It’s gonna be a long day today, Tasha tells herself as she keys in her passcode into Gwen and Amanda’s apartment. “So many things to do!” She exclaims as she pushes the door open, walking past the corridor and straight for the kitchen. She had made plans with Gwen the day before to go for a quick walk ‘round the park before they head to campus to clear up last minute documents for graduation.

She stops halfway through the hall as she sees clothes scattered on the floor, leaving a trail towards Amanda’s room. She couldn’t help but smile widely. “! She got sum!” She let out a quiet chuckle, not wanting to wake Amanda and her guest up. Tasha then picks Amanda’s clothes up and leaves it on the couch. She walks towards Gwen’s room and knocks softly.

“Gwen….” TAP TAP. “G… you awake?” TAP TAP. No response. She decides to brew coffee, in hopes the smell of caffeine will wake her up.

10 minutes later, still nothing. This time, Tasha hooks her phone up to the speakers near the couch and switches on TWICE’s Knock Knock. She turns the volume up so loud, she could hear Gwen yell from the room.

“I’m UP! I’m UP! Switch that bloody song off! You know I hate it!” Gwen yells from her room. Tasha sees Gwen emerge from her room, hair messed up, still in her tank top and jammie shorts. “Lemme take a shower, I’m up I’m up….” She walks back into her room.

Tasha turns the volume down but still keeps the music going. Still nothing coming from Amanda’s room, she mused. She decides to pour herself a cup of coffee while waiting for Gwen. Minutes later, Gwen is ready in her work out gear, matching Tasha’s.

“Guess who had a nightcap?” Tasha motions towards Amanda’s room with her mug.

“Mandy? Nah… she’s been sleeping late these days. Sometimes she says she sleeps in the lab.” Gwen concludes.

“Dudddeeee…. When I came in just now, I found her clothes making a trail towards her door. I’m not just saying her top and skirt – like…. Even her bra and were on the floor! There…” she points towards the couch signaling that she had laid them there.

“Maybe she had drinks?” Gwen innocently reasons.

“You’re a terrible housemate y’know that? There’s a man in your house!!” Tasha insists. “I didn’t notice it just now, but I just saw a pair of shoes at the door that I didn’t recognize.”

“You sure it isn’t JB’s?” Gwen asks.

“Why would JB leave his shoes here?” Tasha asks incredulously.

“Forget it. Let’s just go. We’ll ask her when she comes back.” Gwen pulls Tasha by the sleeve and they both walk out the door.

* * * * *

“So how’s you and Jacky baby doing?” Gwen winks and nudges Tara while they make their last round the park.

“Stop ogling my man! He’s good, perfect as always.” Tasha says appreciatively. “I’m seeing him this evening actually. He says he has something to tell me. I’m a lil nervous though, I hope it’s nothing serious.”

Gwen stopped walking almost immediately. “Sorry girl not to scare you but why don’t I get a good vibe about this?”

“It’s probably nothing. I don’t want to over think it. He says he’s booked us a place at this fancy yacht tonight. I’ve got the perfect outfit for it, come down later to help me choose ok?” Tasha urged Gwen to continue walking.

“Ok.. I might not be much help but I’ll be there to provide moral support, don’t you worry.”

“, we’ve exceeded time. Let’s finish this and get back. I left my charger at your place.” Tasha suddenly realizes.

Twenty minutes later, they walk back to Gwen’s apartment to find Amanda frying eggs at the stove. They looked for the shoes they saw earlier that morning but it was not there anymore.

“G’morningg Bammie…..What happened to the Yeezy’s I saw earlier?” Tasha asks Amanda, pointing to the shoe mat at the front door. Gwen smirks, leaving the ‘twins’, as she called them, to settle the mysterious man issue.

“What Yeezy’s? I didn’t see any Yeezy’s?” Amanda brushes off Tasha’s subtle implication.

Tasha walks to Amanda’s room to look for the mysterious stranger who she swore would still be around. She pushes the door and searches her wardrobe and underneath the bed. Still nothing. She walks back out to the kitchen.

“Where is he? Where’d he go?” Tasha insisting Amanda was hiding a man.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Hey, you’re supposed to finalise your graduation stuff right?” Amanda tries to change the subject.

