The Innocent ↝ ÉLITE ¹

SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Marina

          THE NEXT DAY Arlo was in the music room, practicing her guitar as her exam was coming up when the door slammed shut and she jumped. She looked up to see the last person she expected to see in front of her.

"Carla?" She questioned.

The two were on good terms. They weren't the closest when they were younger but they always respected each other and didn't mind the other's company. As they grew older, they still didn't talk much but whenever they did, they were nice.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Carla chortled.

Arlo shook her head. "No, no, it's okay. What's up?"

"It's about Marina." Carla said as she sat in a chair in front of Arlo. "She quickly left the study period earlier looking like she was going to puke. Is she okay? I haven't had a chance to speak to her in a while."

"I'm sure she's fine." Arlo smiled. If Marina hadn't told Carla about it, she wasn't going to be the one to disclose that information on her.

Carla nodded. "Did she tell you she was coming round to my house after school that day?"

The raven haired girl shook her head. "No, she didn't. She told me after."

"Did she by any chance tell you why she came over?"

Arlo shook her head again. "Nope."

Carla nodded again. "Did you know about her HIV before it was revealed to the class?"

"Um, yeah..."

"Sorry. Forgive me." Carla said. "It's just she said she only had Guzmán and her parents to talk to about it. I'll leave you to it."

Without knowing it, Arlo had given Carla the confirmation on the suspicions she had. Once Carla had left the room, Arlo was still in a state of confusion. Why would Marina tell Carla that? Arlo licked her lips and put her guitar in her case as she stood up, grabbing her other belongings before she rushed out of the music room.

She jogged down the hall to see Marina leaving the girl's locker room and she called out to her. "Marina! Marina, hey!"

"Lo," Marina smiled. "What's up?"

"Why did you tell Carla you had no one to rant to about the HIV?"

Marina's smile dropped. "She said what? She lied. Of course she lied, it's Carla."

Arlo squinted her eyes at the girl. "Why would Carla lie about that?"

"Cause some drama, I guess. I gotta go. I'll call you later!"

As Marina already jogged away, Arlo huffed before she continued walking and bumped into someone. She looked up to see Guzmán and the breath in her throat hitched. "Shit. I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's okay." Guzmán shook his head with a smile.

"How are you?" Arlo wondered, genuinely concerned about him.

"I'm okay." He forced a smile. "I'm gonna visit my father today."

Arlo's eyes went wide as she nodded. "Ah, really? Do you want some company? I can go with you. I doubt Marina will."

Guzmán laughed lightly. "Yeah, she already said no. But it's okay. I'm not going alone and I know how much you gotta study for the maths exam tomorrow and your guitar exam the next day. I'll be fine. I'll keep you updated."

"Are you sure?" Arlo questioned.

The boy beamed down at her, placing a hand on the side of her head. "Yes, I am. Study, okay?"