Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Eight

The group was silent – awkwardly so. Lila couldn’t shake this weird, stifling energy. Was it because neither Elise nor Isaac were talking? Or because that’s just how elevators were?

The doors opened, revealing a jungle-esque entryway declaring the dinosaur exhibit was just further inside. They all stepped out and she could see Asher buzzing with excitement. He immediately took out a bunch of pamphlets from the inside of the archway, passing some to Isaac and pouring over the contents.

Elise firmed her grip on Lila’s arm just as she was contemplating going over to Asher.

“Let’s stick together,” Elise said quietly. “More fun that way.”

Grace exchanged a look with Lila, one that told Lila to oblige with Elise’s request. Ensuring not to let her sigh out, Lila nodded.

“Here,” Isaac thrust the pamphlets towards Lila, not looking at any of the girls.

She took them with her free hand and a thanks before passing the rest to Elise and Grace.

“There’s a Megalania in here,” Asher said excitedly to Isaac.

“A Mega what now?” Isaac asked, opening his own pamphlet.

“Largest lizard. Like the Megalodon.”

“Dope.”

“Let’s go,” Asher called to the silent trio, pointing through the archway. From the way he was swaying, Lila could tell he was a second or so away from bouncing away on his heels. She pulled Elise forward, and they went through the archway.

Upon emerging on the other side, Lila saw a collection of large replicas of fossils, an array of pictographs, seating areas and even dioramas depicting what archaeologists supposed dinosaur life would have looked like. Lila was surprised that the replica dinosaurs could fit in here, with how large some of them were.

“Dude,” Asher breathed, pushing Isaac’s arm and pointing over to one particular fossil in the centre. “That’s it!”

The boys flocked over to it, with Asher spouting facts that Lila couldn’t hear from this distance. Lila made to follow, but Elise stayed put.

“L-Let’s go over this way. Um, these ones look cute,” Elise suggested, pointing over towards the right, where an assembly of smaller velociraptor-type fossils sat, amongst ancient kangaroos and wallabies.

They weaved through the crowd towards where Elise wanted to go. It was certainly bustling now, with the general volume on this floor seemingly increasing with each passing second.

While the exhibit was fascinating, Lila found herself wishing to be with Asher – if only to see how he would light up when he saw something he found interesting, and to hear what he knew about the fossils they’d find. And… to see what he’d look like when he found out something he didn’t know about. Would he be excited?

“Lila, you seem like you’re daydreaming,” Grace’s voice was soft, her face playful. “Did you want to go hang out with Asher?”

Lila glanced at Elise, who was inspecting the title card of a Thylacoleo fossil. Would it be okay to leave Elise with Grace?

But… at the same time… Elise was supposed to be with Isaac – not Lila or Grace.

Lila shook her head. If she was going to hang out with Asher, she should at least ensure that Elise and Isaac were getting along. Not… whatever this was.

“Elise…” Lila said as she linked arms with Elise and walking them over to another artifact, “what’s up with you and Isaac anyway?”

Elise stiffened. “W-What do you mean?”

Grace linked up with Elise’s other arm, her face rather serious. “You guys are acting weird. Did something happen between you two?”

Elise shook her head. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

“Then what’s with the weird energy?” Lila pressed, raising an eyebrow. “Surely you’d want to hang out with him all day? Since you like him.”

Elise hesitated. “I… do. But… well… he…”

She seemed to be struggling for words, her face turning a slight pink. Elise sighed heavily, letting go of both Lila and Grace.

“There’s-”

Elise was interrupted by the sound of Isaac’s shrill laughter, which sounded like it was getting closer. Lila turned towards the direction of his laugh and saw that both Asher and Isaac were coming this way.

“I can’t,” Elise whispered, “he’s… just…”

“Oh, hey,” Asher grinned upon reaching them. “Anything interesting over here?”

Lila sighed. It sounded like Elise was going to say something important.

“Lots,” Lila finally said. “There’s a-”

“Oh shit, look at that! A Thylacoleo!” Asher rushed over to it, his eyes sparkling. “They’re related to wombats and koalas.”

“Really? That looks like a cat, dude,” Isaac laughed, following him.

“Yeah, a marsupial cat.”

“How does that even work?”

Lila felt the urge to join them once more, but Elise began walking to the opposite side of the exhibit, her face strangely pale.

Without a word shared between them, Grace and Lila followed after Elise.

“Elise, wait up! What’s wrong?” Grace puffed once they both caught up to Elise. Lila was utterly shocked to find Elise’s hazel eyes brimming with tears. In the same instance that Lila noticed this, Elise wiped them away with shaking fingers.

Then, Elise hid her face in her hands. Lila and Grace moved in unison to comfort her, patting her shoulders whilst sharing a brief, concerned look.

