Video Call

Rune Hunters was about to begin. I leaned back against my sofa and threw my hands behind my head as I watched the logo of the streaming service disappear, heart beating quicker than usual.

I hadn’t felt this way since I was young. The mixture of excitement and nervousness spread adrenaline throughout my body, making me gritty in my seat as I waited for the show to begin. Back then, I would sit between my mom and dad; we would wait for me to appear on the T.V. And when that moment happened, they would clap and cheer for me, telling me how much of a great job I did.

I was so proud of myself back then. When did I stop being excited to see myself on the big screens, I wondered…

I followed the show as I lay on my side. I already knew what would happen and how it would happen since I’d skimmed the original novel and played in the series, and I was satisfied by the quality of the show. The cinematography, the editing, and the soundtrack came out so well that my worries about the show’s quality subsided.

And then I appeared on the scene.

The introduction of the character I played as, Lesley, came out as natural and casual as I hoped for it to be. Lesley was meant to be a close friend to the main character, and later on, a love interest, so I had to be careful about the first impression she made in her introduction, as well as the chemistry between her and the protagonist as the show ran.

The challenging part of her character was that later on, she had to hide the fact that she was the reason the protagonist lost his father, fighting between guilt and her genuine affection for the protagonist.

Acting played a big part in how you perceive a character, but editing and camera work helped cement it, so I wondered how the production would handle their part. But for now, I didn’t have to worry about that as it was only the first episode of the show.

And soon enough, the show ended. Overall, it was a great first episode; the pacing was great, and the production did a fine job on their part. As long as the quality stayed consistent throughout the show, there should be nothing to worry about.

I looked at the clock to see that it was dinner time, I turned off my T.V. and headed to the kitchen to make a meal.

For today’s dinner, I’ve decided to make a rose spaghetti, since the last time I had it, I wasn’t satisfied enough. As I was preparing my ingredients, my phone dinged.

“I saw Rune Hunters! You nailed that introduction!!!”

It was a message from Lena, followed by a sticker of a cartoon cat with its thumbs up.

The corner of my lips tugged into a smile, and I sent her a reply.

“I’m glad you like it!”

“It’s nice when compared to the–”

Her messages went on as I continued preparing the ingredients for cooking. I gave her short replies during the small window between chopping each vegetable, taking in her thoughts on the characters and the show.

They were nothing but praises, but those messages alone weren't enough to satisfy me. I wanted to hear her say them. I wanted to see her face as she said those words to me.

It was unfair that while Lena got to see me on the screen, hearing my voice through videos, I couldn’t do the same.

Lena was a private person. Her social media presence was nowhere to be seen. There were no photos, no videos, no posts, nothing, nothing even on the messaging app we were using. The only photo I had of her was when we took it at the cafe, that’s all.

My eyes lingered on the video call button. I wanted to press it, but knowing Lena, she would prefer messaging rather than a video call. She was a shy person after all.

But still… I wanted to see her so badly. I gave in to the urge and typed a message, asking her to do a call with me. Lena could refuse if she wanted; the choice lay with her. And I was willing to gamble.

“Can we do a video call?”

I pressed send and hoped for the best. With a brief pause, my reply arrived.

“Sure.”

Reading that put a smile on my face. I was about to initiate the video call, but was stopped by the next message Lena sent.

“But hold on a sec.”

I waited until Lena herself called me, and I hurriedly accepted.

“Hey,” Lena said as she combed her hair with her finger. I could see the headboard of the bed in the background, so she must’ve been lying down just before she called.

“Hey,” I replied.

“Are you cooking something?” She asked after spotting a pot of boiling pasta in my background.

“Yeah, rose pasta for my dinner.”

“Pasta? Like last time?”

“Yep. That’s the one.” I nodded. “I wanted to see if I could make it better than them, so I’m trying it out!”

“That’s cool. I was ordering something to eat before you called.”

“Oh, what were you ordering?”

“...Burger Queen.”

“That’s nice. What’s your go-to order? I really like their Max Burger combo with onion rings. Those are really great.”

“I like chicken sandwiches with shrimp balls, oh, and a medium cola.”

“Sounds delicious. I would love to try some.”

Lena went quiet for a bit.

“...Do you want me to order you some?”

