Wizard of Oz || Zuo Hang✓

Thirty-Three

Yanni packed up one more item in her box. It was a picture frame that used to be on her bedside table, and it was of her innocent younger self. She kind of missed that.

Zhixin and Xinhao both knew she was moving today, but none of them bothered to come. She knew their friendship only existed within school, and that was it.

'Yanni hurry up, your dad is getting impatient.' Yanni's mother advised her after she had poked her head through the door.

'Yes mom.' Yanni answered and closed the box, then scooped it up in her hands.

There was a loud knock on the door downstairs, and Yanni's mother rolled her eyes before going down the stairs. She didn't want any of her friends to find her in such a situation where her daughter was moving.

Yanni's mother finally reached the door and opened it, surprised to see a girl in glasses whom she had never seen before. 'May I help you?'

'Is Yanni in?' the girl asked desperately.

'And you are?' Yanni's mother put a hand on her waist.

'I'm Vicky, her friend from school. I really need to see her, please.' She begged.

'Who's there mom?' Yanni asked her mother as she walked down the stairs with her box.

'Well a friend of yours from school.' Yanni's mother answered then turned back to the door. 'She'll be right out.'

'Friend of mine?' Yanni asked herself before finally reaching the door. She was surprised to see Vicky, but she was definitely not interested in seeing her. It was a friend of Zuo's, he had probably sent her.

'Yanni, I need to talk to right now.' Vicky begged.

'I'm sorry I'm kinda busy.' Yanni responded quickly.

'No look...I needed to say I'm sorry for everything that happened.' Vicky said. 'Zuo didn't tell anyone your secret, I did.'

'Save it Vicky, Zuo already admitted to everything.' Yanni was now walking towards her father's pickup truck.

'No. He agreed to being the chatbot, not telling people your secret. I'm the one who did that because I was jealous.' She said as she followed Yanni. 'Zuo actually loves you, and he created that thing because he wanted to be there for you.'

Yanni stopped in her tracks. 'Wait...you're really the one who did that?'

Vicky nodded. 'Yes, you can ask the school reporter who told her, she'll tell you it was me. I'm sorry Yanni, I just didn't like the fact that Zuo liked you and not me. But I'm no longer proud of it because Zuo is depressed about everything. He loves you that much.'

'He still lied to me for his own pleasure.'

'No, maybe what he did was wrong, but he just wanted to be close to you because he's always liked you but you changed your circle of friends.' Vicky continued.

Yanni's father pressed the horn of his truck. 'Yanni! I don't have time for your goodbyes! Get your stuff in the car!'

'Look, I have to go. And it doesn't matter anymore, me and Zuo won't meet again. Neither will I meet people from our school.' Yanni quickly answered and put her last box in the truck. She quickly got into the passenger side and put on her seatbelt.

Vicky watched with guilt as the car drove away. She thought about how hurt Zuo was, and how she had now also lost him as a friend. But then again, Yanni was already gone. There was nothing she could do about it.

If she hadn't done this, perhaps Zuo and Yanni would have still been talking. It wouldn't have exactly been as himself, but maybe that was good enough for him.

THE END