The Voices

 

“What are you thinking of?”

 

Mina was woken out of her thoughts by a soft voice. She turned her head around, only to be greeted by nothing. She let out a sigh and glanced back out her window. Clouds floated around the sky, like waves in the ocean. The sun would occasionally get covered but it shone just as bright when it reappeared.

 

Her pen tapped against the side of her table, echoing around the empty dormitory. It was early in the afternoon and her roommate had classes, leaving her alone in the room. Mina was given the luxury of morning classes and while to some, it seemed like a curse, Mina was a morning person. To her, it was a blessing, she said that it allowed her to be mentally stimulated for the rest of her day, allowing her to finish work more efficiently. Sana, her roommate, however, thinks that Mina was just trying to brainwash herself into thinking she’s alright with waking up early when she wasn’t.

 

The bell rung and the campus was bustling with students. Mina could hear the pattering of footsteps as well as the chatter from the corridors. Sana would still be in class for at least a few hours so Mina had some time to finish her essay before Sana decided to drag her outside. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and breathed in, trying to think of any ideas to add to her essay. She still needed at least a few more hundred words but the deadline wasn’t until a week so she decided to leave it at that.

 

Lately, she has found it harder to finish her work, as if something was on her mind. She couldn’t place her finger on it but she thinks she just needs to let loose a bit more, which was why she had let Sana convince her to come to the drama department's party that they were holding in two weeks on Thursday.

 

She shut her book and plopped herself down on her bed. She opened her phone and put on some music as she set an alarm making sure she wouldn’t overnap.

 

So much for doing work before Sana came.

 

______________________

 

“I didn’t think I would see you again so soon.”

 

Mina wasn’t going to look up at first, initially thinking it was just her brain playing tricks on her but she did anyway. Luckily for her, this time someone was there.

 

“Hey,” she said, smiling. “Neither did I.”

 

It was the girl she had met near an intersection before. She went out late at night and was late to curfew and was rushing so quickly that she had bumped into Momo who at the time was on a bike. Naturally, Momo felt terrible and was worried though Mina insisted she was alright and it was her fault for appearing out of nowhere anyway. Nonetheless, Momo refused to let her off like that and practically shoved her bike towards her so she could ride it to get to campus faster, but not before leaving her number.

 

When Mina and Momo found the time for them to meet so she could return the bike, Momo said she refused to accept the bike unless they met up in this small cafe that she recently discovered. They chatted for a while and had some coffee but they were busy so they left quickly and the two of them no longer needed to communicate with each other anymore.

 

Yet for some reason, Mina never deleted her number. Neither did Momo. Quite the opposite, in fact, Mina had often found herself scrolling through their old conversations when she felt bored or lonely and now there she was, right in front of her at the same cafe. What a coincidence.

 

“You like this place?”

 

“Yeah, I must say I’ve grown quite attached to it after you showed it to me. Sit down,” she said, inviting Momo over.

 

It had been just over two weeks since Mina had last seen her but she changed a lot. While Mina still had her long black locks of hair, Momo’s hair seemed to be a lot shorter since she last saw her, now just past shoulder length and it was definitely a shade darker of a brown.

 

“Have you tried the cheesecake here? It’s so delicious!”

 

“No, I haven’t but I’ll remember that.”

 

“Nonsense, here we’ll order a cheesecake now, we can share, my treat.”

 

Before Mina could register anything, the brunette had already placed the order. The cake came shortly and Momo was correct. The cheesecake was marvellous. She made sure to make a mental note to order it next time she came as well.

 

“Good?”

 

“Very”

 

She saw a smile dance on Momo’s face as if she was proud that she managed to satisfy her.

 

“So what have you been getting up to since the last time we met? Hopefully not getting hit by more bicycles I hope,” Momo joked.

 

“No, not yet at least,” she replied, smirking. “Just studies really. I’ve got an essay due sometime next week.”

 

“Oh cool. What do you major in?”

 

“Modern history, I think it’s just a lot easier to research than ancient history.”

 

“Does that mean I can assume you like history?”

 

“Well, not really, it’s the subject that came to me the easiest. Just stock up on facts and then articulately form all the data into sentences.”

 

“I can tell, something about you just reeks elegance and eloquence.”

 

Mina put down her fork and raised her eyebrow.

 

“There is?”

 

It wasn’t the first time Mina had heard this in her life, far from it but something about the small nod she saw from Momo left her almost flustered as if it were a surprise.

 

“Thank you. You’re a year above me, right? What do you do?” she asked, continuing the conversation.

 

“I’m actually still undecided, though I’m leaning towards music or theatrical arts,” she mumbled thoughtfully between her bites.

 

The little hint of shame in her tone did not go unnoticed by Mina. She wasn’t surprised; many undecideds were looked down upon those who knew what they were majoring in. It was quite a stupid norm in her eyes but she couldn’t do anything to stop it. It made no sense how those who knew what they were doing believed to be superior to those who weren’t and would flaunt it around them.

 

“Oh that’s nice,” she smiled back, making sure that Momo could see the genuine lack of contempt.”

 

Momo would say it was at that moment, Mina just shone to her. It wasn’t hard to be attracted to Mina; she had that femininity and gorgeous locks of hair that flowed past her shoulders. She carried a sense of beauty, elegance and grace around her as if she were superior but that smile, that goddamned smile would make anyone melt.

 

She smiled back, her eyes gleaming.

 

Later that night, she texted her a ‘Hope you had as much fun as I did’ with a smiley face for good measure.

 

She was oddly glad she could text her again.

 

______________________

 

“Mina, someone’s at the door for you!”

 

She raised an eyebrow at the thought, not able to recall any expected guests. Nonetheless, she hopped off her bed and walked to the door.

 

Mina had made a list of people that could she could possibly find in front of her door, ranging from her parents to the principal, but she did not expect Momo.

 

“Oh, hel