Anastasia

7

"Love cuts deeper than any blade."
- Cassandra Clare, from the book Chain of Gold.

"Done." She dropped her pen on the stack of assessment worksheets and yawned, glancing at the clock with half-closed eyes. She just finished her assignment she had missed out during the first part of the lesson that morning, all thanks to Danielle's guidance. She lay her head on the table, staring at the table lamp dreamily, her mind wandering into her own space of imagination.

Knock. Knock. "Hey Anastasia, can I come in?" a muffled feminine voice broke her dreamy state.

"Yeah, in a moment." She cleared her table and sat on her bed, making herself look like she was preparing for bed. The door opened and Danielle poked her head into her room. She was clad in an over-sized purple shirt that had a printing of a cat in a cup of coffee. She closed the door behind her and gingerly sat at the edge of her bed.

"Cute outfit." Ana commented. Danielle smiled and tugged the hem of her shirt lightly. "I didn't come to show off my cuteness around you," she said, and crawled her way to sit beside Ana who patted the empty space beside her. Danielle got under the sheets and stared at the wall in front of her, looking distant. Ana was about to probe her when she finally spoke.

"Can we have a girl's day out tomorrow?"

Confounded, Ana blinked at her. "Why would you ask that all of a sudden?" Danielle positioned herself to face Ana, sitting cross-legged, her hands on her lap. She looked down, hesitant to say else more. Ana reached over and took Danielle's hand in hers. This state of Danielle was concerning.

"Hey, are you all right?"

She stayed quiet for a while longer, then she spoke, "It's....every time when I request for us to hang out together you always seem to chicken out by coming up with some form of excuse to get away with it, and it's just....I mean we've been friends since we were twelve, but we rarely go out together. Like, just me and you. I know you've been busy with your scholarship and what not, but maybe you could take some time out to relax." Ana breathed out through her nose, deep in thought.

"Well...." she trailed off, and Danielle's shoulders drooped. "We can arrange for one tomorrow, if you'd like." Danielle's head shot up, her emerald eyes glittering.

"Really?" she squealed, and encircled her arms around Ana, entrapping her in a bear hug. "Thank you thank you thank you!" she squeezed Ana jubilantly. Ana awkwardly patted her best friend's back, laughing.

"So, what shall we do tomorrow?" She sat up straight like a rod, bouncing on the bed with excitement. Ana's memory traced back to the last outing they had together years back. She remembered Danielle loved having her favorite Ben and Jerry's cookie and cream ice cream, shopping, and....

The beach. That's right. The beach! But wait....it's autumn. Hmm....the park should be fine. An idea began to bubble and form in her head, the cogs in her mind working faster than she could speak. Ana grinned.

"I have it all planned out. You're going to love it." she gave Danielle an assuring pat. Just then, a message popped up on her phone. She reached over and saw an unknown number on her screen.

"Who's th - oh." Danielle cleared her throat and glanced at Ana, who furrowed her eyebrows at her.

"Danielle..."