Chapter 10

September 13, 2015. Early Afternoon.

Bomi POV

*Fffffwwwhhhhhhhhhhhh* I awaken to the sound of an aircraft flying by. What the heck was that? I rub my sleepy eyes. I look at the clock. It’s 1:10 pm. Wow, this is nuts! How did I fall asleep like that? In the middle of the day? Just another departure from my former routine, I guess. Welcome, Bomi, to Day 2 of Life After Chorong. Finding myself lacking appetite (again), freezer and pop it in the microwave.

*BEEP*

I start eating the bland, tasteless chicken. I wonder if it’s made of real chicken meat or a fake meat? I wash the meal down with a glass of OJ and clean up. I press the power button on the remote and turn on the TV.

News. *click* News. *click* News. *click* DAMN! I turn off the TV. I’m just not in the mood for any news stories right now. I know what the damn news is! The towers are gone! I don’t need some know-it-all talking head on TV to tell me this!

*SIGH* Calm down, Bbom. Getting angry won’t do you any good. You’re just taking it out on the TV. It’s probably a tough job for the news guys on TV to do right now. After all, many TV channels shared offices on the top floor of the North Tower and that means news media folks died in that tower’s collapse as well. I take my now customary spot on the floor. I lean back against the wall and daydream of my past life with Chorong.

*******

April 3, 2004.

We’re eating lunch in the cafeteria. I noticed that something has been bothering Chorong lately. She seems distracted, her mind far, far away. Namjoo is sitting next to me, finishing her plate clean, as usual. Hayoung is quietly finishing his sloppy joe sandwich. She’s doing a great job not making a mess! Chorong here is picking at her food, barely taking a bite.

I’m waiting outside the school gate. It is raining right now. Great, just great. I hope Chorong passes by soon. Oh! There she is! Chorong walks past me without realizing it. I sneak up behind her and whisper in her ear.

“Penny for your thoughts. Gah!”                         

Chorong jumps and turns toward me, clearly annoyed. “Do you get off scaring me like that?”

I grin. “I was waiting for you but you just walked by me without noticing.”

“Oh, sorry about that Bbom. But you didn’t have to scare me like that. So wassup?”

“I think that’s my line.” I saw Chorong chuckles a little. “I see something’s been on your mind lately. You’re not the usu