Rebellious Action

For the next nearly a month, Rofus went to the apartment every day, except on weekends. He does not show up on weekends, and only the creature knows why. He occasionally joins us for dinner, but he usually does not. That is something I am used to. Honestly, I began to expect to see him after our class. It became part of my routine.

"Did you talk to your mother earlier?" Nikita leans closer to me just to whisper those words. Our class is over, and we are walking home. "I saw her again right in front of our school."

"No."

"Why?" She inquired as if she was unaware of the reason for my rebellious behavior. "You know what Amelia? I used to see your mother almost every day. You are simply hiding so that she cannot see you."

Nikita was wrong. I am not trying to conceal myself. I also see her almost every day. And it made me miss her in some way.

"I am not ready to speak with her yet."

"When are you going to be ready?"

I decided to remain silent. I am not sure why I am so good at that. I mean, stay silent and say nothing. I better keep my thoughts to myself.

"It has been one month. Is that not enough for you to loosen up?"

Still, I ignored her.

"Just listen to her reason. You are aware that the story has two sides. Maybe her motive for getting married right away was deep enough. Try to listen to her. Before passing judgment, hear her explanation.

Even though I am aware of this, she still hurts me.

"It was not acceptable, for whatever explanation she gave. I am still not interested in hearing it. She is selfish. Period. She only cares about herself. That is everything I know."

"That's your only point of view, Amelia, but for me, you must talk to her. If you do not want to settle, simply tell her not to spend her time at our school because you do not want to talk to her yet. Do not let her efforts go to waste. Have mercy on your Mom."

When Monday arrived, I took Nikita's advice. I contemplated it for several nights. When my mother showed up at school, I confronted her. She was trying her best to talk to me.

"Why are you doing this? You don't have to come here every day, Mom. Your presence is bothering my schoolmates. Please stop now!"

"How are you, Amelia? Where are you staying? I apologize if I continue doing this and make you feel awkward." Her voice is filled with compassion. I wanted to embrace her at the time, but I kept my distance and held myself tight. "I just want to see you and talk to you, Amelia. Is it difficult for you to understand? Will you please come home now?"

I ignored her and did not respond. I even threatened her that if she did not stop what she was doing, I would never return home for the rest of my life, which scared her for sure.

"Listen to me, Mom; if you continue to act like this, I will not go home."

"Amelia—"

"I'm fucking serious with my words, Mom! Don't try me. I'm losing my patience with what you are doing!"

"Fine, Amelia. You don't have to—"

After I said that, I turned my back on her and did not give her a chance to speak. I didn't look at her no matter what she called my name to get my attention. I continued to walk away.

During the following days, I did not see her again, she silently obeyed what I wished for and I couldn't understand myself for being unhappy. Maybe because I got used to her waiting for me every day and begging me to come home.

"Are you looking for someone?" one of my friends, Jane asked me.

"No, I'm just looking for Nikita."

"Have you forgotten? She went home after lunch because of a throbbing headache."

Oh, shoot! I forgot about that. Nikita told it to everyone before leaving. I massaged my temple, trying to employ that I must have forgotten.

"Don't mind me. I just forgot about it."

"You are acting really weird, Amelia." I glared at her which made her chuckle a bit, "I mean you have been acting strange these past few days. Are you okay? Is there something that I can do to help you out?"

I shook my head in response.

"No, no. I am fine. I am just thinking of something that made me spacing out. Just ignore my presence, Jane."

It was my repeated alibi that I am sure this friend of mine will recall. But I don't even care a bit about that.

"Are you sure about it?"

"Yeah, please don't mind me."

When I returned home that day to Nikita's apartment, I did not catch up with her. It seems she wasn't there. How do I know? Just a gut feeling. What I found waiting for me there was Rofus, Nikita's cousin.

"Where is Nikita?" that was the first question he asked the moment he opened his mouth when he saw me.

I looked around at the apartment as I knew she must be inside. It's closed. In case Nikita was here, the door must be wide open. I could feel that there was no sign of anyone inside. All I know is that she went home earlier because of a headache.

"I don't know either. She said goodbye to our professor earlier to go home as she had a headache. It looks like she is not inside the flat. It was closed." I stated the obvious.

Rofus didn't say anything which made me feel a little nervous again. As was his habit every time he came here, he would have brought us our dinner.

"Wait, let me check her inside. She might be inside and just sleeping. You know, she was not feeling well earlier."

I turned my back on him and was about to open the door. I can't help but have beads of sweat on my face because of his presence. He used to be a different person from me but not this intimidating. I immediately let myself into the apartment and I was right. Nikita was not inside when I attempted to enter her room. I remembered how she warned me not to go inside. There was no sign of her, including her school shoes on the shoe rack. There is proof that she did not return home.

Where has that girl gone?

Did not she tell me where she was going? She knew that his cousin was coming here today. Did she do it on purpose? Nah, Nikita won't do that to me. Perhaps she went to the hospital to consult with the doctor. I must not overthink things and pass judgment too quickly on her.

"I am sorry, but Nikita was not here," I informed Rofus because he might believe I did not care about his cousin's whereabouts. I also noticed that he might already know that his cousin was not here. "I am not sure where she has gone. She did not tell me anything. Hold on, I will try to call her phone number."

Rofus nodded and entered the apartment. I was even more perplexed and unsettled. I felt suffocated by his presence from the moment I laid eyes on him. He placed the food on the dining table while I was making a call to Nikita.

"Take your time," he spoke out while sitting in one of the chairs.