“I’m already cooking my own dinner, silly.” I laughed and showed the rose sauce I was making to the camera.

“No, I mean… like, some other time!” She paused for a moment. “Unless you don’t want me to?”

I smiled and leaned in closer to the camera.

“Of course! Let’s go out for some Burger Queen sometime.”

The call went quiet as I focused on making my meal. Taking a slight glance at my phone as I took the pasta noodle out of the water, I saw Lena playing with her fingers as she shifted in her bed, unsure of what to say now that the conversation had died down.

I felt bad about having her watch me cooking due to my selfish desire of wanting to see her face, so I brought up another topic.

“Let’s continue talking about the show.”

“You still want to hear me talk about it?”

“Of course! I love it when I hear you praise me.” I laughed. “Just kidding. I want to hear what you think about it since you were so interested in it.”

“If you say so…”

I listened to Lena as I cooked my meal; it was like I had a personal podcast to myself that I could interact with from time to time. She talked about the difference between the book and the adaptation, the good and the bad of it, while giving me some fun facts about the show that was only in the book. I could feel the love she had for the series by how much she talked about it. I was happy that she was sharing that love for me as well.

Listening to her speak didn’t help to alleviate my desire to see her at all; in fact, it made me want to see her more. It would be so nice to feel her touch as we talked about nothing in particular, just existing, enjoying each other’s presence... It was then that I was reminded of the event that was going to be held nearby.

“By the way,” I interrupted. “They’re holding Oktoberfest in the square next town over. Do you want to go with me?”

“Oktoberfest? But I don’t drink unless it’s…”

“I know. You only drink on Friday, so… next Friday?”

After contemplating for a moment, Lena nodded.

“Sure. Next Friday then…”

“Great! I’m excited to see you.”

Finally, my rose pasta was done. I was about to pour everything onto the plate like usual, but now that I had an audience, I decided to be a little fancy with how to plate my dish this time.

I scooped up a small amount of sauce and poured a small puddle on my plate, and twirled the pasta noodles before placing them on the sauce, finishing them with some green garnish.

“Tada, all done! What do you think?” I showed the plate of pasta to my phone.

“It looks great!” Lena applauded with a smile.

“Thanks, let’s see how it tastes…”

Putting the fork into my mouth, I savored the flavor of the pasta as I chewed.

“It’s alright. Better than them but not really my favorite,” I said before I scooped up another bite.

“Wanna try some?” I asked, pushing the fork to my phone.

Lena tilted her head at my question.

“I would love to, but how would you get it to me?”

“I could try express delivery.” I took a bite and gulped it down before continuing. “I’ve heard that it’s a lot faster nowadays. Maybe you could get to try it by… I don’t know… twenty o’clock?”

“Are you really going to deliver one forkful of bite to me?” Lena laughed at the absurd length I was willing to go for her.

“If you really want it, then sure. I’m willing to waste some money.”

“No, it’s okay…” Lena shook her head. “Speaking of, I tried the drink you recommended. It tasted great!”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Maybe…” She paused. “Maybe you could try my… favorite at the Oktoberfest.”

“I would really love to.”

We continued chatting about nothing in particular until I realized that Lena had been watching me eat since I’d finished cooking.

“Is your food still not here?”

“My food?” She asked before she tapped her phone a couple of times.

“I… forgot to order some.”

“What? And here I am, thinking I get to eat with you.” I wiped my nonexistent tear off my face.

“I was about to order some before I called you!”

“Well, you should order now. The delivery’s gonna be slower the later it gets.”

“Okay…”

Lena looked down and tapped her phone, trying to order some food, I assumed.

“Are you going to wait for me?” She looked up into the camera and asked.

“If you’re comfortable with that, then of course.” I put down the fork and rested my head in my palm.

“Like I said, I want to eat with you. So I’m willing to wait.”

“But your pasta…”

“I can just microwave it. No worries. You’re more important to me than some pasta.”

A light smile appeared on Lena, and she went back to finish her order.

Our chat continued on for far longer than either of us expected. I was expected to call it an end if Lena was getting uncomfortable, but that moment never came, so we just kept talking. It was like we were making up for the time we never interacted during our school year. Those eight years condensed into one evening. Of course, it wasn’t enough for us to get to know each other on a personal level, but it was a start.

This must be what it felt like to have her so close by…