It was a Friday. A message notification showed up. “Come to my house and have dinner tonight? Also sleepover?” She quickly replied, “OK! See you then.”
She liked going to this friend’s house for a sleepover because they would watch horror movies, read books, or just simply chat. They lived so close, only a ten-minute walk. She stuffed her pajama in her bag, grabbing a sci-fi novel that she had borrowed and texting, “I finally finished that book but I want to read its sequel.” In less than one minute, she got a reply: “I have it! Just come and read tonight.” A few moments later, another message came through: “I’ll leave the front door open. Just come straight to my room when you arrive!” She replied, “Okay.”
She could not be more familiar with the road. The pancake store she always passed was closed that afternoon. “I was gonna buy you your favorite red-bean flavor but probably not this time… no idea why it’s not open,” she texted while walking.
The front door was indeed opened. She took off her shoes and went straight upstairs to her friend’s room. But no one was there. She texted her friend, “Hey, I’m here.” While waiting, she took out the book she borrowed and put it back onto the giant wooden bookshelf in front of her. She pulled out another book and began reading. She nearly finished half of it, but there wasn’t a reply.
She started texting again, “Hey, where are y…” A phone call from the friend interrupted. She picked up, “Hi, are you coming back soon?” The voice on the other end was full of confusion, “What do you mean? I am at my house. Are you coming? It’s almost dinner time.”
She paused, looking around in this room which she was so familiar with, and asked, “Did you get my text?” The voice asked, “About what? You just said ‘Okay’.”