New Day - 2

2

The sky in Novadía had already darkened and the streets were illuminated with orange artificial lights. Most shops and restaurants had already closed or were still in the process, and the employees had to prepare for the next day.

Luckily, that was not the case for me. My body was really exhausted, so I was grateful that my shift was over and I could go home.

I grabbed my things and said goodbye to my colleagues. But, before I could cross the door, the owner of the place stopped me. She had something she wanted to tell me, and she did so after smiling and giving me a hug. Typical of my mom.

???: Take care on the way home... You know I'd like to go with you, but I have to worry about the café since we're opening the bar today and everything...

Lani: I know, Mom. Don't worry...

???: Okay… But text me when you get home, please.

Lani: I will! Good luck with the bar today.

After saying that, mom handed me something inside a paper bag and then let me go, although she kept staring at me until I left the X-Café (and even a little bit after that).

Luckily for me, we did not live in the upper part of Novadía. I only had to walk a few blocks in the opposite direction to the river. There was no need to pay for transport and I did not have to destroy my feet any more than they already were.

Exhaustion seemed to take over my body as I walked, but that was not the only thing I felt. At the same time, I felt satisfied with the day I just had, and after having done so many things, I had nothing more to do other than going to bed.

Honestly, I did not have intentions to think any further. And, without a good reason to smile at the moment, I simply walked with a neutral expression, while eating the candy that mom had just given me.

Lani: I survived another day… Good job! Yeah…

Lifting one of my arms had never been so tiring, but I did it anyway, wanting to congratulate myself for being able to maintain my lifestyle, even if it exhausted me.

In any case, I enjoyed seeing Novadía like that, tinted orange under the stars that shone so beautifully in that enormous, dark sky. It was very quiet, although not totally. And I was completely alone, although I did not feel lonely.

At some point, I started saying all the things that crossed my mind, simply because no one would care. But, because of that, I ended up saying some rather strange things.

Lani: I'd like to sleep and not wake up until the day after tomorrow. Yeah… How about I just sleep right here? No, that would be ridiculous… And tomorrow I have things to do. It's Saturday, and I have to go to the mall. I have to catch a bus… Hopefully I'll find a seat. And then I'll be there and we'll all do lots of stuff… With Twen… He's going to be there…

Finally, I ended up thinking about the so called protagonist. It had been a week since we decided to meet at the mall, and I was only hours away from that. I had mixed emotions about it.

One day after planning everything, Twen explained that he had an important paper to write for the university. And, since it was a group thing, he decided to use lunch to talk to his classmates. I had not seen him since.

Lani: It's a fact that I'm going to be spending a lot of time with him tomorrow, but I'm still not sure what I should do… Do I need to prepare something? Or pay attention to something? I don't know… But I don't want to think about it right now. What a pain, it would be easier if I didn't go, and that's it… But I want to go… But I don't want to go… But I want to go… Hmm~.

Shockingly, even though I was alone, something was bothering me. How stupid. I reached into my bag and pulled out something I hoped would help.

A small red sphere, made of a high-quality plastic material that could be compressed and stretched without damage. A stress ball.

It was the first one I bought in a while, but I figured I would need one again. It was still a damn shame, but they had been helpful before, and I hoped they could be once more. That is, if I ever needed one.

Mom bought a lot of these when I was younger, although they were not exactly to help a six-year-old manage her stress, but for safety.

For some reason, whenever I felt nervous, scared, or anything like that, my body tended to tense up, and that specially applied to my hands. Whatever was near me I would clench, instinctively and with all my might.

That led to some accidents, some more bloody than others, so my mom looked for a solution, and this was the ideal one. Ridiculous, but useful.

Lani: I… I just want tomorrow to be a good day. I want to talk to my friends and have fun with them. And since Twen is going to be with us, I want to seize the opportunity to get to know him better. I don’t want to be a bother… I’d rather have fun.

For a few seconds, my gaze was lost in the red sphere I held in my hands. And, for some reason, I felt as if my body had regained some energy.

I applied force to the sphere and its shape slowly changed. Then I let it return to normal, and immediately threw it in the direction of the sky. It did not go too high, but it fell back into my hand. And then I threw it again, and again, and again…

It was a simple distraction on my way home, but it managed to entertain me. I do not really know since when, but I realized that, at some point, I started to smile.

Lani: I want to have fun...