The next day in Novera...
Seated on the desk with his feet hanging off the side, Haji turned to the person fixing the shelf in the corner of the office.
"Seriously, Amala, do you think she’s dead?" Haji asked, only to get a smack on the head from Silo.
"Haji! How can you say that?!" Silo fumed. "Lola just took a vacation—how could you say she’s dead!"
Haji rubbed the back of his head, wincing at Silo, who was huffing and puffing like a storm cloud. The latter marched toward the long couch, huffing even louder.
"Goodness, I’m just kidding," Haji muttered. "But Amala finally arrived in Novera, and Lola ditched her when they agreed to meet. Isn’t that strange to you?"
Besides, the text message they’d received had been suspicious. Too dry for his taste. Lola’s texts were usually short, but this one... something about it felt off. It didn’t sound like her at all.
Haji’s gaze shifted to the person still putting books on the shelves. A tall, slim figure with very long silver hair tied into a clean ponytail. Her skirt was above the knee, showing slightly hairy legs.
"She already called me," said Amala. "She’s fine and will be back..."
Amala paused, checking her wristwatch. "Probably today." Placing a book on the shelf, she turned slowly to face the two young men.
Haji and Silo both raised their brows at her, staring at the faint wrinkles her makeup couldn’t hide anymore and the well-trimmed beard around her mouth. They were long used to the feminine attire and gentle demeanor mixed with his masculinity.
Amala, after all, was a transgender woman.
"Don’t worry about her," Amala continued with a smile. "She sounds... safe."
Then, she turned her back on them and resumed arranging her office. The building had already been finished while Lola was away, after all.
"How could she call you and not me?!" Silo harrumphed. "Does she really take this friendship lightly?"
Haji’s face twisted at him, but he couldn’t blame Silo. He turned to Amala.
"Amala, if she called, why are you only telling us now?!"
"..." Amala thought for a moment, then glanced at them. "Because I know Silo would bother her."
"Huh?"
"Haha." She chuckled and shook her head. "I just wanted to confirm my assumption. If she were lying, she would’ve answered Silo’s incessant messages. But since he couldn’t reach her, that answered a few questions in my head."
"You used me in your experiment?!" Silo gasped. "Amala, how could you?!"
Haji looked up and thought about it. While Silo jumped from his seat to confront Amala, Haji stayed perched on the desk and shook his head.
"Yep," he muttered. "The gang’s complete."
For the next few minutes, Silo nagged Amala while she calmly continued to work. Haji watched lazily until the door suddenly flew open.
"How many times do I have to tell you—" Silo almost bit his tongue at the loud sound of the door being kicked open.
The three of them turned toward the entrance and saw Lola standing there.

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