Chapter 2

Alessa yawned while looking at some records of the patients. Before going home, she fixed all the things that needed to be fixed. She glanced at the wristwatch to check the time. It was half past seven. Alessa stood up to fix some messes at her station.

“Bea, let’s go home together,” Alessa said to her friend, who was holding a chart and a tray. Bea had just arrived from the ward.

“All right. You should also ask Timothy because he seems to have said earlier that he will also go with us.”

“Okay,” Alessa answered, then went to the other side of the room and approached Timothy, who was busy typing in front of the computer. “Will you go home together with us?” Alessa asked him.

“Ah, yes. But is it okay if I just finish this first?”

Alessa looked at what Timothy was doing, then shook her head. “Great! I thought Mia would finish it?”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it. That girl didn’t come in. She doesn’t know how much she is giving us a hard time here.”

“Well, you’re right. Anyway, Bea and I will just wait for you. I’m just going to fix some stuff at my station,” Alessa said, then went back to her previous place and arranged her things. She looked back at Timothy, who was already holding his neck and looked tired. Timothy was fixing the records of children who had food poisoning. It was something actually assigned to Mia, but since she got sick and didn’t come in for a few days, Timothy needed to take care of it. It was good that Timothy had a lot of patience. Bea, Timothy, and Mia had been Alessa’s best friends ever since Elijah left. They were companions since they were studying together until they found work as nurses.

“So, what happened to your childhood friend who had an accident? What’s his name again? Elijah?” Bea asked as they ate street food on the corner near the hospital they were working at.

“Yes.” Alessa swallowed the fish ball she was eating before speaking, “I don’t have any news, but that’s it, Elijah is coming home,” she said, then drank some orange juice.

“What kind of accident happened?” asked Timothy.

“Mom said that the car crashed, but you know, something seems wrong, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“As far as I know, he’s an excellent driver. We are friends on social media, and I am updated on the things he is doing. Car racing is his favorite hobby in the United States, and he crashed himself during car racing?” Alessa said, then took a bite of what she was eating.

“So being a car racer is not allowed to have an accident? Isn’t he prone to accidents?” said Timothy. “Besides, if he was rash in driving, he would really have an accident.”

“He’s right!” Bea agreed.

“You guys are terrible. I mean, shouldn’t he know what to do when driving because he’s already used to it, right?”

“Alessa, car racers like your childhood friend know only one thing, to win the race, and how do they win? When they drive fast,” said Timothy again.

“It’s not like that… well, never mind.” Alessa didn’t want to believe what her friends believed. It seemed impossible to her that what happened to Elijah was true. Something seemed wrong.

***

“Alessa, what time are you coming home tomorrow?” Alessa’s mother asked her while they were eating dinner.

“Same as before, Mom,” Alessa answered. She usually got home before nine o’clock. She looked at her parents, who just continued eating. “Why?”

Her father dropped the cutlery he was holding and looked at her. “Because Mrs. Villaruiz will come home early.”

“Actually, they are already on the flight at this time. I think the plane will land here early in the morning,” her mother continued.

Alessa swallowed what she was eating and gulped water. “You mean Elijah is going home? Here in the mansion? As in here?” she asked in surprise. She didn’t expect them to come home sooner.

“Yes, Alessa, and of course, I want you to be here when they finally arrive. I will introduce you,” her mother said.

Alessa smiled, “Mom, Mrs. Villaruiz knows me.”

“Yes, but I will introduce you to something else now as a nurse.” It was obvious from her parents’ faces that they were very proud of what Alessa had achieved now that she had finished school.

“Mom! I don’t think that’s necessary because they know that I’m already a nurse, and, of course, it’s with their help. They are also my friends on Facebook. They already know me.”

It surprised Alessa when her father patted her hand. “Alessa, we should still thank them personally, right?” he said.

Alessa just laughed at the thought. “I don’t know if I will be able to go home early, but I will try, but I don’t promise,” she said, then winked at her parents.

That night, even though Alessa was tired from working at the hospital, she couldn’t sleep early because she had a strange feeling. She wanted to sleep, but her heart seemed so excited that she didn’t know the reason why.

She didn’t know how to deal with her old friend Elijah. Elijah was very kind back then and always taught Alessa some of their school stuff. When he also had free time, he accompanied her for a walk when she wanted to get some fresh air. Alessa thought that if he was still like before, she wouldn’t have a hard time making friends with him again. She didn’t pay too much attention to Elijah’s social media because maybe he didn’t remember her anymore. She always reacted to his posts, and because he was handsome, he had many followers, and Alessa knew that he might not notice her. But even so, she didn’t lose hope that he might still remember her.

She just smiled when she remembered what he used to call her. He was the only one who used to call her that word.

“Bubble,” she said, hugging the pillow. She smiled because Elijah called her Bubble when they played with bubbles while they were washing his father’s car. “I hope you still remember me, Elijah,” she said before closing her eyes and trying to sleep.