It had been three days since Alfie emerged, sadly he wasn't progressing at all. So far he'd only responded to stimulus. I'd been going and returning from school each day attending him without fail.

On the second day, my mother put an IV on him. It was one of the procedures taught to us in Pod Man's class, but she insisted that we didn't involve the relevant department just yet.

"Pssstttt..."

Hearing a particular sound, I spun to my side. Alatha, who sat next to me in class, squinted her eyes as it met mine and beckoned me to look at my table. When I looked down, there was a crumpled paper.

Don't you dare run off again today!! P/s I mean it.

Since Alfie came, I would bolt back home as soon as the bell rang. I'd been neglecting her and our school project; now that I thought of it, I'd seemed selfish.

I released a puff of air from my mouth, feeling guilty to her and frustrated at the same time because I had no choice but to be away longer. And out of many days, it had to be today, on my mother's day shift.

After school period ended, I followed Alatha to her house. We always hang around at mine on usual days since it was closer, but since Alfie's there I insisted we go to hers.

Alatha's mother, Ms Aryst was already in her uniform when we arrived. She worked under F.O.S; Federal Operative Security, which involves crime and justice.

"Oh, hai girls," she acknowledged us when we walked in.

I had to tilt my head upward to look at her face like I did every time I stood next to Alatha, as they were both tall and robust. The job suited her perfectly.

Now that I'd seen her again after such a long time, I noticed they really looked so much alike; ebony brown hair, lean cheeks, full lips, and eyes as dark as the night sky.

"Nice to see you again, Ms Aryst," I replied with a smile.

She nodded at me. "Can't stay longer, got a case," she simplified.

Before closing the door, she tousled Alatha's head. "Goodbye sport!" she said with a chuckle.

I fought a grin at the sight of Alatha's messy short bob hair. Yet she didn't react. Only a sigh manifested after her mother closed the door.

There was nothing much I could describe about Alatha's house. Unlike mine, hers was much bigger but plain-empty, there were no photo frames, no flowers, no decoration or what so ever. To put it in one word, it was gloomy.

Her room was corresponding to the outside. Once I stepped in, I felt like I was looking at my phone; white and grey were dominating the background.

When I sat on her perfectly tucked in bed, it felt dull. My eyes roamed around, trying to find something I was familiar with, but none.

"What happened to your dollies?" I asked her.

A vivid memory of Alatha when we were in kindergarten flashed into my mind, she used to wear gowns and had plush dolls collection. Young Alatha would carry the dolls everywhere.

"I threw it away. Come on, we're 18, who still has dolls?" Alatha replied with a peeved expression on her face.

Well I do...

Ignoring the question, I opened my bag and started working on our project. It was IVF under subject technology. Anything involving tech had always been neutral to me, but since it was a significant point to pass, I had to bear with it.

Soon my mind drifted to Alfie, remembering how his nose twitched when I tickled it. Even the littlest things made me feel warm inside.

"Concentrate Charis!"

A light blow landed on the back of my head, howling me back to reality. I instantly spun to Alatha, concluding her agitation by the way her forehead wrinkled while looking at me.

"That hurts!" I pouted. Even though it wasn't painful at all really, I pretended to rub where her weapon—a book she was still holding—hit me. It actually made a tiny smile form on her lips.

"Well if you pay more attention..." She couldn't hold her laugh anymore when I jutted my lower lip further, "I swear Charis Charmaine, one more of your interstellars, you'll get more than a smack on the head."

"I will, now let's finish this," I told her with enthusiast, placing a hand on my shoulder as a sign of promise.

Afterwards, I concentrated on finishing the project with her, but I noticed her looking at me a couple of times over, I even caught her smiling at it.

"Do I have something on my face?" I asked her, brushing my face with the back of my hand since my fingers had sprinkles on it.

She smirked then shook her head. "No, it's just..."

Dinggggg... Dinggggg...

The sudden alarm from my phone made Alatha's words cut short. She pressed her lips with a conflicted look on her face.

However, I didn't have time to think much of what she was trying to tell me. The time was 5 in the evening, and the alarm was a reminder I'd set to change Alfie's IV bag.

"Oh poop, I need to go!" I indicated.

"Why the rush?" she asked in puzzlement.

I thought for a second. "My mother didn't bring her keys," I lied.

After grabbing all my stuff and shoving it into my bag, I got up to leave. Alatha walked me to her door.

"Hey, come early to school tomorrow okay!" she yelled as I scrambled on the pavement with one of my shoes still stuck at the back of my heel.

I was already half running as I waved at her. The jog and run in turns took me almost half an hour to reach my house.

Even though my breath was heavy, exhausted from the sprint, I hurried to my room. I expected Alfie to be lying where he was like I left him this morning. I imagined him sleeping or staring at the ceiling once I enter.

But...

I gasped when my bed came into sight, it was empty.

To be continued...

***

Thank you for reading. Every read, comment and vote are much appreciated.

*interstellars is a new word teenager use during the time, meaning spacing out