Chereads / The Anomaly: Arise / Chapter 6 - Chained Facets

Chapter 6 - Chained Facets

Tobi still prefers to live his life in the most normal way possible. He still lives with the Inoues and still attending his classes at the Academy. However, he noticed something weird happening to him as time passed by. He started to suppress others' Anomaly even though he didn't intend to do so. It just happens at random. It doesn't happen whenever he's with Inoue's household because none of them is an Anomaly. It mostly happens in the Academy with Thandiwe and Anastasia and this happens more rampant in the mansion.

 "Do you mind?" Thandiwe said sounding a bit irritated. "Can you not cancel my Anomaly?"

 "Sorry. I don't follow." Tobi said. Both of them and the rest of the class are so bored to listen to their advisor's discussion about History. It turned out that Thandiwe was discretely transforming some of his fingers into tentacles due to his boredom.

 "I'm trying to entertain myself here." Thandiwe said.

 "I'm so sorry. My Anomaly is becoming more and more uncontrollable." Tobi explained whispering. "Please understand."

 "Oh, come on. I'll move to another seat while you figure yourself out." Thandiwe said then moved to a desk near the window.

 While the preaching of the advisor goes on and on, someone knocks on the classroom door. Not a few seconds later, the advisor stopped and then opened the door which made the whole class feel alive again. The advisor greeted someone outside, did some talks then invited someone to go inside the classroom. As this person came in, Tobi realized that he was someone he and Thandiwe knew. The visitor turned out to be Prof. Trevor wearing a doctor's robe matched with a stethoscope dangling around his neck.

 "Class, here's one of the Academy's doctors and he has something to share with you." The advisor said. Tobi's in shock that the professor also works as a doctor in the Academy. Tobi looked at Thandiwe to see his reaction but he saw the usual Thandiwe face so it's most likely he knew about this.

 "Good morning everyone." Prof. Trevor greeted. "I just happen to finish my paper works so I decided to drop by to some classes today to remind you of the upcoming First Aid lecture that will happen this weekend so I hope that all of you will attend. Danger is everywhere these days so it would be best if administering first aid to whoever's in need will be part of our skill sets." He explains.

 Nothing particularly special happened throughout the whole class hours except for having four long quizzes in four different subjects which are Algebra, Biology, History, and Speech. Everyone's minds melted while keeping up with all the questions that some of the students were about to give up halfway through. Thousands of numbers were dealt with in Algebra, dozens of scientific terms were encountered in Biology, several huge events from the past were relived in History and a handful of languages were spoken in Speech. Everyone longed for class dismissal and they were very happy it came that they even thought of planning a party.

 "T, we're going bowling." Raf said as the whole class was about to leave the academy. "Let's go. Let's take this stress out of our systems."

 "Count me in!" Saoirse responded. She invited some of her female friends but they already have their own plans set.

 "Yeah, I'm in too and it's a good thing it's weekends tomorrow." Tobi said emphasizing that it's a weekend the following day so they'll have the rest of the day and the whole weekend to themselves.

 "Is that the medical assistant?" Raf asked pointing to Anastasia who is walking from a few feet away and she's with her brother.

 "Is she with Thandiwe?" Saoirse asked. "Ooh.. I smell something fishy."

 "They're siblings guys. Don't think of something weird." Tobi answered.

 "How can you say that?" Raf reacted. "They don't look like siblings to me. Thandiwe's a very African guy with all the features and stuff and Anastasia looks like a Russian model slash actress."

 "You have a point there, Raf." Saoirse agreed. "Besides, it seemed to everyone that Thandiwe is not the friendly type so I doubt your friends more so to Miss Medic over there."

 "Yeah, that's true," Raf said.

 "That's where you've mistaken. I'm actually friends with them." Tobi boastfully said but he realized that it would be suspicious if he claimed that he's Thandiwe's friend because no one likes the guy. He's smart and looks rich too but his having a friend seems not on his to-do list being at the Academy. Tobi quickly corrected himself. "I'm friends with one of them. It's Anastasia."

