Hurricane Diarrhea #8

“Looks like you got a message from her,” Sunny said, her tone jovial. “Congrats, Taeyeonie. Have fun chatting with her.”

Taeyeon grinned, feeling too happy to speak and too happy to think. But a reply was in order. Tiffany’s message was not the kind that went unanswered. It was open. Open to continuation.

hope you got your phone back already!!(:

A line like that was definitely open. Now, what was she to say?

Yes I got my phone back. Thanks for asking:)

Mmm. Too cold. Delete.

Yes I got my phone back! I’m so happy!

And I enjoyed talking to you too!

Mmm. Too chirpy. Delete.

I’m glad we talked. And I got my phone

back! Now we can talk to each other as

much as we want:D 

Gosh. Talk to each other as much as we want? Too desperate. Delete.

Taeyeon slumped against her pillows, vexed by the multitude of difficulties she had in coming up with a reply. She’d never had this sort of problem before. Why was it so hard to come up with a reply for Tiffany?

.

~

Taeyeon stretched and yawned. She pried her sleepy eyes open and looked at the wall clock out of habit. 8:09am. It was too early to get up yet too late to go back to sleep. Then it hit her and she jerked up straight into sitting position. Her eyes searched for her phone, roving up and down the mess of sheets with a kind of wild streak. Her phone! She grabbed it and pressed the home button. Her screen came back to life and told her the much dreaded truth—she had yet to send Tiffany a reply!

!

Taeyeon half-groaned and yawned as she stared at her phone in dismay. What would Tiffany be thinking now? Taeyeon groaned again. She’d gone to all the trouble to get her phone back only to fall asleep while replying. This was so great. Just. So. Great.

She dragged her feet to the breakfast table and slumped on a chair. Her chin met the table with a dull thud and brought Sunny’s attention to her.

“My, my, what a bright and sunny morning it is,” chirped Sunny as she popped two slices of bread into the toaster.

“It’s a horrible morning,” said Taeyeon through her palms.

“Why? You should be one happy girl today.”

“I fell asleep,” said Taeyeon miserably.

“Am I missing something here? What’s wrong with falling asleep?”

“It’s wrong if I haven’t sent a reply.”

“Reply…?”

“To Tiffany.” Taeyeon sounded as though she were in agony.

Sunny turned to lay her eyes on the down-in-the-slumps girl and laughed. “You’re telling me you fell asleep without sending her a reply?”

“Yes.”

Sunny’s laugh rang out and tinkled like silver bells ringing.

“Might I remind you that you’re my best friend. You’re supposed to be on my side.”

Sunny laughed again and shook her head. “I don’t understand how you can fall asleep while sending a reply.”

“It’s not that easy, okay.”

“It’s just a reply, Taeyeon.”

Taeyeon merely grunted in reply and Sunny grinned.

“Let me have a look at her message.”

Taeyeon pushed her phone across the table to Sunny and pouted as Sunny read the message. “You tell me how you’d reply.”

Sunny’s brow arched and uneasiness slipped into Taeyeon. She started to rise as Sunny tapped her phone but before she could retrieve it, Sunny grinned in a way that sent a shiver down her spine.

“What. What did you do.” Taeyeon read the message that Sunny sent, eyes wild.

 I got my phone back! Let’s celebrate with lunch!

 “What did you do!” Taeyeon couldn’t believe her eyes.

“I solved your problem.”

“No, you did not.”

“I sent the message you didn’t have the guts to send.”

Taeyeon could only stare. Sunny carried on spreading jam on her toast and cut them into neat triangles, placing them on a plate, nonplussed.

“I suppose…that is a reply…”

“It’s a damn good reply, that’s what it is.”

Taeyeon’s phone buzzed, freezing her words in .

Sure (: Monday. Lunch after class.

Warmth and chills shot up and down her spine and fireworks went kaboom in her mind.

Holy .

~

 Monday couldn’t come quick enough and came too quickly. Taeyeon didn’t know if she could make it through lunch without messing something up but she’d find out soon. Much too soon. They agreed to meet at the nearest burger place. Tiffany had a thing for burgers and fries, apparently.

“Mmm, I love these fries.”

Taeyeon’s eyes bulged and teetered on the edge of her eyeball sockets as Tiffany the salt on her fingers twice, closed her eyes and them clean.

Omaggarddd.

“Don’t like them much?”

Taeyeon blinked. Opps. Tiffany was talking to her. Asked her a question. What was the question?”

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked if you like the fries. You haven’t touched yours.”

“Oh.” Taeyeon gazed at her golden brown fries and struggled to find the words to explain why she hadn’t touched them.

“I’ll eat them for you.”

It was all she could do to croak, “Sure, go ahead.”

Tiffany’s smile could have stopped the most impatient driver in his tracks and Taeyeon tried to breathe.

“Thanks.”

