****
I felt like I'd been run over by a truck.
Maria and I were trying to study almost the whole night the papers we were assigned to. Emphasis on the word trying; Maria was just too distracted and more interested in annoying me than anything, but despite that, after some serious work I think we were able to get the gist of the paper. However, we only had four hours of sleep and were already late for the lab meeting.
With difficulty, I was able to get up, but with Maria it was another story. She wouldn't wake up, sleeping over the table. Shaking her, I tried to pull Maria from over the table, but she just mumbled inaudible sounds, while drooling like a baby. So, I resorted to one of the most efficient methods to wake someone: the ice below the thigh!
"WUAHH!" - Screamed Maria, jumping away from me because of the cold shock
"That's just too harsh, Miyuki! I was just getting up!"
"Yes, just getting up late, right? Dress up and let's go, we are already late!"
We didn't arrive at the campus in our best shape, as our hair were all messy, and our clothes weren't exactly chosen with much care for fashion design, given the situation. And on top of that, we were sweating hard from all the running around in a summer of 35°C in the city. So yeah, we were not in our "prime" form.
There were only three minutes left till the start of the lab meeting, which would demand that we maintained our current pace to arrive on time, but as we were climbing the stairs of the central gate, I felt Maria suddenly pull me behind the bush on our side, startling me.
"Hey, what!?"
"Shhhhhhhhhhhh!! Don't make a sound!"
"I don't get it!" - I whispered.
"Just stay put!"
I could notice that Maria, holding me down while also hiding behind the bushes, had her eyes very focused on something, with a worrying expression. Struggling a bit against Maria's grip, I tilted my head up to see what she was so focused on.
It was a group of guys, five of them, with one of them, clearly the tallest of them all, standing out like the leader of the pack and conducting the mood of the group. I didn't like to judge people based on first impressions, but the guy was clearly a jock, and one of the types that I didn't want to hang around with very often.
"Miyuki, go without me."- Maria said.
"Uh? What's all the fuss about?"
"It's my ex."
"Wait, who?"
"The guy in the middle, over there, do you see? His name is Alberto, he is important in the student council here and also plays in the university orchestra. Has an ego the size of the Eiffel Tower."
"Yeah, it's easy to tell just by looking. But why are we hiding? What did he do?"
"It's actually more of what he is doing. I ended our relationship two months ago, but he didn't accept the fact that he could be dumped by a girl in his life. So, he has been pursuing me ever since. Initially, he messaged me frequently, but then I blocked him from all social media. Then, he started to search for me in the hallways, and even in the lab! It got to a point where Prof. Fukuda had to step in and expressly prohibit him from entering the lab, so I started passing more and more time inside as I could bump with him any other place outside of it."
"Talk about love obsession..."
"Anyway, just go! Tell Prof. Fukuda I'm going to be late, okay? At least till the coast is clear…" - She pushed me out of the bushes, getting me out of balance while I tried to start running again to reach the lab.
I was mostly not noticed passing through the university main gate, with the exception of Alberto. His eyes followed me just a bit; he was probably scouting the girls who were passing by to see if Maria was there, but it was long enough for our eyes to meet just a bit. He had tanned skin, was very tall, and possibly had a good sense of fashion judging by his clothes; his dark hair really suited his jock aura.
We exchanged looks probably for no more than one second, but it was enough for the other guys in the group to notice that Alberto got a tiny bit distracted.
"Uh, Alberto? Are you listening?"
"Oh, yes, yes, sorry, I was just a bit distracted!"
"What are you doing? Ha-ha-ha."
"Uh… Eh… Uh… Holding a book?"
"Mamma mia Alberto. Just stop checking the chicks around and leave some for us! Marcelo, take a look at that!"
"A real hottie, huh? Never seen her around, you know who it is?"
"I think she is one of the foreign students that came along this semester."
"I do like some foreign taste… Ha-ha-ha" - Although the group was throwing jokes all around Alberto, he remained strangely silent.
