Chapter 25 - The Table Between Us
Chapter 25: The Table Between Us
The table was rectangular, worn, and far too small for four adults. But it was theirs.
A little place near Lavender that Isabelle found online — unassuming, affordable, and blessedly quiet on Sunday evenings.
“Just like old times,” Crystal said, dropping her bag on the seat beside her.
Aleem glanced up from his phone. “Except now we all pretend to be adults with full schedules.”
Isabelle grinned. “Keyword: pretend.”
Ivan arrived last, a little breathless, still half-dressed in workwear. “Sorry. Took a detour after errands. My girlfriend says hi.”
They ordered — too much, as always — and began with small talk. Work updates, partner quirks, weekend errands. But underneath it all, a quiet shift had settled in.
They were still ABIX.
But they weren’t the same people who first shared bubble tea on campus steps.
Aleem, now calmer, more present. His conversations no longer spun in analysis. They grounded in reflection. He talked about Hana like she was the silence he used to be afraid of — the kind that didn’t demand, just stayed.
Isabelle, more confident now in her softness. She laughed more, shared more. Her boyfriend — still not officially introduced to the group — had slowly become a stable fixture in her life. She didn’t announce him. She didn’t need to. The glow said enough.
Crystal, sharp as ever, but a little less rigid at the edges. She talked about her relationship with realism now — of scheduling meetups between campaigns and delivery routes. Of ambition balanced with affection. Of learning not to take love personally when it moved at a different pace.
And Ivan, the once-anchored one, now letting himself drift a little. He spoke about startups, about stepping out of routine, about late-night walks with his girlfriend where they didn’t talk about the future — just listened to the now.
Somewhere between bites of fried chicken and shared dessert, the conversation turned quiet.
Then Aleem said, “Do you guys ever think about how we got here?”
Isabelle blinked. “Where’s here?”
“This table. These lives. We started with a badminton class and now look at us. Real jobs. Real people. Real futures.”
Crystal leaned back, sipping her drink. “Real tired, more like.”
But her voice was gentle.
Ivan nodded slowly. “I think about it more now. Especially watching you all move. It’s not dramatic. Just… meaningful.”
They sat with that.
A quiet awareness that everything was changing — and still, this stayed.
ABIX.
Not a group chat. Not a memory.
A living thing.
Braiding four stories into something shared.
Before they left, Isabelle pulled out four mini keychains — matching but in different colors. She passed them around.
“I made these,” she said, a little shyly. “For us. Not for a reason. Just… I wanted to.”
Aleem turned his over. “Mine has a shuttlecock on it.”
She smiled. “Thought it’d be poetic.”
Crystal clipped hers to her bag without a word.
Ivan looked at his and simply said, “Thanks. I’ll carry it.”
That night, no one said it aloud.
But they all knew:
They were heading somewhere new.
Not all in the same direction.
But somehow, still together.