The clock strikes eight in the morning. A tall girl with brunette hair cocoons under her bedsheet rolling here and there on the bed, her feet popping out from beneath. Sunlight sneaks from the blue translucent curtains of her window, reminding her of the time.
Suddenly, a deep, old, and thundering voice pierces through the walls and ears of the household, "CHARISSA! GET UP! IT'S ALREADY EIGHT IN THE MORNING!" It's an electric shock wave, that gives you no pain. This is the daily routine of an Asian family. No neighbors ever bother to ask for peace from this house. They've already gotten used to it. Because this family has been around for three years now.
Charissa's body vibrated from her mom's voice as if she had been struck by lightning. Her eyelids shot open like a speedup vehicle abruptly hit the brakes. "Lectures don't start until ten..." She muttered, her eyelids stumbling up and down from time to time.
"OH...IT WILL ONCE I COME UP THERE!" Mom yelled again. Another shockwave pulsed through Charissa's body.
She slithered out of her bedsheets and sat on the top of her pillow, yawning. Tears welled up from her eyes, an aftereffect of yawning too much. "I'm a college student now and why am I still living with my parents?..." She murmured wiping the tears.
"LIVE ALONE WHEN YOU CAN GET UP AT EIGHT IN THE MORNING AND CLEAN THE HOUSE PROPERLY!" By now, Charissa's body is fully awake, even though her brain isn't.
"You even heard that?" she whispered, hoping her mom didn't hear.
Deliberately getting out of her bed, she went up to her window and pushed open the glass welcoming the morning breeze and the warm sun into her room. A fresh new day, a fresh new start she thought.
The morning breeze refreshed her entirely, making her a little more energetic. Letting the cooled floor tickle her barefoot, she stepped into the bathroom to wash up and change. After, washing herself from the warm steamy water, she donned on a brisk ponytail and put on a blue baggy shirt tucked in sideways under black trousers. She then rhythmically hopped downstairs to help her mom clean the house and cook breakfast.
It was already ten past nine when they finished the chores.
Sluggishly slipping down the stairs while rubbing his eyes appeared her brother. He was still in his PJs: blue shorts and a matching blue shirt. He took a seat next to their father who was on his phone playing games.
"What's his excuse to sleep in late?" Charissa frowned at her mom, arms folded.
"He worked till late at night yesterday, so I let him rest a bit." her mom explained, a smile curving on her lips. She is proud that her son is finally hard working on his new job.
"Living with your family sure is fun..." Brother tittered as he ate his simple rice and curry.
Charissa sighed, thinking to herself, 'You were lucky that you were a guy!'
Her brother is only two years older than her and he lived alone back when he was a college student. Despite the age difference and continuous teasing, their sibling relationship is intimate.
Subsequently finishing her breakfast and washing the dishes, Charissa left for her college lectures around ten.
Walking into the teeming classroom of her campus, she sat down in the middlemost row for a better view of the board. Among the chattering students bore a rough and scorching air. Her lecture lasted two hours; by the time it was over, it was already lunchtime. The cafeteria is another busy and thronged place. The noise of forks and spoons clattering and the ranting among students felt more easing for Charissa than her mother's bombastic voice. She chose salad, and a hamburger from the counter advanced across the crowd to a vacant table at the center sat there with her two best friends, Janet and Elissa.
Akin to Charissa, Janet is a tall, white girl with round glasses and blue eyes, including brown shoulder-length wavy hair and outfits revolving around baggy jeans and baggy t-shirts. Elissa on the other hand, is a short, fair complex, blonde-haired girl with green eyes and always wearing dresses or skirts.
On Janet's hands were three strawberry milkshakes and her tray of cheese sandwiches. She took a seat next to Charissa stuffing her mouth with a cheese sandwich while handing over the milkshakes, "Wanna go shopping later?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, but today I have to meet up with Mom... something about an exclusive sales offer at XXgroceries," Charissa replied, collecting a milkshake from Janet.
Elissa's eyes widened, she was all in to go out, "I can come!" She enthusiastically exclaimed, waving her hands like a dog wagging its tail.
"But it's no use without Charissa..." Janet moped, glancing at Charissa.
Charissa slurped the last drop of her milkshake and gently placed it on the table, "Let's eat first. I'll ask Mom through text..." She advocated.
Feeling delighted, Janet gobbled the last piece of bread left on her tray while Charissa struggled to fit the whole hamburger into her mouth. It was only the size of her palm, but she couldn't eat it. In the end, she broke it in half and ate. Elissa leisurely had her lunch of only salad. 'You shouldn't try to diet too much,' Janet remarked at the despicable size of Elissa's lunch. Once the three of them were full, they decided to get some fresh air outside from the crowded cafeteria.
