not a wink. I was up until 6 a.m., eyes glued to the clock like a kid waiting for Santa. I knew it was a long shot—Lexie was practically a walking snooze button—but hey, I had to try. I told myself I was staying up to finish our thesis, which was true, but in reality, I was also counting down the minutes until Lexie's grand entrance, which, let's be honest, was more of a distant fantasy.

As the minutes ticked by, my phone was practically glued to my hand. I kept refreshing the screen, hoping for a miracle text or a sudden burst of enthusiasm from Lexie that would somehow make her defy the laws of punctuality.

Finally, the clock struck 6 a.m. It was a moment of triumph mixed with a touch of playful resignation. I typed out a message to Lexie, trying to sound cheerful despite knowing exactly what was coming:

"Good morning Noelle! 6 a.m., huh?"

Predictably, no reply. Not even a little groggy thumbs-up emoji to hint that she was stirring. I sighed, resigning myself to the fact that I was more likely to get a response from a ghost than from Lexie at this ungodly hour.

An hour later, still no sign of life from Lexie. My eyelids felt like they had turned into lead weights. I tried to stay focused on our thesis, but the words blurred together like a bad dream. The more I waited, the more my body seemed to conspire against me. Sleepiness began to creep in like an uninvited guest, and I found myself drifting off despite my best efforts.

Around 10 a.m., I jolted awake to the sound of my notification. Groggy but hopeful, I saw Lexie's message: "Just woke up! I'll pack and go!"

I scrambled out of bed and dashed to the bathroom, determined to get ready. But, of course, in the blink of an eye, only 30 minutes had passed.

I shot Lexie a text: "What are we gonna eat later? For lunch and dinner?"

Her reply came swiftly: "I can cook tofu sisig! Let's buy the ingredients when I get there."

Great, I thought. Now I had some time to kill. I decided to hit the nearby mall, which seemed like a good way to pass the time.

After what felt like an eternity of walking around, I received her message: "On my way!" At last!

I wandered around the mall for what felt like the fifth time, it felt like I had memorized every single shop in the mall. I practically knew the layout by heart. I could have given a tour at this point!

As I strolled, a beautiful necklace caught my eye in one of the stores. It was so stunning that I knew I had to get one—one for me and one for Lexie. But then, a thought crossed my mind: Angel might have a different opinion about this. So, I decided to get one for her as well. In the end, I walked out with four necklaces: matching sets for me and Lexie, and matching sets for me and Angel. A perfect win-win!

And finally, Lexie showed up, burdened with two big bags. I offered, "You should drop your bags off first before we go shopping."

So she dropped her things at the dorm, where Angel of the Moods was still snoozing away like a Disney princess. We headed to the supermarket, picked up our ingredients. I loved this—our grocery date. Oops, just kidding. A friendly date, you know! Anyway, after that, we roamed the mall a little more. My feet were screaming in agony, but I was still hanging in there, driven by sheer stubbornness and a caffeine addiction.

Back at the dorm, we ate our lunch sitting on the floor as usual. I never understood why it was her favorite spot, but it had become our thing.

As we ate, I mentioned my mall adventures and tried to casually drop a hint, "So, while I was wandering around, I couldn't help but pick something up. Here's something for you—we're matching now!" I handed her the necklace with a grin.