Chima's Apartment - Afternoon
The afternoon sun streamed through the windows of Chima's apartment. It was a peaceful scene: Chima working on her laptop at the dining table, Naila asleep on the couch as usual, Wony doing her skincare routine in the corner, Fatimah reading a book, and Alice bouncing around like she'd had too much sugar.
Which she had.
"Chima!" Alice called out, holding a steaming cup of coffee. "I made you coffee! As an apology for eating all your snacks yesterday!"
Chima looked up, surprised. "You made me coffee? You know how to make coffee?"
"I followed a YouTube tutorial! It's called 'Coffee for Idiots'!"
"That's... reassuring."
Alice approached with the cup, grinning proudly. "I even added extra sugar! Because you're sweet!"
"I'm NOT sweet!"
"Deep down you are!"
"Deep down I will throw this laptop at—"
Alice tripped over Naila's outstretched leg.
The coffee cup flew into the air.
Time seemed to slow down.
The cup spun. Coffee splashed. And then—
Directly onto Chima's laptop.
KSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
The screen flickered. Went black. Then flickered again with strange, distorted lines.
Chima stared at her laptop. Then at Alice. Then at the empty coffee cup on the floor.
Then she screamed.
"ALIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Alice scrambled backward. "I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO!"
"MY LAPTOP! MY WORK! MY EVERYTHING!"
"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!"85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYTEV9Bvk7
"IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR TRIPPING!"
"IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR LEAVING YOUR LAPTOP IN THE DANGER ZONE!"
"THE 'DANGER ZONE'?! THIS IS MY APARTMENT!"
***
Some time later, Chima was pacing back and forth, her face bright red. Steam was practically coming out of her ears.
"Do you have ANY idea how important that laptop is?!" she shouted. "My thesis! My assignments! My entire academic career!"
Alice was cowering behind Fatimah. "I'll buy you a new one! I'll sell my kidney! I'll—"
"YOU CAN'T BUY BACK MY DATA!"
"I'll back up your data!"
"YOU CAN'T BACK UP WHAT'S ALREADY GONE!"
Wony approached carefully. "Chima, maybe you should calm down. Getting angry won't fix the laptop."
"I'M NOT CALM! I'M THE OPPOSITE OF CALM!"
Fatimah tried to intervene. "Chima, Alice is sorry. She didn't mean to—"
"I DON'T CARE WHAT SHE MEANT! MY LAPTOP IS DEAD!"
Alice peeked out from behind Fatimah. "Technically, it's not dead. It's just... sleeping."
"IT'S NOT SLEEPING! IT'S DESTROYED!"
"Maybe it's in a coma?"
"ALICE!"85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEOvTinWhN
Chima was mid-rant, her finger pointed at Alice, her voice at maximum volume.
"YOU ARE THE MOST IRRESPONSIBLE—"
But then, suddenly, she stopped.
Her eyes glazed over.
Her finger dropped.
Her face went from red to... soft.
"What?" Alice said, confused. "Chima? Are you okay?"
Chima didn't respond. She was staring at nothing, her expression completely changed.
Fatimah stepped closer. "Chima? What's wrong?"
Chima blinked. Then she smiled. A weird, dreamy smile.
"Naila..."
Everyone turned to look at Naila, who was still fast asleep on the couch, completely unaware of the chaos around her.
"What about Naila?" Alice asked.
Chima's voice came out soft, almost reverent. "She was so cute... when she was clingy..."
***
FLASHBACK:
The hypnosis incident. Naila was wrapped around Chima like a koala, refusing to let go.
Naila had been holding a stuffed bunny that Alice had given her. She was hugging it tightly while also hugging Chima.
"Chima... I love you..." Naila had said, her voice sleepy and sweet.
And Chima, despite being annoyed, had looked down at Naila's face; soft, peaceful, adorable and felt something weird in her chest.
"You're so warm," Naila had mumbled, nuzzling into Chima's shoulder. "I could stay here forever."
Chima had tried to push her away, but Naila had just hugged her tighter, the stuffed bunny squished between them.
"Don't go," Naila had whispered. "Stay with me."
And Chima had... stayed.
END FLASHBACK.
***
Chima was still staring into space, a soft smile on her face.
"She hugged me," Chima murmured. "And she had a bunny. A cute bunny. And she said 'stay with me'..."
Alice looked at Fatimah. "Is she okay? Did the coffee fumes get to her?"
Fatimah shook her head. "I think she's remembering something."
