Friends

Upon hearing that, Angela and Casa zipped their mouths. Lei felt like the world crashed on her— as if her ability to make the first two potential friends suddenly vanished the moment those words escaped her lips. She kept her eyes on the picnic blanket and pursed her lips, unable to say anything more. She closed her eyes hoping that the ground would eat her alive. ‘I messed it up.’ She whispered.

There was silence, a haunting one. And she knew that to be able to bring back the melody in the room, she had to raise her head and look at them in the eye— and speak. She breathed once, and then shifted her viridescent eyes to the two women before her.

At first, she thought she would be met by judging stares— but she was wrong.

They looked at her with a concerned frown, one that said they wanted to know more about why it happened.

“You must have a reason for doing it, right?” Casa took her hand in her palm.

Cateleia’s throat was dry and her stomach was tightening. She was not used to tha