The night eventually drifted into dawn, and the room filled with the soft light of morning. Maya was startled awake by the gentle warmth of sunlight on her face. She glanced at the clock, it was still early morning.
Turning her gaze to her side, she found Elena still asleep, her normally guarded face relaxed in slumber. Maya pulled up the covers to gently set it over Elena.
The night had been a long one, filled with deep conversations and raw emotions. Maya felt somewhat closer to Elena, the girl who had always seemed so tough and untouchable. The previous night had revealed a vulnerability in Elena that Maya hadn't known existed.
The events of last night stayed unspoken between them. It was Maya's heart that got broken, but it was Elena who had won in a meltdown competition. Maya found it odd to think of it as competition, but it served its purpose. It had taken her mind off Adam.
Now, when she saw Elena in Keith's embrace, kissing him, smiling, she didn't know what to make of it. Was it all an act?
During lunch, Elena surprised her by pulling her away from her usual spot at lunch to sit with her and Keith. Maya could only exchange confused looks with Andrea and Linda as she was being whisked away. But it all became clear when Isaac arrived with Adam moments later. Elena made sure they wouldn't end up sitting at the same table.
Maya appreciated her, whispering thanks. Elena only nodded and continued chatting with the seniors. They were all nice to Maya.
She was saved from having to confront Adam, but now Maya couldn't help but wonder about Elena's relationship with Keith. She found herself stealing glances at him, wondering if he knew about the thoughts that ran through Elena's mind. Sensing her curiosity, Elena told her to forget about their conversation from the previous night.
"YOU DID WHAT?!" Andrea yelled as she stood up.
Her outburst had taken everyone by surprise and people started staring their way. Of course, Andrea was going to investigate the reason behind everyone's unusual behaviour and find out about their miserable date plan.
"And your first instinct wasn't to go to her table and apologize?! You make me sick."
The whole room was now a part of this drama. Maya felt mortified. But no one mentioned her name yet. She couldn't look at Adam, but she knew he didn't want to be there anymore.
In all that mess, Maya actually felt bad for Isaac. Adam was his friend and he would have to choose between him and the girls. Linda was the closest to him so all this wouldn't be easy on her either if Isaac chooses Adam.
Andrea took Linda's hand and stormed off toward Maya.
"I can't believe he did that to you. Now, he gets kills from us all," Andrea said angrily, referencing their game at the hangout from the first week.
"And why didn't you tell us?" Andrea was frustrated. "I can't believe Isaac took his side," she growled. "I can't believe he managed to wreck our squad like that."
Andrea hugged Maya who was still sitting down. Linda just stood on the side, looking down, disheartened her friends were suddenly falling out.
"Hang in there. We can come by later tonight to talk shit on him if you want," Andrea offered.
"Thank you." Maya was grateful for Andrea's support, even though the situation was far from ideal.
There wasn't enough space to squeeze them at their table, but Andrea argued she had lost her appetite and they left.
"Sorry for asking, but What'd he do? Did he cheat on you or something?" Keith asked carefully.
"He invited me on a date and stood me up. Twice. We weren't really together," Maya said trying to downplay the incident. From what he heard from Andrea right now, it must've sounded much worse.
"Boys will be boys," Elena said, leaning back with her arms crossed behind her head. "Am I right?"
She was looking at Keith as if she expected him to agree. Maya was impressed she'd make such a statement in a crowd of mostly guys. It wasn't surprising no one commented.
"Well, forget about him. You have a pool of guys to choose from," Keith comforted her. "Just look at all these handsome single guys that would like to be with you," he suggested to his friends sitting with them. They smiled. One of them winked at her.
"We can even beat him up if you'd like," one named Vito offered.
It made her laugh. She thought of them being nice for trying to make her feel better. They were all acting like her older brothers. Following Keith's lead of taking her under his wing.
"I would like to see you fight someone, Vito. You're shorter than a Thinkerbell," Elena commented.
Vito was short for a guy, but he would make up for that with his quick tongue and charm. It didn't seem to be a source of insecurities for him.
"I would cheer while others fight," he joked. "But I bet I could land one good punch before I go down. That kid doesn't look like he has much meat on his bones."
Maya laughed at their jabs and playful banter and her lunch was surprisingly enjoyable. However, the lunch break was long and Maya dreaded the future where she would have to face up to the wreck created among her friends.
Thankfully, Elena was surprisingly attentive today, never leaving Maya's side, shielding her from having to face Adam. Their habit of sometimes roaming the academy between lunch and Elemental Practices led them to one of their favourite places: a bridge connecting different annexes of the academy.
This bridge was a stark contrast to the surrounding architecture. Unlike the stone structures around it, the bridge was constructed from steel to reduce its weight. Despite this, it retained elements of the academy's style, notably in its simplified, somewhat clumsy imitation of Gothic windows. This served as a transitional piece to the greenhouses, which were primarily made of steel and glass.
Maya found it familiar because it had strange echoes of modern architecture. Elena appreciated the large windows that offered unobstructed views of the back gardens, which she described as "very picturesque". They both shared that sentiment, liking watching advanced practical classes of diligent seniors from there.
Elena settled on the floor there while Maya went to quickly drop by vending machines to get some snacks. She ran into Isaac there who seemed very uncomfortable and awkward around her, fixing his glasses.
Maya chose her snacks, but couldn't stand the silence while she waited for the machine to drop them.
"Another D&D session, Isaac?"
He finally looked up from the floor and at Maya. He was smart enough to know that Maya was really asking about Adam.
"We weren't playing last night," he confessed. "Adam was all prepared for your date, he even sent his roommate away."
Maya cringed at the thought. Did he expect to bring her into his dorm room?! How bold. But then, what happened?
"Did he change his mind?"
"I don't know."
"Despite that, you still took his side?"
'Was their friendship that shallow?'
"I didn't take his side. I simply didn't want to break my friendship because of you," Isaac blurted out then quickly closed his mouth realising his words were quite harsh.
But it was too late, Maya was already hurt. After unnecessarily nodding, Maya left, not wanting to continue down this road of pain.