“Elise…” Lila murmured gently. “You can tell us what’s wrong.”

Elise stiffened again as she shook her head.

“Yes, you can,” Grace said just as gently. “We’re worried about you, you know.”

“I… do,” Elise’s voice was both muffled and reluctant. “But… it’s not something you can fix.”

“We can at least listen. That’ll help, right?” Lila replied softly.

Elise exhaled softly, raising her head from her hands.

“… I… heard that Isaac likes someone at work,” she finally said, her voice cracking. It seemed she couldn’t meet either of their eyes.

There was silence for a few moments before Lila decided to say something.

“Elise… have you considered that it’s you?” she asked. Grace nodded in support.

“Why would it be me? Anika, Emma and Riley are all really hot. Every guy who works with them has a crush on one of them at least once. They always ask me what they should do to help get with them.”

“But Isaac also goes to school with you. He knows you far better-”

“Then of course he doesn’t like me. He knows who I actually am. Loud, talkative, with hardly a soft, feminine bone in my body,” Elise’s eyes glimmered with more tears. Grace didn’t reattempt to finish her sentence.

“Maybe that’s who he’s into-”

“He’s into girls like you, Lila. Clearly,” Elise’s voice broke again as she cut Lila off, brushing her tears away once more. “I’m not funny, either, and he loves to laugh.”

“You are funny,” Grace frowned. “Who told you you’re not?”

Elise shook her head again. “I’m quick to anger, too. Jump to my emotions too quick. By contrast, he’s hardly ever mad or upset. Plus, I swear too much.”

“You do know there’s such a thing as opposites attract-”

“There’s no point if he’s not attracted,” Elise’s voice sounded desperate now. Lila shut her mouth. It seemed that Elise was stubborn about this – and once Elise got stubborn, it was all over.

Lila exchanged a knowing look with Grace. The only person, given Elise’s current state, who could convince her that she was Isaac’s crush… was Isaac himself. Which looked very unlikely, given his apparent avoidance of Elise, too.

‘I hope Asher got some info out of Isaac,’ Lila thought as she silently rubbed Elise’s shoulder, resuming her hopefully comforting touch.

“Besides,” Elise’s voice now sounded akin to a whimper. “It’s… just too painful to think about.”

“Come here,” Grace insisted, pulling Elise into a hug. Elise seemed to sink into it, her shoulders deflating.

Too painful to think about, huh… Lila could relate to that feeling. She felt awful for having even asked, but it all made sense. Especially since Elise and Isaac were so close, after working at Maccas together. Being scared was quite natural, given the circumstances.

“I understand completely,” Lila said sympathetically. “Being scared is… really normal. Since being vulnerable is terrifying. I think that you should go for it, though. When you’re ready. I really think that Isaac likes you, but you won’t know until you try.”

Elise sniffled before lighting her head to look at Lila.

“Maybe one day. But… it still hurts right now.”

“Alright, well… let’s enjoy the museum in the meantime,” Lila nodded firmly. “Distractions can help. And we’ll stick with you, since Isaac’s here too.”

“Thank you,” Elise said with a watery smile as Grace stepped back from her. “I know you probably want to see the museum with Asher, but… even if I’m hurting now, I don’t want Isaac to be alone, or awkwardly third-wheeling. I… want to be with him but…”

“It’s okay,” Lila smiled. “It’s not like the museum is gonna just disappear. I can come here again with Asher.”

“Thank you,” Elise repeated, the relief evident on her face. “I think I’m ready to keep looking around.”

They inspected the rest of the floor in a subdued silence, artfully dodging the boys where they could. Here and there, it looked like Isaac wanted to say something when they did encounter him, but he would turn around at the last second.

‘So much for a cute, fun museum visit,’ Lila thought petulantly as she read the information card for a prehistoric insect encased in amber. She couldn’t think of a solution to Elise’s predicament with Isaac. If they couldn’t get Isaac to tell Elise his feelings, then the next step would be having them hang out together more and more until it was impossible for Isaac to ignore his feelings anymore. But that again seemed as though it’d take some initiative from Isaac.

Lila wondered where Elise heard that Isaac liked someone at work. It was pretty hard to believe when one’s crush liked returned their feelings, but at the same time Lila couldn’t help but think that perhaps Isaac liked more than one person, or that the info Elise heard made her think it was about someone else for some reason.

‘And what’s up with the idea that Isaac should like a quiet girl, anyway? And what did she mean, girls like me are his type?’

Lila was suddenly aware how un-self-aware she was. Sure, she was different to Elise, but Lila hadn’t worked out with Isaac in the end. Surely he figured out that ‘girls like Lila’ weren’t for him. Plus, it was years ago anyway. Was… Elise feeling insecure about the fact that Lila was his ex? That seemed impossible to fix-

“I promise you, that thing is long gone and couldn’t possibly have offended you.”

