"How are you feeling?" Sophia asked her. "Mostly fine. Well, apart from the periodic pain in the chest and the headaches from the anaesthesia I'm always taking, I'm generally fine", Katie said. "That's great to hear. How about the donor update?" Jennifer asked.
"For now, there is none", Katie smiled wryly. Sophia couldn't help but sigh in frustration. "How long will it take for them to find just one person?" She asked with gritted teeth.
"It's not that easy Sophie. Remember that the donor would need to have died the heart to be made available, so yeah, it probably will take a while before they found someone willing to sacrifice for me", Katie said.
Katie's parents walked into the ward and greeted the girls. A doctor came in, and the two walked out to discuss her health. Meanwhile, the three girls resumed their chat.
"They're people dying in this hospital almost every day. The least they could do is to use their death to let someone live", Sophia mumbled.
There were many things she hated, one of which was selfishness. How could people be so cruel that they are aware of people in desperate need of vital organs, and they would be like "meh, who cares? I want all of me complete when I am six feet under"?
She couldn't imagine having a mindset like that. If she had a choice, she would have sacrificed her organs to anyone in need, irrespective of who they are. She wished others have the same pattern of thinking as hers.
"Alright, that's all about me. Aren't you supposed to meet your mysterious Simon by ten?" Katie looked at Sophia with a raised brow. "It's eight forty-five. There's still time to go there", Sophia said.
"What do you think he'll look like?" Katie asked with a mysterious tone. "I don't know, muscular? Menacing? You know how hackers look like in movies, and they're not wrong", Jennifer gestured.
"He's a cyber-security expert, not a hacker Jenny", Sophia chuckled.
"Cyber-security and hacker are the same things. The work of a cyber-security expert is to find loopholes in servers and exploits them. How is that different from a hacker?"
Sophia chuckled turned into a light laugh. "I don't think you know who cyber-security is, but you might not be wrong though", Sophia said thoughtfully.
"Maybe if he's nice, you can ask him the difference between them", Katie interjected. "We'll do that, but I know that the two terms are slightly different", Sophia said.
The trio continued to chatter for a while before the clock ticked at 09:00 am.
Sophia had set up an alarm for an hour before ten, so as the clock hit nine, her phone went off.
"I gotta go", Sophia said to the duo. "Get outta here. Tell me everything by the time you'll come back alright?" Katie said with a huge smile. "We sure will", Sophia went over and hugged Katie.
"I promise I'll be back", she whispered. Jennifer felt a little jealous and joined the hug, and they giggled right after. "Alright go before your mysterious guy gets mad", Katie playfully pushed them away.
"You like my handwriting, right?" Jennifer asked pouting her lips. "Well…" Katie squinted her eyes a little. "Just forget it", Jennifer feigned being mad and left.
- - - - - - - - - -
The more they approached the restaurant, the more nervous Sophia became. She has never met someone online before, and she was afraid of what she'll see.
What if he was a lousy person that might hurt her? Many variables were going on, and it wasn't making her feel better at all. Jennifer being the observant type notice her nervousness and held her hands tightly. It made her feel better a little.
They reached the restaurant, and Jennifer alighted. However, before Sophia climbed out of the limousine, she called the attention of the chauffeur.
"Dennis, please keep a close eye on that restaurant, please", she said soberly. "Should I be worried, Sophia?" Dennis asked with a deep frown. "No, I'll be fine. But just in case, just keep watch over the entrance until I'm done. I'll be there for roughly an hour", she said with a weak smile.
Dennis appeared worried but still managed to nod. "Alright, but be careful please. Your mother placed your safety on my hands. I cannot go to prison because of this".
"No one's going to prison. Just keep watch alright", Sophia sighed and alighted from the limousine. Sophia took two deep breaths before walking into the restaurant.
Because of the festive season, the restaurant was packed. This was a relief to Sophia. "It's not yet ten, so we'll just order a table", Jennifer said. "Okay," Sophie agreed.
However, as they went into the restaurant, Sophia's eyeball began scanning every face of the people sitting at the table to single out any odd person. But she didn't find any.
Thus, there were no open tables.
"Look over there. There's an open table", Jennifer pointed at a table. But a boy was sitting there, drinking a bottle of water. He was backing them, so they couldn't see who he was.
"Do you think he's waiting for someone?" Sophia asked with a raised brow. "That's not my problem. Let me see if I can ask him to butt outta there", Jennifer said coldly and walked over to the table.
Sophia stayed put and watched as Jennifer approached the sitting boy with a menacing look on her face. "Excuse me, young man, I don't know if this table is open, but my friend and I are looking for a table to eat. Is that okay with you?"
The boy stopped sipping the bottle of water and slowly looked up. "Excuse me?" He asked.
"You're excused. You don't appear to be using the table, so I presume you might be leaving soon, right?" Sophia has rarely seen the other side of Jennifer. The last time she saw her raged like this was during their movie night when Daniel wanted to talk to her.
While she admired her boldness, sometimes it worries her. What if she does this to the wrong people? You know, when she's not around to help her out?
The boy, however, took the confrontation well. He chuckled a little and sat straight and looked straight at Jennifer's eyes, a bold move. "I'm sorry for being an inconvenience, but I'm also waiting for someone. It's why I booked this whole table", he said.
This time, Sophia couldn't just watch and let Jennifer bully this boy. He seems too nice for heaven's sake. She walked over to apologise for Jennifer's behaviour.
However, in the next moment, she thought her brain short-circuited. The moment their eyes met, a distant memory flashed in her eyes.
"James?" She asked with widened eyes. James focused his eyes on Sophia's face, but there wasn't any hint of surprise on his face. "Hello Sophia", he said and smiled softly.