December 4th. Monday, 3:33 PM
"Why did you ask me to stay behind?" Isabella asked, hiding her anxiousness.
"You are a class leader as well, are you not?" Alexander replied, staring at her, sitting up straight.
"Yeah, but I didn't think we needed to do anything", Isabella said. "I thought we would only have to make big decisions".
"This is a big decision".
Isabella felt her heart drop. This announcement was randomly dropped onto her. Alexander asked Isabella to stay behind after their lesson to discuss something.
Isabella didn't reply. She was mentally preparing herself, tightly clasping her hands under the desk.
"This is about the next challenge".
Isabella relaxed her grip. The topic wasn't that bad.
"Do you know what it is?" Isabella asked, feeling the stress leaving her.
"No, but I know the set-up for the challenge", Alexander replied. "The next challenge is a class challenge. Each class will be against each other".
"Isn't that a good thing? Our class should easily win", Isabella said.
"The whole class is not competing".
"Oh...".
"Two people are representing the class, and I'm going to be one of them".
"How do you know you're going to represent our class?" Isabella asked.
"Why wouldn't I represent our class?" Alexander arrogantly replied with a straight face.
Isabella sighed in her head.
"Who else is going to represent? Aren't you going to pick Frank?" she asked.
"I can't. It has to be one boy and one girl", Alexander replied.
After that, Isabella thought, "A girl? Is he going to ask me to be the other representative?"
"I was thinking if you could let me know who would be a good representative", Alexander replied. "I don't know any of the girls, but you're close with them. You should know who's good".
Isabella's mouth was gaped by his response. She quickly realised her facial expression and closed her mouth. "I'm right in front of him. Does he not think I'm good enough?" Isabella asked herself.
"I, uh, um", Isabella was stuttering. She didn't know what to say. A lot was going on in her head.
"Was I wrong? Aren't you not close to the girls?" Alexander asked, misinterpreting Isabella's struggle to respond.
"No, I am close with them", Isabella quickly cleared up. "I was, um. Was just thinking what type of girl you wanted to represent with", Isabella was slowly getting her composure back.
"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you", Alexander said, sounding like he wanted an answer already.
"Does that mean you would be fine with anyone?"
"Not anyone", Alexander harshly replied, furrowing his eyebrows. "Who would be the best?"
"The best... Probably De-" Isabella stopped herself from saying that name.
"This is my chance. I have to prove I'm one of the best in this class. One of the best in the whole year. Then I'll get the praise and looks of admiration again like I did in high school. I have to be confident. Even if it's fake confidence, I have to show it", she thought.
"Me. I'll be the other representative", Isabella confidently said.
"You? Are you sure?" Alexander asked, seeing her confidence.
"I'm the class leader for a reason", Isabella said, putting a hand on her chest and keeping up the fake confidence. "The girls picked me. I'm sure they'll be happy when they see I'm representing the class".
"You're this confident, but you don't know what the challenge is", Alexander said.
"I could say the same thing to you", Isabella replied, lifting her shoulders and tilting her head.
Alexander blinked at that response. She wasn't wrong. He didn't dislike her response. It was the opposite. It was confident but not arrogant.
"You don't think that other girl would be better?" Alexander asked, referring to a certain someone.
"Destiny? I don't know. If you want her to be the representative, you can choose her", Isabella replied. "But I think she'll be more focused on beating you than the other classes. Remember what happened in the escape room?".
Alexander remembered how Destiny was always trying to prove a point to him. After that memory, he decided.
Alexander stood up from his seat, "You'll represent the class with me", he said, picking up his bag.
Isabella smiled, proud she did what she did. But then, a thought dawned on her.
"Wait! Do you know my name?!" Isabella panickedly asked. She remembered that Alexander didn't remember names. He only remembered the names of people who were 'worthy of remembering'.
"Of course, I know your name. It's Isabella", Alexander replied, walking out of the classroom without looking back at her.
After he left the classroom, Isabella leaned back in her chair and tilted her head back to look at the ceiling. She smiled. Isabella felt happy. There was no warmth behind what Alexander said. He didn't say it in a friendly way or a way that had any underlying meaning to it. But Isabella felt happy he remembered her name for a different reason. Alexander was undoubtedly the most important/powerful person in the year group. He would eventually get the top spot and dominate. Someone who only recognised and remembered people who were significant to him. Alexander remembered her name. It may sound silly and stupid, but to Isabella, it meant something.