Taeyeon watched as Tiffany devoured her fries and polished them off with finesse. Yes. Lots of finesse. A girl like Tiffany oozed finesse. And Tiffany had cleared most of the fries by the time Taeyeon remembered that she was fond of fries herself. She almost pouted at the sorry state of her fries supply when she saw the last fry standing. Her heart leapt. There was hope yet. There was one…more…fry…

“Don’t mind if I take the last one, do you?” Tiffany asked, her hand hovering above the last fry standing and Taeyeon found herself shaking her hand and allowing Tiffany to eat the very last fry as well. “Ah, that was so awesome. I love these fries,” said Tiffany, putting her finger in to get the last bit of salt on her tongue and all Taeyeon could do was force a smile.

Deep down inside, she was grieving. Mourning. She hadn’t had a single fry. Not a single one.

.

 ~

 Conversation between them was easy. Taeyeon didn’t have to do a single thing. All she had to do was let Tiffany do the talking. She talked about everything under the sun. The classes she was taking, her part time job as a teaching assistant, her love for dogs, music, books and fashion. She talked about how pink was her colour and belonged solely to her.

“Pink. Mine.”

That was the shortest yet most powerful statement she had made about anything.

She went on to talk about how red was a fabulous colour as well. Red was hot. Red was strong. Red was passionate. It sure sounded a lot like her and Taeyeon mildly wondered if pink was Tiffany when she was younger and red when she was older.

“What about you? You’ve been pretty quiet all this time. Am I boring you?”

Taeyeon snorted. Tiffany? Boring her? Ridiculous. Listening to her was like listening to world class opera. Not that she was good at appreciating it. She couldn’t really appreciate her love and obsession with pink and red either but it was lovely to hear about just the same. Just like world class opera.

“You’re not boring me.”

“Don’t feel obliged to be nice, Taeyeon.”

“I’m not being nice. I’m being honest.”

Tiffany nodded, satisfied with her answer and proceeded, “So what’s your preference?”

“Blue. Purple.”

“Hmm…the cool colours. You’re cool. Calm. Quiet. Pensive. Yet totally wacky at times. Intriguing much.”

Intriguing?

Now that was a word she hadn’t associated with herself. No one had ever described her as such.

“Why do you say that?”

“That you’re intriguing?”

Taeyeon nodded.

“Because you are. To me.”

Taeyeon’s cheeks heated up faster than an egg over a flame as Tiffany carried on.

“I’ve had a question that’s been nagging at me for a long time now.”

“What?”

“The that clogged up your toilet. Are they yours?”

Taeyeon flushed and turned a deep, dark crimson red.

“They are, aren’t they.”

A nod was all she could afford.

“I knew it.”

Taeyeon’s curiosity got the better of her embarrassment and she asked, “How did you know?”

Tiffany shrugged. “A gut feeling. Light baby blue, low cut, plain and simple. Very you.”

“Me?” Taeyeon never knew that could give her away like that.

“The way you blushed. The way you looked at it. But it’s a shame that it was flushed down your toilet and ruined.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I have a matching pair of light baby pink and they’d look so cute together.”

Taeyeon almost choked on the drink she’d been sipping. Almost. But she didn’t. Instead, half of what she had in ended up on Tiffany. Appalled. She was appalled.

“Omagaaad, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean…” Taeyeon dabbed at Tiffany’s face and clothes desperately, all the while wishing that she could somehow, disappear from the face of the earth.

“Taeyeon…”

“Please don’t be mad at me.”

“Taeyeon…”

“I’m sorry.”

“Taeyeon…”

Taeyeon’s hand froze and she looked into Tiffany’s eyes, fearing the worst. Much to her relief, she saw nothing that indicated the worst.

“Taeyeon, I’m sure that spot’s dry now,” Tiffany’s twinkling eyes belied the dead seriousness of her tone and Taeyeon was relieved. Until she looked.

Omaagaaaadd.

She was pressing on Tiffany’s left…left…er…thing with a napkin and had been dabbing at it for the entire time. No wonder it felt particularly soft. She snatched her hand back as though stung.

“Sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

There it was again. Tiffany’s riddle of more or nothing more. Taeyeon didn’t know. Couldn’t tell.

“I’m still sorry.”

“Don’t be. Just buy me dinner to make up for it.”

Something whirled round and round her heart, warming it up in an instant. Dinner! Tiffany! Dinner!

“O…Okay.”

“I’m pretty tied up for the next couple of days though. After 2027? I’ll have some time.”

“S…Sure.”

Tiffany glanced at her watch and pouted.

“I gotta go.”

Taeyeon stood up with Tiffany.

“Thanks for inviting me to lunch with you. I thought you’d never ask so you have no idea how surprised and happy I was when I saw your message. Didn’t sound quite like you though.”

Taeyeon gulped. She wasn’t sure if this was a good time to come clean about Sunny’s involvement. But Tiffany carried on talking and the moment passed and soon, they were both on their opposite ways, one to work, one back home.

And she was halfway home when it truly hit her. What had happened. Tiffany had happened. Dinner with Tiffany after 2027. It was going to happen. That meant that she had somehow made it through lunch with Tiffany without making her run for the hills. She hadn’t screwed up. She hadn’t screwed up. She hadn’t screwed up!

No .

 ~