MICHELLE

DISTANCE IN THE SAME ROOM

"f**k, I'm late to school again," I said

as I jolted out of bed. Kyla was still

sleeping, so I patted her to make her

aware that we were late for school.

"Five more minutes..." she mumbled,

pulling the blanket over her head.

"We don't have five more minutes!" I

snapped, rushing to grab my uniform

from the chair. My heart was already

racing. If we were late again, Mr.hills

was definitely going to lose it.

Kyla groaned and finally sat up, her

hair a complete mess. "Why didn't

you wake me earlier, Michelle?"

I paused for a second. That was the

thing... I had set an alarm. Three,

actually. But none of them went off.

"I don't know," I said quietly,

frowning. "My alarm didn't ring."

Kyla squinted at me. "That's weird...

mine didn't either."

For a moment, the room went still.

I rushed into the bathroom to freshen

up.

"Kyla, please-we are really late! You

have to get dressed!" I said from

inside, as I could hear her murmur in

her sleepy tone.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm up..." she replied

weakly.

I turned on the tap and splashed

water on my face, trying to wake

myself up properly, couldn't afford

going late today again.

By the time I stepped out, Kyla was

Already dressed up,wtf,I thought you

were asleep just now, I said as she

smiled at me ,I woke up an hour ago

to have my bath she said dragging

her feet toward her wardrobe.

"You're so dramatic in the morning,"

she yawned.

"And you're too slow betrayal," I shot back,

pulling on my uniform.

We moved around the room in a rush

-bags, shoes, books-everything felt

scattered.

"Wait-where's my notebook?" Kyla

suddenly said, turning around in

panic.

"The blue one?" I asked, checking my

desk.

"Yes! I need it today, or I'm finished!"

I spotted it on the chair, half-hidden

under her hoodie. "Got it," I said,

tossing it to her.

"Life saver," she breathed, quickly

stuffing it into her bag.

A few minutes later, we were both

ready, standing at the door, slightly

out of breath.

"If we run, we might still make it

before assembly," I said.

Kyla smirked. "You mean you might.

I'm not built for running."

I grabbed her hand anyway. "Too bad.

Let's go!"

We ran downstairs and of course Dad

was already setting the table for

breakfast.

"Good morning, Papa," I greeted.

"Good morning, sir," Kyla added.

"Good morning, girls," Dad replied,

then smiled. "Oh, Kyla-it's Dad, not

sir. We're family now."

Kyla smiled shyly. "Okay... Dad."

"Better," he said, placing plates on the

table. "Now sit. You're not leaving

this house without eating."

"Dad, we're late," I said, already

reaching for my bag.

"And you'll be later if you faint in

class," he shot back. "Sit."

We exchanged a look and quickly sat

down.

I grabbed a slice of bread. "We'll eat

fast, promise."

Kyla nodded, already pouring tea into

her cup.

"Very fast."

Dad folded his arms, watching us.

"Let's go, Kyla, we're late!" I said,

already heading for the door as Kyla

stuffed some bread into her mouth.

"I'm sorry, Papa!" I added quickly.

"When we're back, we promise to eat

whatever food you prepare!"

"Goodbye, Papa!" we both said as we

rushed out.

"Hmm... you girls and your morning

rush," Dad called after us, shaking his

head.

Outside, the driver was already

waiting, engine running.

"Good morning, sir," I greeted as we

hurried into the back seat.

"Good morning," he replied, glancing

at us through the mirror. "Running

late again?"

"Please just drive," Kyla said between

bites.

The car pulled out quickly, and I

finally leaned back, trying to catch

my breath.

"Today is going to be long," I

muttered.

"You think?" Kyla said. "Assembly,

first period test...

I turned to look out the window,

watching the streets pass by. Students

in uniforms were already walking in

groups

My stomach tightened.

"I just hope we're not too late for

assembly," I said quietly.

Kyla followed my gaze. "Relax... we

might still make it."

Just then, the driver slowed down.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"There's traffic ahead," he said.

Kyla and I looked at each other.

"...We're finished."

"What do we do now? We have to get

to school early!" I panicked as the

driver stepped out of the car to see

what was going on.

We got the news that a car had broken

down right in the middle of the road,

blocking every other vehicle from

passing.

Kyla groaned. "This is just great...

we're definitely going to be late."

I leaned forward, trying to see past

the line of cars. Drivers were already

stepping out, some arguing, others

just standing around helplessly.

"Can't you find another route?" I

asked the driver anxiously.

He shook his head. "This is the fastest

road to your school. Unless..." he

paused, looking thoughtful, "we could

try the back street, but it's a bit

rough."

"I don't care!" I said quickly. "Please,

let's just move."

Kyla grabbed my arm. "Michelle, what

if we get stuck there too?"

"We won't know unless we try," I

replied, my heart racing.

The driver nodded and quickly got

back into the car. Slowly, he reversed,

turning the car away from the traffic.

As we drove into the narrow back

street, the road became bumpier,

lined with small houses and roadside

stalls. I checked the time and felt my

stomach twist.

"Faster, please," I whispered.

We finally got to school.

Of course, we were late.

The school gate was already buzzing

with movement, and from a distance

we could see Mr. Hills standing like a

guard, notebook in hand, his eyes

scanning every student who slipped

in after the bell.

"Late comers, line up!" he barked.

My stomach dropped.

Kyla whispered, "I told you we'd be

fine... kind of."

