I want to be your friend

"Ava, I'm really sorry for being inconsiderate about your feeling," Jackeline once again apologized. Ava who was entertaining her thought finally paid attention to Jackeline. Her lips curled upward to reveal her neatly arranged teeth. Her smile was plain but enough to tell Jackeline that she shouldn't blame herself.

Jackeline wanted to say some more to comfort Ava but the sudden sound of knocks interrupted her. Soon, a female student opened the door from outside. Her head was the first to be seen and when she received a signal from Jackeline to enter, her small frame finally walked into the room.

"Miss Jackeline, I'm here as promised," the girl's voice was soft and gentle. A contrast to her appearance of having short curly black hair and high arched brow. After telling the reason she came, the girl looked around and immediately caught the sight of Ava, drawing a friendly smile on her face.

Ava's attention was also drawn toward the girl who just entered the room. They exchanged looks and smiles.

"Lenny, why are you here?" Jackeline stared at the girl who seemed to have some sort of silent communication with Ava.

Lenny, the girl with curly hair giggled before explaining her purpose of coming to Jackeline's office. "Miss Jackeline, yesterday's evening, you instructed me to come to your office at this very hour,"

Upon hearing her explanation, Jackeline's eyes automatically stared at the clock hanging on her office's wall. A crease was formed on her forehead as she was thinking about something. Then with an 'aha!' she snapped her fingers.

"Lenny! Yes, I did. Like this, this is Ava, she will be your roommate from now on, so, I want you to show and tell her everything that's needed. Is that okay?" she explained. One of her eyebrows seemed to lift upward as she waited for Lenny to respond.

Lenny's face seemed to brighten once she knew who Ava was. She was the roommate that she had been waiting for.

"You're finally here! Miss Jackeline, can I escort her to our room now?" Lenny was in high spirits. And similar to how she looked at the moment, her voice was heavily loaded with happiness. She ran towards Ava and took her hand.

Ava was startled but somehow she liked the girl who claimed that she was her roommate. She let her held her hand and followed her act of staring toward Miss Jackeline.

Seeing the two staring at her with anticipation. Miss Jackeline finally agreed to let them go.

"Yippee! Ava, let's go!" Lenny was overly excited. She can't wait to show Ava their room.

"Wait, Miss Jackeline, I hope to talk more about my mother with you," Ava said with a hopeful tone. When Jackeline approved. She whispered a 'thank you,' before following Lenny's fast pace towards their room.

They walked for twenty-five minutes before they reached their dormitory. Ava was awed by what she saw. The dormitory was huge to occupy only two people.

"Hehe, this is how all the dormitories look in this institution. By the way, why did you registered late and what with all these bruises?" Lenny jumped to her bed after asking the question. Her lips showed Ava her bed which just across hers.

"I lost my cat and the searched made me look like this," Ava made up a lie.

"I see. Did you find your cat?" she asked apologetically.

"No. We were fated to separate," Ava replied. She smiled at Lenny telling her that she was okay.

"I'm sorry for your cat," she said and continued:

"I thought you would be late only for a day since your stuff is already unpacked and arranged inside your locker. Moreover, you chose the bed earlier than me," she pouted, unsatisfied with how things had been the day she entered the dormitory.

"But, it's all good. I'm happy you're here. Oh! Let me introduce myself. I'm Lenny," Lenny jumped out of her bed and walked to Ava. Her hand was reaching out for a handshake.

Ava giggled as she accepted Lenny's handshake. "Thank you. I'm Ava," she said. Somehow, Zen popped in her mind. The scene of their first meeting played out like a movie.

"Alright, I have no schedule today and you too have none, so let's play truth or dare until dinner time. But, I only want the truth!" Lenny proposed. She took out a box from the drawer next to her bed. Inside was two dices.

Ava frowned, confused by Lenny's sudden proposal.

"I want to be your friend. So, I don't want to hide anything!" Lenny spoke. Her eyes brimmed with sincerity.

"I know, some friend stabbed behind your back. That's why I want to be honest with you. If you're afraid to speak your secret, I will not force you. But, I will not lie!" Lenny's eyes widen as she pursed her lips. She was standing in front of Ava with the box in her hand.

Ava was startled. She looked at Lenny who was looking at her enthusiastically. Then, after some time, she chuckled. Lenny was too funny. Inside her mind, the only word repeated was 'please, please, please'.

"Alright!" Ava finally agreed.

