Chapter 15
The Red-Faced Run-In: A Kitchen Confrontation
When Mia stormed into the apartment, she was absolutely pressed. Ignoring everything, she went straight for the fridge, grabbing a bottle of ice-cold water like her life depended on it.
Susan happened to stroll out of her room at that exact moment and froze. Mia's face wasn't just red; it was giving sunset orange pure, unadulterated fury.
Susan literally rubbed her eyes, doing a double-take because she thought her contacts were glitching.
She stepped closer, squinting to confirm if Mia had actually transformed into a pepper.
"Omo! Mia, what happened to your face? It's so red, like a literal tomato! I have never seen anyone look this fed before, wow," Susan exclaimed, her voice hitting a high note.
Mia, meanwhile, had her eyes squeezed shut, doing some intense breath work to stop herself from reaching a total breaking point.
Hearing Susan's loud commentary was the last thing she needed. She snapped her eyes open, shooting Susan a look of pure irritation. She didn't even bother with a "hello"; she just pulled a "ghosting" maneuver and brushed past her into the parlor.
Susan stood there, totally shook by the side-eye.
She scratched her head, wondering out-loud,
"What did I even do now? Aish, seriously."
Seeing Mia just vibrating with silence on the sofa, Susan started to feel a bit of "friend-guilt." She followed her into the parlor, softened her vibe, and sat down next to her.
"Hey, Mia, what's the tea? Are you okay? Did something happen? If it's not too much, you can talk to me, you know?" Susan said, her tone actually gentle for once.
Mia stayed silent, her mind a chaotic replay of how her perfect morning run had been absolutely bottled by that earlier event. She rolled her eyes and sighed.
"It's nothing important. I don't even want to talk about it, talk-less of remembering it," Mia said, her voice sounding totally drained.
"I'm going to my room to decompress. My morning run really took a toll on me. Don't disturb me until I come out myself, okay?"
Susan just absently nodded, watching Mia retreat. She whispered to herself,
"What the hell happened? She looks like half of her soul has left her body. Jincha (honestly)..."
She shook her head, decided to "let it slide," and headed to the kitchen. After all, she'd originally come out to find some chow.
Thinking about how red Mia's face was, she couldn't help but chuckle quietly to herself.
_______________________________
Mia stayed holed up in her room all afternoon, trying to stay busy.
She'd taken a shower and tried to nap, but every time she closed her eyes, the delulu visions of that "obnoxiously handsome guy" from the store came rushing back. She couldn't take the mental gymnastics anymore.
She hopped on her laptop and started organizing some office work.
Whenever Mia is in the zone, she loses all track of time. She worked straight through until 6:00 PM.
Outside, Susan was spiraling. The silence from Mia's room was starting to feel "sus," and her imagination was running wild.
First, she imagined Mia just staring blankly at a wall for hours.
Then, she shook her head and pictured Mia crying while literally banging her head against the wall.
Then, she imagined Mia laughing hysterically to herself, speaking total gibberish.
"What the hell am I thinking?" Susan scolded herself, hitting her own forehead.
"This is what being jobless does to the soul. Get it together, girl!"
She crept over to Mia's door, pressing her ear against the wood, trying to catch a vibe. Nothing. Silence.
"Is this house suddenly soundproof, or is she just not breathing?" Susan wondered.
"Ney, it's probably the latter. She's just being a silent queen."
But then the intrusive thoughts hit again. "Is she awake and just sitting there? Why isn't she coming out? What actually happened on that run?"
Her brain started spinning again. "Did she run into her Ex? Or even worse, Aniya (no)... I've known Mia forever, she's been single Pringle as long as I can remember."
"If not that, did she get bullied? Omo, was Mia a victim back in the day? What am I even thinking, jeez!" She knocked her hand against her head again.
"I'm literally dying of curiosity. My brain is just making up fan fiction at this point!"
Inside the room, Mia finally finished her work. Suddenly, she heard a faint whisper.
She froze, looking around the empty room.
She got literal goosebumps, wondering if she was living in a horror movie.
"Stop it, ghosts aren't real," she muttered, slapping her own cheeks to wake up.
But the sound continued. She followed the noise to the door and realized it was coming from the other side.
It was Susan. Mia stayed quiet, listening to the absolute nonsense Susan was whispering to herself.
"What the heck... what is she even saying?"
Mia muttered, hitting her hand against her head. She had heard enough of Susan's "main character" internal monologue and decided to end the show. She swung the door open.
Because Susan had her entire weight leaned against the door, the second the latch clicked, she lost all balance and went face-first into the room.