13

Early in the morning, he was already gone. He didn't have time to take her to school, leaving her unenthusiastic for the rest of the day. Even when the class was bustling, the news that it was empty couldn't pique her interest. Normally, she would be the most enthusiastic, immediately heading to the canteen or the field to watch the boys play basketball. But now, she chose to stay in the classroom, staring at her phone, looking at her chat with him.

Salvia had been sending messages to him since morning, and she was still waiting for a reply. But there were no signs that he would respond. She didn't know if it was because he was so busy or because his phone had run out of battery.

What was clear was that Salvia was confused when she saw the single tick on the chat application. To be honest, she wanted to call him directly, but she was afraid of bothering him. She remembered his words that night and knew she had to be understanding. He was busy with work, and she needed to be patient and wait for him to call back. She had agreed to this, but she didn't realize how much she would miss him.

"Salvia!"

A reprimand, accompanied by laughter, jolted her out of her daydream.

The reprimand made her reflexively turn her head and cast a protesting gaze at the figure standing beside her table. The annoying thing was that she didn't feel guilty at all for giving her a near heart attack. Instead, she got a lazy roll of her eyes.

"What the hell, Mar!" Salvia felt annoyed at being disturbed.

Salvia didn't respond immediately. She first took another deep breath before expressing how upset she felt about not hearing any news from him.

"Do you seriously have a crush on your uncle?"

Salvia nodded in response to Amara's question, who already knew everything. From the beginning, Salvia had confided in her about her feelings for Devan, which had surprised Amara. She even called Salvia crazy. But Salvia felt it was a natural thing. She liked the opposite sex, not other women. There was nothing crazy about that. Still, Amara shook her head without thinking.

"Why does it have to be your uncle, Sal?"

"There are plenty of guys our age who really like you. Lots of them openly pursue you," Amara pointed out. But Salvia never paid them any attention. She always talked about her uncle, whom she thought was so handsome. That's when Amara realized her friend had a thing for older men.

"My uncle is still young, Mar."

"Still, he's your uncle, and he's older than us," Amara retorted quickly.

"Yes, but just so you know, older men are cuter," Salvia said, her mind imagining Devan's handsome and amazing figure.

Especially when he groaned because of her playful touches. Salvia wished she could see it again. If possible, she wanted even more than what she had been enjoying lately. Just thinking about it was enough to make Salvia blush and let out a small growl.Missing him had already been torturous, and it only grew more painful as the days passed. Tonight, she would be home alone. Well, except for the household assistants. But still, Salvia couldn't shake the loneliness.

Having grown accustomed to his presence by her side every night, she felt utterly lost. Especially knowing that there wouldn't be anyone to pamper her breasts tonight or for the next week.

Salvia just wanted to catch up with Devan. He was really getting on her nerves. The next day was a school holiday, and Salvia wondered what she would do without him. She was sure that her day would be incredibly boring.

"Is it because he's adorable or just because an older man can please you?" Amara teased openly, making Salvia's smooth, white cheeks flush red. Amara's snort showed that she was satisfied with her correct guess.

They weren't exactly the innocent high school girls one might expect. Neither Salvia nor Amara was the type to spend all their time studying and heading home on time. Their lives could be described as quite free. They could go wherever they wanted, do whatever they pleased, and come home whenever they liked.

Clubbing was nothing new for them, even though they were only in their early teens. They could still get into nightclubs because the club Salvia and Amara frequented belonged to Amara's own cousin.

Despite their freedom, Amara and Salvia each have their own boundaries when it comes to mischief. They don't know what alcoholic drinks taste like, and they've never engaged in casual sex, despite what society might assume about young women in clubs.

For them, the club is simply a place to enjoy the music and let loose. It's where they can scream and dance freely, without any of the other implications people might associate with such places.

They freely contort their bodies and jump to the songs played by the DJ, without anyone feeling disturbed. There's nothing excessive about this, but now Amara isn't so sure about her friend. She's beginning to doubt whether Salvia is still untouched, given her friend's increasingly suspicious behavior.

"Honestly, what have you done with your uncle?" Amara asked with a serious expression.

Her body, once upright, now leaned as Salvia slowly moved her head away to escape her best friend's intense curiosity.

"Can you just ask normally, Mar?" Salvia huffed, feeling uncomfortable with their close proximity.

"Call me Ara or Mara. Just not Mar. I don't like it," Amara replied.

"I don't care!" Salvia retorted, pushing Amara's face away because the closeness was really uncomfortable. Salvia didn't feel intimidated, but she would be embarrassed if anyone saw them like this. Rumors about them being lesbians had already spread throughout the school, which she found ridiculous.

"Arghh, Salvia! Your hands are so dirty!" Amara exclaimed, protesting what her friend had done. She immediately pulled out a mirror from her uniform pocket to check if her face might be contaminated with bacteria from Salvia's hands.

"My hands are clean," Salvia protested, showing her palm.

"Clean doesn't guarantee freedom from germs!" Amara retorted.

"You're so annoying!" Salvia said, rolling her eyes. She then got up from her seat and walked away, leaving Amara behind. Her stomach was rumbling, and she figured the canteen was the right place to go. Thinking about Devan wouldn't fill her up, which only made Salvia more discouraged as she hadn't received the response she hoped for.