"Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase! Hakuna Matata! Ain't no passing craze. It means no worries, for the rest of your days. It's our problem-free, philosophy. Hakuna Matata!" Clarissa sang from Anneliese's phone, and she shook her head as she chuckled.

"I wish that were the case, Clare." She was cooking breakfast for herself while being on a call with her. She set her phone on the counter and quickly flipped the omelet in the frying pan before it burned.

"What do you mean?" Clarissa asked.

"What do I mean? I mean I'm having a midlife crisis concerning my parents and possibly illegal activities!"

"Don't worry! Everything will be fine," her friend reassured her.

"I hope so." Anneliese ate her breakfast and changed her clothes. She wore a fluffy, beige sweater; black, ripped jeans paired with grey timbs and a beige beanie. Her hair was styled into a braided, half updo, and she brightened her lips with a peachy tint. "See you on campus." She hung up and left. "I hope mother hasn't checked the mail today, but she probably will have by the time I drop by later in the evening."

Anneliese met Clarissa at the entrance of their classes and went in. Archer sat beside them once more. "So, what happened yesterday with cutie patootie?" Clarissa asked in a whisper.

"Ew, don't ever say that again." Anneliese grimaced.

"Okay, I won't. Now, tell me."

'Should I tell Clarissa? Would Archer want me to keep quiet? I mean, Clarissa doesn't pose as a threat. She's my best friend,' thought Anneliese as she watched her curious friend. "Don't tell anyone, but Archer knows my father." Clarissa gasped, and Anneliese hit her lightly. Some people close to them glared, but thankfully, the professor didn't hear and continued her lesson.

"Sorry, but this is serious! Wait! How do we know if we can trust what he says?" Clarissa whispered in a panic.

"Don't worry. He's telling the truth. I can see the sincerity in him."

"So now you're a psychologist? He could be faking it," she said and narrowed her eyes at Archer who was paying attention to the professor.

"Relax, Clare. I trust him." She squeezed her hand and smiled. Archer and Anneliese turned to look at each other at the same time, and they locked eyes. She had her head propped up by her hand and was smiling gently when she looked at him. A blush crept up his face when he saw how gentle she looked. She stopped smiling when she noticed what was happening, and they both looked away. 'I didn't know he had this side of him...' she thought as she bit her lip.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned to him. "Do you have anything to report?" he asked in a whisper.

"I would've called you if I did," she answered.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry, I was just making sure." He cleared his throat and looked away. She suppressed a laugh and whispered, "It's okay."

"Hey, you two lovebirds in the back. I saw you guys talking. Are you paying attention?" the professor asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Anneliese said.

"Can you describe the society in the North during the Civil War?" Anneliese looked at Archer, and he rubbed his neck.

"Um, the society in the North consisted of an industrializing population of largely English-descended residents of the northeastern parts of the United States of America. This society had also freed African slaves and the descendants of defeated American Indians."

The professor looked satisfied. "I guess that answer suffices. Now, let's continue the lesson." She sighed and glanced at Archer who was looking away.

After classes, she caught up to him. "Hey. What was that back there?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?" he asked cluelessly.

"I looked to you for help to answer the question, but you just ignored me." She crossed her arms with a slight pout on her face.

He scratched his head guiltily. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm exceptional at Mathematics, but History...History is not my forte." He was ashamed and embarrassed. She giggled at how cute he looked, and he blushed. "I'm also sorry I got you into the situation in the first place by talking to you. I should've waited until after class."

She smiled a little and bit on her lip. "You're forgiven," she said. "By the way, do you still keep in contact with my father?" she asked.

"No, I don't want him to get involved with what I'm doing. Besides, he's probably living a wonderful life right now," he answered.

"He sure is. I saw him with his new family."

"You talked to him?"

"No, but I wrote him letters. I'm going to check if he sent any to my mother's house later."

"Ah, I see. Be careful. You don't want her to be suspicious or for her to find out," he remarked, and she nodded.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?" he asked.

