[https://i.ibb.co/3rHLMnG/ch9.png]

She paid the bus fare so many times that when the bus arrived, she had no problem slipping the money without turning her attention away from her screen. Only in search of a seat did she need to look away, but once she spotted one available or confirmed that she had to stand, her attention would return back towards the chat for the duration of the trip. Even arriving home, where she usually opened her textbooks and studied for a few hours, the time just flew by as she continued to immerse herself in her conversation.

She could not get enough. She not only had an answer to her dreams but found a new friend to confide in. Every moment she could spare she wanted nothing more than to chat with Johan.

Lucy: Maybe I'm spending too much time on my phone.

Johan: You're telling me. I don't remember the last time I ever had a chat as engrossing as this.

Lucy: This takes me back to when I was with my old friends. We used to chat so much.

What brought them together were the various dreams they've had over the years. Every conversation was like a reunion.

Johan: I remember this dream where I was at sea and got lost.

Lucy: And you landed on an island where a girl was waiting for you.

Johan: I bet you can think who the girl was.

Lucy: I think we BOTH know who that was.

Eventually, the chats started to divert into talking about themselves.

Lucy: My dad is making me study so much. I don't know how to handle all this extra work and still have time for myself.

Johan: You remind me of a girl I know named Margaret. She tends to go on and on about her father breathing down her neck.

Lucy: I can relate to her already. Parents can be such a drag sometimes.

And would evolve into sharing interests.

Johan: You can play the flute?

Lucy: I'm still learning. I can play a few songs, but nothing really good. What kind of music you do listen to?

Johan: It's embarrassing to admit.

Lucy: Oh, I really want to know now.

Johan: I like to listen to medieval music.

Lucy: Really? Like church music?

Johan: Some of it is. I'll give you a link to a video so you can listen to it yourself. I'm sure you'll like it.

Every moment was bliss when they chatted and anxious when he was offline. In anticipation for their next meeting, she would dance around, play a tune on her flute, mimicking some of the more pleasant moments in her dreams when the young girl frolicked around with the young man.

And this would carry over during school hours. While the teacher would prattle on about the current lesson, a small peek was given to her phone when the teacher turned around. And when the bell rang, her hand became one with her phone once again. It was as if the world outside didn't matter and there no other person existed but her and Johan.

“Lucy!” Jenny said loudly, causing her to jitter. “It's about time you took your eyes off that phone.”

“Oh, hi Jenny. Getting ready for class?”

“School already ended. I'm just waiting for my mom to pick me up. But what about you? You've been on your phone for days now.”

“Oh, really? I haven't noticed.”

“I never thought you'd be the type to always be on your phone. You were, like, the opposite. What happened? Why are you always on your phone now?”

“The same reason as everyone else?”

“Really? Including me?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Is that so? So that means...” Lucy paused, not realizing Jenny was waiting for a response. Seeing as she was going to remain silent, “So who is it?”

“Who?”

A smile was on Jenny. “Yeah. Who's the boy who asked you out?”

“Boy!?” Lucy blurted out loud enough that a few students glanced in her direction.

“That's why you got your face on your phone all the time, right? You won't even talk to me anymore.”

“Because we're not friends.”

Jenny gave a look of disapproval at Lucy's deadpan reply. “And this is why you don't have any.”

“It's fine. I don't care about having friends anymore.”

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“That's kind of a messed up thing to say. But forget about that. Who's the boy?”

“Knock it off. There's no boy who asked me out.”

“No way. You're on your phone all day long. There's no other reason for a girl to be addicted to her phone, especially a loner like yourself.”

“But it's true. Nobody asked me out.”

“Then what's with the phone if it isn't a boy toy?”

“Boy toy? Uhh... it's just a friend.”

“I thought you didn't make any friends.”

“Well, online friends... maybe...”

“Okay then, let's be online friends.”

An uncomfortable feeling enveloped Lucy who diverts the conversation to remove this discomfort. “Speaking of boys, how about that Jonah boy you liked.”

Jenny's face lit up. “Oh, I'm glad you asked. Ever since we changed lockers, I've been making plans to make my move. I've been taking my time, trying to plan things out. It just started with just waving at him and saying hi. I'm thinking of now dropping something in front of him so he can pick it up for me. It's going to be great.” Two car honks interrupted Jenny as she turned around and saw a red SUV. “That's my mom,” and raced toward the vehicle.

Relieved, Lucy returned her attention to her phone, only to be pulled by the arm towards the car.

“Mom, mom, this is my new friend.”

From what Lucy could discern, a woman who she guessed was in her late 20's began speaking. “Hi. You must be Lucy.”

“Yeah, hi,” Lucy responded.

“She's the one who switched my locker with hers,” Jenny said.

“I see,” Jenny's mother said, “my daughter thanks you.”

With a perplexed look, Lucy replied, “Sure, no problem.”

“Would you like a ride home, dear?”

“No. I'm taking the bus.”

“All the more reason to accept my offer.”

“No, it's fine. Besides, I like taking the bus.”

“Alright. I won't keep you. Be safe out there.”