Lila jumped, turning to face who had spoken to her. Asher grinned cheekily in response, his hands in his pockets as he rocked on his heels.

“Sorry for spooking you,” he said, his entire demeanour conveying otherwise.

Lila laughed. “You look instead like you had the time of your life doing that.”

“Busted.”

“Where’s Isaac and the others?”

“Ah, well, Isaac went to the bathroom. As for Elise and Grace, I’m not sure. Maybe the bathroom as well? Or they’re hanging around by the elevator, waiting for us.”

“Oh. That’s considerate of them.”

“You say that like it’s unheard of.”

“It’s not… but, well, it seems like Elise is pretty set on avoiding Isaac today. So quietly disappearing to a different floor isn’t outside the realm of possibility.”

“Her too?”

Lila checked around them to ensure there weren’t any Elise or Isaac-shaped eavesdroppers nearby.

“‘Too’?” Lila asked in a hushed voice, huddling close to Asher’s arm and pressing it against her chest. “You managed to talk to Isaac?”

Asher cleared his throat, his cheeks brushed with pink. “Well, yeah. I think he was already bracing for it, though.”

“You reckon?”

Asher nodded gravely. “As soon as I said ‘Elise’, he gave this great big sigh like I asked him to go do all my assignments or something.”

“That’s quite the specific sigh.”

“Yeah. One that’s like ‘I hate that you asked, but I’ll do it.’”

“Glad to know he’d do all your assignments for you,” Lila chuckled.

“Not that I’d let him, unless I was dying.”

“Also glad to know where your priorities are in that scenario.”

“If I have unfinished schoolwork, I’m definitely coming back to haunt someone.”

“And we already know that he’s a ‘delicious victim’ for ghosts or whatever.”

Their eyes met and they burst into laughter. Lila was glad that they could at least share one small moment like this at the museum, despite the troubles they were entangled in and hoping to resolve.

“Anyway,” Asher said seriously, sobering up relatively quickly, “he reckons Elise has a crush on someone at work.”

Lila facepalmed, frustration overcoming her for a moment. “You’re joking.”

“Nope.”

“Did you convince him that Elise’s ‘crush on someone at work’ is him?”

“Negatory. He’s also really wound up about this McReview he’s got on Monday.”

“Jeez. I can’t with these two.”

“What did Elise say?”

“You’re not allowed to laugh.”

“Was it meant to be funny?”

“No. Horribly depressing.”

“And I’d laugh… why?”

“Because she said she heard Isaac has a crush on someone at work.”

Asher’s eyes bulged for a split second, but he managed to swallow back his obviously impending laugh.

“Exactly,” Lila sighed, shaking her head. “As for solutions, Elise is being stubborn. Basically convinced its on one of the ‘hot girls’ at Maccas.”

“Ah. With a mentality like that, all we can do is pray. Got a Jesus picture from your Mum in that tiny bag of yours? It’ll really get me in the praying mindset.”

She whacked his arm with said tiny bag and he chuckled.

“Be serious!” she huffed.

“Alright, alright. From what I’m hearing, Isaac needs to convince Elise that he likes her, and Elise needs to convince Isaac that she likes him.”

“Yup. But… Elise said it was too painful to even think about.”

“Ouch. Isaac pretty much said the same thing, plus he was also freaking out about this review, too. Said he’s too stressed and sad about everything. Then he said he doesn’t like Elise, if that’s what I was thinking until I gave him this look and he finally admitted it. Like pulling teeth with that one. Then he was just moody the rest of the time until he went to the bathroom.”

Lila blinked in surprise. “He seemed happy enough to laugh with you just before.”

“Yeah, that was before I asked about Elise. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was crying in the bathroom now.”

“Is he a crier?”

“Funnily enough, yeah. Takes him a lot to get there, but he’s… well, he seems to be in a real state over this. Mentioned again that if the review went terribly and he got fired, he wouldn’t be able to face her. Since he kinda started viewing working together as their ‘thing’. And if it got taken away, because of him, then he’d never forgive himself. I think, after all that, my prediction that his confidence was shattered was entirely right. And I don’t know what to do to get it back.”

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Lila sighed. This was exactly the opposite of what she’d been hoping to hear.

“I’m going to see if I can coax him in to the idea of just talking to her about it, but otherwise we’ll just need to have them hang out together until one of them can’t take it any more and confesses,” Asher said, taking her hand in his.

“I mean, that worked with me, I guess,” Lila replied, squeezing his hand.

“I guess so,” Asher smiled, looking down at her. He gently caressed her face with his free hand, and she tilted her head upwards with a smile. He paused for a moment, staring deeply into her eyes for long enough that her cheeks started to feel warm before he swiftly kissed her lips, continuing to caress her as he did so. She felt a rush of goosebumps along her arms and she kissed him back in earnest.

