The Mysterious Alpha

Chapter 10: Chatting

❤ Isabella’s POV ❤

I prepared a snack for my sister while she changed out of her school clothes. When I was done, I took a quick shower and changed into house clothes, and got ready to do my homework.

I stayed in the living room while my sister took a nap in her room. The living room looks much better than it used to when we first moved in. I am so happy and proud every time I see the improvements we've made.

The house still looks the same from the outside, since painting it would require more work. We plan to hire professionals to work on the exterior painting of the house. It would cost more to hire people, so we're putting it on hold for now.

What I've planned to do is to start working on the garden outside. Since we're finished with everything that we planned for the interior of the house, I can now start working on the garden. I actually plan to start doing that this coming weekend.

I didn't have a lot of homework since it was the first day of school. I still have plenty of time before I have to prepare dinner, so I picked up my phone to update my friends from the city on how my first day of school went. I told them about the new friends I've met, but nothing about the 'brownies' or the lack of extracurricular activities in the school.

After sending the messages to my friends, I went to my contact list and looked at Nikolas' number. Why did he save his number on my phone? Did he actually want me to contact him?

I clicked on the create message button and thought about what to text Nikolas. I wanted my message to sound chill. I don't want Nikolas to think that I was desperate for attention. In fact, I hesitated even texting him. He just gave me his number earlier. Maybe I should wait at least a day to text him.

I decided to be a wuss and to just get on with it. I typed "Hi, it's Isabella." As I was thinking of what else to type, I gasped when I realized that I pressed on send inadvertently.

The message is simple and sounded chill enough, so it should be fine. I looked at my phone for a few minutes, waiting for Nikolas to respond. After five minutes, I put the phone down and decided to do some reading in advance. I shook my head and realized that it was stupid for me to assume that Nikolas would text me right back. He might be busy at the moment, or he might not even want to actually text me.

If the latter was true, then Nikolas is giving me mixed signals. Why would he give me his number if he didn't want to text? me. Also, he came to my house to see what I wanted to talk about earlier. I was a little upset when his friends laughed at me earlier. Although he apologized to me for them, he still let them laugh at me.

After an hour, I decided to start preparing dinner. I decided to fry some chicken wings and boiled some potatoes to mash. I will be making some gravy afterward. While cooking, I steamed some rice as well. I was done preparing lunch in a little over an hour, and Angelica appeared in the kitchen and said "Are you frying chicken?"

Isabella: "I am."

Angelica: "That smells good."

Isabella: "Are you done with your homework?"

Angelica: "I am. There wasn't much and I finished them all when I was at Mrs. Alejo's house."

Isabella: "Okay. Why don't you set the table? Food should be ready in a bit."

Angelica obliged and started setting the table. We started eating not long after.

Fried chicken is my sister's favorite, and she ate it with mashed potato and gravy. Whenever I cook lunch or dinner, I always make sure to prepare some kind of vegetable to ensure a healthy meal.

When we were done eating dinner, I cleaned up and washed the dishes. I then joined my sister on the couch. We didn't have a TV, so I turned on my laptop so we could watch a movie. I let Angelica pick the title. She got sleep halfway through the movie, so I sent her to bed.

Angelica chose an animated movie she's watched multiple times. I think it's her favorite because she never gets tired of watching it. decided to finish watching the movie while waiting for my mom to arrive.

I've glanced at my phone for the thousandth time, and there's still no response from Nikolas. I feel really stupid now for texting him. How could I assume that someone like Nikolas would want to text someone like me? Maybe he was playing a prank on me along with his friends, and they are now all laughing at the text I just sent.

There was a text from Arwind apologizing for earlier, and I decided to respond "Don't worry about it. I'll see you tomorrow."

My mom arrived not long after and I set the table for her. She asked me how school was, and I told her about meeting some friends, and that Arwind is in my class. I didn't tell her anything else, as I didn't want her to worry about me not doing well in school. She seemed pleased, and I said goodnight before heading to my room.

I was lying in bed and was about to turn off the light on my nightstand when my phone pinged. I saw a message come in and when I saw who it was from, I felt excited.

It was from Nikolas and all it said was "You still up?"

I waited a minute before responding and said "Yes. Lying in bed and about to sleep. You?"

Nikolas: "Same. Lying in bed and about to sleep."

Isabella: "Okay. Goodnight."

When Nikolas didn't reply again, I was disappointed and decided to put my phone on the nightstand. I won't stress myself by waiting for Nikolas to respond. Besides, I already said goodnight.

I was startled when my phone suddenly rang. I picked it up and saw that Nikolas is requesting a video call. I turned on the lamp on my nightstand and sat up before answering the call.

Isabella: "H-hello?"

Nikolas: "Hi Isabella."

I almost gasped when I saw Nikolas not wearing a shirt. I could only see from his chest up, and I inadvertently bit my lip as I stared at his well-defined chest.

Nikolas: "I just got home. I didn't realize my phone went dead. I would have gotten home earlier had I known."

Isabella: "Uhm, it's okay. Where did you go?"

Nikolas: "I just hung out with my friends."

Isabella: "Okay."

Nikolas: "What did you do after school?"

Isabella: "I just did my homework and prepared dinner. I also watched a movie with my sister."

Nikolas: "What did you watch?"

Isabella: "Moana."

Nikolas: "Moana? The cartoon?"

Isabella: "Yeah. My sister picked the movie."

Nikolas: "Okay. If we were going to watch a movie, what would you pick?"

My heart beat faster as I imagined going to the movies with Nikolas. Just the thought of sitting next to Nikolas and possibly touching is enough to make me blush.

Isabella: "Uhm, I-I don't know. What would you pick?"

Nikolas: "Well, I would let you pick, but if it were up to me, I'd pick something romantic."

I couldn't help but smile as I said "Something romantic, huh? Like what?"

Nikolas: "I don't know. Whatever you like."

Isabella: "I don't really like watching romantic movies. I prefer science fiction and action films. I really like Star Wars."

Nikolas: "Star Wars? Really? Which one?"

Isabella: "Well, I like everything. I could do without Jar Jar Binks, though."

Nikolas: "I know what you mean. Jar Jar Binks almost brought the empire down."

I couldn't help but giggle. Nikolas looked at me intently, and when I stopped giggling, he said "You're very beautiful. Especially when you're smiling or laughing."

I bowed my head and felt shy. Did Nikolas really just call me beautiful?

Isabella: "Uhm, thanks. You're very uhm, handsome too."

Nikolas' smile went wide. We kept looking at each for a while before he spoke again.

Nikolas: "I can't wait to watch a movie with you."

Isabella: "Me too."

After a few more minutes of just staring at each other, Nikolas said "I'm going to let you go to sleep now."

Isabella: "Okay. Goodnight, Nikolas."

Nikolas: "Goodnight. Sweet dreams, Isabella."

I eventually ended the call and put the phone against my chest. I was surprised when I heard it ping once more. Nikolas sent me a picture of himself with his full chest showing. He sent it with a message that says "Here's something to dream about."

I replied with a heart emoji and stared at Nikolas on my phone. He's very attractive, and I can't wait to see him tomorrow at school.

I went to sleep with a smile on my face and hope that I dream of Nikolas.