 "No way!" Raf reacted as he realized something. "So that explains why you've been going to the infirmary for the past couple of days."

 "OMG! You're flirting with her." Saoirse reacted excitedly.

 "I think I have thing for her but we're flirting." Tobi confessed to his friends.

 "You rascal. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Raf asked.

 "Because I know you'll tell her and everyone we know. That's why I didn't tell you." Tobi answered.

 "Oh, wait. Anastasia's deaf and mute right? So how do you two communicate?" Raf asked a follow-up question which shocked Tobi a bit because he couldn't tell that they'd been communicating through their thoughts the whole time.

 "I've been practicing sign language." Tobi is quick to think of an alternative.

 "I didn't know you're into that stuff. If I can remember it right, you hated interacting with our elementary school classmate he's kind of like Anastasia." Raf commented.

 "Well, people change." Tobi said.

 "Thandiwe!" Saoirse called out as the siblings got near the gates.

 "What are you doing?" Raf asked her discreetly.

 "I'll have them join us." She answered.

 "Why!?" Raf replied slightly dumbfounded.

 "Because the more the merrier. Besides, I don't want to be the only doll among the group." She said referring to Anastasia the other doll so she won't be the only girl.

 "What?" Thandiwe asked as he and her sister approached Saoirse.

 "Tobi, what is this?" Anastasia asked through her thoughts.

 "I don't have anything to do with this. I think she wants to ask you two to join us bowl." Tobi replied to Anastasia through his thoughts as well.

 "I think it would be really fun for you guys to join us. We'll go bowling!" Saoirse said.

 "No, thank you. We have plans already." Thandiwe is quick to respond.

 "Oh, no. I didn't know you already have plans. Sorry." Saoirse said.

 "I actually want to join them, brother." Anastasia thought.

 "That's not a good idea, sis. We have things to do at the mansion." Thandiwe thought but did it through sign language as well since they're in public.

 "What's that about? Oh, yeah. Never mind. I got it now." Tobi reacted in his thoughts so the siblings could hear since he's not used to them doing sign language.

 "Let's give them time to talk." Saoirse said as she started seeing the siblings do sign language.

 "Brother, we don't have any huge assignments so far so I think it's a good thing to relax once in a while. Besides, Glass and the rest of the gang can handle things in the mansion. " Anastasia pointed out.

 "I have a feeling that we'll get good news." Saoirse said as Thandiwe's about to share their last decision.

 "Okay, yes. We'll join you." Thandiwe confirmed that he and his sister got a celebratory hug from Saoirse.

 "Yay! We'll so going to have a very fun day." Saoirse exclaimed.

 "So where are we going to bowl?" Raf asked.

 "I know a bowling alley downtown. That's where me and my family bowl." Saoirse said.

 "Alright! I'm guessing it's a fancy one." Tobi reacted.

 "Sort of. It's mediocre actually." Saoirse responded.

 "So what are we waiting for? Let's get a move on already. My hands are already itching for a strike." Raf said and started to walk off.

 "Raf, let's just wait in front of the Academy for 5 more minutes." Saoirse stopped him from wandering off too far. "I already texted my chauffeur to pick us up." She added.

 "You have a chauffeur!?" Raf reacted.

 "Really!?" Tobi seconded.

 "What's the matter?" Saoirse asked.

 "Well, we know you're rich but not THAT rich. What am I saying?" Raf reacted then chuckled.

 "Don't tell me we're going to ride in your limousine to get to the bowling alley." Tobi said.

 "No we're not." Saoirse confirmed. "It's not MY limousine. It's actually my brother's. Mine is still being fixed."

 "Seriously!?" Both Tobi and Raf said as they jolted in shock.

 "Don't you think it's too much for us to go there with your limo? It can cause unwanted attention is what I'm saying. We're just going to a bowling alley." Thandiwe pointed.

