Chapter 2
(Kimberly's POV)
The envelopes sat between us on the table, looking like a time bomb.
"Now that the envelopes of life and death are here... what do we do?" I asked anxiously.
Patricia shot me a look. "What do you mean, what do we do? We open it! That's what envelopes are for!"
"I know that," I said, rolling my eyes. "I mean... how should we do it? I'm anxious."
"Uhmmmm....okay! Let's try and make it a bit fun. How about 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'?" she suggested.
"Okay! We can do that. Loser opens first," I added.
"Sure," she agreed.
"Okay. Deal."
We chanted, "Rock, paper, scissors!"
Both of us: rock.
"What the..." I stared at our hands.
"We're really in sync today," she laughed. "Again!"
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
Rock. Rock.
We screamed in disbelief.
"This is getting ridiculous," I said.
"Same brain cells confirmed," Patricia said, both of us laughing like we were high. "Okay, let's remove one. Just paper and scissors."
"Hopefully, we will choose something different." I said.
"Okay, so we remove rock and play with just paper and scissors," Patricia clarified.
"Great! No rock, only paper, scissors" I reminded myself, practicing before the real deal.
"Sure. No more rock." Patricia did the same practicing with her hands.
"Ok, let's go." Patricia adjusted her shoulders. Facing each other like boxers do before the referee blows the whistle.
"Rock is banned!" we echoed. We threw our hands again.
I got paper. She got scissors.
"Nooooo," I groaned, staring at my betrayed hand.
"Yesss!" Patricia celebrated, circling me like a victorious wrestler. "You lose, you lose!"
"Okay, fine," I said with a dramatic sigh. "Let's get this over with."
We turned to the golden envelopes. Patricia bounced her knee, practically vibrating.
"One... two... three!"
I tore mine open.
MATCH FOUND – 100%
"Oh my God!" I gasped, nearly throwing the paper. "OH MY GOD, I DID IT!"
Patricia screamed beside me. "You did it!"
We jumped up, hugging, spinning, laughing like we'd just won a hundred million bucks.
"Okay, okay—your turn," I said, excitement bubbling in my throat.
Patricia stepped up to her envelope like it was a ticking bomb. She hesitated.
"On three," I said.
She held her breath. "One... two...I can't."
"What?!"
"My heart is literally pounding." She grabbed my hand and placed it on her chest. "See?"
"Whoa. That's a whole drumline," I joked. "But you better open that envelope before I do it for you."
"Gurl, you're savage."
"Open it."
She closed her eyes and slowly pulled out the paper.
I, on the other hand, didn't even blink. I was safe, and I needed to be sure my besty was also safe.
Her eyes opened slowly.
MATCH FOUND – 100%
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" I screamed before she could even react. "YOU MADE IT!"
"WHAT?!" Patricia yanked the paper closer. "WOOO!! WE'RE NOT GONNA DIE!"
Tears sprang to my eyes as she tackled me with another hug.
We ran to the speaker, blasting our favorite song, climbing the table, dancing like wild things. Patricia dropped into a full twerk while I hyped her up.
"Go Patty, go Patty, gooo!"
>BANG BANG BANG!<
We froze, looking at each other quietly.
"Only the SA bangs like that," Patricia broke the silence. I bursted into laughter.
"Let's check who it is." I suggested, both of us quickly climbing down from the table. Patricia quickly lowered the volume, then I opened the door. It was our grumpy neighbor, Mr. Walter.
"You girls better respect yourselves and turn that nonsense down."
"We already turned it down, sir," I said.
"Sorry, my ass. Next time, I'm reporting you!"
"Yes, sir."
"We're sorry, sir," Patricia called out.
"Whatever!" He muttered and walked away.
"Wow, he can't stop being grumpy, can he?"
"I guess not," I replied, closing the door.
Once the door shut, we pulled out exaggerated silent dance moves. No music needed. A few minutes later, we collapsed on the couch.
"Both of us passed," Patricia said breathlessly. "At 100%!"
"This has to be rare," I said. "A miracle."
"Let's double-check."
We checked. Still 100%. We squealed all over again.
"I can't wait to show it off tomorrow," Patricia said with a wicked grin. "Especially to all those girls who have been mocking us," I said, excited and pained.
"I can't wait to see their shocked faces," I said determined.
"Alright," Patricia panted. "Time for the next step."
"Wait. Toast first," I said. "We need wine."
She grabbed the wine bottle; the one we had opened during our we're definitely gonna die pity party.
"Guess the depression wine's now celebration wine," she said.
We raised our cups like we were at a royal gala. "One… two… three," I said, gripping my paper.
We turned them toward each other.
Patricia blinked. "Oh… you got Christopher."
I blinked back. "Wait… you got Christopher too."
We stared for some seconds then laughed. "We're so much alike, even our matches have the same first name," she said.
"I know, right?"
She turned her paper again, removing the layer of paper covering the surname. "Mine says Christopher Vance."
I froze. "What?"
Patricia's face turned pale. "That's… that's the ruler's son. The top billionaire amongst the billionaires."
"This has to be a mistake," I whispered.
Without a word, she grabbed my paper, removed the layered paper and read it.
"No…" she gasped.
"Hey! You almost made me spill my wine. You already saw it before. So what's there to see?"
She didn't respond to me or even look at me. Her eyes were fixed on my paper. I leaned in, confused. And then my wine cup slipped from my hand. But I didn't react to it.
My match was also Christopher Vance.
The same person.
We didn't move or talk. Silence filled the room. After about five minutes.
"Wait…" Patricia said, her voice small. "This has to be a mistake. Right?"
I didn't answer.
Because deep down.....I wasn't sure either. But I did know one thing, we needed to voice out and find a solution as soon as possible.