IN THE SHADOW OF OBLIVION

Chapter 4: 'J' is for?

The next day.

It was already 6:40 and Anntonia was supposed to be ready at 7 when Irfan comes to pick her up. She sighed as she thumbed through the clothes in her closet.

Irfan was taking her to a fancy restaurant and that made her agitated because by fancy, meant she didn't have anything to wear.

She was a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, never one to spend much time on her appearance. Her long dark hair was naturally straight and didn't require much effort on her part. She rarely wore more than mascara and lip gloss, and the last time she wore heels she was in high school and had to attend a prom.

She shook her head and grabbed a pair of dark jeans from the shelf. She groaned and leaned against the wall, then grudgingly reached up and pulled a thin yellow button up sweater from a hanger. It was one of her favorites and she knew it fit her well, so it would have to do.

She put the clothes on and turned to look at herself in the mirror, then shrugged at her appearance. She looked cute, sure, but not really nice. She just hoped the restaurant they were going to wasn't too fancy for her failed attempt at making herself presentable.

She heard her door opened, and then rolled her eyes as Michelle came in without knocking.

"I could have been naked, Michelle Daniela!" she said, throwing a wadded up pair of jeans at her head but the woman just shrugged and flopped down on her bed.

"Then, that would've been nice." Michelle said with a teasing tone, grinning at her naughtily and that made her laugh uncomfortably, her throat even shaken.

"Shut up!" The only word she could come up to dismiss the sudden tension she felt in her stomach. "Do I look like a total loser?"

..

Michelle looked Anntonia over, scanning her from head to toe. She thought, the jeans complemented her figure well, and they were just long enough to touch the ground when she walked. The yellow sweater was cute but still somehow sexy. She found her eyes trailing to the small sliver of skin between the hem of her shirt and the top of her jeans and couldn't help but feel something burning inside.

Anntonia is anything but sexy. She thought to herself, trying to shake off her discomfort.

But she had to admit, Anntonia did look... well, sexy.

"It's that bad?" The woman asked when she didn't say anything. "It's the sweater, isn't it? It's just too old ladyish..." then she saw her began to unbutton it. And from her seat in the bed, she immediately stood up, stopping her hand from what she's about to do as she cleared her throat.

"Leave it, Toowns. It looks good on you. Anything's better than a clown suit," she said, trying to laugh away the weird bubbling feeling in her gut.

"Thanks for the compliment and the moral support." She told her with so much sarcasm but she didn't thought of any comeback.

She watched Anntonia as she turned and started to pull makeup from her drawer. As she fiddled with the different brushes and colors, she found herself wondering what kind of guy this Irfan was to make her best friend giddy like that. She didn't want any weirdos taking Anntonia out, and she certainly didn't want her to be taken advantage of.

"This Irfan guy... he better not try anything stupid. If anything, you call me and I'll come get your ass out of there immediately." She knew she sounded ridiculous especially at how Anntonia looked at her when she faced her. She was like confused and looked like laughing at the same time.

"When did you start talking like a Mom? I'm a big girl now, Dani. Thanks, but I can handle it. And besides, Irfan seems perfectly normal. Which is kind of weird, yes, but I'm okay. It's fine."