 "You have a point. Maybe I should just ask our chauffeur to go back and let's just take the bus." Saoirse responded.

 "That's fine by me." Thandiwe said.

 "That's not fine by me." Raf butted in. "We should ride your limo Saoirse. Your driver is just around the area already so it'd be a waste of his effort if he'll just go back." He explained.

 "Don't pretend that you're worried about the chauffeur's efforts." Tobi said. "Just tell us that you really want to ride a limo."

 "Fine. That too." Raf responded.

 "Well since this is a democratic country, let's vote this out. Majority wins of course." Saoirse recommended.

 "Okay. My stand is for us to take a bus instead of a limo." Thandiwe declared.

 "Mine will be for us to ride the limo." Raf declared.

 "That's one vote for each choice." Saoirse said. "Thandiwe, can you ask your sister what she prefers? Bus or limo?" She asked then Thandiwe acted to do sign language.

 "I'd go for limo." Anastasia is quick to decide her answer.

 "No, we will not." Thandiwe responded through his thoughts. "She said she wants to take the bus instead." He said to the group.

 "Brother!?" Anastasia said in dismay.

 "We will not argue about this." Thandiwe thought.

 "So, we have two votes for each. I'll go with limo of course." Saoirse said. "We only need Tobi's vote for us to come up with a decision."

 "Yeah, we only need my best bud's long and luxurious vote for us to settle this." Raf said as he stared at Tobi hoping that he'd go for the limo. Little did he know, Thandiwe was glaring at Tobi to make him go for the bus.

 "Why is this so hard to pick a ride?" Tobi exclaimed as he started to sweat a little.

 "I hate to break it up to you but we don't have all day to wait for your vote." Saoirse commented. "Our driver is already a block away from us now."

 "Fine. Let's go with the limo." Tobi decided.

 "Yes! I love you, man." Raf reacted as he hugged Tobi.

 "Okay, let's stop that bromance and head out already." Saoirse said. "Sorry, siblings. Majority wins. Let me just tell my chauffeur that we're all set and ready to go."

 A black limousine suddenly rolled in front of the Academy then a man in some kind of a waiter outfit came out from the driver's seat and opened the door for Saoirse and the rest of the group. Other students from the academy and a handful of passersby can't help themselves but look at what arrived. Some were excited to see a limo and started to take pictures of it and some raised an eyebrow or two with a hint of eye rolls on the side. The chauffeur went back to his seat then they took off to the boiling alley.

 "Too much unwanted attention back there." Thandiwe said.

 "Don't bother yourself too much, man. Just imagine that we're living the life of a celebrity." Raf said. "Everyone wants to be a celebrity at least at one point of their lives."

 "I didn't." Thandiwe responded.

 "Let's take the tension out from our bodies, friends." Saoirse said as she started to pull out something from one of the compartments inside the limo. "Let's drink it out." She said as she held a bottle of beverage.

 "Is that alcohol!?" Tobi exclaimed.

 "Of course not. I'm not a dipsomaniac. It's just juice. A detox juice that will cleanse our systems from the inside." Saoirse explains as she points out that she's not an alcoholic person.

 "Oh, I see." Tobi said.

 "Let's drink!" Saoirse shrieked as she passed glasses to the rest of the group and then poured the detox juice. Saoirse loved it and the others did too. Even though it has a bitter taste on the first gulp, it has a sweet aftertaste that tastes like mint.

 "It's like a carbonated drink. I like it. Can I have some more?" Raf commented. Saoirse then poured another batch into Raf's glass.

 "It tastes fine." Thandiwe said.

 "I remember a nice Russian beverage from this. I forgot what's it called but never mind. I love how this tastes." Anastasia thought.

 "This drink was actually imported from a well-known Russian brand. This is family's personal choice when it comes to juices." Saoirse explained.

