In a small apartment, two friends, Alody and Jasmin, were having a cozy evening filled with delightful aromas and laughter. Alody had proudly prepared her famous chicken adobo, a dish she had perfected over the years. The rice was steaming, and the savory scent of soy sauce and garlic wafted through the air.
Jasmin, sat at the table, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. "That is so tasty with rice, and because I've stayed here for two years, I will never forget my favorite dish here, Alody..." She scooped a generous portion onto her plate, her fork eagerly diving into the rich dark sauce.
Alody watched with joy as Jasmin savored her dish. "Told you that most foreigners love adobo! It's my favorite too," she said, plopping down in front of her own steaming plate.
"Hmmm..." Jasmin's eyes closed in bliss, "I could say it's delicious! Sometimes, I want to share this with my brother. He's never had a dish like this."
"I'm sure if you cook it for him, he'll love it!" Alody encouraged, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.
Jasmin huffed, a pout forming on her lips. "Although he always has a better job than me, it's probably because I have this arithmetic problem. I'm terrible at math, and people think I'm crazy for talking to my illusions..."
"Hey, you're not crazy!" Alody exclaimed, waving her fork dramatically. "That's just what others think. Who says having a lively imagination is a bad thing?"
"I think you might be right... Maybe someday people will realize that my personality is just fine," Jasmin mused, a hint of optimism creeping into her voice.
Alody bit her lip, trying to suppress a grin. "Anyway, did you bring some beer? Because I really want to drink right now, I'm so pissed off, and I could use a little happiness in a bottle."
"I have some right here!" Alody announced, standing up to fetch a jug hidden in the corner. She brought it to the table with a flourish.
Jasmin's curiosity piqued as she leaned in to examine the jug. "So, what is this called in the beer you put?"
"Red Horse," Alody replied with a cheeky smile.
"What the?! Are we drinking some horse blood in there?!" Jasmin gasped, her eyes wide in exaggerated horror.
Alody burst out laughing, her laughter ringing within the small apartment. "No! It's just the name of the beer brand. You have to taste it, I promise it's delicious."
Jasmin giggled, relief washing over her. "I see. Maybe it'll taste good after all!" She lifted the jug and took a hearty swig.
Her eyes lit up as she swallowed. "Wow! This is actually good! How have I missed this magical potion all this time?"
Alody chuckled, pleased to see Jasmin so animated. "You're a true Filipina now, my friend! Adobo and Red Horse—what could be better?"
Jasmin looked at her friend, raising the jug like a trophy. "Next time, I'm bringing my brother to try this. He'll talk to his illusions too, I'm sure!"
"Perfect! We'll start a club!" Alody laughed, lifting her own plate of adobo. "And we'll call it 'The Imaginary Circle.'"
Walter hunched over his worn duffel bag, meticulously folding shirts and rolling underwear with practiced efficiency. Each item slipped inside the bag accompanied by a rush of memories—snippets of laughter and warmth shared with Jasmin, her voice echoing sweetly in his mind. He had promised to return, but this was a promise that felt heavier than most, given the circumstances that had drawn him away once more.
As he zipped up his bag, he heard the faint creak of the door behind him. He turned to find Sidel standing in the doorway, her brow furrowed and arms crossed defiantly. His heart sank. She was still a child in many ways, rising to the occasion of being adult in the absence of her mother. But seeing her now, he was struck by the realization that he was about to leave her once again.
"Are you leaving right now?" Sidel's voice was sharp, betraying her irritation.
He nodded slowly. "Yes, and this time I have to leave just to see your mother again. I think maybe she was not finding Janina, and I really want to find out what happened to her. I'm just going to help her there..."
"So, is that mean you're going to leave for a while?" Sidel's question hung in the air, thick with unspoken fears.
"Yes, but don't worry because I will come back as possible. Maybe I could stay there for a week. And I'll make sure that someone can take care of you while I'm gone." He tried to sound reassuring, but even he could hear the uncertainty in his words.
"Who is going to take care of me then?" Her voice softened, but there was a tremor of despair woven through her question.
"Of course, I'll assign someone who can take care of you," Walter said, not fully convinced himself.
"Oh please, don't tell me you're going to let me just take care of another woman who has a terrible condition, like my mother," Sidel retorted, eyes wide with disbelief. "That's scary! They keep talking to things or just themselves..."
