Monteverde Academy

Chapter-45

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "Yves." 

"Hi Verina," he said, trying to brush past me. I caught his arm and glared at him. 

"So this is how you treat your friends now?" I asked. 

Yves looked down but didn't say anything. 

"Trying to avoid me?" I prompted. 

"No, just busy," he mumbled. 

"Too occupied to even talk to me for a minute?" 

"What do you want Verina?" he snapped, clearly losing his patience. 

"I..." I opened my mouth to apologise but then felt my temper flare. I wasn't going to apologise until he spoke to me properly. 

"I don't have time for this." he snapped, trying to edge past me again. I moved in front of him, obstructing his path. 

"Trying to thwart all of us?" I said again.

He scowled at me and then gave up trying to escape and sat on the stairs.

"No, I just..." 

"Yves, we miss you," I said softly, sitting beside him. It was true. We all missed Yves and we needed his comforting presence back. 

"No, you don't." Some resentment remained on his face but his voice had softened considerably. 

"We do," I said firmly. "What happened Yves? Why don't you talk to us anymore?" 

"I don't know," he said, looking at his hands. "I guess we don't belong together anymore." 

"Yves," I said, feeling shocked. "We have always belonged together. Since we were children." 

"Eryx must be so happy. He didn't like me at all." 

"No, he just loved pulling your leg. And you didn't mind his teasing last year. Why now?" 

His phone rang, startling us both. He took it out of his pocket and frowned. 

"I need to go," he said and got up abruptly. 

"But Yves..." 

"Later," he said, already halfway up the stairs. 

I was left standing alone on the staircase. I started going up slowly. I was feeling a little rattled by how much Yves had changed. Something was off about him- I could sense it. Yet he had refused to tell me anything. He had deflected my questions. I wouldn't let that deter me from getting to the bottom of it, I decided. 

I walked into the common room and was struck by the change in everyone's mood. It seemed that the game had cheered everyone up immensely. 

Aria, Bianca and Finn were laughing at something Eryx was saying. Airell was surrounded by a throng of girls including Jasmine and Garessa who usually despised our group. When Garessa asked him to sign her shirt, he looked as surprised as I felt. Aria looked over and rolled her eyes at me. I grinned back at her. Oaklyn was nowhere to be seen. I guess she had headed back to her common room. 

Someone brought out bottles of beer and handed them around. I leaned against the wall and took a long gulp of mine. Aria came up to stand next to me. She looked different than before. I stared at her trying of what was odd. With a start, I realised this was the first time I had seen her truly happy since the party. I raised my eyebrows at her and she shook her head. I resolved to ask her about it later. 

As the night went on, I found myself feeling happier than before. As I looked at all the people gathered around me laughing, joking and drinking, I realised how much I loved it here at the school. It never failed to cheer me up. I smiled and joined in the fun along with everyone else.