Tasha grumpily grabs her phone charger. “Jackson’s taking me to dinner tonight! No deets for youuuuu…” and she makes a run for the door.

“Heeyyyyyy…..” Amanda chases after Tasha.

Tasha and Sierra shared an apartment on the 11th floor, so the girls don’t live too far from each other. It was convenient for them to look out for each other this way. After hanging out together everyday since first year Uni, they’d decided to move out of the dorms and into private accommodation. Except for Sierra, the girls were not too well off, hence, they needed their part-time jobs to make ends meet.

That afternoon Tasha, Sierra and Gwen finished up their last minute paperwork, filling up forms and handing over cards back to the library, student cards to their respective faculties and took pictures at their favourite spots around campus. They settled on the lawn between the Law Faculty and the Engineering School. It was fall, so the weather was starting to cool up. They made themselves comfortable, sitting on the grass under a maple tree. Tasha and Gwen were updating Sierra on new mysterious guy that left his shoes at Amanda and Gwen’s apartment the night before. Tasha swore on her life and all her kpop albums that she saw a pair of size 14 Yeezy’s at the door when she walked into their apartment. They made theories amongst themselves and Tasha turns sentimental.

Tasha sighs. “I wish Bammie would just graduate fast. It’s a pity she’s not here.” She takes a sip of her cappuccino.

“She’s just delayed by one semester. I don’t think she should rush.” Sierra pointed out. “She had a lot to deal with this year. She needs time, I think.” She offers Gwen her warmed-up potato wedges.

Gwen declines the potato wedges and points to her bag of jelly gummies. “She coulda still joined us y’know….” Gwen said sadly. “We grew up together on this campus. It’s strange not to have her around.” She said in between chewing on her millionth jelly gummy that afternoon.

“You know what we’ll do, when it’s her time to graduate, we’ll attend her graduation ceremony and bring tons of flowers, a marching band and one of those…. Plane flying things in the sky that pulls a flag which will read “CONGRATULATIONS BAMMIE” all in capital letters!” Tasha stands up, points towards the sky and does a mini dance excitedly.

“Mandy would legit kill you, I can promise you that.” Sierra laughs at Tasha’s suggestion.

Right then, a tall male figure walks towards them, clad in a white hoodie and destroyed denim. He had his hands in his pocket, smiling shyly at them. He raises his hand signaling a ‘Hi’ gesture and the girls gawk, looking at each other awkwardly. Gwen knew who he was and she felt like she wanted to stand up and run away.

“Oh. My. God. He’s coming here… He’s coming here….” Gwen panics and tugs on Tasha’s shirt. “I should hide now. Help me hide!”

Not long after, the tall, totally handsome stranger with smiling eyes is standing in front of them, blocking the evening sun. “I’m sorry to interrupt you ladies, but can I borrow Gwen for a bit, please? I promise to return her in one piece.” He holds out his hand, offering to pull Gwen up.

Gwen makes a face and mouths ‘oh my god’ again to the side, hoping he doesn’t see it and takes his hand. Sierra then mouths ‘who the is this guy?’ back at Gwen, when tall handsome stranger replies. “I’m Daniel. Arts student, graduating next semester.” He flashed them his killer smile, as the girls gaped, trying not to look too excited for Gwen.

Gwen and Daniel walked away together and Tasha interjects their dazed thoughts. “Damnit Gwen. Why didn’t you tell us about Art-student-Daniel??”

Sierra turns to face Tasha, munching on her potato wedges. “Don’t you have a date to prepare for tonight? What’re you wearing? Where’s Jackson taking you?”

Tasha then tells Sierra about how she’s worried about the date that night. She needed someone else to tell her that she was not overthinking his text.

“No dear, I would legit feel the same. I mean like… ‘I have something to tell you’ is such a mean thing to say! Of course you’d be stressing over it! If you replied his text and asked him ‘what is it?’ he’d reply something like ‘come to dinner and find out’ or ‘you’ll see’ some like that. I’d be messed up too!” Sierra empathized.

“See I knew it! Although…. “ she trails off. “He did say something about having to meet his parents, or some like that. He just started working for his dad so I don’t know yet how that’s going. I guess I’ll find out more tonight huh?” Tasha sighed and Sierra hugged her tight. “He