"Shannon?"
Lea called her name with uncertainty.
Shannon didn't respond to Lea. Instead, she grabbed Alan's arm and angrily muttered, "You called me here just to meet someone who looks almost like Lea? This is not funny."
Lea tilted her head with a puzzled face at her reaction.
Alan, on the other hand, remained calm as if he expected this kind of reaction from Shannon and told her, "It's really her, it's really Lea."
Shannon turned back to look at Lea with a scrutinising gaze.
Lea also did the same to her.
'Wow, Shannon looks more mature now.'
There were also factors like Shannon's short black hair was now long and her glasses were replaced with contacts. She also wore some light makeup.
Shannon broke the silence and spoke first.
"If you're really Lea and not an Awakener who can transform into another person's appearance, prove it."
The corner of Lea's mouth curled up.
'That questioning personality of hers is still the same.'
Shannon was the quickest friend Lea ever made in her life even though they had different personalities. And it was all because the two shared the same interest in crime shows. So, Lea knew exactly how to convince her friend.
"Hi, Shano-non."
Shannon reacted when Lea greeted her with a nickname that was only used by their closest friends, and to completely convince her, Lea used a phrase Shannon often says when they were students.
"Good day to snoop, isn't it?"
Tears immediately welled up in Shannon's eyes.
She let go of Alan's arm and hugged Lea tightly.
There were tears but no one bawled their eyes out.
"I missed you, Lea honey," Shannon said in between sobs.
Lea gently patted her friend's back in return.
When the three settled down calmly around the table, Shannon got angry at Alan again.
"Why didn't you tell me she woke up?"
"It's not his fault, Shano-non," Lea defended her brother. "When I first woke up, it took me some time to stay awake. Plus, my doctor restricted visitors until the day I was discharged from the hospital."
Lea could still see Shannon was still unhappy about being kept in the dark so she added, "If it makes you feel any better, up until a couple of weeks ago, Al couldn't see me in person either."
"…Okay, that does make me feel better."
Alan put on a sullen face but he was ignored as the two friends continued their talk as if he was never there.
"What about you?" Lea shifted the attention to Shannon. "How did you end up in this city?"
"I was applying for an internship when my professor told me about a job opening here."
"News reporter."
"That's great, Shano-non. That's your dream job!"
Lea was happy for her friend.
They talked for almost an hour until Shannon was called back for work.
When Alan went ahead to pay, Shannon finally saw Lea walking with the cane. There were questions she wanted to ask but in the end, she chose not to say anything. Instead, Shannon linked her arm with Lea's like they used to and walked out of the restaurant together.
Outside of the restaurant, the two reunited friends exchanged their new numbers with each other and shared another hug.
"Let's meet up again when I'm not swamped with work."
"Yeah, definitely," Lea promised back.
After watching Shannon leave, Lea turned to her brother to express her gratitude.
"Thank you for the surprise, Al, even though it was poorly set up."
Alan pretended to be hurt by her words and said, "I'm sorry that it was a poorly planned surprise. I thought you'd hate it if I made it an over-the-top event like how Dad would do it."
Lea, unmoved by his acting, said in return, "The problem is not the method. You could've picked a better place than a shady-looking restaurant in an alley."
.
.
.
That evening.
"Hotpot!" Lea happily exclaimed.
The special dinner prepared by her dad was hotpot with two types of broth - chicken broth and thick tomato broth. Next to it was a grill plate.
"Tonight's main event is not just hotpot, it's…" her dad paused for dramatic effect. "Two premium beef gift boxes from the ever so generous Uncle Forger!"
Excited claps resounded around the dining table followed by a quick photo session of Lea and Alan each holding the premium beef gift box to send to Uncle Forger as a thank-you message.
While they were enjoying the hotpot, Alan took charge of grilling the beef.
"I think I was close to getting a fine but Bella swooped in to help me," Lea shared what happened at the association.
Before she forgot, Lea added, "I'm going to see my physical therapist tomorrow. Who can come with me?"
Her parents exchanged worried glances.
Lea dispelled their worry by telling them about the mandatory basic training.
"Give it your best, Lea."
"Let's have another grill party when you're done with the training."
Her parents offered their words of encouragement to lift her mood.
"If you don't want to fall behind on the training, you need to increase your stamina."
Alan gave his advice as he put the first piece of perfectly grilled meat on her empty plate.
"Did nothing else happen?" Her dad casually asked as he threw in udon noodles into the tomato broth.
"I thought Al set up a lunch date for me to meet his busy girlfriend," Lea started with a misleading piece of news that shocked the very person she was talking about. "Turns out he planned a surprise for me and Shannon but you already knew that."
Lea shot an accusatory gaze at her parents before putting a piece of grilled meat into her mouth.
