Whispers at Midnight

So, this is how it is then? I think to myself. I drop my phone to my lap. I can’t believe she would do this to me…. I stare at my phone screen, Lisa’s picture staring sweetly up at me. One minute. That’s all I’m worth to her. I guess I should have known, with how she’s been acting around Ty I can’t say I’m surprised that she would do this, but I believed she thought higher of me. It wasn’t hard to connect the dots. From the moment Ty came back into my life, she latched onto him, like he was going to be her one and only future husband. At twenty-five, you’d think she’d be more mature than that, but Lisa’s always managed to get what she wants. Sometimes I wonder why I stood up for her all those years ago. Would my life have been easier without her? I shake my head. I can’t think like that. I may want to cut our ties now, but she has been a good friend for the most part. She somehow always managed to convince me that she meant no harm. This time, I think I'm finally done. But I won't act rashly. That isn’t me. *** “Allie, we’re going to have so much fun!” Lisa shrieks. No sooner than I push open the door to our classroom, Lisa is jumping on me, enveloping me in a smothering hug. “Woah….” Her baby blue eyes are wide and excited. While there are a few surprised stares from our classmates, many are far too used to Lisa’s personality now to take much notice. Ty just raises his eyebrows at me and shakes his head, a small smile chasing the corners of his lips. “I take it you were accepted then?” I ask. Ty gives me a nod while Lisa squeals again. “It’s gonna be so much fun! Aren’t you excited? Why aren’t you jumping up and down? This is gonna be an adventure, just us!” I try to detangle her from me, but she pouts. Damn her cutesy expression…. “I’m excited,” I say, finally freeing myself and walking to my seat. “I’m just thinking about everything I need to do.” “We have time.” “It’ll come sooner than you think,” I say, thinking about that exchange scholarship I need to finish. My savings, combined with my wages up to the point we leave, will only just cover this trip, and I want to be able to enjoy it, so the scholarship will be a big help. “It’s just as well we’re taking this class this semester. I feel a little better having some basic language skills behind me when we go.” Ty starts to speak but is interrupted by Lisa as she plops down in her seat to his other side. “If you want to produce music, you’ll need the language skills anyway.” “안녕하세요 여러분. 앉으세요.” (Hello, everyone. Please sit.) I’m relieved as our teacher enters before Lisa can say anything more. “This isn’t over,” she mouths. I can only sigh internally. I’m too exhausted to argue. “Late shift?” Ty whispers. As I nod in acknowledgment, I notice the slight narrowing in her eyes. I don’t have the energy to think further on what her problem is this time, but she’s made it pretty clear that she’s interested in Ty. I thought I’d made it clear to her, I was only interested in him as a friend; we have far too much history for me to think of him in any other way. *** Time to go. There’s no point dwelling on it now. I have to get to my university, so I can recover from the trip. I sling my laptop bag over my shoulder, pull up my backpack, and grab the handle on my suitcase. I’m relieved that I waited until after immigration to check in with them. I’m too tired to be angry right now, but had I called them whilst waiting in that damn line, I’d probably have lost it. I’m hit with the heat as the doors to the bus terminals open. Incheon airport is big, and I got lost several times after retrieving my luggage, but I found my way to the bus I would need before I allowed myself to catch my breath. I’m glad for the English on the signs as I’ve only learned the very basics of Korean - I’m nowhere near proficiency, I can barely hold a basic conversation…. My phone vibrates in my pocket as I think I find the right bus stand. I can’t help the surprise that leaks into my voice. “Ty?” “Hey Allie, you okay?” Ty’s voice is full of concern, “Where are you?” Ha. She hasn’t told him yet, huh? “Lisa didn’t mention that I’m in Korea?” I say. The sarcasm dripping from my voice is easily discernible. I don’t mean to direct it at Ty, as I’m fully aware that this is Lisa’s doing. “Allie?” She finally got him to herself. Even though I don’t have those feelings for him, I can’t help but feel bitter. She had to take it this far…. “I’m in Korea,” I say, “About to go to our university dorm.” “Korea? But we’re going to Cali….” “You and Lisa are going to Cali. Apparently, I missed the memo.” “But SKKU was our fourth choice for exchange, I thought-” “It was my first choice,” I cut in. “And I thought it was yours and Lisa’s too, at least that was what she told me when we submitted. Doesn’t matter now, I’m here and you’re there. Have fun.” “Allie, don’t hang up!” I hear him shuffling. His voice comes through slightly muffled. “Lisa, why did you tell Allie we were choosing SKKU first and not Cali?” I hear her voice, her sickly sweet voice that she likes to use when she’s been caught out and is trying not to show it. Conniving. “We must’ve gotten our wires crossed,” she says, “SKKU was supposed to be our second choice.” “You told me fourth,” the impatience in his voice starts coming through. “I thought I explained it when we just spoke…” she trails off. He’s always been protective of me. Since we were little, Ty has been the one to defend me. I guess that’s why despite being shy I took pity on Lisa before. His defensive nature had rubbed off on me, and Lisa became my first friend when my family moved to Australia. “I know we were planning different subjects, but this is a bit much Lise.” “It wasn’t on purpose,” she tries. “It was late when you called me that night.” Guess Ty switched to speakerphone. “You’d already submitted.” “But you know I’d been drinking that night, I must’ve been confused. Allie, we’ve been friends forever, I’m sorry.” Only, I know she did this on purpose. I can just feel it. It feels like the time Jayson had a crush on me and wanted to ask me to graduation with him. I didn’t think of him as more than a friend, but I’d be lying to say I wasn’t flattered at the time; I’d never had time for boys - and I still don’t - but it was such a nice feeling when I heard that rumor. Glad to know my friendship meant that much to you. The memories resurface, tinged with bitterness. A few days after that rumor, Jayson completely refused to even look at me. When he came up to me, I thought he was going to ask, so I smiled. “You didn’t have to be so cold,” he said. “I get it, I’m not cool, I’m not with the in-crowd, but your message wasn’t necessary. Consider me backing off.” “But I didn’t send you anything….” Did I? “There’s no need to pretend, I get it.” And he had walked away, leaving me confused and embarrassed in front of our entire class. Only one person knew my phone password. “Lisa….” I’d looked at her, her face full of innocence. She had pretended to look confused. “What?” I’d unlocked my phone and checked through my messages. The last message to Jayson was referring to our partner project, three months prior. But that didn’t mean a message hadn’t been sent. After that, I’d changed my password and never revealed it to anyone again. It was around that point that I’d first started to withdraw from Lisa. I think she must’ve felt it too, as she held onto me even tighter. So, from that point, I’d kept the most important things to myself. “I’m really sorry, Als. Forgive me? I really didn't mean for it to happen.” Liar. But…. Now, I can breathe for the first time in years without her watching my every move. Maybe this is a good thing. “It’s fine,” I say, “But I need to go, my bus is here. You already know I waited hours before calling you, so I’m tired and just wanna go rest.” “Hey,” Ty jumps in, “maybe we can come over for a few days before we go back home. You can show us around Korea? Your semester runs differently to ours, right? We’ll finish first, then can come over to see you?” “It’s fine, don’t worry.” I hang up and prepare to wait for my bus. I can’t anymore. I think this is what I need to break free from Lisa. If I’m awarded even the lowest amount from the scholarship, I can support myself a little longer. Perhaps I’ll stay to enjoy Christmas here.