We joined the group of late students,

and one by one, Mr. Hills assigned

punishments with no emotion at all.

"Kyla Akin-school garden. Clean it

properly."

Kyla let out a relieved sigh the

moment she heard it. She even gave

me a quick "sorry" smile.

Then he looked at me.

"Michelle..."

I straightened immediately.

"You'll be washing the girls' toilet."

My face froze.

For a second, I thought I didn't hear

him right.

"The... girls' toilet?" I repeated slowly.

"Yes," he said firmly, already moving

on to the next student. "Go and start

immediately."

I turned slowly to Kyla, who covered

her mouth like she was trying not to

laugh.

"This is not funny," I muttered.

"It is a little bit," she said, still smiling.

"I'll come check on you during

break."

"Don't you dare," I shot back, though I

could already feel my embarrassment

rising.

As we walked in different directions, I

sighed heavily.

First traffic... now this.

And somehow, the day was just

getting started.

I got into the girls' toilet. It wasn't

even dirty-it looked like the cleaner

had already cleaned it earlier.

I was so happy.

I rushed back into class.

The Biology teacher was already

standing and teaching.

"Good morning, ma'am," I

stammered.

"Morning, Michelle," she replied.

"Late again?"

"Not really, ma'am... traffic issues," I

answered softly.

I slipped into my seat quietly, still

trying to catch my breath from the

morning rush.

"Good morning, Mich," Ardee greeted

I gave a small smile and nodded.

"Morning," I replied, placing my bag

under the desk just in time.

The classroom had that early-morning

noise-chairs scraping, books

flipping, low whispers that quickly

faded as the teacher faced the board

fully.

"Settle down," she said firmly,

I straightened up, trying to focus, but I

could still feel the embarrassment

from being late earlier lingering in

my chest. Around me, everyone

finally went quiet.

And just like that, the lesson began.

After some hours Mrs Morgan finally

concluded her lesson for the day and

left the class.

I placed my head on my desk ready to

take a nap before my fencing classes

begun, suddenly I felt a light tap on

my shoulder,I raised my head slowly

trying to figure out who

had tapped me.

Before I could even fully turn, a

familiar voice spoke."Hey",he

said ,hey I replied,Lee gon right I said

trying to remember his name again

Yes,lee gon he replied,"Sorry, I didn't

see you there earlier," I said softly,

shifting slightly in my seat.

I glanced up at him again. "By the

way... you're early to school today."

He gave a small nod, a calm

expression on his face. "Yeah, I am,"

he replied simply.

Suddenly, his thought crossed my

mind.

He wanted someone to talk to.

I paused for a brief second, but didn't

show it on my face.

I just looked at him and gave a small,

calm smile, like everything was

normal.

"So..." I continued gently, "what made

you come this early?"

guess... my body just likes going to

school before nine," he said, a little

awkwardly. "So, yeah..."

He shrugged slightly, like he was

trying to make it sound casual.

I nodded slowly, watching him.

But then, just like before, another

thought slipped into my mind.

I just don't really like staying alone at

home in the morning... it feels too

quiet.

I kept my expression calm, not letting

anything show.

Instead, I gave a soft smile. "Oh, I see."

There was a short pause between us

again, but this time it didn't feel

uncomfortable.

"So you just prefer coming early," I

added gently, like I was continuing a

normal conversation.

He nodded. "Yeah... something like

that."

Just then Ardee walked towards us

"Hi",he greeted

"Hi",I replied,as he turned to look at

Ardee“Oh my, my manners,” I said

quickly. “Lee gon, this is Ardee, my

best friend.”

Lee gon nodded slightly, studying

Ardee for a second.

“Oh… so you guys are now friends?

You guys are now close?” Ardee

asked, raising a brow.,

“He’s our classmate, so of course he’s

my friend. I replied. I guess I should

give you guys some space,” Lee gon

said, standing up and walking out of

the class.

“Come on, Mich, I’ve been reaching

out to you since last night. You didn’t

pick up my calls or reply my

messages. It really felt like you were

ignoring me and all that.

He sighed and replied,

“I’m sorry. I had a really long day,

that’s why I couldn’t reply your

messages.”

At that, he raised an eyebrow at me,

like he couldn’t fully believe I was

telling the truth—but I didn’t mind. I

wasn’t the one he liked anyway, so

what was the big deal?

“Okay, fine. So… are you free today?

Would you come and watch me

fence?”,he asked

“Ardee, I’ve got other things to do.”

I replied. “Come on, mich… I kind of

feel like you’re just trying to avoid

me. First, you didn’t reply my

messages last night, and now you’re

introducing me to Lee gon. Like,

when did all this friendship between

you and Lee gon even start? I thought

we were best friends.” he asked

“Yes, we are best friends, but there’s

life outside being best friends. I

mean, I have my own life, you have

yours i replied.

“Okay, so you can’t come watch me

Fence? No problem. I’ll just take Sia

with me instead. Have a nice day.”

“Okay… you too, have a nice day.”

I watched him leave, and yes I felt really bad ,he is my best friend. I

couldn’t afford to be distracted. He

probably felt lonely and really

wanted me to come watch him fence

but at the same time, I couldn’t take

the risk of getting closer to him again.

I didn’t want those feelings to start

building up.

Just then, Lee gon walked back into

the class.

I don’t know why, but I felt happy

seeing him return.