Chapter four
1082 Words
Amara's POV
“Are you ready?”
I looked at Ava.
“Almost.”
“You've been saying that for the past fifteen minutes.”
“And I'm almost ready.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Whatever.”
I grabbed my small handbag and checked myself in the mirror one last time.
“Okay. Now I'm ready.”
“Finally!”
We stepped out of the room and headed downstairs.
The evening air felt cooler than it had earlier, and the campus looked completely different from how it looked during the day.
Students were everywhere.
Some were returning from lectures, some were sitting outside with their friends, while others were simply enjoying the evening.
“This place is actually beautiful,” I said.
Ava nodded.
“I know, right?”
We walked toward the main campus area where Nina had asked us to meet her.
We spotted her almost immediately.
She was standing near a large tree, scrolling through her phone.
“Nina!” Ava called.
She looked up and smiled.
“Hey!”
She walked toward us.
“You guys are finally here.”
“Finally?” Ava repeated. “We are actually early.”
“You're five minutes late.”
“That's basically early.”
Nina laughed.
“Whatever you say.”
We started walking together.
“So, where are we going?” I asked.
Nina shrugged.
“Anywhere. I just want to explore.”
“That's a terrible plan,” I said.
“Why?”
“Because none of us actually knows where we're going.”
Ava laughed.
“She has a point.”
Nina smiled.
“Then we'll get lost together.”
“Great,” I muttered.
We continued walking around campus.
We passed the library, the student centre and several lecture halls.
Everywhere we went, there seemed to be something new to see.
“Wait!” Nina suddenly stopped.
“What?”
She pointed ahead.
“Isn't that the cafeteria?”
Ava looked.
“I think so.”
“I heard their food is good.”
I looked at both of them.
“You just ate.”
“That was hours ago,” Nina replied.
“It was literally two hours ago.”
“Exactly. I'm hungry again.”
Ava nodded seriously.
“I support her.”
I sighed.
“Fine. Let's go.”
We entered the cafeteria and found a table near the window.
Nina and Ava immediately started discussing what to order while I looked around.
It was surprisingly crowded.
There were students laughing, talking and moving between tables.
For some reason, watching everyone made me feel strangely happy.
This was my new life.
Messy.
Unfamiliar.
But exciting.
“So, Amara…”
I looked at Nina.
“Hmm?”
“Have you met anyone interesting yet?”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Interesting?”
“Yeah.”
I thought for a moment.
“Not really.”
Ava laughed.
“She barely talks to anyone.”
“I do talk.”
“To me.”
“That's because you're always around.”
“Exactly.”
Nina laughed.
“You two are funny.”
Ava smiled proudly.
“I know.”
Our food arrived shortly after, and the conversation moved from school to lecturers, assignments and random things that didn't really matter.
We were halfway through our meal when someone called Nina's name from behind us.
She turned around.
“Oh!”
Her face lit up.
“Hey!”
A guy walked over to our table.
He smiled at Nina.
“I didn't know you were here.”
“Yeah. We just came to grab something.”
He glanced at the rest of us.
“Friends?”
Nina nodded.
“Yeah. This is Amara and Ava.”
He smiled.
“Nice to meet you guys.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Ava replied.
I smiled politely.
He introduced himself before leaving to join his friends at another table.
I looked at Nina.
“Who was that?”
She shrugged.
“Just someone from my department.”
Ava gave her a suspicious look.
“Just someone?”
Nina laughed.
“Don't start.”
I smiled.
It was strange how quickly the three of us were becoming comfortable around each other.
We had only met yesterday.
Yet somehow, it already felt like we'd known each other for much longer.
After finishing our meals, we decided to head back to the hostel.
The sky had already begun to darken.
As we walked, Ava suddenly stopped.
“Wait.”
“What?” I asked.
She pointed toward the road.
“I think I've seen that guy before.”
“Who?”
“The guy who just passed us.”
I looked behind us.
“Which guy?”
But there were too many people.
“Never mind,” she said.
We continued walking.
I didn't think much of it.
There were hundreds of students on campus.
It was normal to see familiar faces without actually knowing them.
When we finally reached the hostel, Nina stopped at the entrance.
“I'll see you guys tomorrow.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Goodnight, Nina,” Ava replied.
“Goodnight.”
She waved before walking away.
Ava and I entered our room.
I dropped my bag on the bed and sighed.
“I'm tired.”
Ava laughed.
“You're always tired.”
“Because you keep dragging me everywhere.”
“You enjoyed yourself.”
I smiled.
“Maybe.”
I picked up my phone.
The unknown number from earlier was still there.
I stared at it for a few seconds.
Then another message came in.
Unknown: Hi.
I frowned.
Ava noticed.
“Who's that?”
“I don't know.”
“Reply.”
“Why?”
“Because I'm curious.”
I laughed.
“You're so nosy.”
“I prefer the word interested.”
I shook my head and typed a reply.
Amara: Hi. Who's this?
I waited.
A few seconds passed.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown: You don't know me yet.
I stared at the screen.
Ava leaned closer.
“What did they say?”
I looked at her.
“I honestly don't know.”
She smiled.
“Well…”
She climbed onto her bed.
“Now I'm interested.”
I looked at the message again.
For some reason, I had a feeling I shouldn't have replied.
But I couldn't explain why.
And I had no idea that one simple message would eventually become something I could never forget.
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