I awoke from what seemed like an enjoyable nap, noticing the pink sky as I looked out the window. "Did... did I fall asleep," I asked myself, rubbing my head.
"You did," Annabelle said, seated next to me, startling me in the process. "It was kinda cute," She teased, "but you missed the episodes," now disappointed, poking my cheek. "And here I thought I was going to enjoy some time with you."
"You didn't do anything to me right," I asked, concerned about my well being.
"You can trust me," she put on a reassuring smile, "Why would I hurt my new friend?"
"Right," I paused, stretching my arms, "It's just that, I'm not usually so tired after school."
"We *did* spend some time fixing up your drawing," she brought up, "so maybe that got you tired."
"Yeah," I yawed, "it felt like an eternity in there for it only to of been 30 minutes. What time is it, by the way?" I reached for my phone.
"It's just past 8 pm," she answered, "you were out for a while."
"My dad must be-" I paused, looking at my phone. Yeah, he probably thinks I'm having 'fun' with a girl, why would he be worried, I reassured myself.
"Your dad must be what?" she questioned.
"It's nothing," I explained, nervously, "it's just that, he probably thinks... I'm dating you, or I should say the new girl since I told him I was coming over."
"I bet you gave him that idea," she said, covering her smile with her hand. "Don't tell me you've already fallen for me," she continued, "it's only been two days, you're going to have to slow down, Josep-, I mean Kaori."
Joseph? That name sounds familiar, I thought, but it felt like I was missing something important, like some sort of a connection. "I'm heading home," I said, getting up.
"Wait," she said, stopping me. "Let's play a card game," she insisted, grabbing a box of playing cards, "and let's make it interesting, the loser has to... um, let's see." She continued thinking for 3 minutes until coming to the conclusion of, "The loser has to surprise the other with a gift, you like surprises right."
"Yeah," I confirmed, "but what card game are we playing?"
"Palace. You know how to play?" After explaining the rules, we played 4 games in around 23 minutes. "What I lost again," she cried out, "after the first game, my luck seemed to drop all the way."
"I don't think there's a point in playing another game, I won the 3 out of 5."
"You don't need to boast about it," she said, pouting, "now I got to think of what I could get you."
"I'm sure it will come to you," I reassured her as I walked to the front door.
"Let me walk you out," She said, following behind me, "thanks for coming over."
"Thank you for having," I replied.
"Yeah, you can sleep here anytime you want," she giggled.
"Right," I sarcastically said, putting my shoes on.
"Oh, right, could I get your phone number?" She handed me her phone.
"Sure." I took the phone and added my number to it, "here you go."
"Let me just call you," she called my number with the sound of my phone ringing following after. "Now, you can add mine," she smiled at the idea. I created a contact for the number, putting it under the name. "Annabelle." "Don't put Annabelle," she complained, "it's too formal, were friends, put something like Anna."
"I don't see a problem with it," I replied, "I prefer calling people their real names rather than their nicknames."
"Too bad," she turned away, "but text me when you get home safe."
"Don't count on it," I told her, leaving through the front door, "I'll probably forget on the way there." After that, I headed home, thinking about why she called me Joseph because there was no way you could confuse my name with Joseph, maybe I reminded her of someone she's met before. I got home and walked through the front door with my dad greeting me.
"So, how'd it go," he asked.
"I fell asleep as soon as we began watching TV," I disappointingly said.
"You were probably just nervous," He reassured me, "No need to beat yourself up over that, there'll be the next time."
"Wasn't planning on it," I replied, heading up to my room. Once there, I laid on my bed, continuing to think about the events that happened throughout the last day.
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"Now, let's see where he is now," Annabelle booted up a handheld device displaying a map and a marker. "I didn't know he lived that close," she commented on where the dot stopped moving, "just one street over. Right, now I have to think of what gift I could get him that would shake him up. I think I'll 'gather' more information before choosing something." She went to her room and laid on her bed, "AHH," she cried out in excitement, "no matter how many times a new beginning starts things never get boring," she raised the small monitor above her, "and now even technology is this advanced."