“Whoa, guys,” Grace’s voice made them break apart, Lila’s cheeks feeling much hotter than they did just a moment ago. “I was wondering what was taking you so long.”

“S-Sorry,” Lila stammered, letting go of Asher’s hand. He immediately placed it back over hers.

“Sorry,” he repeated, gently pulling her along. “Let’s go to the insect exhibit.”

“Is that what’s next?” Lila queried. Grace walked alongside Lila and nodded.

“Sure is. Full of Australian insects, apparently. I can’t wait,” Grace grinned.

“I wouldn’t have thought that you’d be an insect enthusiast,” Asher commented.

“I’m not. Most of them give me the creeps,” Grace replied. “I do like seeing butterfly displays, though. Always gives me inspiration for art.”

“Not that you’d like any of them to be alive and next to you,” Lila smirked. Grace shuddered.

“Absolutely not,” she confirmed.

“Wait, so you just left Elise and Isaac alone?” Lila halted, her voice a whisper. Grace winked at Lila.

“I have my ways,” Grace stated mysteriously. “Though, this time it was because Isaac was still in the bathroom.”

“Crying, no doubt,” Asher murmured. Lila gave a humourless laugh. She was sure that Asher had been exaggerating at least somewhat regarding that – but if it had been as long as Lila thought… then perhaps they should start getting worried.

They slowed down near the elevator, finding Elise sitting alone on a leather bench along the back wall. Isaac was nowhere in sight.

“Where’s-”

“He went up,” Elise responded gloomily, gesturing to the elevator. Asher didn’t bother retrying his question – evidently it had been answered.

Elise, Grace, Lila and Asher piled into the next available elevator, going up one floor in utter silence once more.

They exited to a cheerful banner proclaiming this domain as the Insect World exhibit.

“I’ll find Isaac,” Asher muttered, kissing Lila on the top of her forehead. “Meet you by the elevator when we’re done.”

“Okay,” Lila replied morosely. He started strolling straight down the aisle without a backwards glance at Lila.

“Sorry,” Elise mumbled, pulling her arms tightly across her chest. “You can go hang out with Asher-”

“Nah. We’ll keep going as we are,” Lila replied sternly. “C’mon. Let’s go see some bugs.”

This exhibit seemed to capture Grace’s attention far more as she directed them to the butterfly wall, pointing out all the colours and sizes of the wings pinned behind a glass display. Lila kept a close eye on Elise throughout this exhibit. She seemed to slowly be perking up as they went through the various displays, pointing out the horrifying arachnids to an unimpressed Grace with a giggle. Lila found the display showing life as an ant intriguing enough, and the girls watched it for some time before moving on to another section of the floor.

Every now and then, she could see the boys out of the corner of her eye. They both swiftly shuffled out of sight upon being spotted, but she thought that perhaps they were keeping tabs on them.

They proceeded in this way, pausing and observing the myriad of interesting exhibits on each floor – with the next entailing minerals and rocks found within Australia, the one after that displaying indigenous art, and the top floor showing wildlife in Australia. All throughout this journey, the boys kept themselves entirely separate, though she could hear their laughter floating towards them every so often.

Elise, at least, seemed much more at ease by the end of their exploration, giving Lila a bright smile after she finished comparing her height to that of a cassowary.

“Man, I’m starving,” Elise announced, patting her stomach. “Food?”

Lila hesitated. Should they get food just as a trio, or with the boys as well?

Asher appeared not a second later, poking his head around a display of shark teeth affixed to a treated wood plank. “I heard ‘food’ – are we all going?”

Elise pressed her lips together, her eyes flickering to where Isaac was lurking, a few steps away behind a life-size red kangaroo statue.

“Sure,” Elise murmured, quickly looking away again. Lila tried not to look too excited at the prospect of them finally enjoying some time together as a group. Lila saw Asher gesture to Isaac, who strode over with his hands in his pockets. Yet again, the energy was terribly awkward as neither Isaac nor Elise looked at each other. Had all that cheering up of Elise been for naught?

Of course, Elise hadn’t received any reassurance from Isaac that he liked her all day… so perhaps Lila had been thinking too highly about what cheering Elise up would do for her and how that would transfer to her interactions with Isaac today.

The group proceeded to the elevator, with the ride down feeling slightly too long, and started walking to the exit. Lila and Grace continued to flank Elise as Asher and Isaac trailed behind them. To outsiders, they probably didn’t look like a group of friends at all.

They approached the museum shop, which called out to Lila with its enticing colours and bustling activity. At any rate, it was far more cheerful than how it felt amongst the five of them.

“C’mon,” Lila grinned brightly at Elise, shaking her arm. “Let’s go look at some of the weird things they sell here!”