"Shh! Just give her a little respect," Walter interrupted gently. "At least your mother is trying as hard as she can..."
"Okay, fine. At least Ashton can really take care of me here..." A hint of resignation slipped into her tone, but it was accompanied by an underlying warmth about Ashton's presence.
"Yes, so that's why you need to at least behave, if you can..." Walter felt the weight of his words. He was asking a lot of his young charge, and she was doing her best to adjust to a world that didn't look out for her in the way it should.
Sidel's shoulders drooped. "I just don't want to be alone, Walter," she said quietly, a raw honesty lacing her words. "What if something happens and you don't come back?"
With a sigh, Walter knelt down so that he could meet her gaze directly. "I promise, Sidel, I will come back. It's just for a little while. And when I do, I'll bring something back for you. A surprise, maybe..."
She looked at him, searching for truth behind his assurance. "You promise?"
"I promise," he said, the weight of that promise settling deep in his chest.
As she nodded silently, he stood and gathered his bag once more. The door loomed before him, a threshold to uncertainty and a different kind of chaos. Walter cast one last glance at Sidel, knowing that each step away would be as heavy as the last. Their bond, forged in the fires of hardship, would have to be enough to bridge the distance.
At the mean time, Judith was done cooking some food and she was finally going to eat when she finally saw that her both daughters came in time, but Rafella gives them snack. "So I am just come here to protect them like you told me, Judith..."
"I'm glad that you came here to tell me that and thanks anyway, and you see that sometimes I can handle myself doing the chores I was just scared when some strangers are coming here, and you know I have kids who are too young.." Judith smiled when Rafella come.
"I know you want to protect them so much, I understand how it feels to be a mother sometimes.."
Sabina shows up and hugged Judith. "So, Rafelle was going to stay with us again, Mommy?"
"Of course, it could be happy that we are again with Raff, and we are going to do a lot of things..."
Rafella did scratch her head in disagree "Oh, heck no..."
"Raffella! Don't even just refuse it..."
As Rafella just been started to be irritated and but Sabina and Gerlinda are very happy when they finally knows that she was staying again.
"I know that I could be even happier, and I know that we could do some things that we always like..." Sabina told Judith and very happy. "You could do whatever you want with Rafella, but remember that you always need to behave as well, because she was your bodyguard and whatever you do she can protect you.."Judith reminded her softly and kisses her to her forehead.
"I know Mommy, but I would like to have piggy ride with her..."
"I don't think that she can't do it all day and I mean how about her back pain?"
"Don't worry I can give her a nice message..."
"Oh no, not with a freaking rock massage I imagine!.." Rafella comments when she gets even more irritated.
"But for now, I think Rafella was tired and she needs to rest now, and while we are going to eat first..."
"And then later on we can play with her?"
"Yes if you want, but please remember be good with her..."
"Okay.."
Judith's kitchen was an orchestrated chaos of pots and pans, sizzling vegetables, and the tantalizing aroma of home-cooked goodness. Just as she placed a steaming dish onto the table, the door swung open, and in burst her daughters, Sabina and Gerlinda, accompanied by jurassic-sized excitement that radiated like sunbeams.
"Look who's back!" Sabina squealed, throwing her arms around her mother in a hug that could easily qualify as a group bear hug.
"Of course, it's your Aunt Rafella!" Gerlinda added, bounding past her sister to span the distance to their Aunt, who was casually backpedaling as if she were receding from a charging rhinoceros. Rafella, a good-natured whirlwind of clumsiness and unexpected quips, appeared to be both delighted and overwhelmed by her nieces' enthusiasm.
"Hey, hey! Easy there!" Rafella chuckled, though she had a bemused squint, as if trying to gauge the strength of the two little girls as she raised a hand in surrender. "I just came here to protect them like you told me, Judith," she said, shrugging her shoulders dramatically.
"I'm glad you came to tell me that, and thanks anyway," Judith replied with a smile. "You see, I can fend for myself with chores. I was just a bit scared when... well, some strangers were lurking outside." Her tone softened as she glanced at her daughters. "You know how it is with kids running around."
"I get it; being a mother is like juggling flaming torches while riding a unicycle on a tightrope," Rafella replied, nodding sagely. "But let me tell you, I recently learned you can drop a few flaming torches every now and then and still make it to the end in one piece."
Just then, Sabina's lights turned back on as she turned to Judith. "So, Aunt Rafella is going to stay with us again, Mommy?"