She was one step closer to getting back the crown she thought she always had.
December 6th. Wednesday, 8:58 PM
"I'll see you both next week. Don't worry".
"That's so far away".
"We want to see you now".
"I'm seeing you right now, we're talking", Maria replied, giggling.
"No, I want to play games with you".
Maria was on a video call with her younger brothers, Ivan and Mateo. Ivan was the older brother at 11 years old, and Mateo was the younger brother at 7.
"We can play next week", Maria said. She was lying on the couch, holding her phone to her face. They were on a video call so they could see each other.
"Can't you come back home early?" Ivan asked, holding the phone.
"I can't. I still have one more week left. I think there's going to be one more challenge, and I can't miss that", Maria replied, smiling. She was always happy whenever she was on a video call with her family.
"Challenge!? I want to do a challenge!" Mateo cheerfully said, getting excited peering behind Ivan.
"Me too! Are the challenges fun?" Ivan asked.
"Yeah, they're really fun. But they can be very stressful", Maria replied. She checked the time. "It's getting late. Shouldn't you two be in bed?"
They both guiltily looked away from the camera.
"Hehe. I'll let you off this time because you're talking to me", Maria smiled.
Her brothers giggled.
"Where's mamá? Is she busy?" Maria asked. She'd been on the call for twenty minutes and hadn't spoken to her mom yet.
"She's still talking on the phone", Mateo replied.
Maria sighed. "Tell mamá she needs to rest", she said, getting up from her lying position. She never asked about her dad as she knew he was in another country for a business trip. She spoke to him a few hours ago.
"Is there anything cool where you live?" Ivan asked, seeing some of the background while Maria sat up
"Cool..." Maria mumbled. She's only shown her brothers her room, not the whole dorm. She looked around the room. "My balcony has a nice view. Do you want to see it?"
"Yeah", they said in synchrony.
Maria giggled. She stood up from the couch and started walking to the balcony. "You two better stay healthy because when I come back home, I want to go everywhere with both of you. I don't want any of you to catch a cold", she said, opening the balcony door and stepping out. "Also, no staying up late and no eating sweets!".
"Mamá won't give us any", Mateo complained.
"Hehehe. That's good-" Maria's laughter was cut short.
She was looking in a different direction. Maria was looking at the balcony to her left. On that balcony was Malakai with earphones in his ears, leaning over the balcony railing and looking at the night sky.
Despite music playing in his earphones, Malakai heard the voices faintly. He turned his head and saw Maria holding her phone.
"Maria! What happened? Whatchu looking at?" Ivan asked, noticing Maria not looking back at the camera.
Maria was frozen in place. She was caught off guard, leaving her embarrassed.
"It's, it's nothing", Maria replied, looking back at her phone, embarrassingly smiling.
"You're lying", Mateo saw through her lie.
Malakai didn't want to intrude, so he started to walk back inside. He lifted his hand to wave bye to Maria.
"What were you looking at?" Ivan continued to ask, still curious.
Maria stretched her arm to stop Malakai from going inside. For some reason, she didn't want him to leave.
"Okay, you got me. I was looking at my friend. They were also on the balcony", Maria replied.
"Your friend? Is it Tanisha?" Mateo asked. Both Ivan and Mateo knew who Tanisha was. Tanisha met them a few times.
"No, a different friend", Maria replied. "Do you want to see them?"
"Yes!" they both said in synchrony.
Malakai was forced to stay, but he didn't mind. He had nothing to do anyway. Malakai walked closer to Maria's balcony. Maria walked closer, too, and handed Malakai her phone.
"Hi", Maria whispered while handing over her phone.
"Yo", Malakai replied, taking her phone.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Malakai lifted her phone, looked at it and saw two boys who resembled Maria looking at him. The balcony was well-lit, so Maria's brothers could see Malakai clearly.
"Hey", Malakai said, smiling and waving.
"hi", Ivan shyly replied. Mateo didn't answer. He hid behind Ivan.
Malakai smiled, "What's your name?"
"Ivan", after he replied, he looked at Mateo, but Mateo didn't answer. "His name is Mateo", Ivan answered for him.
