Chapter 2: Cathy?
"Estelle,"
"Hey, Estelle. Are you listening to me?"
" Estelle, are you with me?"
"ESTELLE"
Estelle blinked her eyes once again when she heard someone shouting her name so loudly in her right ear. When she looked at the person who got on her nerves her whole body froze as if the time had stopped as she saw the person that was very familiar to her.
"Ca-Cathy?" Although she spoke softly, the person in front of her could still hear her clearly.
"Are you okay, Estelle? It seems like you are not in your mind right now." Cathay said with a look of worry for her friend but she showed herself as sarcastic." Besides, who else is talking to you right now?" Cathy said as she rolled her eyes.
A girl whose hair was tied in two braids and had freckles all over her face. Though she might look mean, her heart was the easiest to get hurt and scared always. She just wants to hide her emotions through her actions because she doesn't want anyone, especially the person she loves to bother because of her.
{"Estelle. I have something to tell you. I think we can't watch the series that we want to watch together this vacation. I will be spending my vacation at my Grandma's house at Bohol. Let's watch that series when I returned alright?"}
Horrifying memories and dread filled Estelle's heart as she remembered Cathy's last words before she died in a traffic accident back then while travelling to go with her grandmother for the vacation.
Estelle slapped her face so hard that caused it to have red marks on her face. She closed her eyes when she felt the pain. "That was painful but I don't understand why I am here. Tell me the truth, am I dead already Cathy? That's why you're here?"
Cathy raised her left brow and gave Estelle's a sceptic look. "Fool. I pity you girl. How I wish you can see yourself now so you feel at least a little bit ashamed for what you did." She flicked her finger in Estelle's forehead. "Are you being emotional right now since it is our last year in elementary?"
"I feel the pain again." Estelle touched her head. "Do ghosts feel pain?"
Cathy smacked her forehead when Estelle spouted more nonsensical words. "It seems something is going on in your mind. You can freely tell me what it is if that makes you feel uneasy, okay?"
*Dingdong Ding* Estelle was supposed to ask more questions but they suddenly heard the sound of their school bell rang. Estelle felt a complete nostalgia while hearing that sound. She just looked at her surroundings as Cathy pulled her out of their classroom.
'This familiar blue school uniform. This classroom. This hallway that I stayed in for my eight years of schooling from preschool up to the last years of my elementary days. 'What in the world is happening here? Is this the afterlife? Was it really real that you'll go back to your childhood from when you went to the afterlife? Or perhaps, did I return back on time?"
"Estelle, your ID! Tap it already. A lot of people are waiting behind you and they are all looking at you." Estelle came back to her senses when she realized they were at their school gate. Cathy, losing her patience already, grabbed Estelle's ID and tapped it on the screen. She waited until they heard a click sound, indicating that Estelle was already logged out of the school premises.
Cathy then pulled Estelle out of the school gates before the angry-looking students behind them would murder them for taking so long to leave. Cathy forced Estelle to take a seat first on the Gazebo that was in front of a small chapel just outside their school.
"Are you sure you're alright? I just noticed that it is really bothering you, I told you Estelle I am always here. I am open to listen and always willing to lend an ear just for you. "
Estelle looked at Cathy blankly and this made Cathy even more worried.
" How about your body? Do you feel any weird things?" She asked but Estelle didn't say anything " Alright! Let me see if your body temperature is normal." She touched Estelle's forehead to see if she had a fever. But her temperature was normal.
In the end, she sighed and took a seat beside Estelle.
"Well, I guess, it is quite hard for you to accept that we will leave our memories here as an elementary and quite nostalgic that we will be high schoolers next year." Cathy started to speak all of a sudden as she looked towards the school she studied with Estelle where in every corner of the school there are memories that they will probably treasure for the rest of their life.
Estelle simply glanced at her without saying anything.
