My middle school friend took No-Pay Leave recently owing to health issues from his mum. Since he is relatively freer on weekdays, he arranged to meet me for afternoon tea at a food court at 4pm today.

So, I woke up half an hour earlier so that I could finish the pressing matters on my plate and dash out of school to reclaim a semblance of my social life.

It was only when we met up that he revealed that he had not eaten lunch at all. I mean, that was his choice and I won’t feel indebted to him, but it’s kinda cool to know that our meetup was so important to him that he adjusted his routine to accommodate my schedule.

Adulting is hard. His mother is undergoing chemotherapy. I don’t have major stressors going on in my life now since my house has been renovated. Anyway, for those few blissful hours, we chatted about anything and everything under the sun, me basking in the company of someone who has seen me grow up. Worth my sleep sacrifice!