"Both of you got nice names", Malakai gently said.
"he looks scary", Mateo timidly said.
"Mateo! That isn't nice!" Maria worriedly said, hearing him.
"Nah, it's fine", Malakai told Maria. "I don't think I'm scary", he said, smiling with his teeth to Ivan and Mateo.
Mateo slowly showed more of his face to the camera.
"How did you get that scar?" Ivan asked.
"Ivan!" Maria said, embarrassed.
"Hehe, it's fine. They're kids. They're gonna be curious", Malakai said, looking at Maria. "Basically, I got this when I was fighting a dragon. It scratched me on the nose", he told them.
"That's a lie. Dragons are not real", Mateo replied.
"Eh?" Malakai didn't expect the younger brother to react like that. He thought that made-up story would make them laugh. "Your brother's kinda smart", Malakai said to Maria. "Wait, how old are you two?"
"I'm seven".
"I'm eleven".
"Damn, maybe you are too old to believe in dragons", Malakai smiled. "My younger brother and sister liked dragons when they were younger".
"Dragons are for kids", Mateo said.
"Only kids believe in dragons", Ivan added.
"Heh, I guess so", Malakai replied, smiling. He couldn't stop smiling.
"You two are still kids. Now give me the phone", Another voice said. An older voice.
The two boys disappeared from the camera.
"Who may you be?"
Another person appeared on the camera. A beautiful light-skinned woman with wavy black hair, almost identical to Maria. But unlike Maria, she had sparkling brown eyes. The woman was beautiful like Maria but looked more mature.
"Hey, auntie", Malakai said.
"Auntie?" the woman replied, surprised.
"Auntie?" Maria replied, confused. "Wait! Mamá?" Maria leaned over her balcony railing and snatched the phone off Malakai.
"Mamá, how are you?" Maria frantically said, trying her best to distract her mom from Malakai's introduction.
"Hello, my little princess. I'm doing fine, what about you?" her mom asked back.
"Great. I'm doing fantastic", Maria replied, flustered and nervously laughing.
From that reaction, her mom knew she was doing just fine. She didn't have to worry.
"That's wonderful... Now, who was that boy?"
"Ah- Um. What boy?" Maria awkwardly asked.
"Maria, don't lie to me. I know what I saw", her mom replied, mischievously smiling.
Malakai watched this all happen. He didn't know whether to leave or stay. He felt like he was too far in to go now.
"Sigh, he's just a friend", Maria said.
"Is he still there? Can I talk to him?" her mom asked, curious to know who Malakai was.
"Umm", Maria looked towards Malakai. She didn't want to let her mom talk to him, but she knew her mom wouldn't let it go.
"I don't mind", Malakai shrugged his shoulders.
Maria pouted at her mom before handing Malakai her phone.
Malakai took the phone and smiled at the screen.
"Hello, auntie".
"Auntie, hehe, that's new. Only my nephew and niece call me that", she said, smiling.
"I call all of my friend's mom auntie", Malakai replied.
"I love that, that's nice", she said. "'My name's Havana. What's your name?"
"Malakai Junior".
"Malakai Junior. That has a nice ring to it. Is your dad called Malakai, too?"
"Nah, Junior is my surname".
"Junior as a surname? I've never heard that before", Havana said. "You're quite interesting, Malakai. Are you British? You don't sound American".
"Yeah, I'm from London".
"That's great. London's nice, I've been there a few times".
"London's aryt".
Maria was getting second-hand embarrassment, but her mom was enjoying the conversation. Maria didn't want her mom to say anything embarrassing.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did you get that scar?"
"Mamá! That's rude!"
"Oh, sorry, is it a personal story?" Havana apologised.
"Nah, you good", Malakai replied. "I'm guessing you don't believe in dragons either, so I'll have to tell you the truth. It's not even real. It's make-up. I came back from filming a movie".
"Really now. The movie must have high production because that make-up looks freakishly real", Havana played with the joke.
Malakai smiled, "Nah, I'm joking. I got it when I was younger. I cut my nose on the corner of a table when I was running", he quickly explained.
"Ouch. It weirdly suits you, though".
"Weirdly? I don't know if that's a compliment or a violation".
"I meant it as a compliment", Havana cleared up.
