Tag, You're It

Chapter 1

It was a hot, sunny afternoon and Lheila had been out for almost half an hour-- waiting at the bus stop for her best friend to arrive.

The street is still busy despite the extreme heat all around the place.

She had been invited by Mira to come shop with her and although Lheila didn't like the idea of going out in this hellish weather, she was forced to do so since Jacob, Mira's boyfriend, was busy with school.

"Sorry," Mira tried catching her breath as she used Lheila as her support "I'm late."

Lheila watched her best friend then rummage inside her bag to get the bottled water that she bought in this particular situation. She handed it to Mira who immediately grabbed it and chugged it down.

"Thank you." Mira wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, "You're the best." She opened her arms and wrapped it around Lheila.

Lheila can already feel her skin burning up and her head is starting to heat up so when Mira finally let go of her, she finally said, "My skin is burning. Let's go to the mall already."

"Oh, sorry." Mira said and put her arm around Lheila's shoulder which immediately received a reaction from her.

"Jacob had been busy these past few days." Mira broke the silence as they paved their way into the department store. "There even are times when he don't answer my calls and will just message me after an hour."

"What does he say every time he ignores your call?" Lheila continued staring at the road ahead but she could see from her peripheral vision the way Mira's jaw dropped.

"He is not ignoring my call! He was just busy with school." Mira justified, "that's what he said." she added.

"Why not visit him? Go and study with him." Lheila stopped as they waited for the light to turn green.

"Hello? We've been best friends for 5 years and you still don't know that I am not into studying?" She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms-- making sure that Lheila can see her frustration.

When the light switched to green, they started crossing and walked to the opening of the mall.

"Or you can go watch movies on your laptop. Just use earphones so you can like, spend some time together once he finishes his tasks."

"But he told me that he can't invite me in his house 'cause he don't wanna get distracted." Mira pouted at her best friends as they wander around the mall, "We're going to the third floor so we taking the stairs."

"What?!" Lheila's eyes widened as Mira pulled her towards the stair. "Why not use the elevator?"

"We have a lot of stuffs to talk to so we need more time together."

Lheila rolled her eyes and let her best friend pull her wherever she wants.

"Just tell him that you missed him and you wanna meet him. I'm sure he'll understand you and will spend some time with you." She looked at Mira who is in deep thought about what she had just said, "If he really needs some time to study, he'll tell you stuff to make you live in peace and give him the time he needs."

"Do you think he wouldn't get angry if I do those?"

"Why would he? You're not doing anything bad. You'll just tell him that you missed him already. If he gets mad, then he's mad. Not your problem."

They already reached the third floor but Mira had to stop because her feet are starting to sore from the heels that she's wearing.

"I should've listened to you." Mira let out a shy laugh as she peeked her best friend's reactions.

When Mira's feet got the rest it needed, they started to walk around the floor.

"Is surprising him with a visit fine?" Mira looked around to spot the store that she needs to enter.

"You might distract him from his study but I don't know. There's really no problem in that but it might just be for me."

Lheila's eyes spotted a familiar built and it immediately got stuck on him. He was wearing a pine green shirt, grey shorts, and a black cap. With him is a girl-- shoulder-length hair, black cap that matches him, denim shorts, and a tank top. She was around his neck and they were teasing each other based on how the girl is playfully hitting him.

"Jerk." Lheila didn't even realized that she had said it out loud. She was shaking and was too focused on the two person from a distance that she didn't even hear Mira's voice.

Mira looked at Lheila with a confuse look. She was in the middle of talking about this cafe in the neighborhood that she wants to try when Lheila swear. Her eyebrows met as she stared at her best friend who stopped.

Lheila is still staring straight ahead so Mira turned to see what her best friend is looking at. Her jaw dropped and her eyes welled up with tears.