Mikaal

13: Mikaal

"So you think Simon's started to like you more than a friend?"

"I don't know! I'm so confused..." Dalia's thumbs paused mid-air in the midst of their swift taps on the bottom third of her iPhone's screen, responding to Meagan in their Facebook Messenger chat. As she lay in the foetal position on her double bed, wearing her favourite, Peter Alexander 'Crazy Cat', cotton pyjama set, her phone cradled in her hands, she felt weight looming over her head - exactly the reason she had decided to reconnect with her fellow, car-enthusiast friend, who was still living in Chicago.

Although they were friends since childhood and had stayed in close contact in spite of the distance right through Dalia's first year of uni, they had lost touch after the Blake heart-break, because Dalia had decided to deactivate Facebook - while Meagan had often said she couldn't be bothered joining other social media or chat services when Facebook was enough to keep up with. Initially, they had tried to stay in touch through email, but gradually, responses became more and more infrequent, as their emails became more and more lost amidst the ocean of spam.

While Dalia had discovered life without Facebook was actually somehow freer, lighter, it was earlier that year that she had reluctantly reactivated her account in order to more easily communicate with her group members for a uni assignment. It was then that she had finally reconnected with Meagan, but their chats had remained general of nature, lacking the lustre of closeness they had once exhibited.

Nonetheless, with Dalia's growing dilemma over Simon and Mikaal, she realised she really needed the attentive ear and wise words of a female friend. Although she did have other 'girlfriends' at uni, Meagan had known her since primary school, so she felt much closer to Meagan than her classmates in spite of the oceans and 25 hour flight that separated them.

"So who's this other guy? What do you know about him?" Meagan asked.

"Mikaal. Umm, I don't know a lot yet to be honest. He's pretty sporty I think. He studies Sports Science..."

"So he's hot."

"Yes..." Dalia was grateful this conversation was over chat, so Meagan wouldn't see her blush, nor hear the likely sheepish tone of her voice had they been speaking on the phone.

"Hmm, I don't trust him already."

While Meagan was into cars, she was into the 'look' of a super sexy sports car more than the adventure or thrill of racing like Dalia, very likely due to her cautious personality - so Meagan's comment wasn't at all surprising. Moreover, in high school, Meagan had been burned by one of the school jocks who she had had a crush on, who embarrassed her when he found out, openly laughing with his boys and saying when she was around that he would never be interested in someone like her.

Although Dalia hadn't been there to witness the ordeal because Meagan had already moved to America with her family by then, she still knew what a rough time it was for her. Dalia had called her over Skype as soon as Meagan had messaged her telling her what had happened, allowing Meagan to have a good cry over it.

In spite of understanding where her best friend was coming from, Dalia shifted uncomfortably under her down quilt, sensing that same, rebellious part within her becoming tense, feeling the need to rise in defence of Mikaal and his intentions. "He seems sweet though... He surprised me with Tim Tams on the first day we studied together. It was exactly what I needed to de-stress after not getting any study done over the weekend. I almost think we achieved a lot that day because of it."

"Wait, so you only met him like a week ago, and not only did he convince you to see him like every day, he's already buying you gifts?"

"It's only biscuits!" Dalia hesitated, remembering it wasn't just the Tim Tams, unsure if she should mention lunch... Realising Meagan couldn't help her with her predicament if Dalia purposely withheld information from her, so she admitted, "Okay, and also lunch those two days..."

"That's a bit fast, don't you think, for supposed 'platonic' study dates?"

Dalia didn't know why she felt defensive, but her thumbs had a mind of their own, frantically typing, "He isn't pushy though. It's really easy and comfortable around him."

"He isn't pushy, he's just super smooth."

Dalia thumbs went limp, matching her mute expression that thankfully Meagan couldn't see. She hadn't admitted yet what Mikaal's personality was like, but 'charming' and 'smooth' perfectly described him. To think Meagan picked that up just from her few defensive statements about him... She didn't know why, but it was a hard pill to swallow, knowing Meagan was right.

"You still there?" Meagan messaged.

"Yes, just thinking."

Dalia wasn't sure what to say, so when Meagan veered the conversation back to Simon, she was slightly relieved, although Simon was still part of her overall conundrum. Meagan had known about her friendship with Simon through their chats in that first year of uni.

Multiple grey speech bubbles filled with black print popped up on her iPhone screen, one after another, the old shifting upwards to make way for the new, as Meagan shared her reflections over Simon. She highlighted how he had been consistent in her life, a really good friend through the ups and downs, so he would be the type of guy she could depend on. She also pointed out that Simon had asked her out to 'dinner' - emphasising the word with capitals in their chat.

"So?" Dalia's forehead wrinkled, perplexed.

"Dinner isn't like lunch. Lunch is more casual. Dinner is more... serious."

Dalia sighed, the cloud of confusion growing in her mind, worse now than before they had started this conversation. "I don't know babe... I don't want to second guess what Simon's thinking when he hasn't openly said to me that he sees me now as more than a friend... After 2.5 years of being just friends, it's so out of the blue don't you think?"

"Not really. Maybe with Mikaal coming along, you know how guys can be, maybe the threat of another guy being in your life made him think differently about your relationship."

Meagan once again was making sense. But still, there was resistance within her. "But I don't want to build something out of nothing like with Blake..."

"But Blake did like you all that time that you thought he hadn't even noticed you! Yes, he ended up being a halfwit, but don't you remember telling me how learning that he liked you too totally changed you? You became a way more confident person. You probably wouldn't have bought your hot car if you hadn't been with him."

"Yeh I guess..." Everything Meagan was saying rang true once again. She had thought very little of herself until Blake came into her life. Something about the knowledge that the guy she had secretly liked for nearly a year had noticed her and had even liked her too all along, awakened a confidence she had not believed existed within her. The funny thing was, although things didn't work out and she was still scarred from the experience, her sense of self-worth and vibrant personality endured, now part and parcel of who she was today. Maybe it was because of how she had found out he liked her, the crazy, uncharacteristic thing she had done...

"You're right though that we shouldn't look too much into things. I'm excited for you though D! Simon's a really great guy, so if it does become something, it would be so awesome after what you've been through. You deserve a guy who sees the amazing person you are!"

Dalia smiled, her heart buzzing with warmth over the love and sincerity of her friend. Her eyes started to become moist with emotion over the idea of finding love again, but this time, a lasting, reciprocated love. "Thanks babe!" she said, adding four heart 'emoji' symbols, each a different colour - red, pink, purple and yellow. She was thankful once again that their exchange was over chat, otherwise, she was sure Meagan would be hugging her at this point, very likely leading to Dalia's wet eyes gushing forth rivers with no end.

---

Hey there

I hope you enjoyed this instalment. Apologies if there are any typos or inconsistencies - I've been fighting a cold the past week :( but didn't want to let you down... so did my best :P

Thank you so much for your continued support, your votes, your comments.

Love you!

-Noelle