Alorah Reagen
The days flew by in the blink of an eye after the little talk with Julian. When class ended that day, the three of us decided to hang out at my place to do our homework. I didn't tell them that Mom came back, and when those two stepped foot into the house and smelled the chocolate chip cookies Mom would always make, they flung themselves at her and cried.

Amelia and Layla have a special connection with Mom. We have been together ever since we were toddlers, and they would frequently visit my house to play or have a sleepover.

We all sat down on the couch while holding a plate full of cookies and milk pudding. The two chatted about all the funniest events that had happened to the three of us, and we ended up forgetting about the undone homework inside our bags.

When an hour passed, I felt a buzz in my pocket. I set down my plate on the coffee table and pulled out my phone to see a Facebook friend request notification on my phone screen. I unlocked my phone, went to the app, and his face popped up in my mind as I read his name again and again.

I made sure it was him by checking his profile. No doubt, it was him. Not wanting to wait any longer to ponder my next move, I hit the accept button. It hasn't been a minute since I accepted that I received a message from him.

"Hey! Are you down to have a meeting later at 8 p.m.?"

"Hello! What's the meeting about?"

I set my phone down and tuned in to their conversation while waiting for his response. I wonder why he's asking if I'm done for a meeting later. Could it possibly be for the bazaar?

My thought was confirmed when I felt a buzz on my thigh and turned to my phone, reading his text.

"Since the bazaar is going to begin in 2 weeks, I wanted to get a head start on the paper. We also have to discuss the cost price, selling price, and our markup for the products."

"Oh god. I completely forgot that our teacher gave us the signal to begin drafting our business plan. Thanks for warning me. I'm free later, but what about the others?"

"I sent a message to the three of them a while ago, but only Cynthia and Cameron responded. No news yet for Emma."

I checked the time to see that it was already 5 p.m., and I remembered that Emma was part of the volleyball club.

"That's alright. I remember Emma was part of the volleyball team, and they usually ended their practice at around 6 p.m. I noticed that we don't have a group chat yet. Would you like me to create one?"

"That would be awesome. Thanks, Alorah."

"Anytime ☺️"

"Who are you talking to, sweetie?" I turned my head and was startled by how wide Amelia and Layla's eyes went, not to mention how close they were—we were only an inch away before I bumped into them.

"A classmate of mine, Mom. He was asking if I was available for a meeting later," I explained while secretly giving my best friend the side eye.

"What is it about?"

"We have an entrepreneurial class where we will be doing face-to-face and online selling," Amelia replied as she backed away from me and straightened her back.

"Oh? Selling? Do tell," It seemed like this topic caught Mom's attention as she set down her iced tea and scooted a bit closer.

The rest of the conversation revolved around the bazaar we will be executing as graduating high school students. Mom suggested that the two of them stay and have dinner with us, but Layla and Amelia turned down the offer since they didn't ask permission from their parents.

It was already late, and when Dad came home at the right time, Mom asked him to drop them off. Dad agreed and opened the door, waiting for them to leave before following behind and closing it along the way.

"Sweetie, want to help Mommy make dinner tonight?" Mom asked as she began cleaning up the coffee table, and I immediately went to help her by carrying the remaining plates and glasses.

"I would love to. What are we going to have tonight?" The two of us headed to the kitchen, and when I started cleaning the dishes, Mom opened the freezer to see what we had inside.

"Hmm... how about grilled chicken, garlic green beans, and eggs with chives?"

"My favorite!" I grinned. Mom winked at me, rolling up her invisible sleeves, and smirked at the ingredients she had to work with.

Usually, when Mom makes dinner, the kitchen wouldn't become a mess as she cleans them in between. However, when it was just the two of us in here, we would come out with a few drops of sauce on our aprons and a couple of specks of flour on our cheeks and arms. It became that messy, and Dad would take a picture before laughing at us.

What did we do in return, you ask? Let's say that even Dad wouldn't be able to get away mess-free once he was a few centimeters from the kitchen.

"It smells amazing here!" Dad yelled from upstairs, and we could hear footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Decided to make something simple since we had guests a while ago, and I wasn't able to prepare something in advance," Mom said as she tossed the garlic green beans a couple of times before transferring them to the plate. I instinctively went to grab it and went out of the kitchen to place it on the dining table.

"Simple is better," he commented as he watched her cook. Once Mom finished whipping up the dishes, we grabbed our own bowl of rice and sat down to have our meal.

Halfway through our dinner, I checked the time to make sure I wasn't going to be late for our meeting later at 8 p.m. My eyes widened, and my fingers twitched a bit when I remembered that I was supposed to create a group chat for our entrepreneurial class.

I set down my chopstick and quickly created one, adding four members to our group. I sent a sticker of a puppy waving with the word hi beside the paw to ensure they know about the group chat existing. After a couple of seconds, all four reacted by giving a heart or a waving emoji.

"I guess all of us will be present at our meeting later. I'm glad," I muttered, glancing at the clock one last time before placing it on the table.

I can wash up first and use the remaining thirty minutes to dry my hair with the electric fan. I thought to myself as I grabbed a few pieces of green beans off the plate.