8 The Notification

Natalia changed into comfortable clothes, wiped her makeup and sat down to call Melissa. She wanted to know how Alexis was doing. She remembered how excited Alexis was regarding her date and how she had promised to call Alexis as soon as she returned home from the date. She sighed and called Melissa.

Melissa was staying besides Alexis when her phone vibrated. She tip-toed outside the room and picked up the call, "Hey Natalia!"

"Hey Melissa, how is Alexis right now? Is she conscious yet?" Natalia was fidgeting her legs out of worry.

Melissa said in a very calming voice, "Yes dear. She woke up about half an hour ago. She will be able to return home tomorrow." She felt happy that though Alexis did not make many friends, she was able to find such gem of a friend.

"So, how did your date go? Did you guys have fun?" Melissa asked as curiosity lingered on her face.

"Yes, it was good. I enjoyed the company." Natalia kept her answer short as she did not want to sound insensitive towards Melissa's situation right now. And she was also not used to sharing this kind of things with Melissa.

"I'm glad that you went. Come over to our house after class tomorrow. You should share the details with Lexi", Melissa invited Natalia over as if she had read Natalia's mind. She also thought that it would lighten up Alexis's mood if her best friend was around her.

Natalia gladly accepted the offer; to be honest she just would have showed up to their home even without any invitation, she had never needed one, "Sure, I will. See you tomorrow then."

"Okay." Melissa cut the call and went back inside to Alexis's room to check on her. She was sound asleep. Melissa moved closer to Alexis and caressed her fingers through Alexis's hair with a gentle smile on her face. She bent down towards Alexis and lovingly kissed on her forehead. Then she dimmed the lights in the room to let Alexis rest for the night.

The next day, because of the excellent health care service of the Longevity Center, Alexis's health had already rejuvenated back to normal and she felt like she could run a marathon. But Melissa asked Alexis to take a day off from the academy and rest at home, "Lexi, I want you to rest at least for a day. I don't want you running around already."

"But mom, I'll be bored at home. You have your duty and what's the point of staying home alone?" Alexis said in a pampered voice and puckered her lips.

"You can play some games or read some books. Don't act like you don't enjoy being alone." Melissa commented to her daughter's question in a sarcastic manner. She knew that her daughter could live alone in her room for a month and still would not be bored. Alexis giggled when she heard her mom's true words.

"Alright, I've called an ambulance to drop you off at home. Make sure you rest well", Melissa said to her daughter in a commanding tone. But Alexis retaliated in a hesitant voice, "Mom! I don't need an ambulance. I can go on my own."

"Let your mom treat you well sometimes. Now, don't keep your ride waiting. Go on." Melissa handed over Alexis's bag and shooed off her daughter and went back to her duty.

Alexis reached home and went straight to her room with her bag. She heard from her mother that Natalia was in the hospital in her bath robe and started to laugh alone. "Lovable fool", she thought to herself. And she felt blessed to have Natalia in her life. She couldn't help but wait impatiently for Natalia to come to her home, so that she could hear all the gossip about her date.

All of a sudden, yesterday's memory gushed in sweeping away her smile. She started to feel horrible when she remembered yesterday's incident which had landed her in the hospital. To save herself from the mental torture, she decided to explore more about her new cell phone. She took it out from the bag and turned it on.

There was a notification from the Soulmate app. She slowly moved her finger over the notification, and touched it with a slight tingle of excitement and a sense of nervousness. Then the app displayed the name of her soulmate.

"Congratulations!

Your Soulmate's name is:

Vorian Zadoc

[Photo]

His location is:

Noruha, C-31"

She didn't know why her heart was beating so fast. Her hands were shaking as if she was about to give the biggest test of her life. Her hand could not keep on holding the cell phone because it was getting sweaty; she threw it on the bed and sat down beside it.

"Why are you acting like this Lexi? It's just a photo of a boy, who you've never met. Why are you panicking as if you saw a ghost?" Alexis started mumbling to herself. While wiping her sweaty palm on the cloth she was wearing, she stared at her phone's screen to get a good look of her "soulmate".

She raised one of her brows and commented, "Not bad" and then her lips curled up to form a smile. The man in the photo looked young and attractive. He had dark hair and emerald eyes. He was wearing a tightly fitted shirt which refined his looks even more.

She realized that she was smiling and then slapped herself on the cheek and said aloud, "What are you so happy about stupid girl? You have not even seen him once, how can he be your soulmate? Stupid app!"

She looked away from her phone and tried to think about something else. She was fidgeting her legs continuously, and she squint her eyes as if doing that will make her forget about the soulmate thing. But then her attention was immediately caught by the "ding" sound the cell phone made. She looked at the cell phone to see a new message… from Vorian Zadoc…

Alexis was so shocked that she clasped her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide open, and kept on staring at the screen that displayed the message:

"Hello! Alexis. Nice to finally see you online."

She stared on the screen for a few more seconds. Her heart was beating like crazy. Then she grabbed the phone and turned it off, not knowing what other hidden tricks this cell phone had. And she murmured to herself, "You can chat huh! I thought this app just displayed the name."

"And what does he mean by "Nice to finally see you online"? Was he expecting me or something?" Alexis had so many questions in her mind, but didn't know the answer to any.

Then she screamed in an irritated voice and shouted, "Natalia… come faster. I have so much to talk about." And then she started to pace around her room waiting very impatiently for her friend.