I reached home. I stepped inside and greeted Mom, who was in the kitchen finishing up lunch. Dad was still at the office, as usual.
"You're back early," Mom said with a smile, setting a bowl on the table.
"Yeah, classes got over on time today," I replied, slipping off my shoes and placing my bag near the dining chair.
Lunch was warm and comforting just the usual rice and veggies, but it somehow felt more satisfying today. I told Mom bits and pieces about school, Jane being dramatic, Eric being clueless as ever.
She listened, half amused, half distracted, like she always did, and I liked it that way... simple, easy, no explanations required.
Once lunch was done, I cleaned up and went to my room. I plugged in my earphones and let the music fill the space. My notebook lay open in front of me, the pen tapping against the margin as I worked through homework.
The hours passed quickly in a quiet rhythm of scribbles, light humming, and an occasional glance at my phone. Then the familiar ping of the doorbell echoed through the house. I peeked out, Jane was here, as always, for our usual evening walk. It was something we never missed, no matter how hectic the day had been.
She stepped inside casually while I was still putting on my shoes. Her voice floated through the hallway as she greeted my mom in the living room.
"Hi Aunty!" she said cheerfully.
My mom responded with a smile, "Hey Jane! How was school today?"
They weren't as close as I was with her mom, but they still shared an easy, polite bond... comfortable enough to chat like this whenever she came over.
Jane talked about the usual.. teachers, how hot weather was, and something about Eric being annoying in class again. My mom chuckled along, offering her a glass of water.
I stood by the doorway for a second, listening, then called out, "Okay, ready! Let's go before it gets dark."
As we were about to leave, my mom called out from the kitchen, "Girls, can you get a few things from the shop on your way? Just some milk, bread, and eggs."
I was just about to groan and say, "Later maybe, Mom," when Jane jumped in enthusiastically, "Of course, Aunty! No problem at all."
I gave her a side-eye, whispering, "Seriously?"
She grinned. "Come on, it's just a tiny detour. Plus, now we have an official reason to pass by you-know-whose lane."
I sighed heavily but couldn't help smiling. "Fine. But you're carrying the bag."
She rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Deal."
And off we went, grocery list in hand and a little extra curiosity in our steps.
We were walking down the footpath, a light breeze in the air as the evening sun dipped lower. The sky was streaked with orange and purple, casting a soft glow over everything.
Jane nudged me. "You know, I think Susan has a boyfriend now."
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? You mean the Susan from our class, the one who sits with Tina?"
She gave me a look. "Yes, yes. How many Susans do you know? She literally sits just in front of us."
I laughed. "I was just making sure!"
She smirked. "Well, I saw her talking to this guy the other day. He looked a bit older, like two or three years maybe."
"Ohhh, you know she's into older guys," I teased.
We both burst into laughter just as we passed Eric's house. He was out front playing badminton with his older brother. He noticed us but was mid-serve, so we didn't interrupt just waved quietly and kept walking.
Just a turns later, we walked past Aizen's house. His curtains were open, and we caught a glimpse inside. The TV was on, playing one of those colourful, noisy cartoon shows that only little kids seem to enjoy. Sitting cross-legged was a tiny girl, his sister.
"Aw, so that's his sister," Jane said, peering in without being too obvious. "Eric mentioned how cute she is."
We could only see the back of her head, but even that little view was kind of sweet, she was totally focused on the screen, bouncing a bit in time with the theme song playing.
"Yeah, she's really cute," I murmured, still glancing toward the window.
Then it hit me... I suddenly realized we were quite literally peeking into someone else's house.
"Okay wait, we're being total creeps right now," I said, snapping back and pulling Jane's arm gently. "Peeking into his house like this? Not cool."
Jane laughed and we continued down the road toward the shop, the sounds of the cartoon fading behind us.
We reached the shop, picked up everything from the small grocery list... milk, bread, some snacks and packed it all into a carry bag Jane insisted on holding.
"See? That didn't take long," she said, proudly swinging the bag like we'd just completed a major quest.