The week drifted by faster than Abbie expected.
School had settled into a rhythm she could live with, noisy mornings, long classes, jeepney rides that smelled like sweat and engine smoke. It wasn’t Bicol, but it wasn’t unbearable anymore.
Keith helped with that.
Somehow, they’d fallen into this strange, accidental friendship. He’d drop by the condo to wait for Roxanne, and they’d end up talking, or arguing, until one of them gave up. He teased her about her accent; she mocked his Tagalog. It was ridiculous, but easy. Familiar, somehow.
He wasn’t just Roxanne’s boyfriend anymore. He was Keith, annoying, funny, confident in that careless way Abbie found both irritating and fascinating.
That Friday afternoon, Abbie came home to find him sprawled on the couch, watching a basketball game l
