MISSED ENCOUNTER

“That’s it! You both should be friends because you have so many things in common” Madam Comfort shouted with a clap and others followed suit but she was not feeling the hype or connection between the both of them, she just want him to leave the gathering so they can continue their gist.

Instead of Steve leaving, the women dragged him to seat on one of the seats there and started a sudden interview session between the both of them.

Madam Comfort seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere the most as she pointed to Steve and asked “What department are you? She’s in the medical department but she’s currently taking classes online. Since she’s heavy now, she will be back to school by the next semester because she would have put to bed” she blabbered on and Steve nodded at every words.

“I am also in the medical department, I guess we will be meeting soon” he replied but she rolled her eyes. “I am applying for neurology so we might not get to meet much” she remarked and he clapped with a shocked expression, “I am also applying there” he announced with joy and she closed her eyes in disappointment.

“Really? That is great! Then that means you both will be seeing each other often, it’s better you become friends as soon as possible so it can be easier for you both” Madam Joan cuts in and Bridget wanted to smack them for their reactions.

Madam Comfort sprang up suddenly and shouted “We are supposed to take out those things today” making everyone stare at her. “What are you talking about?” Madam Joan asked and she winked before placing her hand on her shoulder to guide her up.

“I am talking about those things we prepared over the weekend” she said and Madam Joan took the hint immediately. She turned to other women and motioned to them to stand up “We have to dry them so let’s go” Madam Joan announced and they all stood to their feet, taking the hint.

She also stood up quickly to her feet and blurt out “I will go with you, let’s go” but Madam Comfort ran to push her back into her seat. “You don’t need to come with us, just enjoy the niceness of the weather” she said to her and everyone rushed out.

She sighed and Steve chuckled, she looked at him with a face laced with disgust as to why he was laughing and he closed his mouth immediately. “It’s just that you are so cute with the way you were obviously trying to avoid me” he remarked and she realized that she has been busted.

“It’s not like that, why… woul.. would I try to.. to avoid you” she stuttered and that made me him snort which only made her mad the more. “I am sorry for making you speechless” he apologized and she had no choice but to calm down.

They ended up discussing more than they thought they would. They discussed about school and he gladly filled her in on what was going on, what she should expect and how the atmosphere in general was like.

“If I am not rude, I would like to know your name. My name is Steve” he said with a cool voice and she smiled before responding, “It’s not rude and my name is Bridget”.

“It’s a very lovely name” he remarked and she scoffed “I don’t think so” she blurt out but he didn’t press further into why she said that.

Unknown to them, the women were sneaking peeks at them from the window and they were happy to see them conversing coolly and even laughing in between.

“They might as well fall for each other, who knows?” Madam Joan commented and Madam Comfort supported with “That would be nice” before they all chuckled and left there before they sight them.

Steve left after few hours because he had to attend to something but he promised to come around the next weekend. They exchanged numbers and she walked him to his car to bid him a goodbye.

“You must be rich” she remarked as she sighted his car and he laughed a bit. “It’s for my mom, I only took it out today” he explained and she nodded.

She returned to the room to see the women already waiting for her and as soon as she came, they bombarded her with questions about her meeting with Steve but she was smart enough to wiggle out of it.

“We just have a lot of things in common” she remarked and ran out of the room, making the women laugh at how cute she is.

****

Music was blasting hard from the room at the end of the long corridor as everyone partied hard in the hall that was wide enough to host the population in it at the moment. There was a big swimming pool at the far end, a bar at the right side of the bar and the dance floor very close to the front. The DJ was mixing up the playlists as if his life depended on it as everyone grooved to the high vibe being exposed to the already mushy atmosphere.

Francis was busy chatting on his phone and bubbling his head to the hard sound booming from the speaker as he hung a stick of cigarette at the corner of his mouth. Shawn who was also getting high thanks to the large of bottle alcohol sitting in front of him banged the table suddenly and shouted at Francis.

“Why are you on your phone all day? Did you come here to spend time with your phone?” he yelled and Francis paused for a bit. “I am chatting with Mike, he doesn’t understand the route here” Francis responded and Shawn scoffed “He’s a genius but a fool when it comes to how the world works” he remarked and downed his glass.

“Just go and pick him up” Shawn advised and Francis stood up. “He’s in front of the club already” he said and walked out of the room.

Few minutes later, he was back with Mike who scrunched his nose at the smell of the air that comprised of alcohol and cigarettes. “How are you surviving in this atmosphere? This is puking” he remarked and Shawn laughed. “Since you left here for some years, you must have forgotten how life is over here” he said and Mike admitted.

He sat down at the table and looked around to see people dancing, swimming, smoking and doing whatever they wanted from across the room. He sighed and asked if they could change location but his two friends declined strongly and immediately. He didn’t have a choice than to stay as they catch up on the times they weren’t together.

“I heard you are the top student at your university for the semester, you should cut them some slack” Francis commented. “I didn’t even do anything, all I did was study the materials we were given and I answered the questions they asked” Mike answered and Shawn blurt out a “What an arrogant bastard” with a tipsy voice making them laugh.

“Since you are in the education department, you might be inheriting the company soon” Francis stated and Mike nodded. “That’s why I applied for that department, I will be the best tutor in the world and I will run my company to have the best academies in the world with branches all over everywhere” he boasted and his friends clapped to cheer him on.

“Just reserve a spot for me” Shawn said and Mike replied with “We don’t hire teachers who are drunkard” which made all of them roared in laughter before a message popped on his phone.

His mood changed after he read the message and his friend bugged him about what it was.

“It was a strange number so I thought the person I am waiting for was the one who texted me but she’s not the one” he said with a sad voice and they wondered who he was talking about.

“You are waiting for someone? Not Leah?” Shawn asked with his brows raised up and Mike shook his head

“It’s someone you both don’t know” he replied and downed a glass of alcohol.

***

Steve and Bridget began to get closer every week that Steve comes around. They would study together sometimes, exercise and talk about life in general as she was getting closer to her due date. He introduced her to many learning platforms and also the educational channels he subscribed to so she can learn easily and catch up faster for the next semester and she was glad for all the helps he kept rendering to her.

After few weeks, she got a notification from one of the channels that they would be bringing over a guest on the show for an academic debate. She didn’t want to miss out because even though she was pregnant, she still doesn’t joke with her academics. She got all she would need prepared and even cooked dinner very early so she wouldn’t miss out on the debate.

Night finally came and she tuned in to the channel, she was rushing to watch the debate when she felt a twitch in her stomach. She tried to ignore it and resumed her walk but the pain hit her harder this time. She reached for the table’s edge to support herself as she tried to take her seat but she felt liquid trickling down her ties and it dawned on her that her time of delivery has finally come.

She was getting into the taxi when the show began and Mike mounted the stage as one of the debaters but she was gone, she missed her chance of seeing the person she had been desperately waiting for on her screen.