"We will finally become more adult and mature. But I guess I will still miss the time we spent here together. But as long as we are together, the best of best friends in the world. We can make lots more fun memories together even if we become adults! And those memories are very exciting and fun for sure because we already have our own money and can buy everything that we desire. We are free to do what we want and travel the whole world as we can because we had money that came from our hard work." Cathy said cheerfully as she vividly imagined everything and she couldn't help herself due to the emotions she felt at the moment she jumped out of her seat. "What do you say, let's also make our high school a blast... Eh, why are you crying, Estelle? Earlier you looked numb and now you are crying. "
"Huh?" Estelle touched her right cheek and indeed it was wet. Tears continued to stream down her face.
"Why, why are you crying?!" Cathy began to panic as Estelle continued to cry. She grabs her tissue on her bag and gives it to Estelle. " Go wipe your tears. Look, they are looking in our direction. Maybe they are thinking I am bullying or hurting you. Come on, I don't want to go to the principal's office again, that place was horrible." Estelle smiled a bit when she heard Cathy's words. The other students kept looking in their direction.
Not knowing what to do, Cathy locked Estelle in her embrace and patted her head. "There-there please stop crying now. I will not let you go until you stop crying."
"Ca-Cathy." When Estelle said those words, the emotions she thought she had already gotten over when her one and only best friend were gone, burst out once again. "Cathy!" She burst into more tears and Cathy tightened her hug as she continued to console Estelle.
"You're here again! You're really here!"
Cathy faintly smiled, though she was confused at the situation right now she continued to hug her best friend. "Of course, where else will I go, silly." She said as she continued to caress Estelle's hair. Since she was three-inch taller than Estelle, she looked like Estelle's big sister. " Come on, why you are acting like I'm dying, you are so dumb as always Estelle."
***
After their mini-drama in front of their school, the two best friends decided to stay inside the seven-eleven convenience store just a road away from their school. Cathy gave Estelle her favorite Coca-Cola Slurpee. She sat in front of Estelle and placed her Cherry Slurpee on the table.
"Are you calm now?" Cathy asked while she grabbed her slurpee and took a slip from it.
"Yes, thank you for this" Estelle meekly answered as she sipped her Slurpee. Her eyes widened in delight. 'It's been ages since I tasted this again. This surely brings back memories.' To her excitement, she slurped the Slurpee in one drink.
"Eek!" Her entire head started hurting like hell. "Ah, it hurts! hurts!"
Cathy shook her head. "Fool, that's what you get for drinking it like that.You should be careful." She just sighed as she watched her friend helplessly shaking her head up and down to ease the pain.
After a few moments of suffering, Estelle dropped her head on the table. She could already see her soul leaving from her mouth.
'With that so much pain, this is definitely not a dream nor the afterlife. Or perhaps this is hell? No that can't be. Cathy was just a child when she died. Then there is really one conclusion on this. After that crazy bastard shot me. I return back on time just like all those novels I read and watched. Then that means if I return back on time, not only will I be able to save Ashford but also Cathy and redo all the regrets I suffered in my entire life. This is now the time for me to change my life for the better and also for the people around me.'
"Cathy! What will you do this summer break?" Estelle suddenly asked, startling Cathy.
'Is this the reason why she is crying earlier? Don't tell me she cried that much because she will miss me a lot when I'm not on her side?' A tingling sensation erupted inside Cathy.
"I will be spending my vacation in my Grandma's house at Bohol. Why did you ask all of the sudden?"
"Don't go!" Estelle screamed as she slammed both her hands on the table, startling Cathy once again.
'Heh,' Cathy stopped herself from grinning. 'So she is really going to miss me.'
She tried to sound normal and looked calmly at Estelle. "Even if I don't want to go, my parents have been decided all of this. Besides this is the time where I finally meet my grandmother again. Also, that is the time where I saw a lot of tarsiers and the chocolate hills again. Even though I want to stay with you during vacation I can't because my family already decided everything and I can't do anything about..."
"Then have you already booked a flight to Antique?!"
"No-not yet! Mom said that they'll do it next week."
"Then tell them, I'm the one who will book your flight and choose the date of your flight. No, I will tell auntie myself! And I will come with you too. Don't worry, I will shoulder all your travel expenses! Let's go to auntie now!" Estelle grabbed Cathy's right arm.
And Cathy before she could register what was happening, Estelle had already dragged her outside and rode a tricycle towards Cathy's house. "Eh, what?"
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