All Around Us

Chapter Five

"One two three testing, one two three testing," a loud voice echoed through the air, waking me up. I gave up on trying to sleep and got out of bed. Looking out the window, I realized festival season had started. The voice was Julio, one of the farm workers, testing the sound system.

I took a quick bath and went downstairs to join the others as they made final preparations. Aunt and Mell were nowhere to be found. After breakfast and completing my chores, they were still missing. The workers kept asking me their whereabouts, but I didn't know either. Time was running out, and I had to get things started without them. I nervously performed the official opening, and the festival began.

I went back inside to change into festival attire, making sure to wear the sneakers. Following orders from an unknown number felt strange. "This isn't creepy at all," I muttered sarcastically as I wandered around, hoping to be noticed.

I walked around for a while, but there was no sign of Aunt Rosa, Mell, or the sender of the text. Feeling lonely and frustrated, I sat on a nearby bench. My phone rang. It was a girl calling from an unidentified number, telling me to check my texts.

The text read, "From where you are right now, walk 30 steps to your left and I will be waiting for you there." I did as instructed, but there was no one. Another text came through: "Oh wait... I meant to your right, silly me!" I went back to my original position and was shocked to see who was there.

"Clio!" I shouted, running to hug her. I couldn't believe it was my childhood best friend, the one who had grown distant. But in that moment, I didn't care. We were just so happy to see each other.

She asked what I was doing wandering around, so I showed her the text with the instructions. She texted surprise back, and I realized she was behind it. I felt happy, shocked, and angry all at once. Overwhelmed, I started walking away towards the house.

She followed me and sat next to me. I didn't say anything, just looked at her. She took a deep breath, held my hand, and led me to a quieter place.

I had missed her so much. Surprisingly, I had already forgiven her before she even started explaining. I could tell she had more to say, but I didn't push her. The noise level increased, so I left Julio in charge of the festival and went inside with Clio. We caught up over leftovers while waiting for her parents to pick her up.

It felt so good to be talking to my best friend again. I didn't realize how much I had missed her. When Clio's parents arrived, I greeted them and hugged her goodbye. Long after she was gone, I wondered how she knew my shoe size. We had drifted apart when I was still a size 3, but she somehow knew my current size.

Aunt Rosa and Mell still hadn't returned. As I was about to sleep, I noticed a note on my bed. It said, "Went out to get some supplies. If we're not back by now, it's probably traffic." I sighed in relief. I had been secretly worried all day.