Tuesday, 2:39 PM.

Classes had finished for the day, and the hot place right now was the library or any place people could sit down and revise. While most people indulged in their studies, others had other things on their minds.

"What're you planning?"

Ryan was sitting on the couch, staring at the floor.

"Lorenzo", he called out.

Lorenzo was a short boy with maroon coloured hair. His eyebrows slanted down, making his resting face look angry; he was Ryan's roommate.

"What?" he replied, not looking at him.

"I think I know what I'm going to do".

Lorenzo put his food in the microwave and looked at Ryan across the room. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I'm going to meet with the main guys from each class", he replied, sitting forward.

"Meet? How?"

"I'll text them all anonymously to meet up, and then we'll talk", RRyan said, lifting his head. "There are some things I want to discuss with all of them".

"What happens if they don't turn up?" Lorenzo asked.

"They'll come. If the off chance they don't, they will miss out".

Lorenzo took his food out of the microwave and placed it on the kitchen table, "Who's the main guy from each class?" he asked before taking his first bite.

"From class A, it's Alexander. From C, his name is David", Ryan started listing before,

"David? Is it not Malakai?" Lorenzo said with a mouth full of food, cutting Ryan off.

Ryan scoffed, "No. David is the genius of that group. Malakai is the circus lion. He's there to attract attention and mask everyone else".

Lorenzo raised his eyebrows. "You said a circus lion. A lion is still a lion", he shrugged. "You're admitting he's still dangerous. He's just tamed". Lorenzo replied, moving his food around with his spoon.

"I'm not denying that, but he's not top dog. Even in his friend group, he's not even top three. He's fourth", Ryan replied, with a sense of annoyance in his tone.

"So there's three guys you're more worried about than him?"

"Yeah, and I've met those two on the first day, and I still need to meet David. I don't care about the other two", Ryan said, not paying any mind to William and Ray.

"Why did you talk to Malakai and not David last week?" Lorenzo asked, pulling out his phone.

"I saw an opportunity and took it. The perfect scenario would have been if he was alone, but he's never alone. As for David, I wanted to talk with him one-on-one", Ryan clenched his fist at the thought of talking to Malakai alone. "But those guys are rarely alone; it's like they're stuck to each other", Ryan frustratedly said.

"They are friends. What'd you expect?" Lorenzo said, taking his last bite. Lorenzo had a little snack, which is why he finished it quickly.

"That's the thing, they're friends; that's what makes them strong", Ryan started to grin. "But we'll see how strong they are over time. Friendships can be very delicate".

Lorenzo finished his meal. He put his phone in his pocket, stood up and turned to put his plate in the sink.

"Who's the other main guys?"

"Oh yeah. From 1-D, it's Dillon, that guy that grabbed Malakai on the first day. From E, it's a guy called Adam".

Lorenzo was washing his plate. "Adam? Who's he?"

"You'll see. You remind me of him. You've got a few similarities", Ryan said, picturing Adam and Lorenzo next to each other.

"Is that a good thing?" Lorenzo asked, trying to envision Adam.

"Yeah, I would say so", Ryan answered.

Lorenzo finished washing up and dried his hands; as he walked out of the kitchen area, he asked, "When's this meeting?"

"Friday at like 3, probably".

"Am I invited?" Lorenzo jokingly replied.

"If you want to turn up, you can", Ryan openly invited.

"I'll see on the day. What will you do now?" he asked, walking towards his room. "Want to study together? We need to get the most points we can", he said in a cheery tone, which was obvious sarcasm.

Ryan just laughed and replied, "We don't need to do that shit".

Lorenzo chuckled and went inside his room while Ryan sat on the couch and started typing on his phone.

Meanwhile, in a restaurant on campus, David and Delilah were sitting opposite each other eating.

"The food is good", Delilah said, covering her mouth.

"Yeah, I didn't think the food here would be that good", David replied. "Where are we going to go to revise?" he asked, with a clean plate in front of him.

"We can try the library if it isn't full", Delilah replied, sipping her drink. "I mean, do you really have to revise? Malakai said having you as a partner is the best person I could've got".

David smiled, knowing that's something Malakai would say. "I'm not that smart. I still need to revise". He looked at Delilah, "Looks like you're getting along with Malakai".

"Yep. He is easy to get along with".

