Under the soft lights of the market...
The warmth of the market's glow mixed with laughter, sizzles of grills, and the occasional bang of a vendor's wok. It was all so alive.
Josh nudged my arm. "You okay?"
"Yeah," I said, still smiling. "Just taking it all in."
We passed a stall that sold Japanese crepes wrapped like flowers, another with Thai milk tea so orange it looked radioactive, and then one playing loud reggaeton music while dishing out spicy arepas. The colors, the chatter, the sheer chaos of it all. It was perfect.
Josh bought us both cold melon drinks in plastic bags tied with red straws. "You know, when I was a kid, I used to think these looked like potion bottles."
I laughed. "What did you think they did?"
"Make you invisible if you chugged them all in one go."
I raised my eyebrows. "Did it work?"
"Obviously," he grinned. "That's why you didn't notice me for, like, the first two weeks of class."
I rolled my eyes and sipped. "Well, guess the spell wore off."
We sat on the curb like kids, devouring food and drinks while music from a nearby acoustic duo played soft covers of 90s OPM songs.
"This might be the best dinner I've had in weeks," Josh said, licking his fingers.
"Well, it's the best accidental dinner I've ever had."
He paused, looking at me. "Accidental?"
I shrugged. "I wasn't supposed to leave the dorm. Technically, I'm still 'upstairs studying'."
Josh laughed. "Wait—seriously?"
"Yeah, I kind of... climbed out the window."
He looked at me in stunned silence, then burst out laughing. "You're out here living a whole spy movie."
I giggled. "You have no idea. If they find out I left? I'm toast."
"Then I won't keep you long," he said, though he looked like he didn't want the night to end either.
That's when my phone buzzed. I just noticed.
James: ELISE, THE DOOR IS LOCKED.
Minho: We're waiting.
Twan: Why is your window open?
Ryan: Travis says you're hiding. Blink twice if you're okay.
Josh leaned over. "That sounds urgent."
"Yup. Definitely time to go." I stood, wiping orange crumbs off my hands. "Wish me luck."
He grinned. "Break a leg. But not literally."
I waved and I immediately ran back through the market, zigzagging past vendors and neon lights. When I reached the dorm wall, I stared up at my window and whispered, "Okay, don't fail me now."
I grabbed the drainpipe, hoisted myself up, foot slipping once on a sticker someone had slapped on the metal. I caught myself, breathless. The bush below rustled and I paused. Was that— Nope. Just a cat.
When I finally reached my window, I hauled myself over the ledge and rolled onto my carpet, breath catching.
"I am... never doing that again," I wheezed as I rush to unlock my door. Just when I thought I was safe, someone knocked on my door. I froze. Then slowly said, "Come in...?
Twan peeked inside, towel around his neck.
"Hey," he said casually. "You okay? Room's weirdly quiet."
"Studying," I blurted, flipping open my math book like it had always been open. "Totally zoned in."
He gave me a look, then nodded.
"Cool, just checking. You sure you've been here the whole time?"
"Yeah. Why?"
He smirked. "Because you have grass on your shoulder."
I blinked, freezing halfway through my very graceful attempt at casually stepping into my room. "Huh?"
"Grass," he said again, pointing at my left shoulder. "Looks like fresh lawn clippings."
I glanced down and, yep there it was. A tiny green smear and a few stray blades of grass clinging to the fabric of my shirt. Traitors. Think. Think. Think.
"Oh, right!" I said, forcing a chuckle that I hoped sounded cute and not like a choking frog. "That's probably from earlier. I... I sat on the lawn."
Twan narrowed his eyes. "Sat on the lawn?"
"Yeah," I nodded quickly. "Like... before dinner. I felt overwhelmed from all the math, so I went out back to get some air. You know, mental reset. Grounding. Earth therapy." I said.
Twan tilted his head. "Didn't see you when I took out the trash."
I coughed. "I was behind the shed."
"Why were you—"
"To cry," I blurted.
