Friends and Other Ghosts

Iyana got out of the car and walked into Sikap.

She looked around.

Much of what made the place cozy was still there—wooden slats in the center, green booths and tables tucked into corners, each set up for a hot pot. The only new thing was the paintings on the wall. She spotted her two friends in the first corner booth. Solen saw her first. She now had a short bob cut. Azalea was slimmer. They stood up and hugged her. They bantered, ordered food, talked about old times, and laughed. 

"I miss this place," Iyana said, almost to herself

"It's been two years since I came here," Solen said. "Law school was hell."

Iyana smiled at her.

"Congrats on passing the bar exam, Attorney."

"Thanks, my love. Still a long way to go."

"I was here months ago, with my mother-in-law," Azalea said, then savored the soup. 

She looked at Iyana, then pouted.

"Iya, don't go away anymore, alright?"

"I'll be working at the Institute in a few months," Iyana said, smiling.

Alexa grinned.

"Tsk, well done!"

"Hmm. With your educational background, you'd definitely get in," Solen said.

"Thank you," Iyana said. "It just so happens they need a few people for material science."

"Iya," Azalea paused as she picked up a sweet potato fry, "have you seen the school's alumni page? They took pictures of you earlier." She chewed.

Iyana raised her brows. She never visited the page. 

"In case you forgot, weren't you the legendary campus belle who shut down critics when they said the engineering department was full of ugly people?" Azalea said, laughing. 

Solen laughed too. 

"It still doesn't erase the fact that people find more… dull faces there."

Ah. Iyana remembered now. 

She had participated in the school's beauty contest. A comedic version of it. They had questions like... If you had to choose any part of your body to pee from, what would it be and why? Or if you're going to die tomorrow, why can't it be now? She'd already forgotten what her answers were. But she won.She smirked, shaking her head.

"I called Jarius to come over," Solen said. "I don't know what's taking him so long."

Iyana dropped a skewer of raw chicken into the pot.

"He's having fun," she said. "I've seen clips of his shows."

"He's rising in fashion design," Azalea said. "Lyron was at his last show."

The steak hissed softly as Iyana flipped it.

"Hmm." 

The air turned silent.

Like her friends, the mood had changed.

"I don't believe the rumors. Him and Raena," Azalea said slowly.

Iyana curved her lips, just slightly.

"Back then, were you really just friends?" Azalea asked, lowering her voice.

"What's wrong with just friends?" Iyana answered.

She glanced at Azalea and smiled. Then she lifted the skewer onto her plate.

"Really," Solen drawled, watching her. "I thought there was something."

Iyana just kept chewing.

Azalea snorted. 

"Raena ran to him the moment you left," she said. "Chasing him like a fool. He's not into her. At all." She snorted again. "Yeah, she's showing up everywhere he's been. She's not letting go now that he's got a music company. Plus the idea of Gosuico. I don't think his family will like her."

Iyana thought about Madam.

"She was always in the background," Solen said. "You didn't see this coming?"

Iyana's shoulders shifted. "You're overthinking it. I have a—"

"Jar!"

Azalea called out.

A young man approached their table, dressed in pink from his shorts to his fitted shirt.

It was Jarius Alexis Izrael.

"You all look like you're deep in some juicy stuff," he said with a laugh.

Azalea rolled her eyes. 

"It's Raena Steffani Suing."

"Raena, sure, has guts. I admire her," Jarius chuckled. 

Then he turned to Iyana. 

"My girl, you're still devastatingly beautiful. So what's Europe really like? You've been quiet all these years. I'm starting to think there's a foreign boyfriend over there."

He sat beside Solen, as Iyana laughed.

"Lab hours are insane," Iyana replied. "I'm just fine being your silent fan."

Jarius laughed too.

"Yeah, I visit your feed sometimes."

"Are you alone?" Azalea asked Jarius. "Where's the boyfriend?"

Jarius explained that his boyfriend was on duty and wouldn't be free until after midnight. He worked as a doctor at the capital's biggest private hospital—Maleyan Medical Center. He showed Iyana a picture of him. She smiled. Handsome. Broad shoulders. Very fit. The type who probably went to the gym religiously.

"Good job, Jarry," Solen said, nudging his arm. "You managed to snatch one of MMC's handsome doctors."

A light banter about epic fashion mishaps followed.

Azalea gasped.

"It's Raena," she said in a hushed voice.

Iyana followed Azalea's gaze. She froze—then calmly looked away. She took the skewer of chicken onto her plate. Her face gave nothing away as she began forking the chicken, but she still felt Solen's gaze as she dipped it into the sauce.

"Are they really together?" Azalea asked.

"She's seen us," Jarius said. "She's coming."

Iyana looked up.

Raena's skin was paler now, her hair long and straight. 

Still beautiful. 

Still acting.

"Hello," Raena said as she approached their table, smiling.

The group only mumbled a greeting.

Then she turned to Iyana. 

"Ooooh, Iya's here."

Her voice pitched just a touch too high. 

Iyana gave a slow smile as she chewed, deliberately finishing before she responded. 

"Hi, Raena."

"When did you come back?" Raena asked, still smiling.

"A few days ago."

"I see," Raena replied, her smile dimming. "You've finished your master's in… what is it again?"

"Materials science. More about nanomaterials."

There was a flicker in Raena's eyes. 

"You're still very pretty," she said. "Shame your face is wasted in a lab."

Iyana's lips curved slightly.

"The face is just a bonus, Rae."

Raena let out a light laugh—strained, this time—then turned to the others.

"We'd love to stay and catch up, really—but Ron's here for an important person." 

She glanced back, then offered them a quick, brittle smile.

"Who's Lyron talking to?" Jarius asked.

"That man's a sound expert," Raena said. "We need him for production."

"Then that looks like a deal to me," Solen quipped.

Raena glanced back again.

"A lot want exclusive contracts with him."

Then she smirked at Iyana, then glanced around at everyone again.

"Anyway, nice seeing you all."

She walked off.

"She's something else," Azalea said, smug. "What was that tone? They're not even together."

"We don't know that," Solen said.

"I don't believe it."

Iyana chewed silently, her gaze drifting back to the hot pot. Earlier, when she followed Azalea's gaze, she had seen Lyron near the entrance. Half-turned, speaking to another man. She wasn't sure if he had seen her. But now, he might. Raena would tell him.

She glanced at the entrance.

He was gone.

The conversation shifted to Jarius's new fashion shows and his recent travels. Azalea said she'd quit her job to focus on live-streaming her cooking and pastry work. Solen was job-hunting at corporate firms. When they asked about her work at the Institute, she went technical. Iyana's eyes followed the backs of a man and a woman as they walked out the entrance.

Half of her mind spoke in silicon and circuits. 

The other half felt hollow.