Soulmates

Chapter 2

At school that day, my best friend Jas was on edge because her countdown said that she had 3 hours and 10 minutes until she met her soulmate.

"What if I don't like her?" She fretted.

"I mean, I'm assuming she's a her because...yeah...and now I think of it, I guess they're my soulmate so I'll have to like them...Oh, I don't know, Beth. I'm just so nervous!"

I took a deep breath, swallowed my pride, and put myself in her shoes. After all, Jas was a huge romantic, so for her this would be a big deal, and it was perfectly normal (if unnecessary) for her to be nervous.

"It's okay, Jas. I don't know how this whole soulmates thing works, but it's never been wrong. Ask any adult in this crazy town." I patted her awkwardly on the back and she nodded.

"I guess you're right. It doesn't help the nerves, though. My god, I think I'm going to be sick!"

I immediately whipped off her metaphorical shoes and put mine back on.

"If you're gonna puke, don't do it on me."

Three essays and one panic attack later, the time had finally come for Jas to meet her soulmate. Her countdown was on 00 00 00 03 14, and she was a nervous wreck.

"What am I meant to do? Do I just stand here and wait for them to come over, or do I go looking? How will I even know if it's them?" Jas wrung her hands together anxiously, and I tried my best not to roll my eyes.

"Jas, you just have to act normally. And don't worry, you'll know." I said, attempting to soothe my friend.

"That's impossible!" Jas screamed. I shushed her, but then she started breathing heavily, and I could tell she was about to have another panic attack.

"Jas, listen to me. You are going to be fine, and your soulmate is going to love you. That's why they're your soulmate," I said, looking into her eyes. It didn't seem to help. She had started staring off into the distance. Her breathing was still hard and her eyes were starting to water.

"Jas," I tried to catch her eyes, forcing her to look at me. "Jas, focus on your breathing. Come on, do it with me: deep breath in for 5 seconds, hold it for 8, let it out for 3. Come on." I demonstrated, and Jas copied. When we had done that a few times, she had calmed down a bit and she threw her arms around me.

"Oh, Beth! You're such a good friend. Thank you." She released me and I smiled at her. Then we heard someone yell, "Heads!" I ducked, but Jas reached out and caught the ball that came flying towards us.

"Good catch." A girl with long, sleek blonde hair came jogging towards us and smiled at Jas. Immediately, Jas and I looked down at her countdown. It had reached zero. We looked back up at the girl in unison, and she was also looking at her countdown. She glanced up, and grinned at Jas.

"Well, hey there, Soulmate."