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Chapter 15: Maya

Edited

I wake up in my bed, curled in a ball to the thin lighting that is shining on my face between the curtains in an otherwise dark room. Darren is at my desk, busy typing a text to someone before the habitual sound of the ringtone blares and he returns his focus back to me. I glance around first feeling uneasy and confused; why is he in my room?

"What time is it?" I ask rubbing my eyes and stifling a yawn.

"7," Darren answers, his eyes completely glued to his screen. I let the information sink before I realize that school is a thing.

"AM?!"

"Yea."

"I need to get ready! We need to hurry to school!"

"I'm driving, remember? And we don't start till 8."

"Umm. Hello? School starts in an hour. Rings a bell? We're supposed to leave early not just be on time!" I blurt out sarcastically with pure annoyance. Only Darren gets me to this level of anger. "How long have you even been there? I'm pretty sure you could've woken me up!" 

"Just hurry and go change."  

"Gladly, but will you get out of my room? I need to take a shower and wash my hair too because of yesterday's chlorine!" I rant to myself.

"You went to the pool yesterday?" He looks up from his screen.

"Yea the public pool with all the slides with Cale."

"You went with Cale? When?" Darren's eyes watch me intently.

"I skipped school before lunch period ended."

"Maya you shouldn't-" he starts sternly but I cut him.

"You do it all the time so don't start lecturing me!" I raise my voice at him. "It always seems to be okay for you to skip class to hook up with some girl in some dirty bathroom or at the back of the school but I skip once to go swimming and you're confrontational about it!? What's the logic in that!"

Darren opens his mouth to retort something but stops midway, instead choosing to scratch the back of his head unsurely, his blue eyes darting back and forth between the two strips of bamboo hardwood flooring in between his feet.

"You and I are different." he starts hesitantly. "You're not the type to skip school. You came home without any books and you didn't do your homework. Not that I care, but I know these are things you care about and so I find it out of character for you to start doing all these things because of a boy. Not to mention that you went to bed without even eating."

"I bet Mother likes that," I mutter, drawing the attention away from everything else he said.

"You're just acting really different all of a sudden like you're not even Maya I know anymore. What's gotten into you?" He questions and I roll my eyes.

"You and your overdramatic speeches. I'm still me and you're overreacting. Let's discuss this later because, you know, tick-tock, time is running. We need to go soon."

"You're helpless."

"And you're annoying. Darren, please get out."

He walks out shooting me another one of his judgmental glares, but then again when does he not? Oh right, when he makes his stupid promises.

The car ride to school is long and quiet as I let the rest of what Darren said sink in. 

Me not being myself? How absurd. Surely living life a little would have been something Dad would have wanted for me too, right? But I am definitely not changing myself for a boy. Just doing what I always do, help those in need.

As Darren pulls over to park I spot Gigi's long blonde hair and as she turns to greet me with a smile I notice it's different. She looks pale and out of it. The idea of her coming to school to keep me company horrifies me when she is this weak. I run up to her and give her a hug.

"Gigi, you should really get to the nurse's office. It would bad for you if you stayed in class."

"I shouldn't miss more classes though. I don't want to catch up on everything."

"Don't worry, I'll photocopy my notes for you. Okay? I'm taking you there right now."

As we walk there she holds onto my arm for support and then I help her into one of the available beds as she snugs herself comfortably in it and I draw a curtain behind me.

"I'll come to visit for lunch and bring you something," I tell her giving her a kind smile.

"Thanks, I love you May."

"Love you too Gigi." I kiss her cheek as she closes her eyes and starts drifting off and I start towards the door to head out.

Before I get to the sliding door, I hear a voice. Cale's voice. I quickly stop myself and glance out the small window on the infirmary door to see him and the nurse talking.

"Is he alright in school?" Cale asks worriedly.

"Yea, the teachers said he's doing just fine academically but apparently something has been troubling him lately. The art and English teachers had concerns about odd emotions showing up in both his art and writing. But I don't think it's anything to be concerned about just yet. You've got a lot more on your plate at the moment."

She pauses for a while and I realize I've never seen him so troubled before. He must really care about whoever he's talking about.

"Are you holding up?" She asks cautiously, her tone changing from commonsensical to soothing and caring.

"Yea, just two more years and I'm out of that house. What's worrying me is how he'll do without me. I can't bring him with me unless I have a suitable job and apartment and research about the nearby schools and hope there is a public school nearby. I don't know if I'll be able to handle uni and him at the same time, but I bet it would be better than anything she has to offer him."

"Well, I can't predict the future but I really do hope everything works out. If in any case, you need my assistance, I will aid you as much as I possibly can." She tells him smiling comfortingly.

"Thanks." He says smiling back her in a very touched and trusting way.

My mind goes blank. Then I start processing the facts. Cale knows the nurse on a personal level. Why? How did they get to know each other? What brought them closer? But most of all, why is it that she's the only one he seems to open up to? She's a woman and yet he doesn't seem to despise her. He doesn't distrust her as he does every other girl. What happened between them? What is he hiding?

The nurse turns to slide open the door so I make a quick run for it and hide behind Gigi's curtain. She's already sound asleep. That baby. She knew she needed rest and yet she still wanted to go class for my sake, even if she didn't want to admit it.

She walks in, her heels clicking against the floor and I get out of the curtain.

"Hi, Ms Fall! Gigi was sick yesterday and so doesn't feel very well today, I think she just needs a little rest. I was waiting until you came because she's already asleep."

"Thank you for staying. Do you how long she's been here?"

"5-10 minutes I think."

"Perfect, thank you!" She says scribbling down the time on her notepad. "She should be fine after lunch but if she isn't I'll keep her longer."

"Okay, great, thank you!"

"Bye, Maya."

"Bye!"

I walk out from the infirmary asking myself mentally so many questions and I wonder whether they'll ever be answered.

~~~

Hey guys!

Maya's late to school for one of the rare times she is and finds out more about Cale. To us, that information might not be as valuable as what we found out in the previous chapter but to her, this information is something new about Cale that she didn't know before therefore making her closer to his secret than she was before.