"Of course," Judith answered. "We'll have a blast like always. Think of all the adventures—"
"Oh, heck no," Rafella interrupted, hands on her hips. "I'm not signing up for another Round-Cooking Contest or any of that insanity!" The mere memory of the last cooking debacle, where she had accidentally served jelly instead of gravy, made her shiver uncontrollably.
"Rafella!" Judith interjected, feigning horror. "Don't rule it out. They look ready for some fun!"
But Sabina and Gerlinda were too lost in their own world, discussing the endless possibilities of fun as if drafting a master plan to rule the universe, completely ignoring their aunt's protest.
"We could bake a cake, or maybe build something with LEGO bricks!" Gerlinda exclaimed, effectively making Rafella's expression tighten further.
"I love building! But just so you know, I'll require a solid back massage due to the immense physical exertion," Rafella said with mock seriousness.
"Don't worry! I can give you a really nice massage!" Sabina chimed enthusiastically.
"Oh no, please don't let it involve a rock massage again!" Rafella's voice climbed a pitch as she dramatically clutched her sides.
"If you're tired, I think we should eat first," Judith suggested, trying to usher the chaos back towards some semblance of order. "And then we can play afterward."
"Can we have a piggyback ride, though?" Sabina asked, eyes wide with innocent eagerness.
Judith hesitated. "I don't think she can do that all day. What about her back pain?"
"Don't worry! I'll just give her a nice massage!" Sabina beamed.
"Oh no, not with those rocks again!" Rafella groaned, and the kitchen erupted in laughter.
Judith raised a hand, one eyebrow raised suspiciously. "Alright, but remember, be good with her."
"Okay!" The girls chorused, leaving Rafella both amused and slightly terrified of the ensuing antics.
Judith sat in the cozy corner of Heinen's Realty Company, sipping her morning coffee, the warmth wrapping around her like a woolen shawl on a chilly day. She relished the brief escape from the mundane routine, smiling at the people bustling in and out of the office. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee mingled with the subtle notes of polished wood and paper, setting a serene backdrop to her reflections.
Just then, Fabienne entered, a whirlwind of icy demeanor and taut edges, her eyes scanning the room as if searching for an invisible mark. Wilfred, the perpetually optimistic CEO, was seated in his office, a warm smile plastered across his face as he greeted Fabienne with unyielding enthusiasm. Their interactions were always charged with an undercurrent of tension, and Judith couldn't help but watch, curiosity piqued.
"What a surprise," Fabienne replied, her voice flat as a board, lacking the warmth one might expect. Judith felt a shiver race through her; Fabienne had a talent for extinguishing sparks.
"Oh, and I was just surprised to see you," Wilfred beamed, "It's been great working together for the past two years!"
Fabienne's expression remained unchanged—a stoic mask. "I'm sure you're here for another talk. I already told you I don't want that..."
Wilfred's smile faltered slightly, but hope flickered in his eyes. "Just a short chat? A little small talk?" He leaned forward, a buoyant eagerness radiating from him.
Skeptical but strangely drawn, Fabienne took a seat across from him, assessing him with narrowed eyes, the atmosphere thickening. As Wilfred absentmindedly rubbed his legs with his left foot, the gesture passed unnoticed by Fabienne, who appeared to be brooding deep in thought.
"Are you even rubbing my legs?" she shot at him, sarcasm dripping from her tongue.
"I was giving you some affection. Don't you feel it?" Wilfred's attempt at intimacy was comically earnest, but Fabienne seemed to comprehend little of his intentions.
"No, and I don't know how it feels," she snapped. "People are just machines...they have sex and babies and continue the cycle. Why do I feel like I should feel something?"
"Because expressing love and affection is important in life..." he pressed, but she shook her head defiantly.
"I don't see it in myself," she replied, her voice bordering on defeated as she engaged in some introspection.
Wilfred chuckled lightly. "You're different, Fabienne..."
"Excuse me?" she shot back, affronted.
"I'm drawn to girls who have Schizoid Personality Disorder—like you."
Silence hung between them, heavy and palpable. Fabienne's gaze was piercing, perhaps searching for sincerity behind his declaration. "So you want to be specific? Please don't tell me you're like Dirk, just after girls for their bodies."
"I'm not obsessed," he protested, a hint of irritation seeping through his words. "But if you want, you could do a striptease for me..."
