|WATTYS 2021 Shortlisted| ❝Teach me.❞ ❝Teach you what?❞ ❝Teach me how to be a bad boy.❞
Elias Rodriguez has a crush on a certain cheerleader (since forever), but she has a thing for bad boys, not chemistry nerds. Lucky for him, the cheerleader's bes...
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Chapter twenty | Cherry blossom talks
The people around me were acting weird. After returning from Andrea's place, Cynthia had been eerily quiet. Her eyes had a lost look as she seemed to be in a faraway place.
"Cynthia, are you fine?"
She jumped hearing my voice and broke out of her trance.
"Huh?" She had a stunned look on her face.
"I asked, are you fine?" I repeated slowly, trying to make her understand.
"No," she hastily replied. "No, I am fine."
Her response did nothing to reassure me, but I nodded nonetheless.
We drove to school in silence. It wasn't comfortable but suffocating with tension. The air was heavy, making it impossible to get words out.
She quickly stepped out of the car as I parked it in. The gravel crunched under my feet as I did the same.
My eyes searched Cynthia, trying to find the familiar tiny figure. But she was long lost in the sea of students, making me sigh in dejectedly. Pushing past the cherry red doors, I entered the buzzing hallways.
Words electrified the air as I made my way towards my locker. I stopped short when I caught sight of a figure leaning against it.
Once long hair that reached her waist was now cut in a small sleek bob, barely touching her shoulders. Navya was leaning against my locker with eyes closed as dark bags made her swollen eyes more pronounced.
I gulped and looked around for any signs of Connor.
Feeling a hand on my back, I jumped up in surprise. My best friend was giving me a bright smile, looking better than he did yesterday. "Why do you look vampire pale, Elias? Trying to be the next Edward Cullen?" he asked with amusement shining in his eyes.
My eyes nervously darted towards Navya's form. By now, she had noticed us and was staring right in our direction.
I gulped as Connor followed my eyes and froze.
Connor's body deflated as his cheerful expression fell.
"You can talk to her. She is a friend, after all. I will need time so I will meet you in class." With his words barely above a whisper, he moved away from us. Both mine and Navya's eyes followed him as far as we could.
Finally, left with no choice, I sighed. As I got near my locker, I gave her another concern filled once over.
"How are you?" My voice was soft and cautious.
She took a hesitant step closer and bit her lips. "I think I am fine, but I am not sure," she muttered. Her voice was weak, lacking the normal strength.
I sighed and gathered her in my arms. Pulling her in for a hug, I rubbed her hair as she sobbed.
By now, we had gained attention, with a few pointing cameras in our direction. I glared at them, but a few seemed unconcerned.