 "Wow! What a coincidence." Tobi thought. Acknowledging Anastasia's tongue for noticing the taste.

 "Well, I'm Russian so it's not a big surprise." Anastasia thought.

 Their ride continued to head downtown and as time passed by, the group started to bond and connect with each other. They started sharing stories about themselves, they found themselves cracking jokes with each other and laughing at these jokes even how corny they sounded. Saoirse and Raf asked Thandiwe and Tobi to teach them how to do sign language for they to interact with Anastasia more.

 A couple more minutes and they arrived at where they headed but as the group looked at what was on the outside, they arrived at a very fancy-looking establishment that seemed like it was taken out from a rich man's magazine of properties. Dozens of expensive cars are slowly piling into the parking area. They saw some Lamborghinis, Hammers, and some Ferraris. They then noticed what was on the establishment's logo. Infinity Lounge.

 "Don't tell me I'm dreaming." Raf said in excitement. "Are we really going in there? It's the Infinity Lounge guys!"

 "Calm down, man." Tobi responded trying to calm himself down as well. "Come on it's THE Infinity Lounge!" He snapped in excitement too. "That is were the nation's rich people hang out!"

 "This is too much. I thought we were just going to a bowling alley?" Thandiwe reacted but his negative reaction didn't match her sister's since Anastasia was smiling from ear to ear after seeing the Infinity Lounge.

 "Yes, we came for the bowling alley which is actually inside the Infinity Lounge. If we want, we can also drop by their five-star restaurant, majestic spa, pacifistic café etc." Saoirse said. "Oh, Anastasia and I can go shopping to some their glamorous boutiques. Again, that's in case you want to do it. No pressure."

 "It sounds like a whole community is in there. That's pretty dope!" Raf commented.

 "Not the term I use but yeah, it's terrific." Saoirse said. "Let's get inside."

 The limo rode off as the group came out and started strolling towards the lounge's entrance. There are surprisingly a lot of scanners to go through before you can actually come in probably because of the fact that most of the people inside are rich so there are high chances that they'll be victimized by kidnapping, robbery, etc. The safety of the guests is very much prioritized in the lounge.

 The group finally arrived at the bowling alley several minutes after some of them were tempted to drop by to some other shop along the way but it's a good thing that Thandiwe is very persuasive so they just eventually headed straight to where they originally agreed upon. Saoirse bought everyone the gear they have to use to play which makes everyone very grateful and more excited. Surprisingly, as the games go on, Thandiwe is pretty good at bowling even though he was very reluctant to join them earlier.

 "Really!? How come you always get a strike?" Raf pointed out.

 "I don't know. It's just probably one of my talents." Thandiwe responded.

 "Ooh, I didn't know you can be very boastful." Tobi teased.

 "Whatever. Just play." Thandiwe said. "It's your turn already."

 The group continued to get their strikes and spares as they continued to bowl. Raf became competitive with every round knowing that Thandiwe is a threat and is someone who needs to be defeated. But since Thandiwe kept on getting consecutive strikes from set to set, Raf couldn't beat him and just always stayed at second best. Saoirse then took a quick time out to fetch the group some snacks and drinks from the bowling alley's snack booth. As she came back, she was accompanied by two others who seemed pretty close to her.

 "Guys, I'd like you to meet someone," Saoirse said to the group. She's with a mature woman who looks like she is the same age as the professor and some guy who appears to be the same age as theirs. "Meet my brother Quintin and our guardian."

 "Hello." Tobi greeted them while Anastasia nodded to them.

 "Nice to meet you." Thandiwe said as the guests did handshakes with him.

 "Hi! I finally get to meet your brother and mother, Saoirse." Raf reacted as he also did handshakes with the guests.

 "I'm not actually their mother. I'm their guardian. Call me Miss Astrid." The gurdian corrected.

 "Oh, I'm so sorry." Raf replied slightly embarrassed.

 "Aren't your parents here with you?" Tobi asked.