Fabienne narrowed her eyes, a spark of defiance igniting her features. "I can't do that. My father raised me with the belief that a Heinen should maintain a good reputation."
Wilfred shrugged, a playful smile on his lips. "Too traditional for my liking."
"Me too," she acknowledged, but her tone had shifted just slightly, a seam beginning to unravel in her armor.
In a surprising move, Fabienne suddenly removed her blouse, leaving Wilfred momentarily breathless with shock and intrigue. As she slipped off her bra, revealing herself entirely, Judith felt the air crackle with an unexpected intensity. The world outside their moment faded into a distant hum.
Caught in a whirlwind, Wilfred removed his coat, and soon they were kissing, passions igniting like dry kindling. Fabienne swept him under the table, a spontaneous release of the walls she had built around her heart. Judith, trapped in her corner, witnessed the wave of raw emotion crashing over the duo—a clash of tenderness and tumult, revealing a glimpse of humanity she had thought buried.
Later on, when Jasmin was alone again in the prison and while she was drinking another water jug which contains beer inside, when she gets little bit drunk and she suddenly saw that someone walks behind in her bars, and she starting hallucinating again.
Hey, Janina is that you??
She tries to sneak and she keeps calling Janina, but when she was keep calling on her and not even a voices response until she looks on her back and Janina showed up to her.
"What are you doing here? I saw you walk on there outside these bars!" Jasmin said when she got shocked when she suddenly appears. "I am making sure that you're getting any better..." Janina said
"Do you think I'm getting better? I'm so damn pissed and it's like your showing up here and you don't even want to help me..."
"Jasmin, I can't always help you...but last time before you came here, and why did you do such a bad thing there?"
"Look, I am here in the jail and I told you that I am going to steal some money for you, you need to leave Dirk in his hands..."
"I'm no longer with him..."
"Good, but I still don't have any idea why you are here, why you don't know I'm freaking totally alone here, just alone..."
"I'm here to say I want to see you okay, I want to take care of you this time, you did take care enough and sooner I cannot do it for you...And you need to take care of yourself, your daughter Sidel, she still needs you, and your twin brother Walter..."
"I know and they are important to me...but I don't like that they seeing them that I'm a freaking useless that I can't find a better nice job and I hope that I could be smarter than Walter.."
"Oh I wish that you could be smarter than them, but I know whatever you do, you always do what best for them..."
"Because of that I always knew that you're always been my best friend and your always giving me some good advice which I really like it as usual..."
She was going to hugged Janina, but she doesn't know that she was only hugging the thin air when she was only hallucinated her.
In the cold confines of her prison cell, the atmosphere weighed heavily on Jasmin's shoulders. The steel bars loomed over her, casting long shadows that twisted and shifted in the waning light of the day. She clutched a water jug to her chest, but it felt different today. The familiarity of the knock-off lager clawed at the back of her throat, sending the world swirling, while memories huddled around her in the dimness.
Later, the echoes of laughter and shouts from the food hall faded into a dull thrum, like the beating of her heart. As the alcohol crept through her veins, its warm embrace blurred the edges of despair. With a soft, drunken giggle, she tried to lift her spirits by recalling happier times, but it all felt impossibly distant, like a dream just out of reach.
Then, she saw it. A flicker of movement behind the bars, darting out of the corner of her eye. Instantly alert, her heart raced. "Hey, Janina! Is that you?"
She strained to see through the murky air of her mind, trying to shake off the clouding haze of intoxication. She stumbled to her feet, cautious yet hopeful. "Janina?" she called again, hushed reverence in her tone.
Seconds stretched into what felt like an eternity, the edges of her vision blurring. Then, there she was—Janina appeared as if conjured from the very shadows of Jasmin's memories, luminous against the suffocating darkness of the cell.
"What are you doing here? I saw you walk outside the bars!" Jasmin's voice quivered in disbelief.
Janina's presence felt tangible, warm, and still somehow ethereal. "I am making sure you're getting better," she replied, her voice a soothing balm in the cold air.
Jasmin felt the familiar twinge of frustration. "Do you think I'm getting better? I'm so damn pissed, and then you show up here but don't even help me!"
"Jasmin, I can't always help you," Janina's voice was gentle yet firm. "But last time before you got locked up... why did you do such a bad thing?"
A flicker of shame creased Jasmin's brow. "Look, I told you I was going to steal some money for you. You need to let Dirk handle his own mess now."
