Page 54 of Clichés & Curses

I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting, especially after whatever happened—or almost happened—on Saturday night, but a feeling of relief came over me reading the text, knowing that it was just him being nothing more than a good partner for ASL class.

Clara:

Got it. Thanks for letting me know! Is there any other time this week that you’re free to practice?

It was a little over four in the afternoon. While Colton had told me his practice timings before, they tended to change, based on whether there was an upcoming game. But from what I remember, they usually started at either four or five, depending on the day, so I wasn’t expecting a reply from him right away.

I contemplated whether I should wait for Nina’s practice to be over and go home together. But thinking I’d be better off doingmy work at home, I got up from the seat, picked up my bag, and started my commute back to the apartment.

My phone buzzed as I was re-watching an episode ofCommunity.

I quickly picked it up when I saw it was a text notification, expecting it to be from Colton. I couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed to see it was from Nina instead.

Nina:

Have you started dinner yet?

In the first few weeks we had started rooming together off-campus, we mostly cooked our meals on our own, without knowing each other’s food preference. But after that midterms week, when I had decided to cook dinner the whole week for the both of us, Nina told me she wanted to cook dinner for us the next week.

Initially, I had rejected the idea, thinking she would usually be late from her training to cook for me, if I wanted to go to bed early. However, she requested for a week’s time to prove that I would be able to have dinner before the late hours of the night.

Nina was fully committed to cooking dinner for us throughout the whole week. With the help of meal-prepping and great management skills from her side, she emerged victorious from the challenge. It was then we found out that we were compatible home cooking-wise, and started compromising on who was making which meal, based on our class schedule.

For the past few semesters we had been roommates, we pretty much ate breakfast and dinner at home, and took lunch on our own since our schedules rarely aligned.

And for Monday night that week, it was my turn to cook dinner.

Clara:

Not yet. I just took out the chicken. But I’m not sure how I want to cook it yet.

Her reply was instant.

Nina:

PUT IT BACK IN THE FREEZER. I’m craving some pizza right now. What do you say? My treat!

I couldn’t help but laugh at her message. A pizza did sound good.

Clara:

Since you’re paying, PIZZA IT IS THEN!

Nina:

YAAAYYY! Any toppings preferences?

Clara:

It feels like a Pepperoni kind of night or is that just me?

Nina:

You know what. You’re right, it does feel like a Pepperoni kind of night.

I’m still on campus. But I’ll try to be back in 30 minutes!

Clara:

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