Girls Day

Petals floating in the wind. Carrying promises. Whether they land on grassland or gutter — all promises are either fulfilled or forgotten.

The first promise was in the heart. Nika had wanted her and Nadia’s time to be well theirs. Instead, one of Nadia’s friends rocked up too.

A promise broken. Nika had to reorient herself. That rush from her apartment to Canal Saint-Martin was for Nadia. Maybe Nika was getting too far down the wrong street.

Nadia had a boyfriend. And he was a nice person. Nika figured by the way they trusted each other they had history. People didn’t look at strangers like that.

Nika had only known Nadia for a few months really. And in a sense, the presence of Nadia’s friend meant Nika could hide away in aloofness.

“This is Xiao Mei… We used to work together,” Nadia said to Nika — hoping that Xiao Mei would avoid mentioning “stripping and hoeing”.

“Hi…” Xiao Mei said flatly.

“Oh hey! Are you from Japan? I love anime…” Nika said.

“I’m from China… Are you a racist?” Xiao Mei said with intense eyes. Targeting.

“Uh… No… I…” Nika said feeling awkward.

“Hmmm…” Xiao Mei said.

Nadia already felt this was off to a bad start. But there was no way of saying to Xiao Mei when her mind was made up.

“Okay… Hehe… Let’s go to the mall?” Nadia said.

“I want matcha,” Xiao Mei said leading the way.

“Okay. Matcha… We can get a drink first,” Nadia said.

Nika shot a look at Nadia for a second. One of confusion. The vibe was different and Nika felt off balance.