Close

His eyes moved from sheet to sheet pasted there, reading their contents and seeing the purpose they served. Momentarily he halted on quotes and drawings which were giving a beautiful look to the board. "Who drew them?" he asked.

Layla turned her head to see what he was doing, "They were already on the board. We just rearranged them and a few are from the art & craft club." He nodded in understanding. He could see the traces of being old on them.

Then, his eyes stopped on a sheet with the title "List of events". He started reading it.

The information on it was divided on the basis of months. It was well arranged and written with dates too. August, October, November… in November, one particular occasion attracted his attention. 'Hmm, it shouldn't be an event.'

"Is your birthday some sort of event?" He directed his question at Layla.

"No, why?" she replied in confusion. 'At least it's not an event for us.'

"It's written here."

"What!" She stood up to confirm with her own eyes. 'Why would Lani add it unless…',

"Ryan!!! Is it your doing?"

"It's easier to remember this way." Ryan shrugged.

"You dare to forget" she narrowed her eyes, "If you are so forgetful then set a reminder on your phone. There's no need to put it on display?"

"Right… but I don't want to buy a present on the same day as your birthday."

'Then ask your mother, idiot.' She pulled a bookmark. It was a newly bought beautiful bookmark. Its border was covered with a pattern of green leaves and had a blank space in the middle allowing the owner to write anything as per desire.

She wrote her name and birth date on it and gave it to Ryan. "Now, you won't forget anymore." She had a proud look on her face.

"..." He was speechless. Isn't she creating more trouble like this. He looked at her. Her eyes were saying 'you can take care of any trouble.' He sighed while putting it away. He really had no idea that she actually bought it for him in the first place.

Meanwhile, the guy who was completely ignored by them was looking at them silently. Seeing them banter like this, he could clearly tell that they were close, in fact, they seem to be very close. 'They are close but do not… look like a couple. They aren't like mom and dad nor like Caleb and Opal.' But somewhere in his heart, he didn't like this ambiguity.

…...

After all the classes, they returned to their room crashing with their beds and enjoying the softness of the mattress.

After filling their tummies, they started getting busy with their respective tasks.

Layla took out her notebooks and started doing her homework.

"You are doing it early today," Lani commented.

"Hmm. My evening is not so free. So, I'm trying to finish as much as I can at this moment." She replied seriously.

Meanwhile, Opal was having a battle in her mind. She was confused about what she should wear in the evening.

"Opal!! Opal!!... Rich lady, are you listening? " Lani tapped on her shoulder.

Opal was startled. Surprised, she asked, "…Huh… you were saying something."

"I called you a few times yet you didn't answer. Where were you lost?" As soon as she finished asking, she turned her head in the direction of scattered pieces of clothes on the bed. "Didn't you put them away yesterday?"

"Y-yeah." Opal replied embarrassedly.

'Huh, why does she...wait, is she planning to go on a date?' Her eyes widened at her own thoughts. "Are you having some… kind of trouble?" She asked, not sure how she should pose her question.

This even made Layla turn to them.

"It's not like that." Opal was a little hesitant to answer honestly. It was not that she was doing something embarrassing but she didn't want any unnecessary trouble in any way.

"You are planning to go somewhere…?" Layla asked.

"yeah" Opal was scratching her cheek with her forefinger.

"Hmm… So what's the problem?"

"I-I'm just… confused about what to wear."

"We can help you. Even if Layla can't, I definitely can." Lani said confidently, fully proud of her taste in dresses. "So, let us know the occasion, I'll select accordingly."

"Umm… that…" Opal's cheeks had a hint of redness. Seeing this, Layla and Lani both looked at each other 'Are you thinking what I'm thinking…'.

"Are you… are you going to—"

"I am meeting Caleb." Opal replied even before Lani could finish asking. 'It's better to say as they seem not to give up on this topic.'

"Your boyfriend?" Layla asked straightforwardly.

She nodded.

"It was an open secret." Layla commented wondering as to why she was taking this much time even when she already pointed the other day.

"..." Okay, you are an expert.

"So…"

"We decided to explore this part of the city." Now, she admitted to them it was easy for her to talk. She shouldn't have taken time as she was sure that her family is well aware of her activities.

"Hmm, okay I'll help you. Let's look at what you have in the closet." Lani said excitedly as it was her who was going on a date.

After some deliberation, she made Opal put away some dresses which she thought may not be good to walk around. She wanted to find some more but when she saw her overloaded closet she gave up on the idea and decided to focus on the current task.

After discussing whether she wanted to wear a dress or a top which was answered as s dress by Opal, Lani selected a printed dress in cool colors with small sleeves, "Since you will roam around I guess this will be good, not too tight, not loose. And, it will look good with sneakers too.

So, what kind of handbag are you taking with you?" After that, they decided to look at her bag collection. They settled with a canteen bag which was adorned with a bow and was matching perfectly with her dress.

While both the girls were busy exploring each other's knowledge and taste in clothes, Layla resumed her work and didn't comment. She was well aware of Lani's taste; thus, she didn't need to interfere or do something.

When they finished their mission, Layla suddenly tossed a question to Opal. "So, what else do you plan?"

"You want to know more?"

"Of course, beauty is the center of the conversation." Layla teased her cheekily.

"Well… you can suggest some places if you want?" she asked, laughing lightly.

"I have an answer for this." Lani excitedly butted in. "Oh, by the way, what time are you leaving?"

When Opal was ready to leave, she heard their voices from behind giving her genuine advice. Her lips curved into a beautiful smile. She never thought that her roommates would turn out to be like this: friendly and non-pretentious, in short, a blessing. 'I'm lucky.'