After that day, there were no important events that happened in the past few days. Rhianne's daily routine was still the same. Except that she's always on her phone and exchanged text messages with the male lead. That day, Keith gave his phone number to Rhianne before leaving their house.
Keith does not want to lose contact with Rhianne after being friends with her again. He had an idea to visit her regularly, but remembering her brother's existence, Keith thought that it was a bad idea. So he just gave his contact details to Rhianne and told her to text him as soon as she can.
Rhianne has an unused phone in her drawer, but she never tried to open it because she was not familiar with the list of people listed in the phonebook. When Rhianne casually asked her mother if it was possible for her to buy a new phone, her mother automatically agreed. So the very next day, Carmie handed the brand new phone to Rhianne. After setting up her new phone, Rhianne put Keith's number on her phonebook together with her family's phone numbers.
'Good morning. This is my new number. By the way, this is Rhianne.'
After Rhianne sent the text message, her phone beeped immediately, which made her surprised. As if Keith is really waiting for her text message.
'It took you a whole day before sending me a text.'
'Are you waiting for me to contact you?'
'Why should I? I'm busy reading my book.'
'Okay. Read well, Mr. Protagonist.'
Since then, Rhianne and Keith have often exchanged text messages with each other. There was nothing important with their topics, but it was okay with them since they can know each other well. Rhianne always calls Keith as 'Mr. Protagonist' ever since knowing his real name. When Keith asked him why is she calling her like that, Rhianne casually told him that it suits him to be the male lead in a story.
'If I was the male lead, then who is going to be my female lead?'
'I don't know. But I am pretty sure you will meet her soon.'
Rhianne did not dare to reveal the truth to everyone, including Keith. And besides, who will believe her anyway? Will they really think that they are just a list of characters in a book and their life and experiences were just made by an imaginative author? If she really told them these things, people may think that she is getting crazy.
But the real reason why she did not dare to tell them was that Rhianne already thought that everything is real. She can feel the love and compassion of her family, the natural environment around her and she can feel different emotions a human should have. After living here for months, Rhianne tried to erase the thought that she is now living in a book. This is now her world and everything around her is now real.
Weeks passed and it was already her first day of school tomorrow. Just like what her parents said, Rhianne will attend the same school where Francis is studying. Carmie already processed the papers she needed for her transfer. As for her health, Calvin already gave his approval and he said that it is better for Rhianne to explore more and gain a lot of new experiences. Before leaving, Calvin told something to Rhianne.
"Tristan is attending the same school as you. Maybe you two will become classmates."
"But he did not tell me that."
"Oh."
Calvin shrugged his shoulder.
"Then do not tell him that I told you about it. Maybe Tristan is planning to surprise you tomorrow."
"If that is the case, then you already ruined the surprise, Dr. Calvin."
Calvin laughed when he heard Rhianne's words. He thought that she was sulking for ruining her friend's plan. He casually waved his hand before leaving their house.
Rhianne was actually giving her thanks to heaven for not giving her a brother like him. Calvin is the type of older brother who torments his younger sibling with his teasings and pranks. Francis sometimes teases Rhianne, but not to the extent that she will feel distressed or mad about it. Comparing these two, Rhianne will always prefer Francis over Calvin.
"What are you doing there? I thought you will fix your schoolbag in your room?" Francis said when he saw Rhianne still sitting on the sofa while staring at the door.
"Nothing. I am just thinking."
"Thinking about what?"
"I am just thinking that I am very lucky that you are my elder brother." Rhianne said before going upstairs leaving Francis behind. Francis did not know what happened, but it feels good to hear those words from Rhianne.
After putting all the things she needed for tomorrow in her bag, Rhianne reached for her phone and type a short message.
'Tomorrow is my first day of school. I am just informing you in advance that I can't reply to your messages on time.'
'Okay. It is also my first day of school tomorrow.'
'Really? I just remember that you did not tell me the name of your school.'
'Because you did not ask me.'
'But I am now asking you. Mind telling me the name of your school, Mr. Protagonist?'
After sending it, Rhianne did not receive a message from him. She did not think too much about it. Rhianne was about to put down her phone when she received a text from Keith.
'If we meet again, can you stop calling me 'Mr. Protagonist'? It feels weird.'
'Then what should I call you?'
'Just call me Keith. It is my name so you should call me that.'
'You do not like it?'
'Yes.'
'If you say so, Mr. Male Lead.'
'...'
Rhianne laughed when she received Keith's reply. It was obvious that he does not want to reveal his surprise yet, so he changed the topic. Rhianne changed her clothes into pajamas and climbed on her bed to sleep.
Before sleeping, Rhianne thought that it is better to watch for the male lead's growth until he meets the female lead. As for herself, she will do her best to improve herself and will try to achieve her dreams in the future. Rhianne always swears to avoid the path the original Rhianne Cartel took in the past. Maybe borrowing the male lead's halo as a back-up plan, Rhianne can reassure herself that nothing bad will happen.