"Your dad and I decided it was best not to tell anyone about your recovery yet because then they will want to see you," her mom explained.
Lea could imagine exactly how that would go - boisterous with lots of crying and hugging.
"We also didn't want to overwhelm you until you're…"
"Well-adjusted."
When her dad couldn't find the right word to finish his sentence, her mom helped.
'Well-adjusted'.
Lea inwardly repeated her mom's choice of words while waiting for the udon noodles in the tomato broth to cook.
If she were an ordinary person, she would be overwhelmed. But strangely, she was not as shaken up as people thought she'd be.
'Maybe because I woke up as an awakened, so my mental strength also got a boost?'
Her dad scooped the now-cooked udon noodles into her bowl along with the thick tomato broth.
"There's still more udon if you want more."
"Thanks, Dad."
Throughout dinner, she had to stop her brother from adding more of the premium beef he just grilled onto her plate.
.
.
.
Ever since Lea consulted with the physical therapist about when she would be physically ready for the dreaded mandatory basic training, the number of sets she had to finish during her session increased.
At home too she couldn't escape exercising.
In order to increase her stamina even a little, Alan moved the treadmill he originally planned to put in their home gym to the living room where Lea usually does her afternoon one-hour walk with the TV playing.
"So that's why you were so quick to agree when I asked you out last night. I was even ready to list out reasons to make you come out of the house if you had said no like you usually do," said Shannon after listening to Lea's complaint about her inescapable fate with exercising.
Late last night, Shannon asked Lea to accompany her shopping since she had a day off which Lea readily agreed to. Repeating the same routine every day for an entire month, even a homebody like Lea needed a change of pace.
"Your complexion does look healthier since the last time I saw you," Shannon commented as she took a closer look at Lea's face.
"You're not the first person to say that," Lea responded.
Shannon took Lea to a sports clothing store and went straight to the jacket section.
"Since you're going to be outside a lot more now, you definitely need this jacket. It's lightweight, waterproof and most importantly, UV protection."
Without waiting for Lea to pick or say anything, Shannon already picked out the jacket in the colour Lea liked and put the jacket in the shopping basket.
"Speaking of UV protection, we also need to get you sunscreen and a hat."
Lea simply nodded and followed her friend around the store.
They spent almost an hour just trying on clothes. In a way, this was Shannon de-stressing from work while also helping Lea buy the things she needed.
Carrying two heavy shopping bags out of the clothing store, Lea spotted a frozen yoghurt kiosk and suggested, "Let's go recharge our low HP."
"Oh my gosh, yes."
Lea and Shannon practically sprinted with their last bit of energy towards the frozen yoghurt kiosk and ordered the largest size with lots of their preferred toppings.
.
.
.
"Welcome to Beauty Locks. Oh, Shannon!"
When the receptionist saw Shannon walk in, they were pleasantly surprised.
The reason for their reaction was revealed next, "You're early for an appointment for once."
Lea glanced sideways at Shannon with slight amusement.
Feeling embarrassed, Shannon quickly explained herself, "Today's my day off. Is Cherry in?"
"She's already waiting for you, you can just go in."
Lea followed Shannon into the salon, and what happened at the reception desk just a few minutes ago repeated with the hairdresser named Cherry, whose hair was as red as, well, cherry.
"Now this is an unexpected surprise. Shannon's on time for her appointment."
"Actually today I made the appointment for my friend," Shannon told the hairdresser.
Lea turned to look at her friend in case she had misheard.
"She hasn't had a haircut in a very long time."
Shannon gently pushed Lea to an empty chair, giving her no time to refuse.
When the hairdresser asked how Lea would like her hair to be styled, Lea answered with a decisive, "Cut it all off."
Although Lea's face didn't look like they aged much in six years, her hair still grew. When she was still lying in the hospital bed, her parents occasionally cut her hair. Because of that, the ends of her hair looked uneven.
Also, since she was going to sweat even more in the foreseeable future, Lea thought it would be best to go with a shorter haircut.
"She just needs a proper trim," Shannon intervened with a disapproving look.
Lea pouted.
Cherry ran her hand through Lea's hair and said, "Your hair is well-maintained. It'll be a loss to cut it all off, how about I cut it until here?"
The cut-off length Cherry suggested was just beneath her collarbone, which wasn't too long nor too short.
"Okay," Lea agreed.
While Lea was getting her haircut, her mom called and invited Shannon to join them for dinner.
"I haven't had a homemade meal in ages. Even if a rift opens nearby, I definitely wouldn't miss it!"
The way Shannon enthusiastically accepted the dinner invitation startled Lea, in a good way.
Lea's mom was heard laughing heartily on the other end of the call.
At the end of the day, the simple dinner invitation turned into a sleepover when Lea and Shannon decided to watch their favourite classic movies with nonstop commentary of their high school memories, filling their house with laughter.