RICHIE

I've never felt so bad my entire life. I made it seem like it was her fault when, in reality, this is all just a big misunderstanding paired with miscommunication (or maybe, much more accurately, a lack of communication). All I can hope for now is for what I did to be right, that this is the push she needed and that this will be the point where their relationship actually makes progress.

Ring... Ring...

The ringing and buzzing of my phone provided a necessary distraction between me and my thoughts.

"RICHIE!" the excited voice of Irin came loud and clear from the other side of the phone the moment that I answered it, making me momentarily pull the phone away from my ear for a little bit.

"Why are you shouting, Irin?" I asked, taken aback and confused by her overwhelming enthusiasm. "Come here now" was what she told me before immediately ending the call. If I didn't know where they are, I would be left in the dark and might go around and around trying to find them. This girl can be such a handful sometimes. 

I found myself shaking my head as I put my phone back into my pocket and proceeded to drive to Nop's house, where Becky told me they'd be earlier today.

When I finally reached the place, I wasn't even able to turn off the engine when someone immediately knocked on my window, startling me and making me jump from my seat. I turned to the door, looking past the window to identify the person behind it, but it was only when the said person lowered her head down to the same level as the window that I was able to see the face. I was surprised yet not surprised at the same time when I found Irin staring at him, happy waving her hand as she greeted me before half-running around the car and entering the passenger seat.

Confused, I remained in place as I followed the girl's every move until Irin finally settled and looked back at me "P'Freen came here earlier" Irin informed me, effectively catching both my attention and interest "She was?" I asked, happy and amazed with the progress.

"Yes" she said "She called me; she was looking for her, and she was so determined to talk to Becky, so of course, I helped" The proud tone of voice she held together with that cheeky, proud facial expression of her made me a bit irritated and jealous at the same time.

"Where are they now?" I asked "Are they still inside? Are they still talking?" I added more, wanting to get more details, but her answer totally dampened my mood "They're gone" She appears to be so happy with her answer, but it actually made me more irritated and confused "What do you mean they're gone?" I asked as calmly as I could, but Irin showed me a wide smile that made me just a bit more irritated "P'Freen already took Bec home" she informed me and almost instantly, my irritation vanished and was replaced with joy "She did?" The happiness in my voice was obvious "Yes, she did!" Irin answered with the same intensity.

"I saw the two of them enter P'Freen's car and leave" she told me as she fastened her seatbelt and urged me to drive. I was feeling fairly happy with the news I got when I suddenly realized something "You could have just told me this on the phone; why'd you tell me to come?" I asked her, giving voice to my thoughts.

"So you could pick me up" she answered me as if it were the natural thing to do, leaving me dumbfounded and speechless. When she saw how still I've become, she rolled her eyes on me and started explaining "Bec and I took Heidi's car to get here" She said "Becky left with P'Freen and when Heidi found out that Bec already left, she too went home by herself, so here I am left alone" by this time, I knew she was already complaining, so I knew better than to retort so I simply started the car and drove off, indulging in the happy feeling of a successful plan.

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My day was so productive today that I finished all my work before my work time even finished, which gave me extra time to look over some more things and left me with plenty of time to drive to Becky's school to pick her up.

I pulled up right at my usual parking spot fifteen minutes early to pick up Becky, feeling excited to get on with the news of the current situation. There was some progress made last night, so I couldn't wait to hear what happened next.

The wait felt kind of long due to my excitement, but soon, the students started leaving the premises one by one. Not long after, I was finally able to see Becky and Irin, so I quickly stepped out of the car to greet them, but when I was finally able to do so, the atmosphere didn't seem to be good.

They did return my greeting, but nothing more afterwards. Becky silently entered the car, and Irin followed suit. I was hesitant, but I was left with no choice but to get back to the car.

"How was school?" I tried asking them as cheerfully as I could, but Becky only answered with a dull 'it was fine' which confirmed my suspicion. Something really is wrong. I wanted to ask more and maybe try to lighten the situation, but I wasn't able to when she flashed me that smile that made me lose mine. That smile that didn't reach her eyes, that smile that looks forced, that smile that is filled with so much sadness.

The drive home was silent. As I drove the car, I stole glances, through the rearview mirror, of my seemingly lifeless baby sister.

Once we arrived at home, Becky quickly moved, nodded her goodbye, left the car, and went straight home. The disappearance of her inside the house and out of my sight became my cue to finally be able to interrogate the remaining person in the backseat.

"What happened?" I finally asked, letting my frustration out, but I was only given a shrug in response, which I returned with an even more questioning look.

"I honestly don't know. She won't tell me no matter how much I ask. She won't talk no matter how much I try" She complained to me so genuinely that I could feel her frustration radiating from the back seat of the car.

"I was super excited to talk to her this morning to get all the details of what had happened between her and P'Freen, but what greeted me was that fake smile and that super unresponsive attitude" She continued to let out what she must have been suppressing all day "I hate this!" She appears to be throwing a full-on tantrum now, but I can understand since I feel the same.

"I really thought that they'd finally made progress last night" I started "I went ahead and said some hurtful words to my best friend, most of them, I don't even mean, thinking that it was the push she needed to finally figure things out" I complained "What exactly happened to the two of them to make the situation worse?" I just couldn't get even a vague picture of the situation "I know that those two need to talk, be honest with each other, and sort out everything that they need to take care of. That's why I even pulled you into this plan, but it seems like I only made things worse" I added, feeling disheartened.

"How do we fix this?" I mumbled mostly to myself, but my voice was enough for Irin to hear "Think of something!" I told her, desperate to find a solution.

"This was your plan!" Irin exclaimed. I'm sure she thinks of me as ridiculous for complaining about my own plan, but I really couldn't think of any other way to make myself feel even a little better.

"I know" I replied miserably "That just makes me feel worse" I admitted, not trying to hide even a little bit of the pain and regret that I'm feeling at the moment.

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