 "It's a long story my friend." Saoirse responded. "It's best if we don't talk about it."

 "We don't need parents." Quintin suddenly said. "Miss Astrid is enough." He added making himself look very loyal to their guardian.

 "Quintin Clifford Floyd, you don't need to flatter me." Miss Astrid said. "I'm just doing my job."

 "What does she mean?" Thandiwe asked.

 "As I've said, it's a long story." Saoirse replied with her usual smile on her face. "Quintin, Miss Astrid. Let's bowl!"

 "Oh, no my doll. We can't." Miss Astrid said. "We love to but we're off to somewhere else we just happen to see you and your friends along the way so we stopped by."

 "Oh, I see." Saoirse said. "See you soon then."

 "See you soon." Quintin responded then he and their guardian left the bowling alley.

 "So, you said you and that guy are siblings right?" Raf started to ask.

 "Yeah, we are. Why?" Saoirse confirmed.

 "Uh, I just noticed that, you know, you don't have the same surnames." Raf said.

 "Oh that?" Saoirse remembered then chuckled. "We are siblings but not by blood. We were adopted then as you saw, Miss Astrid is our guardian."

 "Now I get it," Raf said.

 "You and Quintin are like Thandiwe and Anastasia." Tobi confirmed. "Oh, sorry. I shouldn't say that." He said as he realized that he was not in the position to share such information.

 "That's fine." Thandiwe said. "We're not hiding that fact."

 "What!? You're like us?" Saoirse shrieked in excitement. "What a coincidence! That makes me very happy." She said making Anastasia smile in response.

 "It really is a great coincidence!" Anastasia thought making Tobi and her brother look at her in agreement.

 "So, do you also have different surnames?" Saoirse asked Thandiwe.

 "Yes, mine is Ojibwe and Ivanov is her's." Thandiwe said. "I have Gallant African roots while she has Proud Russian."

 "Very interesting. You both have totally different bloodlines." Saoirse commented. "Me and Quintin are born in New America."

 "Tell us about your brother, Saoirse." Raf requested. "He seemed pretty off earlier."

 "Right. About that, I think I told you before that he has a phobia in crowded places so it's probably his chills taking over him earlier making him look sickly." Saoirse confirmed.

 "Oh, yeah. I totally forgot about that." Raf remembered. "I thought he was just irritated seeing us with his sister."

 "Quintin is not like that." Saoirse said. "Honestly, he doesn't actually care who I become friends with as long as they're not stepping into his shadows."

 "Sorry, I don't follow." Anastasia thought. "Can someone ask her what that means?" She asked Tobi and Thandiwe.

 "What do you mean by that?" Tobi asked.

 "Oh! what I meant was, as long as my friends won't get into his nerves or irritate him in any way, he wouldn't give any care." Saoirse explained.

 "I see." Tobi understood together with the rest agreeing to him.

 "How about your guardian?" Raf asked. "Did she apply to take care of you? I heard her say she's just doing her job."

 "Well, you can say that." Saoirse said. "It really is a really long story so we should just get back in the game."

 They finished the entire game with Thandiwe having the title of the undefeated winner. They thought of a bet before the game ended. They have agreed that the sole loser of the group will take 20 selfies with a stranger of the opposite sex. Surprisingly, the loser turned out to be Raf even though he was doing great in the first few rounds. Anastasia happened to outrank him for some reason. Just to avoid being too depressed about the results, Raf claims that he was just a gentleman to Anastasia so that she wouldn't get penalized. But, the rest of the group saw that his luck just dried off.

 Luckily, the challenge is very much a piece of cake to Raf due to his naturally outgoing personality. He's so outgoing that he's shyness is close to none. He was even labeled as a Serial Prankster in the Academy because of his guts in pulling off pranks on anyone he felt like. His latest work is him making himself look like he just committed suicide by acting depressed one day when he told everyone that he was thinking of ending everything. Then, he appeared to be standing on the academy's main building rooftop but it was just a dummy then he pushed it making it fall to the ground. Everyone who saw the fall thought that someone committed suicide but eventually, no one did.