"I'm no longer with him," Janina responded softly.
The weight of that truth hung heavy between them, a fragile thread strung taut with hurt. "Good," Jasmin murmured, "but I don't know what I'm doing here. I'm alone, Janina, just so alone..."
Tears stung the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them away.
"I'm here to say I want to see you okay," Janina said, her gaze unwavering. "You have to take care of yourself. Your daughter, Sidel, still needs you—your twin brother, Walter—everyone still believes in you."
Jasmin felt her heart shatter at the thought of her daughter seeing her behind these bars, as if she were the very definition of failure. "I know they're important to me," she whispered, "but all I can think about is how useless I am. I'm supposed to be smarter than Walter, and yet here I am..."
"Oh, I wish you could be smarter than them." Janina stepped closer, her warmth almost palpable. "But no matter what you do, I know you always try your best for them."
"You always have the best advice," Jasmin choked out, a strange comfort rising through the festering despair.
In a moment of desperate longing, she stepped forward to embrace her friend but felt nothing but the cold, damp air of her cell. The palpable presence faded like smoke, leaving her clutching at the void.
A strange realization washed over her—she was alone. The shadows pressed closer, and the ghosts of her past swirled around her, but that flickering hope ignited anew. She sank to the floor, the beer jug rolling to a halt beside her, and despite the still air of despair, she knew the only way forward was to rise yet again.
Alody stood in the small, cluttered bedroom of her aunt Luzminda, her heart racing as she stuffed clothes into a worn backpack. The air was thick with the smell of old wood and fading memories, but none of it mattered anymore. Today would be different. Today, she would break free from the suffocating walls of this house.
As she zipped up the last pocket, her mind raced ahead to a new life—one she envisioned for herself in Europe. Just as she was about to leave, her aunt appeared in the doorway, arms crossed, her face a mask of curiosity and anger.
"Bakit aalis ka nanaman, Dy?" Luzminda demanded, her voice sharp, cutting through Alody's daydream.
"Ayoko nang mag-stay dito," Alody replied bluntly, refusing to offer any apologies, no matter how her heart sank at the sight of her aunt's disappointment.
"At bakit ka nanaman kasi nag-sinungaling sa akin? Di mo alam ang ginagawa ko para sayo!" Luzminda's voice rose, a tremor of desperation hidden beneath the anger.
Alody felt the hackles on her neck rise. "Hindi mo naman alam na palagi akong nag-hahanap ng trabaho!" she shot back, a mix of indignation and helplessness flooding her veins.
"Where is it? Nasaan na? Dapat ka pa nagpapasalamat sa akin dahil buti nga pinapatira kita dito tapos madadatnan ko dito ang reklamo mo!" Luzminda's eyes glimmered with frustration and hurt.
From the back of her mind, the words of John echoed like a haunting refrain. "Sabi na nga ba, sinabi kasi sayo to ni John..."
"Oo, sinabi niya," Luzminda hissed. "Wala ka nang trabaho at may balak ka pang lumayas dito, at may ganang magalit ka pa sakin ngayon..."
Alody's resolve began to crumble under the weight of her aunt's scrutiny. "Sawa na ako sa bahay na ito!" she cried, feeling the tears start to prick her eyes. "Gusto ko lang na makapunta sa Europe, para mag-trabaho don."
"Tutulungan kita pero dapat sumunod ka naman sa akin," Luzminda shot back, her voice softer but filled with steel. "Dapat matuto ka ngang magpasalamat eh!"
"Lagi naman may kapalit!" Alody's words burst forth, laden with bitterness.
In an instant, Luzminda's hand swiped across the air, landing hard against Alody's cheek. The sting was immediate, both physical and deeply emotional. "Makikita mo, pupunta rin ako sa Europe at sasama na ako kay Ate Jasmin!" Alody exclaimed as she turned back to her belongings.
"Sumasama ka nanaman sa siraulo na yan!!" Luzminda yelled, shaking with rage.
The argument spiraled into a cacophony of voices, each lacking the understanding or compassion the other craved. Alody, breathing heavily, packed a final piece of clothing. "Ayoko na umasa at mag-itis sa mga matapobre na katulad mo!" Alody shouted again.
With a mix of anger and tears blurring her vision, Alody stepped out of the door and into the evening streets, unsure of where to go, shaking from the conflict she had just endured.