As Charissa got up from her seat –preoccupied with her phone– a guy in a black jersey and blue cap, snatched her phone and disappeared amongst the crowd. Charissa stood flabbergasted, unable to process the situation. One second, she was looking at her messages, and the next, her phone vanished from her hands. She eyed her surroundings and caught the thief reappearing in front of one of the canteen exits, entering the 'performing arts' hallways. Charissa scurried after him leaving Janet and Elissa in her dust.
"GET BACK HERE! BASTARD!" She yelled, within the crowd. If she put her mind to it, she too could yell as loud as her mom...
With each time being only an inch away from grabbing his jersey, she recollected how she ran around the school field every morning and evening. 'Good thing I did sports while I still could...' She pondered.
Just as Charissa gripped the guy by the lower end of his jersey, he took a turn to the right causing her to lose her grip and fall back while he disappeared in a T-junction. She halted to rest on her knees guessing whether the guy in black ran left or right. Her eyes scanned the surroundings hoping to catch a sign of him. Luckily there weren't any students at this hour wandering around the halls or classrooms.
"Charissa... You shouldn't run... without a plan...! Did you… catch him yet…?" Elissa's voice panted as she got closer to Charissa. Janet was still far behind. Despite her height, she isn't a very good runner.
"We should make a call from your phone to mine if we want to find the thief," Charissa remarked, turning around, her hands now fixed on her waist. Elissa nodded and took out her phone. No one needs to ask, because everyone knows how loud Charissa's ringtone is. The next thing that happened was a total coincidence. You could almost say it was a trap to lure out Janet and Elissa, keeping Charissa in sight.
A loud ringtone similar to Charissa's was heard from the right hall. Charissa had the gut feeling that it might be a trick so, she sent Elissa and Janet to the right while she went the other way. Charissa leaned on the wall in front of a classroom door observing Elissa and Janet checking on the first classroom and then heading out to the next. Just as they passed by that room, a similar guy with a black jersey, stormed out looking down, heading in Charissa's direction. He was about to slip away. Instinctively she grabbed ahold of his wrist, "You think I'm an idiot? Give me back my phone!" She bellowed. The guy grinned at her and then flung Charissa's grip, pinning her to the wall.
Charissa was stunned when she saw his face. "You..." she furrowed her eyebrows, "look familiar..."
"Don't you recognize me?" He questioned.
"Let me see..." she paused, "Right now, that's not the problem. Give me back my phone!" She yelled as she tried to seize his pockets using her free hand.
The guy moved back making Charissa almost fall face flat on the floor, but she managed to balance herself and tried to grab the guy by his jersey. He moved aside again, pulling Charissa with him, and tried to ensnare her again. Before he could grasp her, she dodged and tried to seize his pockets once more. He noticed her plan and seized the phone holding it high up. The next scene was like those two were the owner and dog playing 'catch the stick'.
Charissa tried to step on the guy's foot and missed, making her trip and fall backward. The guy instantly caught her again by the waist, interrupting her fall. Their eyes were fixated on each other. That is when Charissa realized who he was from his black pixie-cut hairstyle and brown eyes. He was Charles Jordan, her high school art club friend.
"I didn't know you could steal..." Charissa said as she hoisted herself.
"Finally..." Charles lamented, releasing Charissa.
As the moment strung itself, Charissa snatched her phone back from Charles as he lowered his hand.
"I thought we cut ties." she sighed, inspecting whether there was harm done to her phone.
"You did. Not that I cared. Family matters don't bother me like it does for you." He folded his arms, a smile curving on his lips.
"Says the guy who struggled to pass me in grades though we were in different classes."
"I'm not here for that."
"What else? Get my info? Stalking?" She shrugged, her eyes widening.
Charles paused for a moment. "I need your help." He implored.
Gossip between Elissa and Janet is heard from a distance. Charissa didn't want her friends to know about Charles anytime soon. "Not a chance. Why?" She queried after rejecting.
"Were you always like this? Weren't you so desperate for me?" He sneered taking a chance.
"Never was. Just been interested in your personality since we were family. But that doesn't count now. I already know what I need to do. So, bye..."
Charissa up and left Charles in confinement, waving at him without turning. She wasn't interested in Charles's story because she knew that trouble could stir up between families if she got involved with him.
Conversely, Janet and Elissa met up with Charissa and got to know a great deal about the situation except for the identity of the phone thief.