 Raf accomplished the challenge in no time. He took selfies with 8 other bowling players, 6 elders who happened to be near the area, three kiosk vendors, two roaming guards, and one celebrity. He even got the celebrity to sign an autograph on his white uniform using black permanent ink. It seemed to not bother him with the autograph because he bragged about it online and to his friends.

 "Guys!" Raf exclaimed as he got back to the bowling area. "You won't guess who I bumped into earlier." He said while showing off the autograph on his uniform.

 "No way!" Saoirse recognized the sign. "You met Fiona Goodchild!? The ultimate performer of our generation!?" She exclaimed in excitement.

 "I heard the name before but I don't I know her." Tobi commented. "Thandiwe, ring a bell?"

 "We actually know her." Thandiwe confirmed.

 "What? Am I actually the only one not into music these days?" Tobi reacted.

 "We know her because she's actually one of us." Anastasia thought.

 "What the fiddlesticks!?" Tobi exclaimed of what he heard from Anastasia.

 "Language, my friend. Language." Raf said. "It's not the end of the world if you don't know Fiona Goodchild. You can still be a fan."

 "Whatever." Tobi commented.

 "Do you think she's still around!? I want to get an autograph and selfie too." Saoirse asked Raf.

 "I think I last saw her in a café nearby which has a name that I can't pronounce." Raf said.

 "Come on. Show me where!" Saoirse said. "We'll be back guys." She said then she ran off to the café with Raf. Tobi, Thandiwe, and Anastasia were left behind at the bowling alley.

 "Saoirse seemed to be a very nice person." Anastasia commented after Saoirse and Raf took off.

 "Fair enough. That Raf guy is weird." Thandiwe gave his comment as well.

 "Yes, he has his own weirdness in him." Tobi agreed. "But he's fun to be with, right?"

 "He is." Anastasia agreed and Thandiwe just nodded in agreement.

 Tobi went back to the thought of Anastasia and Thandiwe knowing the celebrity Fiona Goodchild personally. He thought of how they know each other, why is she in the entertainment industry if Anastasia said that she's one of them and if she's one of them, what would be her Anomaly? Is her Anomaly related to her being a performer or a very different one?

 "By the way, I remembered you guys saying that you know Fiona Goodchild and that she's one of us." Tobi said. "How?"

 "Oh, her." Anastasia said. "Where should I start? Brother?" She asked her brother with a tease.

 "Fiona, Anastasia, and I were discovered by the Professor in the same year." Thandiwe shared. "We saw her performing in a circus. Anastasia had a hunch that she's one of us after she accidentally read her mind while performing. She was called Miss Boneless. She was the most flexible performer in their group that she can fit in a luggage or reaching her feet using her head while bending backwards. Fast forward, the Professor arranged a meeting with the head of the circus then the next thing we know, Fiona has joined us."

 "We called her Kitty since we knew her as the flexible one. Flexible as a cat." Anastasia added. "But it turned out that she has more to that."

 "What do you mean?" Tobi asked.

 "She turned out having, as what we call, Adaptive Muscle Memory instead of her being inhumanely flexible." Anastasia said. "So that means, she can do any physical act that she witnessed even just once. She also realized it as she looked back in her circus years. One time, she's watching tapes of previous performers so she learned from them. She didn't know that her Anomaly was already taking in action."

 "It sounds cool but I don't follow." Tobi struggles to understand.

 "To put it simple so your little brain can understand," Thandiwe commented. "Let's say that she doesn't know how to do a cartwheel. She'll watch someone do it and just like a snap of a finger, she would do it herself perfectly."

 "Oh wow!" Tobi reacted.

 "Oh wow, indeed." Anastasia acknowledged his response. "She even watched judo, taekwondo, kung fu and some other things in between during our travels before for self defense."

