Leave her shell

Roselia was unable to sleep, her mind was completely occupied by Mr. Caleb.

 The reason why she didn't send a message to Mr. Man in the black jacket days ago was because she made a bet with herself and that bet was if she was to see Mr. Caleb again, She would think of it as the word giving her its blessing and granting her what she wished for the most.

She told herself that if their paths crossed again without actively seeking him out, she would never let him go so easily again. So now that it happened and the fact that it happened in just a matter of days from when she last saw him.

Roselia’s determination skyrocketed more than ever, she was going to do this there was no more turning back. She was excited to call Amelia but she had to wait for the man's message first to know when they would meet again, so she could prepare for it. 

Last she checked, there was not a single ding from our phone to indicate that she had received the message, so she started typing on her phone intending to send a message.

But it was more difficult than she thought, she didn't know how to even start the conversation. She had never done anything like this before, boys were usually the ones who always called or texted her first. 

Should she call him? what should she say? Roselia spent an hour just rolling on her bed.

Holding her phone, glancing at it now and then, trying to make a decision. She now realized that even such a little thing like this wasn't easy at all. 

Now that she thought about it. Did those boys who messaged her act like this as well? Roselia shook her head and looked for one of the first messages from those boys. Her eyes narrowed when she found one. 

From what she saw, she finally realized that almost all of them started with a simple ‘’hi.’ 

Unfortunately, she couldn't send it. Would he even reply if she just sent this singular word? But what else would she say aside from this? Confusion struck Roselia as she pondered on what or what not she should send.

Should she ask if he was already sleeping? 

That's such a silly thing to ask. Roselia sighed in frustration, she knew she was overthinking this whole damned thing. Well even knowing that didn't help her at all. 

It appears that talking to him in person was a hundred times better than trying to send him a message on the phone. She couldn't tell if she was more scared of the reply she might get or the person she was sending the message to. 

At the end of this endless confusion and indecisiveness, she simply sent a good night emoji–a yellow emoji face yawning, with its eyes closed. 

When she opened her eyes the next morning the first thing she did was immediately look for her phone, took a deep breath and when she saw that she received a message from him, her heart raised in nervousness 

God abi! Why are you getting nervous early in the morning

[Mr. Caleb: I'll send a car to pick you up on Saturday evening, send me a message or give me a call beforehand if you change your mind]

Roselia’s shoulder dropped as she sighed deeply in relief. 

It seemed like he was planning to give her enough time and reason to change her mind.

Too bad Mr. Caleb 

She was so confident that she didn't even consider changing her mind.

Too bad Mr. Caleb, but this lady here has decided and I'm not changing my mind anymore…

Days went by and at last, Saturday finally arrived.

Roselia had told them back in the orphanage that she would be sleeping over at Amelia's house.

Over the years, The orphanage had become her family and she was as well accepted as their daughter.

The owner of the orphanage, Mr. Peters, inspired by his childlessness, opened the orphanage solely to cater to children with no parents. 

He and his wife treated all of them with equal love. Roselia, accepted them as her parent, as she didn't get adopted. Mr. Peters didn't see it as an issue and accepted her as a gift, brought to them by the universe. 

Rose's family knew Amelia very well, cause she wasn't new in the orphanage as she had been in the orphanage for only a few years before getting adopted. 

Besides, she had been to the orphanage several times for sleepovers in the past, so they had plenty of time to get to know her well. They always knew that she was adopted by a wealthy family and that she was Rose’s good friend.

But her family was still constantly worried about her, so to make them relax Rose called Amelia over to speak with them.

After some stern reminders about alcohol and drugs and boys, they finally let them go.

“Your family is…  how should I put this?” Amelia sighed heavily as she drove her car towards the city.

“I like your family. I'm jealous that you have such a caring family, Rose, but they're so overprotective of you. You're already twenty-two! For God's sake. I just think that it is about time for them to stop treating you like a baby that needs to be breastfed, you're not a baby anymore. I understand that they can get worried sometimes, but I just think that they shouldn't be that strict towards you anymore.” Amelia's brows narrowed as she said those words. 

It's no new thing that Rose's family were just showing their care for her, but she sometimes felt that they honestly didn't give Rose the freedom to do what she wanted and see the world for what it was.

Although, she was also sure that part of it was Rose's fault, too. She was too good and obedient. She was always home at the exact time she told them she would be, she never went out with boys, and she never lied to them. Amelia even wondered if Rose had anything she desired at all, because all this time, she lived her life like a perfect person who did not seem to want anything for herself.

Perhaps she has desired, but it wasn't Rose's personality to voice those desires out. It seemed like she was content as long as she could make her family proud of her. She was the definition of a perfect daughter. 

This was why Amelia was very surprised to find out what Rose had planned on doing that day. She was a little hesitant to help her because she hadn't seen this Mr. Caleb guy, but Amelia thought that this was the perfect time for her to support her friend. Rose finally decided to leave her shell, so she must set aside all her worries for now and just support her as much as she could. 

“It's okay. I know that they just want to make sure that nothing bad happens to me. Even though they sound strict, I know that deep down, it's all from a place of love and they want me to go out more.” Rose just grinned at her friend, and Amelia could only shrug at her response.

“Fair. Oh well. Now that it occurred to me, honestly  if I were in their shoe, I might be the same, especially when my beloved, well-behaved Rose suddenly decides to sleep over at her friend's house for the first time in her life!” 

Rose laughed. “I honestly don't see anything awkward with that though.” 

“Oh my God Rose! You have no idea, I'm telling you! Wait… don't distract me. You still haven't answered my questions! Now tell me, this is just the first date, right?” Amelia finally began the interrogation. 

With red bouncy cheeks, Rose was fully ready for this, so she answered her without hesitation. 

“He said we will be attending a party held by his friend. He said I'll be his partner for this dance.” 

“After the party, you will now have your first date, right?” 

“YES!” An obvious excitement in Rose's voice filled the car. 

“And after the date, well… you know what might happen next, right Rose ?” Amelia asked hinting at an obvious topic. 

“Well, of course… I have a very good idea of what might or rather would happen next. I've read a bunch of romance novels, Amelia trust me!” 

“But you've never read smut, Rose. Ah, I regret not giving you those R-18 novels for you to read. You are just so innocent that I didn't dare recommend any of the R-18 novels to you” Amelia then sighed in regret.