Friends Keep Us in Line ( Part II )

After lunch, the group of women headed out to shop. It had been a while since they all bought something new, so they decided to browse through some small scaled local boutique shops. As they walked towards the direction of one particular shop they liked, the second eldest woman stopped and smiled softly.

“You know what I just realized?” she spoke not bothering to wait for a response. “I realized that April unnie and Kimmie haven’t shared any of their news.”

The two women in question looked at her with similar expressions. As they were sisters, they often tended to mimic each other without any thought. The second youngest, upon seeing this, snorted out a laugh and pointed at each of the sisters’ face.

“You two act like twins when you’re years apart,” she continued to laugh. As they’re faces again changed to similar looks her laughter grew louder and her breath labored.

The second eldest rolled her eyes and smacked the second youngest in the back of the head. “Shut up Kaila.”

The second youngest pouted, but kept shut while rubbing the back of her head that stung slightly from the blow delivered by her older friend. The sisters now laughed at her peeved expression, shaking their heads and continued to walk. The group finally made it to the store and each woman set to different directions. Once they each had at least five items to try on, they headed to the fitting rooms to check them out. Entering four separate stalls, they began removing their clothes and trying on the items the brought with them. Of course, they weren’t quiet as they did so.

“So… what’s your news dears?” Aisha asked while trying on a purple cotton top.

Kim sighed, removing the red halter dress she was trying on and put it back on the hanger. “Nothing much really. Met a guy at a bar though.”

“Really? When?” Kaila inquired, looking at the mirror in her stall and deciding whether the floral blue blazer was appealing as it was on the rack when put on her.

Sighing again, the youngest grabbed the dark red blouse she found and took it off the hanger. “The other night ago. He’s the bartender down at that wanna-be Irish pub near my apartment.”

“What were you doing there?” April, her unnie, questioned as she took off the black pleated skirt she was admiring.

“Writing, as usual. What else would I be doing there?” Kim groaned, getting annoyed at the seemingly ‘innocent’ interrogation she was going through. “Besides, don’t you have something to share unnie?”

April laughed at the irritated tone in her sister’s voice. Wanting to calm her and ease away the topic off her, she smiled gently at her reflection, liking the way the hunter green lace top hugged her curves. “Yeah. I do actually. You guys remember that male nurse that was stationed at my ward, right? Well, we’re… we’re living together now.”

Silence was thick in the air.

“WHAT?!” three feminine shrieks rang loudly in the small enclosed fitting area.

Rolling her eyes, April took of the top and began putting on her clothes. Once outside of the stall, she sat on one of the beige chaises and glared at the remaining three shut doors. “You girls heard me. We’re. Living. Together. That’s it. End of discussion.”

“But why so sudden? I mean… are you guys even seeing each other?” Aisha spoke up, opening her stall door and glanced at her irritated friend.

“Of course we’re seeing each other. I wouldn’t have allowed him to me if we weren’t,” the eldest bluntly stated.

The other two women opened their stall doors and looked at each other. It seemed like they were reading each other’s mind until one of them decided to question what they both wanted to know. “Isn’t there a policy the hospital has about fraternizing?”

“Yeah unnie. I know I saw it somewhere when you first started a few years after your transfer from San Diego,” Kim pondered, looking at her older sister with curious eyes.

Taking a deep cleansing breath, April closed her eyes for a moment to collect her thoughts. She then opened them slowly when everything she was thinking was processed and placed in an order she would be able to explain it to her friends and sister. “There is a policy about it, but it only applies if you are caught. And who would really care? I mean I don’t treat him any differently from the other nurses under my ward.”

“Even though unnie, you should be careful. We just want to let you know that we’ve got your back no matter what. But just be careful. We know how much hard work you’ve put into what you do. It’ll be such a waste of time if it all is flushed down the drain,” Aisha reasoned, speaking in her motherly tone of voice.

Smiling appreciatively at the second eldest, April nodded and stood up from where she was seated. Extending her arms out, she beckoned the other women into a group hug. As three pairs of arms surrounded her she couldn’t help think that friends truly help you keep in line. No matter what happens, they would always be there for you.

==============================

▌author's note► so, here's part two of the previous chapter. so far, how do you think the story is going? i hope you guys are enjoying this series of interconnected drabbles. do leave a message if you feel like doing so. anyways, next chapter i will formally introduce the guys and who they are partnered with. until then~!

==============================