Elise smiled back. “With an expression like that, I don’t think I could refuse.”

“We’re going in!” Lila called behind her to Asher and Isaac who both nodded.

She was right about the oddities in this store – she feasted her curious eyes on lots of puzzles, scientific experiments, and tiny model replicas of various creatures. Toys for younger kids were also here and there, and more expensive products were locked behind glass cabinets – including plasma orbs, wooden atlas globes, and very intricate-looking chess game sets.

There was also a selection of jewellery, keychains and museum souvenirs clustered towards the back, behind which were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves stacked with educational books. Caddies of postcards detailing Australia, the State they were in, and other Australian-related photos were beside a selection of Australian-related touristy goods.

The way it was arranged was eclectic – inviting a sense of wonder as Lila perused all that interested her. She was in half a mind to buy everything in this store or nothing at all.

“Anything you like?”

Lila looked up at Asher, a set of tiny t-rex earrings, and a small wombat necklace in her hands. She put them back.

“A few things, but they’re pretty expensive,” Lila replied. He glanced over at what she put back and picked up the t-rex earrings. He put them against her ears and smiled.

“These are cute,” he said. “I’ll get them.”

“No, it’s-”

“Consider them sold.”

“But-”

“No returns. Anything else?”

Lila laced her fingers together, unsure whether she should be truthful or not. There was a vibrant set of opal earrings that might pair well with the necklace she was wearing – but that would be too much.

“I’m good,” Lila smiled. “Thank you.”

He gave her a suspicious look before eyeing the opal jewellery stand. He took the earrings that she was just thinking about and raised them high, the light reflecting small specks of colour.

“These would look nice,” he murmured. “Do you like these?”

“They’re nice,” she responded, her voice faltering. She was sure she hadn’t hinted that he liked them – so… did he just happen to pick what she’d like?

“Sold,” he nodded. “Anything else?”

“Asher, you know you don’t have to get me anything.”

“I know I don’t,” he flashed her a confident smile, one that compelled her to agree without a second thought lest her heart give out. “Let me.”

“O-Okay.”

“There’s just something about you that makes me want to decorate you in everything your heart desires,” he whispered, leaning in close to her ear. It cast a shiver down her spine, and if he didn’t take her by the shoulders, she surely would’ve sunk into a puddle right there.

All she could muster was a nod, her face hot enough to almost need her to fan her face – but she just managed to keep her cool. She looked up at Asher, who’s face was a slight shake of pink, a trembling, shy smile on his face, and noticed a hand swiftly karate chop the top of his head.

“What’re you two blushing about over here?” Isaac asked, grinning at them both. He slung an arm over Asher’s shoulder, peering intently at the earrings. “Those are nice. Don’t think they’ll suit me though, sorry bud.”

Asher tapped Isaac on the nose with the packet holding the t-rex earrings. “Dumbass,” Asher snorted. “Not like your ears are pierced anyway.”

“They’re not?” Isaac feigned total surprise, a hand on his chest. “When did that happen?”

“When you were born, probably.”

Isaac chuckled, the force shaking Asher’s shoulders. Lila smirked at them as they continued their banter, with Asher suggesting different earrings that would suit Isaac, before turning back to see where Grace and Elise were.

Grace was only a few metres away, looking between an assortment of bracelets, so Lila wandered over to her. Grace glanced up at her, her face flooding with relief upon recognising that it was Lila who was approaching.

“Thank God you’re here! I’m trying to decide on a bracelet for my partner, but I don’t know which one,” Grace said, thrusting two bracelets at Lila. Lila felt her stomach drop as she looked down at the bracelets. A gift… for Grace’s girlfriend? How would Lila know? It wasn’t as though Lila knew Ms Alexander’s preferences in any capacity, nor could she relate to her.

“I… know nothing about your girlfriend,” Lila replied, stepping back slightly. Another lie.

“Well, you know what looks good,” Grace insisted, stepping forwards. Her eyes were round and pleading. “I think one of these would work – but… which one’s nicer?”

Lila sighed. Though she was incredibly uncomfortable with the prospect of helping Grace pick out a bracelet for her Music teacher/girlfriend, there was no way to escape this request. Especially not one that, just this time last week, Lila would’ve been jumping at the chance to help with. She reluctantly accepted the bracelets. One looked to be plated with silver, with delicate chains beside a small charm representing Saturn, speckled with blue glitter. The other was a solid gold-plated bracelet with three diamante stars welded to the middle.

‘Like Grace said, either of these would work…’ Lila thought as she looked between them both. Was Ms Alexander a planet person? Stars would probably be a safe option, given Lila didn’t know much about her – plus, it looked simple enough to wear with a lot of outfits…

“The gold one, I think. It’s one she could wear every day,” Lila said, handing them back to Grace. “They’re both nice, though.”

