I fall lazily into my sheets.
Last night, when I laid here, the sheets folded over me, cold like ice. When I could finally feel my joints again, they were stiff. I thought that maybe the bed would cover me and comfort me, but instead, they gradually became solid around me, hardening like concrete, encasing me helplessly within.
Now, laing here is the same feeling as losing consciousness with the calming thought that everything will be okay.
I wish to never wake again, but then I forget that thought, because of course I want to wake again… To see Harry Evan's face. I fall asleep grinning, and wake when Lilli's pulling back the curtain of darkness, allowing the sun to beam inside.
Lilli comes over with the intention of waking me up, and through slits for eyes, I see that she looks a little anxious about it. She probably is still under the hint that I'm mad at her despite the neverending round of bear hugs last night. So when her face is right beside me, I grin at her worried face, and her knitted eyebrows immediately unfurl.
"Morning, Tasmin," she starts. "I was just about to wake you."
I curl into a sitting position, stretching my arms. "No need, I've been up for ages."
Lilli stares blankly as I leap out of bed and practically skip to the bathroom. I'm on the toilet, but Lilli doesn't care for privacy at that moment, and instead pokes her head through the door. "You're in a good mood," she coos. "Also, I don't think you were."
"Were what?" I flush the toilet.
"Were awake," she tells me. "You were snoring, and mumbling in your sleep. I don't think you were awake."
I feel a bubbly warmth spread over my cheeks. "I was? What did I say?"
Immediately, she responds, "'Harry, I looove you so much! You set my heart on fire! You're so perfect…'"
It's embarrassing to listen to, even if I know it's fake, but I have to admit, my thoughts weren't off from that after this morning.
I give Lilli and look before sliding my toothbrush into my mouth and slumping out of the bathroom towards the window. Then, I climb carelessly onto the sill, snuggly warm under the morning sun. I mutter, "That's ridiculous," with a mouthful of toothpaste suds.
After some time, Emily finally wakes from her deep sleep, and swiftly gets ready, throwing on a big T-shirt over a patterned short skirt. It's a singlet top and denim shorts for me, and despite Lilli's warnings that it's likely to rain later, I take one look at the full sun and politely ignore her.
Ben knocks on our door and informs us that they'll reserve a table for us in the buffet, so Lilli spends an extra ten minutes packing our day trip items into a backpack. I help for about ten seconds before flopping onto my bed again to flick back to the romantic scenes in my book.
You know those moments. When the stakes for the protagonist are at their highest, when the two main characters can't bear to look at each other but can't bear to look away, when the author purposely wounds you with sharp words, when you can't turn the pages fast enough.
I've always wondered whether I could share those emotions with the character in the stories. I wonder if it is childish to wish for that. Whether it'll happen or not, the bubbly feeling in my stomach is enough to keep me going.
"Come on, Taz, let's go get breakfast," Emily chirps, poking my arm.
When we all sit down together, Charlie is checking that Lilli is feeling better after last night, Ben and Emily are back to joking (as usual), and all of them are glancing our way as Harry and I talk about the deepest thoughts and the most pointless ideas a human could come up with. I don't even think the boys have seen Harry so talkative. And… I may even be getting glimpses of his bright smile again.
I inform everyone that heading to the island early wouldn't be a good idea since a lot of the people would want to head to the island early, and they agree we should kill some time. But apart from eating and chatting, we have no further ideas.
By the time we finish clogging our digestive systems, breakfast has been cleared out and we can feel the newfound heat from the kitchen for the lunch buffet.
Lilli mentions that she read about the island we're heading to as, word for word, "Marketplace central! A Shop Till You Drop heaven! The perfect place to empty your pockets in exchange for souvenirs and cute knick-knacks!"
Then, Harry asks me, "Which island are we at again?"
I knit my eyebrows at him but continue to smile. "You don't even remember which island we're going to?" I seethe, and he blushes. "Noumea," I answer.
He nods. "And is what Lilli said right? It's… perfect for shopping?"
I nod at him. I have been to Noumea before, but I was young, and despised shopping. Especially since my parents spent ages examining each and every item on sale. But now, I'm excited to revisit. "I was young when I first visited, but yeah, I'm sure."
He nods at me again, clearly happy.
"Why are you so excited? Do you like shopping?" I inquire.
His eyes grow wide, then he shrugs like he didn't just exclaim his utter excitement for shopping. "Souvenirs," he bluntly responds.
"Hm? For who?"
He hesitates. "Dad."
"Ah," I say. Then, because I can't help but be curious, I ask, "And… What about your mum?"
He stares at me a second, then smiles and says, "You know what, I think I will get some for her as well."