4
I was lying in bed that night, staring at my
phone.
Chad hadn’t texted or called after hanging up.
I hesitated, then decided to try calling him.
again.
The phone rang for a long time before he
picked up.
I could hear noise on the other end, laughter
and chatter.
Г
“Chad, are you still out?”
A sweet girl’s voice came through the phone.
“Hey, looking for Chad? He’s in the bathroom,
can’t answer right now. Who’s this?”
I froze, remembering that Chad’s contact
name for me was “Wifey“. There was no way
she didn’t see that.
But she still asked me, asked who I was.
Like I was just some random person,
randomly calling and interrupting their lives.
I took a deep breath and explained.
“I’m Chad’s… girlfriend.”
く
At least, I still was for now.
There was a pause on the other end, then a
mocking tone.
“Oh, well, Chad’s busy. He won the
championship today, and I’m celebrating with
him.”
I instantly felt the girl’s hostility.
I was about to ask a question, when I heard
the girl laugh and call out, “Chad!”
“Hey, your friend’s calling.”
Then I heard Chad’s voice.
“Huh? Who is it?”
Г
“Ashley! What’s up? Sorry, Ashley, I’ve been
swamped with the match. I didn’t get a
chance to call you.”
I gave a soft “Yeah” and asked who the girl
was.
“Oh, that’s Tiffany. I’ve mentioned her. Hey,
did you watch my match today?”
So, she was Tiffany.
I swallowed the bitterness and casually
answered.
“Yeah, I watched it at home with your parents
and mine.”
Chad laughed when he heard that, sounding
happy. “Then you saw how awesome today
was! You know, Tiffany’s really amazing. She
just joined the national team last year and
she already got second place in the Grand
Slam. She’s a genius! But she’s still a bit
behind me.”
Tiffany said, unhappy, “I’m gonna beat you for
sure!”
Chad chuckled. “Yeah, for sure. I’ll totally let
you win.”
“What are you even talking about? You were
throwing the game today. You let me win
seven times! I’m not that bad, Chad! Don’t
you ever let me win on purpose again!”
“Okay, okay, whatever you say.”
く
I got frustrated and hung up.
Even though I’d been trying to get ready for
this, Chad and Tiffany’s casual chatter,
ignoring me on the other end of the phone,
still made me freak out.
I had once been like Tiffany, sweetly talking
to him and asking him to go easy.
He would also indulge me and say “okay” to
me like he did to Tiffany.
And now, he was still doing those things, but
the main character was someone else.
His eyes were full of Tiffany, and didn’t care
about what I said or did.