"For being on my side...or should I say our side including my father?" She gave a lopsided smile and sighed. "I should get going now." She waved goodbye to him like a delighted child as she went to her car.

'Anneliese...quite an interesting woman...' Archer thought with a small smile on his face and scratched his head as he left. Anneliese drove to her mother's in a hurry. She entered using her spare key and saw her mother working on documents.

"Anneliese! What are you doing here?" Her mother stopped what she was doing and hugged her.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," said Anneliese.

"You didn't even tell me you were going to visit. I would've cooked something for you to take home. I know you'd order takeout if I wasn't there to cook for you," her mother stated.

She gasped and said, "That's not true. I would've cooked ramen." Her mother's face portrayed dislike and flicked her forehead. Anneliese rubbed it as she laughed. "Oh, right. Have you been checking the mail now since I'm not here anymore to do it, or will I be seeing a stack of mail beside the mailbox this weekend because it's full? You'd probably tell the mailman to just leave it there. Right?" she asked.

"Absolutely not, Anneliese. I'm a responsible woman," her mother replied.

"Can I check the mail? I think there's something sent to me from a store I shopped at online."

"It's on the coffee table." Her mother pointed behind her, and Anneliese went as directed. She looked through all the mail, but none were addressed to her by her father.

'Good thing he didn't. He probably got my letter with my new address,' thought Anneliese.

"Did you find any?" her mother asked.

"No, they probably haven't sent it yet. I'm going to have to tell them my new address so that I don't have to come to get it." She set the mail down.

"You don't want to see your father and me?"

"That's not it. I just don't want to drive an hour to get mail."

"Gosh, you're so lazy, Anneliese. It's a bad habit as a woman," she repeated the last part with her mother.

"Yes, yes. I know, mother. You've said a million times already," she remarked.

"Then you should know better to fix that habit of yours."

"Yes, stop nagging me now. I'm leaving."

"Go, go. Stop bothering me when I'm working," her mother remarked.

"Okay. Bye, mother. See you in a few days." She left and quickly went home.

Her mother watched through the windows as Anneliese drove away. She returned to her seat and pushed away all her documents on the table to reveal a letter addressed to her daughter from her ex-husband. She looked at it for a while, not willing to open it. Finally, she sighed and put it away. "Why would he send us a letter all of a sudden and to Anneliese? Most importantly, how did he get our address?" she asked aloud.

She thought for a while and remembered Anneliese dug up mailing paper. She thought about how her daughter could've written a letter to her father, but she threw those thoughts away and shook her head. "There's no way she did that. How could she have known where he lived? I don't even know where he went after what happened let alone Anneliese..." She rubbed the temples of her forehead and resumed working.

Back at Anneliese's apartment, she sat down on her bed and thought about what to write to her father. It took some time, but she finally pieced together something. She smiled as she wrote.

Dear father,

Remember that guy I told you about with the icy, blue eyes? Well, today, I got into trouble because of him. Well, not really because of him because I contributed to it by talking and listening to him as well. We've teamed up for something, but I won't tell you yet. It'll be a surprise. So, I got into trouble during History class, and the professor asked me a question.
At first, I didn't know the answer and looked to him for help, but he ignored me. I finally answered, and after classes, I confronted him about it. Guess what he said! He actually sucks at History, but he's outstanding at Mathematics! Seeing how embarrassed and ashamed he was made me want to tease him. This feeling of delight reminds me of when I liked a boy in primary school. Too bad I got rejected by him when I confessed and got humiliated.
If you were there, you would've told me he wasn't worth my time, and that I'm way out of his league then probably beat him up behind my back. I wish you were with me...but that's in the past already. Also, I went to mother's today to check if you sent me any mail, but I didn't find any, so I'll assume you got my last letter with my new address.

Your daughter,
Anneliese

P. S. Kinda still waiting for your reply. I'm anxious, haha.

She reread her letter when she finished, and she laughed at how silly she was. She quickly took the letter to Mrs. Moor and hummed as she drove back home happily.