Nova sat at the table, facing her mother. For the first time, she was enjoying having a chat with her. This was because they weren't discussing grades or career paths. Rather, they were talking about random things. From childhood memories, to travel plans.
Nova reached her hand inside the basket of buffalo wings, picking up a piece.
Her mother had asked what she wanted as a birthday present, but it was difficult to decide right away, so she thought chewing something delicious might help her focus.
As she raised the buffalo wing to her lips, their notorious neighbour began screaming her cat's name.
"This is just her normal level of annoying"
To this comment, Nova's mother chuckled.
The neighbour's once distant sound then began to grow louder and louder, and ultimately, Nova realised that her and the neighbour were in different worlds.
Slowly, she opened her eyes.
The sun's rays that were flooding the room through the windows and the balcony instantly hurt her eyes.
Was it morning?
Definitely, her mother must have given up. Her knocks had turned to a lullaby, sending Nova off to sleep.
She opened her mouth wide and yawned, then stood up and opened the door.
Given the temperature, Nova concluded it was before 11AM.
Her stomach was rumbling loudly, so she planned to make something to eat after retrieving her phone.
At the door, there was a box wrapped in a beautiful wrapping paper.
This was certainly left by her mother.
She crouched and unravelled the wrapping, and after opening the box, the next thing that followed was...
"Bang!"
The box together with the content that was inside flew into the room.
With a scowl, Nova rushed down the stairs, the sound of her steps resonating in the air.
Why go to the length of wrapping a mathematics textbook in a wrapping paper?
The morning sun hung elegantly on the blue clear sky. Its warm rays on Nova's skin was invigorating, like a totally new experience.
Despite her circumstance, she thought the weather was beautiful, unlike the previous day when it had heavily poured in the morning.
Looking back, that storm was an ominous sign of what was going to happen.
Stealthily, Nova moved out of the gate and began walking down the street.
Since it was a weekend, many people were taking the opportunity to rest and relax, thus, the street was mostly quiet, only two to three passers-by.
It was the kind of serenity her heart and mind had been craving for.
She walked to the vicinity of her fall, and standing there, she carefully looked around.
After about six seconds, she saw a pink object. Her phone in its phone case.
She moved close and picked it up.
The monitor had a crack in the middle, resembling a spider web. She wondered whether the phone was even functioning.
After wiping the monitor with the wristband of her hoodie, she made her way to the community's basketball court that was in the proximity.
Six boys were practising. From their physiques, they seemed to be adolescents.
They paid no mind to Nova, and continued jumping and running around the court, the only sound being the ball hitting the pavement and their voices as they shouted each other's names.
Maybe if she were a girl, they'd have looked her way.
Nova sat down on a bench against the wire mesh fence, and turned the phone on. Immediately the screen lightened, she dramatically placed her palm over her chest.
"Thank goodness."
She glanced at the time, confirming it was 10:21AM. There was a notification, so she quickly checked who sent it.
'Singles near you'
Nova immediately frowned.
For the past few days, she had been trying to identify the source of these notifications to no success.
As far as she remembered, she hadn't interacted with any dating site.
With a sigh, Nova turned off the phone, looked around the vicinity, then stood up and walked back home.