TIME TO SHINE

"Oh!" Zoe blurted out as she yawned and stretched her sore arms. "Gosh, it really hurts!" 

She remembered how she fought through the stormy waves a few days ago and tried to be Aquawoman only to be treated harshly by that ungrateful lady. 

She screwed up her eyes as sun rays blinded her. "Oh well, I will just enjoy this second day!" she exclaimed in a sing-song voice. 

"That's more I like it." Zoe declared as she danced to the melody played on her phone while brushing her teeth. 

As she was doing so, her music stopped as her phone began to ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, girl. I got great news for you! You remember Brightstars?"

"Wait, hold on. Erin?"

"Yeah. How's my girl's first day at Lord Howe Island?" 

"Can you call me again? I'll be done in a few minutes." She immediately drops the phone. 

It's not that she hates talking to her. But her mood went off after she heard of the word 'Brightstars.'

After washing herself, she went out and had brunch at the nearby cafe. Zoe was amid her breakfast when her phone rang again.

"As you were saying?" She asked in a cold but teasing tone.

Erin is her closest friend since college. They went to the same school during their high school days. But they grew close when both of them decided to board a dormitory at a university in Australia. 

After studying medicine, Zoe stayed for three more years to finish her MHA. While Erin has already gone back to Singapore, their homeland. 

They haven't been in touch since then.

"I have good news for you! We will host our high school alumni soon. I figured why not accommodate it at Lord Howe Island? So I decided to call up the head of our alumni association and suggested it." 

"And?" Zoe raised her eyebrow with her lip curving downward. But deep inside, she was asking her, 'how can this be good news?'

"Of course, they love the idea! This is Erin, duh?" Erin tittered at the other end of the line, obviously proud of herself for being a great influencer. 

"Am I really ready to finally face them after fifteen years?" Zoe sighed as she thought out loud.

Their school regularly holds an annual reunion since they graduated. Zoe has been refusing each time. No matter what Erin proposed to convince her, she always responded that she's busy, or she's unavailable. 

However, the major reason she's been skipping their reunions was that she craved to reach the highest position she could accomplish first before meeting with them. She wished to show them what this orphan has achieved. Especially Savannah and her supporters.

As she contemplated it, she realized that she may not have reached the highest yet, but she is way beyond who she was before. It may be too early but she doesn't know when an opportunity will come knocking at her door like this. 

"Let's get it on!" Zoe yelped before she chomped on her burger. 

"Way to go! That's the Zoe I know!" Erin cheered her on.

"So how's my girl's first day at Lord Howe Island?" Erin kicked off, with an enormous smile on her face. It was her who encouraged her to have a break and let herself loose even just for a week.

While Zoe was busy studying hard to earn the highest academic record grades and credits, Erin was island hopping during the week out. Her most favorite part is Lord Howe Island. 

"So - so," Zoe replied as she guzzled her bacon and egg with her favorite matcha tea as if someone was after her. 

"Can I order this Angus beef burger, please?" She spoke to the waiter as she wiped her lips with finesse. 

"Haha! You're still a glutton queen!" Erin laughed at the other end of the line. 

She knew Zoe's appetite as she knew her calendar. She would munch on everything she lay her hands on, especially after she had a tough time, their major exams for instance. 

"So, you already met a hunk?" she added as Zoe was savoring her dish. 

Zoe choked and coughed hard at the mention of the word "hunk". She was reminded of the lifeguard and how attractive his physique is, with his boy band face and a Baywatch body. 

"Was that a yes?" Erin poked around. "I knew it! The high and mighty Zoe finally had a man! Tell me what happened. No way you were together until past midnight!"

Zoe coughed harder, grabbing a glass of water near her. She recalled how they got physically intimate last night. Intimate in the sense that she hasn't been that close with any guy for a long time.

"I-It's not what you expect it is." Zoe finally spoke up after some time of coughing.

"Don't get too worked up. Promise, I won't get surprised when I catch you making out with your hunk boyfriend there." Erin teased her, knowing Zoe would seethe in anger.

"Erin! It's not even on my to-do list!" Zoe shouted out at her colleague. The people beside her who were eating also at the cafe froze at her sudden reaction. 

Zoe smiled at them while putting her hair back at her ear and raising her shoulders.

Having a boyfriend is the farthest thing from her mind. She's not ready to open up her heart to anyone who will just leave her alone in the end, whether intentionally or not, like her parents did.

"Don't let me see you later or you won't get out of this isle alive!" Zoe hissed in a whisper, contrary to her demure actions in front of the public.

Erin laughed at her own joke. She was right. She still couldn't believe her friend has never had a man in her life for decades. Lord Howe Island indeed is a lovely place.