“Sure, thanks.” She waved goodbye to both of them as she proceeded to walk towards the bus stop, giving her full attention to her phone once again.

This went on for days. There was no force strong enough to separate Lucy from her phone, but that event would finally come by none other than Johan himself.

Johan: My friend Wendy said something the other day. They said that I was having these strange dreams because of reincarnation.

Lucy: Reincarnation? I don't know what that is.

Johan: It's this belief that when someone dies, they are reborn into somebody else.

Lucy: That actually happens?

Johan: I think Wendy believes in that stuff. I'm not certain myself but I've been thinking about it for a while now. There is no explanation I can think of why we share the same dream. I still feel weird thinking that is the reason.

Lucy: Do you believe that?

Johan: Not really. It's just something my roommate said.

Lucy: That sounds interesting.

Johan: I think it's ridiculous but I guess a lot of people believe in it. That's not me, however. I just figured I'd share. Anyway, I looked up something else about dreams.

The conversation continued as normal afterward. When Johan had to log off and she turned off the chat, she sat in her room for a moment. “Reincarnation?” she asked herself. It was the first time she heard of the concept and being curious, decided to look up the topic.

At first, she considered the concept unique and fascinating. Unlike Johan who dismissed any further reading, her curiosity kept her looking further into the subject.

As if taking a sabbatical, she told Johan she would take a break and would not log in for days. A strange lingering was on her whenever she looked up the idea of rebirth, the same one back when the dreams were a mystery. As before, this feeling gave her a chill whenever she thought about it.

As her research progressed, her mind started to look at the dreams differently. The idea of a girl in love with a man was nothing unusual, but her dreams were quite specific about this matter. She always dreamed of the same girl and took her role. The mysterious dashing man whose identity remained a mystery to her always felt the same. No matter what dream she had, no matter where it took place, both persons always seemed to be familiar to her.

It was on the tip of her tongue, this feeling of a missing link that would put everything together. Deep down inside of her the answer was just waiting to be discovered.

'Maybe I should talk to someone.' She thought to herself. 'Perhaps I should ask my dad. No, he made himself clear that he doesn't care. Mom is out of the question for obvious reasons. Who can I talk to?'

Not knowing the answer was becoming irritable, but she also had this odd feeling within her whenever she kept digging into it. It wasn't one of malice, but neither of eagerness. It was as if her curiosity was detained by something within her mind that kept holding it back from discovering the truth.

Then, one day during recess, Lucy stood on her former locker.

“Yo, Lucy,” Jenny said arriving. “How's it-” but before another word left her mouth, Lucy dragged Jenny toward a secluded area behind the building.

“Sorry about that,” Lucy said tensely, “but I got to ask you something privately.”

“What's going on? You look nervous.”

“I am nervous. I just can't shake this feeling. I need advice from someone I can trust and... I don't have anyone else to talk to.”

Jenny smiles. “What is it?”

“Tell me, you said that you like that Jonah boy. How's that going?”

Jenny's enthusiasm emerges. “I did what I planned. I dropped the slip of paper on the ground, and he helped me pick it up. I smiled at him and said 'thanks'. It was the most exciting thing ever.”

“Oh gosh...” Lucy comments with a look of both embarrassment and anxiety. “Do you know about reincarnation?”

“I think I do. I heard it somewhere. Is that like something you're learning in class?”

“Maybe. Okay, okay, let me ask something else. Listen to me, how do you feel about Jonah? Like, how does he make you feel?”

“Well... uhh... I do like him, very much so.” Jenny covered her mouth and turned away while giggling but Lucy grabbed her shoulders and made her face her once more.

“Can you tell me what you are feeling?”

“Why do you want to know? Wait, don't tell me. That boy you are talking to on the phone.”

“No way. That's not it. It's... it's for homework.”

“No, it isn't.”

“In any case, can you just answer the question?”

After a few more giggles, “It feels funny like you're being tickled inside. You know, when they say you have butterflies inside your stomach? Kind of like that. Something is fluttering inside of you. Sometimes you get this funny feeling on your chest, and your heart beats. Whenever I think of Jonah, I get this funny squirmy feeling. Oh my gosh, I'm so embarrassed!” Jenny couldn't control herself as she wrapped her arm around herself. She was giddy, full of glee, and all of it subsided when she saw Lucy.

“Are you okay?” Jenny asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You're face is red.”

Pressing her hand against her face, Lucy felt heat emitting from her cheek which caused her to gasp. Jenny started hopping around but Lucy quickly exited before she could remark.

Hiding behind another building, Lucy started breathing heavily, her heart feeling like it was beating a thousand times a second. “No, not me. Not me.” She pulled out her phone but before she could unlock it, her hand became stiff when she stared at her face reflected. Her fair skin had a red hue that permeated even on the dark tint of the phone's screen. “He can't mean what he meant. No way. Impossible. I don't even know this boy. But... but... the dreams. Reincarnation? Why would he tell me that? The only reason why was because... “ She dropped her arm while continuing to clutch her phone. “Am I... really... falling in love with Johan?”