"What'd you think of him?" David asked, curious about what she thought of him.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"He's funny", Delilah immediately replied, but then she thought for a second. Funny instantly came into her mind, so she said it without hesitation, but she deeply thought about what words to use to describe him.

"What else? Uuuh, I don't really know. I feel like I need to get to know him more to tell you what I think about him. The only thing that comes into mind is that he's funny".

"I always hear you two laughing and joking at the back. It looks like he corrupted you already", David told her.

"Are we that loud?" Delilah was a bit embarrassed.

"A little. The people in our row complain sometimes", David replied. David sat at the front of the class.

"Oh no", Delilah hid her face and cringed a little. She didn't realise they were annoying the whole class. "What is he like then? You've known him for a long time". Delilah said, wanting to quickly move on from her embarrassment.

David looked up and smiled, his teeth showing; he couldn't help it.

"Malakai... He's a good guy. He's a really good guy".

Dalilah was waiting for more, "Just a good guy?".

David looked at Delilah and couldn't articulate himself properly. "I know what I'm saying might seem weird, but I don't know what else to say because I feel like what I've said is enough".

Delilah could see that he genuinely meant what he said.

"You'll understand what I mean over time. But let me tell you one thing. Once you give Malakai your hand, he won't let go. He'll stick with you and help you no matter what".

"What happens if I stab him in the back?" Delilah curiously asked. She had no intention of doing so, but she wanted to hear what the answer would be.

"I'm sure he'll understand somehow", David replied, looking down at the table.

"Huh?" Delilah was confused. She thought Malakai would try his best to get revenge or something.

"He's a good judge of character, so if he sees you as a friend, he'll understand. Or try to understand you", David said.

Delilah finished her drink, "This guy you're describing to me sounds mature and smart, nothing like Malakai". Delilah thought for a moment. "Actually, I take that back. Malakai is smart", she doublebacked.

"Yeah, he just acts like an idiot, but he is smart", David said.

"Why does he act like an idiot? What does he gain from that?" Dlilah asked.

"You have to ask him", he smiled.

"So you don't even know", she said, pointing at him.

"I think it's better if he tells you personally".

Ping!

David's phone vibrated on the table; he got a notification. He picked up his phone and saw a text message.

"Don't tell me it's Malakai", Delilah said, giggling.

"Nah, it's not. I don't know who it's from. It's a random number", David replied. "I'll read it later", he said, standing up and putting his phone in his pocket. "Should we go now?".

"Yeah", Delilah picked up her phone, stood up and followed David out of the restaurant.

All this happened while five people watched them from afar at a different table.

"Maria, you look tired. Are you sleeping, okay?" Tanisha asked while cutting some vegetables.

Maria finished her yawn. "I'm fine. It's just from all the work and notes I have to take. I'll get used to it", Maria replied, pouring milk into her tea. Tanisha worryingly looked towards her. "Have you started revising for the challenge?".

"Yeah", Maria replied confidently, believing Tanisha was thinking she was slacking off.

"I mean with your partner", Tanisha said with a slightly louder tone on the word partner.

"Kinda", Maria replied with a quieter tone.

Tanisha stopped cutting the vegetables and put her knife down. "What do you mean kinda? Does he not want you to get points?" She irritatedly said.

"No, no, it's my fault. I've been tired, so after classes, I don't feel like revising more. We've organised to revise on Friday because classes finish a little earlier". Maria said, trying to calm Tanisha down. That was one of the reasons, but another reason was because Maria was nervous about asking Malakai to study together.

Tanisha picked up the knife again and pointed it towards the wall; Malakai's dorm was behind that.

"I swear if that boy is the reason you don't get a lot of points, I will hurt him", Tanisha threatened.

Maria giggled, knowing she was exaggerating. "What about you? You've got his friend. Was it, Ray?"

"Yeah, he's really sweet. I wish you could've gotten paired up with him. He's so nice. You two would make a great couple. Both of you are so cute", Tanisha rambled on.

"If you think he's cute, why don't you go for him?" Maria asked, walking towards the couch.

"He's not my type. He's more of your type".

"My type? How'd you know my type?" Maria questioned, sitting down on the couch with her cup of tea.

"Trust me, talk to Ray, and you'll understand. You both look like you should be together".

"I'm sure I'll get to talk to him", Maria replied.

"When you do talk to him, ask him out".

Maria giggled again. She took a sip from her cup and looked out towards the balcony.

"Maybe".