Lenny shrieked in excitement. 'Can I?' she mimicked the words to ask permission to sit on Ava's bed. The moment Ava said yes, she was already on the bed and ready to explain the rule. Their game was simple. Shake the box and guess the total number shown on the dices (by adding them up).

"I'll start," Lenny took the box and shook it.

"12!" she predicted. Ava removed the box's seal and revealed the numbers inside. Surprisingly, Lenny's prediction was correct.

"Yay! Okay, now ask me the question," Lenny fidgeted, nervous to know the topic Ava was going to ask. However, she was excited at the same time.

"Why do you want to be my friend?" Ava asked. Her face was innocently looking at Lenny.

"Because I don't have one. I'm the heiress of the biggest computer chain in our country. People are either afraid to be my friend or only taking advantage of me," Lenny sulked as she explained the reason.

Ava nodded and took the box from Lenny's hand. When Lenny refused to surrender the box, she looked up, only to see her frowning in dismay.

"My turn," Ava pointed toward the box. Lenny was startled and freed the box from her grasp.

"Ava, mind if I ask. Do you not know me?" she asked.

"Hmm?" Ava tilted her head. She was wondering why Lenny asked such a question.

"How about the F-Gen Corporation?" she asked another. "No, I don't," Ava answered while her fingers were playing with the dices.

Lenny was amused. Then, she laughed until tears came out from her eyes.

"I really want to be your friend," Lenny exclaimed. She really did. This was the first time someone actually willing to talk to her without knowing her background. Ava could only smile and begin to shake the box.

"7," she guessed. Lenny excitedly removed the seal only to be disappointed to see an even number: number 10. Ava sneered, "The wrong choice," she said.

"Hmm, not fair. I want to know about you too," Lenny sulked. She really had a lot of questions to ask Ava.

"Well, to be honest, we just need to ask each other. If we play this game then the probability of us to guess correctly is low," Ava giggled as she pointed the truth. Lenny gasped for she had forgotten that she might also guess wrong when it was her turn.

"You're right!" she sighed as she let her body slammed on the soft, comfortable bed. "But, I want to know about you!" she complained. "And, I really want to be your friend!" her voice wasn't loud but enough to reach Ava's ears.

"Then, let's befriend. Later, we'll tell each other stories," Ava spoke. Lenny who was lying on the bed immediately returned to her sitting position.

"Really?" she asked. Eyes brimming with expectation.

"Yes, pinky promise!" Ava showed her pinky finger.

"Hehe, pinky promise!" Lenny happily entangled her pinky finger with Ava's.

Seeing their promised fingers, Ava couldn't help but remembering Zen. She believed that one day, she would see him. And one day her friendship with him would rekindle. Ava closed her eyes for a while and whispered his name inside her mind. Not realizing that she also said his name out loud!

"Zen? Zen Easton?" Lenny asked.

"Do you know him?" Ava questioned. She was surprised to hear Zen's name coming out from Lenny's lips.

"You talk about Zen just now? Zen Easton? I knew him, he was the winner of the Computer Olympiad three years ago. Who is he? Your boyfriend? Where is he now? Can I meet him, I want to ask how did he complete the coding in such a short time," Lenny asked like a series of a bullet being fired away.

"I... did I say his name?" Ava ignored Lenny's curious questions and asked. Lenny nodded. "Loud and clear. You said his name like he was the most precious person to you," she teased by closing her eyes and mentioned Zen's name.

Embarrassed, Ava took the pillow beside her and threw it towards Lenny.

"But really, please, can I meet him?" Lenny was begging. She was really curious about Zen Easton, the genius that won the competition held by her family's company three years ago. However, now, she was even more curious about how Ava knew him. There seemed to be some story behind and she planned to persuade Ava to tell her.

Lenny's grin widened as Ava's frowned deepened.

"I will not tell you anything," Ava said, getting rid of the thought that was growing inside Lenny's mind.

"Eeekk, how did you know?" Lenny touched her face, pretending to be shy.

"I have a gift to read your mind," Ava joked the truth. Lenny returned the pillow to Ava and jeered at her. Soon, both were laughing away at their own antics.

"So, friend?" Lenny cocked her head to one side as her eyes that contained joy looked at Ava.

"Friend!" Ava smiled. She knew Lenny was a kind person, one who wished for nothing but simply to become someone else's friend.

Unknown to them, soon they would become the talk of the institution for their excellent academic and co-academic achievements. Not only that, their relationship which solely based on the need of having a friend had become thick as thieves.

Over the years, they grew up to become independent women, weaving the path towards their own goals but whenever one needed a shoulder to cry on, they would be there for each other.