“Thanks, Lila,” Grace replied happily, replacing the silver one on the stand.

“No worries,” Lila responded softly, though she had many worries. “I’m just gonna see where Elise is at.”

“Yeah, go for it,” Grace beamed, bending low to see the pieces of jewellery within the display cabinets.

Lila quickly removed herself and made a beeline for Elise, who was looking rather amused.

“Oh, hey Lila,” Elise said upon noticing Lila had come over. “Look at these socks!”

She showed her a pair of mismatched socks – one of a variety of beetles on the left, and mountain blue butterflies on the right.

Lila laughed, taking a look at the others. Most of these were mismatched and seemed to be prints that were hung up around the insect and wildlife exhibits.

Elise picked up another set with a giggle and looked over in the direction of Isaac and Asher. She opened her mouth, as if to call out to someone before closing it shut. Was Elise about to show Isaac the socks?

“Call him over,” Lila smiled, nudging Elise with her elbow. “I reckon Isaac would have a riot about these.”

Elise met Lila’s eyes before shaking her head. “No… it’s… pointless.”

“It’s not,” Lila said gently. “Go on.”

“No, I’m okay. It’s just something silly. He’ll probably come over this way and find them himself, so I don’t need to show him. I… I think I’ll get a set for my Dad, though.”

“Alright,” Lila said loftily. “Oi, Isaac, check these out!”

Isaac whipped his head around to where Lila was standing and she waved.

“Lila,” Elise whispered desperately, hiding the socks behind her back. “What are you doing?”

“Sharing the joy,” Lila smirked. “Look, here he comes.”

Elise looked really uncertain, her eyes darting between Isaac and Lila. “Lila… I…”

“How’re you going to find out if he likes you if you keep avoiding him?” Lila whispered back.

“I… I already know he doesn’t-”

“You rang?” Isaac queried, looking between Lila and Elise curiously. Asher trailed behind Isaac, seeming interested in what Lila had to say.

“Look at these,” Lila announced, pointing at the socks.

“Yo,” Isaac chortled, picking up a pair. “These are dope. You reckon I could get away with wearing these at school?” Isaac turned to Asher, waving the set that Elise had picked up at him.

“Maybe,” Asher replied, picking up a set with emus and wallabies printed on them. “It’d be wild if you did.”

Isaac flipped the socks around before blanching. “Jesus Christ. They’re so expensive. Quick, put them down. Run away!”

Isaac dashed back towards the science kits without a backwards glance. Asher shook his head, putting the socks back.

“I’ll just buy these earrings then head to the exit,” Asher said to Lila, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. He walked away, calling Isaac back to him.

Once the boys were both out of earshot, Elise reemerged next to Lila, her face rather pink.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Elise whined, looking through the remaining collection of socks. “I thought I was gonna die.”

“My point still stands,” Lila grinned. “Spend more time with him. You want to, don’t you?”

“… I… do,” Elise sighed. “Just… not right now. Not alone, either.”

“Roger that. Do you reckon Asher might like these?” Lila asked, pointing at the pair he looked at.

Elise and Lila continued to look around the gift shop together before heading to the counter with their purchases. Lila decided on getting Asher the socks he’d looked at, plus a keychain with a small stegosaurus on the end, since that was his favourite dinosaur. Elise ended up buying one of the socks for her Dad and a pair of keychains – one with a butterfly, and the other with a t-rex, since she couldn’t decide which one she preferred for her schoolbag.

They left together, meeting up with Grace, Asher and Isaac who were waiting outside the entrance.

“Let’s go get some food,” Grace grinned, her gift shop bag swinging from her arm. “I know a few places around here. Anyone up for some yiros?”

“Yiros?” Asher looked intrigued by this idea. “What’s that?”

Isaac gasped. “Mate, you don’t know what a yiros is?”

“Perfect,” Grace smiled. “There’s a really good Greek shop down the main strip a few streets away. I go there with my girlfriend a lot.”

Asher and Lila both stiffened in response to this. Grace… went to this restaurant with Ms Alexander?

“U-Uh, actually, maybe I don’t want to be adventurous,” Asher stammered.

“C’mon,” Isaac replied, patting him on the back. “Try something new. Bet Gabriel’s never whipped this up.”

“I’d love a yiros,” Elise added, huddling next to Lila’s arm, looking towards Grace rather than Isaac. “Good choice, Grace.”

With no arguments against the majority, Lila decided not to say anything at all. Having a yiros itself wasn’t offensive, after all. But now she couldn’t get the idea of Grace and Ms Alexander having a date there out of her mind.