Maria was eager for them to stop talking before her mom embarrassed her. She was swaying side to side, fidgeting with her hands, waiting for the conversation to end.
"Who are you to Maria?" Havana asked.
A direct question that caused Maria's heart to stop for a second. For a parent, this was a standard question, but Maria wasn't ready for it. She was about to hear what Malakai thought of her. A question she couldn't ask but always wanted to hear the answer to.
"I'm no one", Malakai replied. "I'm just a friend and her neighbour", he then showed Havana his surroundings and showed that Maria was on the balcony next to his and they weren't on the same balcony.
"Just a friend", Maria thought.
"Just a friend", Havana said.
"You don't have to worry about me, auntie", Malakai replied, smiling. "There's guys here that are much nicer and better looking than me".
Havana gave a warm smile, "I'm not worried".
"You probably want to speak to your daughter, innit. I'll give her phone back", Malakai said. "If I have time, I'll watch a movie you're in. Aryt, bye", he waved.
"Bye. It was nice talking to you", Havana waved back.
Malakai gave Maria her phone back. "Aryt, bye", he said to Maria.
"Bye, see you tomorrow", Maria replied.
Maria watched as Malakai walked back inside and closed the balcony door. She made sure that Malakai didn't look back. Havana saw her daughter's face as Malakai left. Havana smirked after making eye contact with Maria again.
"He's a nice boy".
"Mamá, don't get any funny ideas. He's just a friend", Maria replied with slightly blushed cheeks from embarrassment.
"If you say so", Havana said. "Is he in your class?"
"Can we stop talking about him?" Maria replied, eager to move on.
"I want to know".
Maria sighed. "Yes, he is".
"Lucky you", Havana teased.
"Why are you asking so much about him?" Maria asked, flipping it on her.
"Because he's your friend, Maria. I want to know what type of people you have around you. We talk every few days, and you don't talk much about your friends. I was getting worried your only friend was Tanisha", Havana replied.
"I've got a lot of friends, and some of them are guys. Malakai is one of them", Maria said.
"Right, you told me Alejandro was with you. Are you two getting closer?"
"Closer? I mean, we've always been friends".
"Hmm. Alejandro was always so shy".
"Alejandro isn't shy. Didn't I tell you I talked a lot with him when he was on my team?"
"You're right. You did tell me. That was a few months ago, wasn't it?"
"It wasn't that long ago", Maria giggled.
"How is Alejandro doing? He's in the top class, so is he at the top of the leaderboard?" Havana asked. Like most parents, Havana didn't fully understand how the academy worked.
"No, but I think he might be in the top ten. I need to check", Maria replied.
"Who is at the top?" Havana asked.
"It's -" Maria stopped herself, her face paused. She looked away from the camera.
"Who is it?" Havana asked, confused about the reaction.
"it's Malakai", Maria quietly answered, looking away from the camera.
Havana had a big smile on her face. "He's in your class, and he's number one. That boy sure is something special". She noticed Maria was looking elsewhere, daydreaming. She looked a little upset.
"Maria, baby. It looks like you're having fun at this academy, so keep it that way. You don't have to worry about getting first place or getting into the top ten. Just have fun. If those things happen, then well done, but if it doesn't, who cares? As long as you have fun and enjoy yourself, that's all that matters".
Funnily enough, her mom hit the nail on the head. Maria was daydreaming about the leaderboard and her position. Maria's rank wasn't bad. She was in the top 20, but being able to say she was in the top 10 to her mom would've been nice. When she was in the top 10, she was so happy when she told her mom. She even sent her screenshots of her position on the leaderboard. Not being able to do that now hurt her a little.
"You know, talking to your friend today made me happy. So happy. I was worried you would surround yourself with the wrong people, but I was worried for no reason. Malakai seems to be a fun person. I'm sure if you have people like him around, your next three years will be unforgettable. And you said Malakai's at the top of the leaderboard. If you stay around him, he'll bring you higher on the leaderboard, too. Surrounding yourself with people doing better than you will motivate you to do better".
After that mini-lecture, Maria smiled, "Thanks, Mamá". She needed some words of encouragement.
"Three years is a long time. Who knows? If you and Malakai get closer, you two can be more than just friends. I wouldn't mind him as my son-in-law".
"MAMÁ!"
"Hahahaha. I'm only teasing you".