Chemistry {Rilaya}

Chapter 10

Chemistry:

Noun (u) / ˈkɛmɪstri/

It makes you feel as if you are strong enough to do anything.

"Please..." Maya draws out her syllables as she flutters her eyelashes up at me. "No Peaches. We cannot bunk Chemistry to make out." She pouts and tugs on my hand, "But it's a free lesson today." I peck her on the cheek. "Yes, but everyone's going to be asking her questions about the finals. You know this is when the teachers give the best tips." She rolls her eyes but relents. "Fine, but you owe me one."

We stumble into class slightly giddy, surprised to find everyone already seated. Zay waggles his eyes at me and Lucas snorts at our late arrival. We take our seats as quickly as possible under the class's scrutiny. Ms. Hennily eyes us but doesn't say anything.

I was right, the class does ask her questions, and she does give us some good tips. But about half way through the lesson, I feel my eyelids begin to droop. I look next to me and see Maya's curls spread across the desk. It looks like she can't stay awake either. There were openings for jobs at a diner near Maya's apartment. We've both been taking shifts there; Maya to help pay bills, and me to help Maya.

I'm just about to let my head hit the desk when Ms. Hennily comes to tap on my desk. "Riley, can I see you after class today?" I nod my head quickly, "Of course mam." She smiles and walks back to her desk, leaving me to quietly panic at mine. Oh shit. What did I do? I'm not failing, right? This is not happening.

I tell Maya and the gang that I'll meet them at the cafeteria. I approach my teachers desk cautiously, all the while telling my legs to stop shaking. "You wanted to speak to me miss?" She smiled and clasped her hands on the desk, "Yes miss Matthews, I did. I just wanted to talk to you about some of your recent marks." A wave of disappointment and dread runs through me.

"Now, you're a bright girl Riley, and I love having you in this class. It's just that lately your test scores have been dropping." I fix my gaze at the floor, fiddling with the straps of my bag. "You've just been a bit... off. Less attentive, a little slower with answers. Is there anything going on at home?" "What, no." I shake my head quickly and Ms. Hennily raises her eyebrows. "Well, whatever it is, please try to shake yourself out of it. You really are one of my best students."

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I leave the room, my face burning with embarrassment. When I reach our table, I notice the absence of a member. "Where's Smackle?" I question as I sit down. "I'm not too sure, she ran out of the classroom when the bell rang." Farkle states with a frown, seemingly worried about his girlfriend, "She didn't even say where she was going. Just that she'd see us in gym." Gym was the other class we all had together, one that happened to be after break.

My thoughts are broken off by large and raucous laughter coming from the other side of the room. I tune into the offending group to find Missy and her minions. Typical. I glare at them so intently that I don't even notice the arrival of a new person. "Hey Riley and co." I snap my head up to see the sweet features of Sarah Carpenter. Today they seem to be placed in a worried frown.

Maya's hand tightens around my waist and I turn to give her a disapproving glance. "Um, so I had gym before this, and I was taking my time in the bathrooms afterwards. Well, your friend came in," She pushes up the glasses on her face and wrings her wrists, "The one with the glasses? Isadora, I think it is. Well-uh, she seemed pretty upset. I wasn't sure if you knew." The bell followed her reveal, and we all thanked Sarah and hurried towards the gymnasium.