The group walked towards where Grace directed them, with Isaac and Asher hanging back behind Lila, Grace, and Elise. They crossed the road and meandered over to a group of archways laden with a bougainvillea canopy. The gaps between the sparse purple flowers showcased a murky grey sky, typical for this time of year. A few families bundled in scarves and jumpers crossed their path through the arches, speaking quietly amongst themselves about the flowers.

It was rather peaceful, particularly as none of their group really spoke. That was the case, until the archways broke off on the left to an amphitheatre and café.

“I’ve performed there a couple times,” Grace said, pointing to the amphitheatre. “Afterwards, my girlfriend and I sit at the café, if it’s open. Their tiramisu is really good.”

Lila tried to not show the disgust threatening to scrunch her face. Was that before or after Ms Alexander groomed Grace? One of her techniques? To take her out ‘for a treat’ for a good performance?

She drifted closer to Elise, clutching her arm.

“Ooh,” Elise said enthusiastically. “I didn’t realise you had any performances here this year!”

“Yeah, just a couple,” Grace replied softly. “Over there’s a nice place to picnic. One of the restaurants around here lets you rent out a picnic basket and supplies the food. Oh, and that spot over there – delicious Italian.”

“Damn Grace, how many dates do you go on?” Elise giggled. “One a week?”

“Something like that,” Grace smiled. “My girlfriend really likes to spoil me with dates out.”

“That’s adorable!” Elise nearly squealed. “She must really care about you.”

“Yeah, she really wants to provide for me. It helps that she has a good job, too.”

Lila wasn’t sure she could hold back her expression anymore and decided to cough harshly, so that she could be forgiven for her frown.

“You okay?” Grace looked concerned as she turned to face Lila. “I might have cough drops-”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Lila replied, touching the base of her neck. “Just a tickle.”

The group continued on down the pathway for some time, all the way up until encountering the Greek restaurant – ‘Zeus’. It was decorated with lots of white brick and electric-blue finishes. Inside were several booths that seemed big enough for all five of them. A waiter in a black, branded shirt hurried over to greet them at the entrance, a broad smile on her face.

“Grace!” she said happily, looking over at the group. “It’s rare to see you here without Mia. Here with some friends, I take it?”

Grace glanced at her friends before nodding. “Yeah, we were in the area and yiros sounded great.”

“Love that. Alright, well, there’s a booth inside that should fit – that alright with you?”

“Yes, please.”

Lila reluctantly filed in behind Grace and Elise, with Grace sliding in first on one side of the booth, Elise sitting down next to her, and finally Lila sitting next to Elise. Isaac and Asher sat on the other side of the booth and they perused the menus in silence before ordering via the QR code.

Lila got a chicken yiros, though she wasn’t really feeling hungry. Ms Alexander’s name was Mia? And they went here often enough that they were recognised by the waitstaff?

It was starting to make her skin crawl. Plus, it wasn’t as though there was a conversation happening that Lila could get lost in – it seemed like Isaac and Elise were still steadfastly silent, with Asher and Grace attempting to speak but bailing at the last second.

“So… uh, camp’s coming up,” Lila said, her voice rather meek. “You guys prepared?”

“Ew,” Grace wrinkled her nose. “I was kind of hoping to ditch that.”

“Why?” Asher asked. “Four days in the wilderness with your classmates doesn’t sound appealing to you?”

“I bruised my elbow on the last trip,” Grace lamented, rubbing said elbow. “Couldn’t do anything and was just stuck with the teachers the whole time. The worst.”

“You didn’t like hanging out with the teachers?” Lila found herself asking. She winced, avoiding Asher’s eye and instead looking at the table.

“Eugh, all our PC teachers are so old,” Grace replied. “Hard to relate to them. Plus, they treated me like such a baby.”

Lila regretted asking.

“I’m excited to canoe,” Asher suddenly interjected, miming rowing. “Last time, this idiot capsized us about two metres into the lake.” He jerked a thumb at Isaac.

“Hey! I swear I saw a sea snake!” Isaac pouted. “Not my fault.”

“That was algae,” Asher sighed. “About as frightening as your left shoe.”

“How’d you know that’s my biggest fear?” Isaac replied sarcastically. “If it was socially acceptable to not wear my left shoe, you’d know I’d throw those suckers away. Plus, half price shoes all the time? Sign me up.”

Lila heard a small giggle to her right and she looked over at Elise, who immediately stopped giggling, her face red. Perhaps this lunch wasn’t so awful after all.

It seemed as though Isaac noticed Elise’s reaction, what with the way his eyes glimmered. Was it joy? Relief?

Their food arrived a few moments after, and they all dug in. Lila took special care to see Asher’s impression of the yiros. His eyes seemed curious as he saw the pita wrap filled with herbed chips, meat, sauce and vegetables.

Then, as he chewed, his eyes lit up, and he grinned at Lila. “This is great!”