He paused. Blinked. "Oh."
I looked down at my feet, trying to sell the performance. "It's just been... a long day."
His expression softened immediately. "You okay now?"
"Yeah," I smiled weakly. "I just needed a moment."
Twan nodded slowly, clearly unsure whether to believe me or not. But thankfully, he let it go with a shrug.
"Well," he said, stepping back, "we were just about to eat. You wanna come down?"
"Yeah," I said, grateful for the change of subject. "I'll be down in a sec."
After brushing off the remaining grass and practicing my best 'I definitely didn't sneak out' smile in the mirror, I headed downstairs. The aroma of fried garlic, soy-glazed chicken, and something distinctly burned greeted me at the bottom of the stairs.
"Elise!" Ryan waved me over. "Food's ready!"
James slid a bowl toward me as I sat. "So what were you doing just now?"
"I..." I glanced at Twan, who gave me a look but said nothing. "Was studying. In my room. You know... math."
"That's weird," James said, chewing. "I thought I heard your door open like twenty minutes ago."
"Maybe that was the wind," I said, shoving rice into my mouth before anyone else could ask anything.
Minho narrowed his eyes at me. "You look kinda... flushed."
"I always look flushed," I said quickly. "Filipino skin."
Ryan snorted into his cup.
"Anyway," I added, trying to change the subject, "Twan, how was your cooking debut?"
He grinned. "I didn't burn anything this time!"
"You burned the first pan," Travis pointed out.
"Minor technicality," Twan said.
As the conversation drifted into random jokes and heated debates about whether banana ketchup belongs on scrambled eggs (spoiler: it does), I felt the tension slowly slip off my shoulders. For a moment, I was just Elise again; no sneaky adventures, no suspicious glares, just dinner with my chaotic housemates.
After dinner, I stood up and started clearing the plates.
"I'll do the dishes," I said, gathering utensils. "You guys can go rest."
Minho didn't argue, he was already halfway to the couch. James and Ryan trudged off to their rooms, loudly complaining about their sore legs from practice. Twan lingered a moment before giving me a smile and heading upstairs, towel still draped around his neck.
Travis, however, stayed seated, arms crossed, just watching me.
I started rinsing plates, hyper-aware of the way his eyes were following every move I made.
"You're scrubbing that wrong," he said flatly.
"Excuse me?" I looked at him over my shoulder.
"You missed the edges," he replied, standing up. "Here." He walked over, took the plate from my hand, and began showing me 'the proper technique' like I hadn't been washing dishes since birth.
"You just came here to critique my dishwashing skills?"
"I stayed because something feels off," he said, not even bothering to hide it.
I froze. "What?"
"You said you were studying." He looked at me. "But the back door's locked, and I didn't hear it open."
"Maybe you just didn't notice?" I replied.
"I notice everything." There it was, that unnerving Travis honesty. The same tone he used when answering in class like he was bored of getting perfect scores.
I swallowed. "I was in my room. I swear."
"You had grass on your shoulder."
My brain kicked into panic mode again. "I leaned on the window ledge. Weeds. I need to clean it."
He didn't say anything. Just rinsed the plate in silence, then handed it to me to dry. His gaze lingered for a second too long, like he was mentally cataloging inconsistencies. But then he finally turned and walked off, leaving me in the kitchen with a towel and a racing heartbeat.
When I finished the dishes, I dried my hands and started toward the stairs only to find Twan standing at the base, leaning against the railing like he'd been waiting.
"You really okay?" he asked.
"Yeah. Why?"
He scratched the back of his neck. "Just feels like... you've been different tonight."
"Different how?" I asked as I looked at him.
He shrugged. "I don't know. Just... something's off."
"Maybe you're just overthinking it," I said, forcing a smile.
"Maybe."
But even as he walked past me and headed upstairs, I felt his eyes linger. I waited a moment before climbing the stairs, making sure no one else was around. Just as I reached my bedroom door, my phone buzzed.
(Hey. Did you make it back safe?)