"But she was just yelling at me! And now she's smiling about Naila and a bunny?!"
Wony tilted her head. "It seems Chima has... feelings."
Chima snapped out of it. "WHAT?! NO! I DON'T HAVE FEELINGS!"
"You were just smiling about Naila."
"THAT'S BECAUSE—" Chima paused. "I don't know why I was smiling!"
"Yes, you do," Fatimah said calmly. "You were remembering when Naila was clingy."
"THAT WAS ANNOYING!"
"Then why were you smiling?"
Chima opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
"I... I don't know."
Alice gasped. "CHIMA HAS A CRUSH ON NAILA!"
"I DO NOT!"
"YOU TOTALLY DO! YOU WERE JUST DREAMY-EYED ABOUT HER!"
"I WAS NOT DREAMY-EYED!"
"Your eyes were literally dreamy!"
"THAT'S NOT A THING!"85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidDEKxCz85
Chima was pacing again, but this time it was different. Instead of anger, she looked flustered.
"I do NOT have a crush on Naila," she insisted. "She's my friend. Just a friend. A friend who happened to be clingy and cute and—"
"CUTE?" Alice shrieked. "YOU SAID CUTE!"
"I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT!"
"How else can you mean 'cute'?!"
Chima pointed at her. "You're twisting my words!"
"I'm just repeating what you said!"
Wony nodded sagely. "The evidence is clear. Chima has developed feelings for Naila."
"NO! I HAVEN'T!"
"Then why did you stop yelling at Alice to think about Naila?"
Chima froze. "I didn't stop yelling to think about Naila!"
"You literally stopped mid-sentence!"
"THAT'S BECAUSE—" Chima's face went red. "I DON'T KNOW WHY!"
Fatimah smiled gently. "It's okay, Chima. You can admit it."
"ADMIT WHAT?!"
"That you have a soft spot for Naila."
"I DON'T!"
"Then why are you blushing?"
Chima touched her cheek. It was warm.
"I'M NOT BLUSHING! IT'S HOT IN HERE!"
"It's air-conditioned."
"MY BLOOD IS JUST... CIRCULATING!"
"THAT'S BLUSHING!"85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfNtKCa6kW
Naila stirred on the couch. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking at the chaos around her.
"Did someone say my name?" she mumbled.
Everyone turned to look at her.
Naila was still half-asleep, her hair messy, her eyes barely open. She was clutching a throw pillow like a stuffed animal.
She looked... cute.
Chima's heart did something weird.
Naila looked at Chima. "Chima? Why is your face red?"
Chima sputtered. "I'M NOT RED!"
"You're really red. Like a tomato."
"I'M NOT A TOMATO!"
Naila blinked slowly. "Okay. Whatever you say." She snuggled back into the couch. "Wake me when the yelling stops."
And she fell back asleep.
Chima stared at her.
Alice whispered. "You totally have a crush."
"SHUT UP, ALICE."
"Your face is even redder now!"
"THAT'S BECAUSE I'M ANGRY!"
"You're not angry! You're flustered!"
"I'M ALWAYS ANGRY!"
"You're not angry at Naila!"
Chima opened her mouth. Closed it.
Because Alice was right.
She wasn't angry at Naila.
She had never been angry at Naila.
Not really.
***
Chima sat down heavily. Her laptop was still ruined. Her work was still lost. But somehow, that didn't matter anymore.
Because all she could think about was Naila: sleepy Naila, clingy Naila, Naila with a bunny, and Naila saying "stay with me."
"Chima?" Alice said softly. "Are you okay?"
Chima looked up. Her face was still red, but her expression had softened.
"I think... I need to think about some things."
Alice nodded. "Okay. That's fair."
Wony approached carefully. "If you want to talk about it..."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Okay. But we're here if you do."
Chima nodded.
Fatimah smiled. "We'll leave you alone. Come on, everyone."
As they filed out of the apartment, Alice turned back.
"Chima? For what it's worth... I think you and Naila would be cute together."
"ALICE!"
"I'm just saying!"
"GET OUT!"
Alice ran out laughing.
Chima sat alone in the quiet apartment. She looked at Naila, who was still sleeping peacefully on the couch.
And despite everything, Chima found herself smiling.
"Stay with me," she whispered, echoing Naila's words from that day.
Maybe, just maybe, there was something there.
But that was a thought for another day.
For now, she just watched Naila sleep.
And tried to figure out what her heart was trying to tell her.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFbddoQLB7
and then Add to home screen.