She laughed, the joy she felt from watching him seeming to increase the deliciousness of her own yiros. They made small talk about the various camp activities, though Elise still remained conspicuously out of the conversation. Isaac also had limited contributions, but Lila thought she caught him looking at Elise every so often.

They finished up their food, and Lila was feeling glad that it was coming to an end. She was starting to feel exhausted with how difficult it was to keep her mouth shut.

The group gathered outside, with Lila looking through her public transport app to see when the next bus to Asher’s would be leaving.

“I could smash about four ice cream cones into my mouth,” Isaac commented as he stretched his arms.

“You’re still hungry?” Asher looked floored.

“Don’t you want one too?” Isaac looked equally floored.

“There’s a great gelato place around the corner,” Grace piped up, pointing towards the right. “My Mum’s going to take a while to get to me, so I’m happy to go with you to grab some.”

“Gelato?” Elise seemed excited, her eyes bright.

With that, it seemed as though the decision was made. Once more, Lila found herself grudgingly shuffling towards the gelato store. It wasn’t as though the bus was going to get there anytime soon, so she did have enough time to kill…

The gelato store was bright, the ice creams equally so, and Lila was almost overwhelmed with the number of choices. She settled for a scoop of double chocolate brownie and had to battle Asher to pay for her ice cream. She won in the end, much to his chagrin and the giggles of Grace and Elise.

“Salted caramel and boysenberry?” Asher queried, looking over at Isaac’s choices. “That’s a bit of a combination, and less than four cones.”

“The walk here jiggled my tummy enough to make me realise that four was a bit excessive,” Isaac replied, licking the top scoop. “I would’ve added pistachio and coffee, too.”

“Fair,” Asher laughed. Then, he showed Lila his scoops of mint chocolate and hazelnut. “Wanna try?”

Lila inspected his offering and smiled, taking her little spoon and taking a small bit of both. “Delicious,” she murmured, handing over her cup of ice cream. “Try some of mine.”

He obliged, grinning at her once he tasted it. “I’m jealous.”

“You can have it-”

“I’m kidding,” he chuckled. “Eat.”

Just as she did so, she heard a loud exclamation from Elise.

“Ugh,” she huffed, looking down at the splotch of ice cream that had fallen onto her chest. “Does anyone have a napkin?”

Lila saw Isaac move out of the corner of her eye, as if to reach towards Elise. Was he going to try and help her with her shirt?

But, just as quickly, he took a step back, taking a massive bite of his ice cream. Grace hurried off into the gelato store to grab a few napkins as Elise licked her cup to ensure more didn’t drip off onto her shirt.

“Brain freeze,” Isaac breathed, clutching his forehead. Lila bit back her laugh as she moved to help Elise with her shirt, tugging at it so the ice cream wasn’t touching her bare skin.

Grace returned a moment later and they worked as a team to fix Elise’s shirt.

“Thanks, guys,” Elise smiled. “Sorry for the trouble.”

“No worries,” Lila replied, scooping some more ice cream into her mouth. Her eyes darted to Isaac and was surprised to see how red his face was. Just what was he thinking about?

As she thought she started to get an inkling, Asher spoke.

“We should head to the bus station, Lila. Otherwise, we’d have to wait another hour.”

“R-Right,” Lila shoved the rest of the ice cream down, gritting her teeth against the feeling of brain freeze, before chucking her cup into a nearby bin.

“I should get going, too,” Elise said softly. “My Dad’ll be here at any moment.”

“I guess we’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Asher stated, throwing his empty cup into the same bin.

Everyone chorused their various goodbyes and Asher intertwined his fingers with hers. He pressed their hands together, rubbing his thumb along the back of hers with a tenderness that made Lila realise just how much he’d missed her company that day. In fact, it seemed quite comparable to how much she’d yearned for him.

They hurried off towards the bus station without a word, the smile on her face uncontainable.

They arrived with a minute to spare before the bus was to arrive. Asher grinned, gently taking her gift shop bag from her and adding it next to his bag.

“As much as I love hanging out with our friends, I couldn’t wait ‘till it was over so I could hold you again,” he murmured, raising her hand and kissing it. “It was killing me.”

“And me,” Lila whispered, squeezing his hand. “What’s on the agenda for the rest of today?”

He glanced at her, before flagging down their bus. “I was thinking of just veging out until dinner. Then, I’d reluctantly let you go home.”

“Sounds perfect.”

They did exactly that upon returning to his place, watching YouTube videos mindlessly whilst in each other’s arms and without a word about Isaac, Elise or Grace. Lila was quite glad, by the time her Mum arrived to pick her up, that it had ended up that way. She’d talk to him about it all tomorrow when they had a spare chance – for now, though, soaking in as much of this time with just Asher was exactly what she needed.