As she checked her wallet, her hand trembled with every movement. She saw a meager collection of bills—enough to survive a few days, but certainly not enough for a one-way ticket to her dreams.
Alody paused on the sidewalk, her breath hitching in her throat. With each step away from her aunt's house, she felt both a sense of freedom and the crushing weight of uncertainty.
*Flashback*
When some of the boys are bullying her and they are just keep laughing and tripping her, but she was keep crying when some boys are keep doing it.
"Ikaw dapat hindi ka welcome dito! ang panget mo!" The boy 1 said, followed by other students laugh.
Alody was walking out and she was instead staying in the girl's bathroom outside of her classroom and she was crying there alone, but in a minute that Jasmin was done using the bathroom and seeing Alody was crying.
"Are you even okay? If you want to have so called drama or you called this workshop, please not here..." Jasmin said sarcastically as she did gives handkerchief. "Hindi ako nag-aacting." Alody responds, while keep crying.
"What? I cannot understand what you're saying..."
"Are you only speaking English?"
"Yes I was, but I get nosebleed speaking of that but now I'm better with that, but in math I'm not really used to be good at math.."
"We're the same, I don't really like math and I hate that subject too..."
"Me, I was like an idiot anyway but besides...I really can't understand calculating numbers and also numbers, and that's what to me looks like myself as a certified idiot..."
"Me too, and especially it's hard that I don't have friends there, I mean here in my school..And I don't think I will able not to find some friends here, they just keep bullying me..."
"Me too, I get always bullied in my own school because I don't understand arithmetic..."
"I'm actually you see I wanted to have friends..."
"Sure, and maybe I can be your friend too, it's good that I have a friend here in the Philippines, and I realize that they are friendly though..."
"My name is Alody Mae Santos..."
"I'm Jasmin Hoppe..."
They did shake hands together when they are finally friends together,
In the bustling corridors of Vicente High, laughter echoed like a cruel anthem. Alody Mae Santos felt every snicker resonate in the hollow of her stomach; it was a reminder of her place on the outside. The rhythmic thud of her heart matched the footsteps around her, each one a reminder of her difference.
"Ikaw dapat hindi ka welcome dito! Ang panget mo!" a voice jeered from behind her, followed by a chorus of taunts and cruel laughter.
Her feet stumbled over air, her face flushed with a mix of shame and anger. She turned away from the crowd, seeking refuge in the girl's bathroom—an oasis of solitude amidst the storm of her teenage reality. She locked herself in a stall, tears streamed down her cheeks as she fought the urge to scream, to break.
Minutes later, the sharp click of the lock snapped her from her thoughts. Jasmin Hoppe emerged, fresh from her own moment of respite, only to be confronted by Alody's silent sobs. "Are you even okay? If you want to stage a drama workshop, please not here..." Jasmin's words dripped with sarcasm, but they held a hint of concern as she offered a crumpled handkerchief.
"Hindi ako nag-aacting," Alody responded between gasps, her words thick with emotion.
"What? I cannot understand what you're saying..." Jasmin replied, the frustration in her voice tempered by curiosity.
"Are you only speaking English?"
"Yes, but I get nosebleeds speaking it. Not today, though. Just math that trips me up..." Jasmin admitted, her tone shifting.
Alody wiped her eyes, intrigued despite herself. "Me too! I feel like an idiot every time numbers dance on the page."
Jasmin smirked. "Especially when you don't have friends in math class. Or anywhere else, really."
Alody's heart sank deeper. "They just keep bullying me," she confessed, her voice barely a whisper. "I don't think I'll find friends here. I just want someone..."
"Me too," Jasmin said earnestly. "I get bullied, too. But it's mostly because I don't understand arithmetic." She let out a dry laugh, shaking her head at the absurdity of it.
Alody sniffed, her spirit slowly igniting as she listened. "I'm just trying...to fit in. I wanted to have friends, you know?"
"Sure," Jasmin smiled. "Maybe I can be your friend too. It's nice to have someone in this chaotic school."
Alody felt a warmth radiate from Jasmin's kindness. "My name is Alody Mae Santos," she said, a feel of hope inching into her heart.
"I'm Jasmin Hoppe," came the response, and with an unsteady yet determined shake, they forged their bond.
In that dimly lit bathroom, amidst the grief and the teasing echoes fading into the distance, Alody and Jasmin began to weave a thread of friendship—delicate but resilient.
When she was remembering it again and she was decided to go to her friend's house.