BENEATH THE SMILE

Chapter 3-Purple

I sat on my bed, typing an assignment for my group when the phone buzzed. I had placed it on my revision table.

"Ah, not again. I got work to do," I complained. I didn't like to be distracted when I was doing something, especially if it was class related. I pushed the laptop away from my thighs and picked up the phone, after a few seconds of hesitation.

When I saw the caller, I was glad that I had changed my mind about not taking the call.
I smiled and swiped up to answer.

"Hello"

" Hey there"

"Hi" I blushed.

"Care for a walk tonight," he said.

"Mmmm. It depends."

"On what, beautiful."

"I'll come if I finish my assignments."

"Oh! I'm sorry. Didn't know you were busy."

I felt the disappointment in his voice when he spoke, so I decided to cheer him up.

"No, not at all. I'll try to finish early and make it, okay."

"Alright beautiful. Tell me when you're done."

"I will."

"Talk to you later then. Bye."

"Bye" He hang up.

My face brimmed with joy after the call. I held the phone to my chest and smiled, my eyes closed. I tried to imagine what we will do when we meet. Will I be able to talk, or be speechless? Will I laugh a lot or just give simple smiles? What shall we talk about?
I flung my eyes open, anxiety starting to rise up inside me. Stop it Jenny, what will be will be.

I placed the phone next to the computer and exhaled. I was about to get back to my assignment when I noticed something. I had the same colour of phone cover and duvet. How come I didn't notice this all along! The only difference was that the purple of my duvet was deep and that of my phone cover was hazel.

I lifted my head and my eyes scrutinized the whole room, there was more of the color. The butterfly stickers on my white walls were purple, my towel too.

"Ha! I didn't think I loved this color to this extent," I chuckled, shaking my head.

It was amazing because I had bought all those items on different days but I had picked out the same color. Maybe that happened because that was my favourite color. Even when I never planned on buying such an item, I always found myself getting that shade.

"Alright Jenny, you have an assignment to finish."

I worked and by the time I got done I was exhausted. My eyes itched and my neck hurt. I tilted my head side to side and I heard the bones crunch, as if they were breaking.

"Oh dear, I can use a warm bath."

I logged off and closed the PC. My class was in an hour so I darted to the bathroom to wash up.

*************

At school, it was a great day for me. I had this super strong enthusiasm for everything I did.

"Jenny," my psychology tutor called out. "Excellent job today. Whatever new thing you tried out last night, shouldn't leave your time table." I smiled, before replying.

"Nothing new, Mrs. Hendricks," I said. "It's just, someone I talked to......"

I moved out of the lecture room without giving her a chance to ask questions. I saw her grin from the corner of my eye as I closed the door behind me. I couldn't wait to get home and prepare to meet Paul.

I took an Uber and was there in a few minutes. Since my classes ended at 5:00pm, I had enough time to have a snack and get ready for my date at 7:00pm.

I opened my wardrobe and stood, as my eyes searched for the right thing to wear. I first picked out a sky blue dress and tried it on. No, this looks too serious a look, for a walk. I thought.
I pulled it off my body and picked out a white short skirt, pairing it with a a black sleeveless top. Too much skin to show!

I was starting to get frustrated, I didn't know what to wear. I scrapped off that collection too and sat on my bed, in agony.
As my eyes looked again, a pair of black ripped jeans caught my eye. I got up and went back to the wardrobe, picking them out. I decided to combine them with a red chiffon blouse. When I looked at my dressed reflection in the mirror, I felt comfortable. Simple but pretty!
I nodded, in agreement with my thoughts.

Hadn't it been for the alarm I had set, I would have spent more than time on choosing clothes.

"Twenty minutes to 7," I gasped. How did time move so fast? To complete my look, I painted my lips a light shade of red. I picked the purse from the bed and looked at my reflection in the mirror one last time, before walking out of the room.
I made sure to lock the house, otherwise I'd be in trouble with Rose.

I can't say that it was the kind of date that one would think of. We took a simple stroll through the streets.

I was able to find out that his apartment wasn't very far from my house. He had texted me the address. It was about two kilometers from our house. I guess that's why he opted for a walk. I thought.

I still remember how fast my heart beat when I saw him.