 "She's scary." Tobi said. "But how did she end in the entertainment industry as most people know her as an idol or something."

 "She decided to pursue her dreams one day and the Professor wanted her to live her life to the fullest so he let Fiona go." Thandiwe answered.

 "How about you guys?" Tobi asked. "Don't you want to somehow live a normal life?"

 "Our Anomalies are not like Fiona's. Our Anomalies can appear as threats and not as a talent like hers." Thandiwe pointed out. "Only us knows that she's an Anomaly so the rest of the world sees her as an artist."

 "She probably watches great performers from previous generations and mimics what they do but she puts her own style to it to appear fresh to the public." Anastasia said. "Not to undermine her or anything, we're happy for her that she found the best use of her Anomaly as she sees fit."

 "So if she's a friend of yours, why wouldn't you want to go to her and check her out?" Tobi asked.

 "Before she left and pursue her passion, we have agreed to be strangers in the public's eyes. That is to avoid suspicions from the non-Anomalies and from our possible enemies." Thandiwe explained.

 "But we still have contact with her though so it's fine for all of us." Anastasia added.

 "Ok. I don't really get why you don't want to see and catch up with your friend right now but I'll leave you at that if that's what you all agreed to do." Tobi commented.

 Saoirse and Raf came back to the bowling alley after exactly two hours. Saoirse looked very happy as she showed an autograph signed on her white school blouse and a red bow tied on her head. The feeling is not mutual with Thandiwe, Anastasia, and Tobi since they've waited for too long and their arms got tired from bowling consecutively. Thandiwe even accidentally turned his right arm to his gorilla arm due to tiredness.

 "What took you so long!?" Tobi exclaimed. "You left us here waiting for two straight hours."

 "It's been two hours?" Saoirse said. "I'm so sorry. I just got so excited seeing my ultimate idol Fiona Goodchild." She apologized.

 "My apologies, T." Raf said. "It turned out that Fiona wasn't in the café I last saw her so we started to look for her since some bystanders said that she was still in the lounge. We finally caught up to her in a library somewhere in third floor but the guards said that no fans allowed so we waited outside for about half an hour. Next thing we knew, she already took off and headed to the garden." He explained.

 "Fiona's staff personnel said that we could have her autograph there so I went very excited but we saw a long line of other fans waiting for her autograph too so I thought that you would understand so we followed the line and waited again but now for a good one hour." Saoirse continued.

 "Oh, we understand all right." Thandiwe said with sarcasm. Anastasia grabbed his shoulder to calm him down a bit.

 "I know you would. Thank you." Saoirse responded with her pure innocence. She doesn't seem to notice Thandiwe's sarcasm.

 "By the way, Fiona seemed to recognize Saoirse back there. I'm so jealous." Raf stated.

 "How?" Tobi asked.

 "She kind of does but she also recognized Thandiwe and Anastasia here." Saoirse confirmed leaving Tobi shocked for a few seconds. He realized that they really knew each other. "As we met each other face-to-face, she said 'You're with the tattooed African guy and the beautiful Russian woman from the bowling alley, right?'"

 "She really recognized you both." Tobi thought. "That's really cool."

 "I told you we're friends." Anastasia said.

 "And I was like, 'Yeah, I'm with them. Do you know them?' and she was like, 'No, I just happen to see them while me and my team passed by the bowling alley.' And I'm like, 'Yeah, that's cool.' then I realized, to all the people that she'll see in here, you two are the only ones captured her attention but I shrugged off that thought because you two are just that noticeable maybe. Anyways, we got what we stormed off for so I'm very happy." Saoirse continued.

 "That's so intense. She probably misses you so bad by now." Tobi thought.

 "Probably not. Besides, we have contact with her so why would she?" Thandiwe replied then his phone and her sister's beeped as if someone messaged them.

 "It's Fiona." Anastasia said. "It's nice to see us she said."