All this confusion led to me arriving surprisingly only 15 minutes late for the meeting's original appointment, and luckily, it still hadn't started. However, the boys were already in their seats waiting for us.
"Oh, good morning Miyuki, are you okay?" - Not that much, I was sweating and panting hard.
"A-ah, good morning, Prof. Fukuda, yes I'm fine, I'm still suffering a bit with jetlag, sorry for the delay."
"Don`t worry about it, we generally initiate our meetings 15-30 minutes late"- Responded Ricardo.
"Maria is also late. Generally, she is the first one to arrive here at the lab. I wonder what happened...~" - Questioned Oliver
"Oh, we arrived at the university together, but she got held up over some business…. However, she asked me to tell you guys that she would soon join us."
"Right..." - I don't know, but from his tone, it seemed like Ricardo could sense that something wasn't right.
Oliver didn't say anything, but it was clear from his expression that he also didn't seem that happy about what I said; they exchanged some looks between them, and Oliver sighed. For a moment I thought that I've made some kind of gaffe. But analyzing their reactions for a moment, that clearly wasn't the case. They actually seemed worried.
"Well, well, I'm sure Maria will join us soon" - Prof. Fukuda broke the Ice, trying to lighten up the atmosphere a bit.
"Y-yes, she will be with us soon." - I said, also trying to ease the mood.
I took my seat and Prof. Fukuda initiated what would be my first meeting in the lab. And to be frank, it was as boring as most of the other paper presentations I had participated in my life, even if it was in my field of research. Add up the tiredness of not having slept enough, I wasn't in my most exciting mood. During the presentation, Prof. Fukuda asked for our participation, which, because of last night, I was able to contribute to the discussion in a positive way, although with half an eye open. But what I was mostly concerned with was the continuous absence of Maria; she didn't appear after all, raising my worries about her.
Was she still in the bushes? I hope not. Did Alberto find her? Is she safe? Is she alright?
After the end of the presentation, already in my seat, Ricardo approached me. He had a serious expression and didn't say anything for a full minute, staring at the ground, while I avoided eye contact trying to get around the awkwardness. That made me feel a bit uneasy.
"Miyuki" - He said with a strong voice, after a good time.
"Y-yes…?"
"Tell me the truth. Maria isn't here because of Alberto, right?"
Maria indeed said Alberto was annoying her even in the lab...
"W-well, yes, he was waiting for us at the front gate…"
"Tch" - Ricardo was a big guy and his presence was very intimidating. "Did he do something to her?"
"Actually, we didn't interact with him. Maria quickly hid us before we made contact. So, I..."
Ricardo didn't wait till I finished speaking, turning around, and leaving the room. He had a very angry expression. Observing from a distance, Oliver came close to me and tried to explain the situation.
"I'm sorry, Miyuki, but Ricardo gets emotional when the subject is Maria. They've known each other for quite some time so they share a strong bond. Maria has been hassled by Alberto for quite some time now and Ricardo does not like the current situation at all."
"Oh, thanks Oliver, I appreciate you explaining the situation to me. Maria didn't tell me much about it"- After all, we were in the bushes…- "And I didn't know Ricardo also had strong opinions about the subject. I must say I'm also worried about her."
"I'm afraid that Ricardo might do something unreasonable in a heated moment. I'm sorry that this has happened to you on your first days with us."
"Please, no, you guys don't have to take any blame for what has happened. Every place has its share of annoying persons."
"You may be right, but that doesn't attenuate the fact that this is still not the most comfortable situation. But there's nothing we can do about it now. Anyway, we are approaching lunch, would you like to have lunch with me?"
"Oh, thanks Oliver, I appreciate it, but I'm a bit worried about Maria, she has not been answering my messages since then. I'm going to search for her back outside, since it was the last place we saw each other."
"That's actually a good idea. If you need anything, please call me, I'll help you."
"Thanks, Oliver. I'm off now, see you later!"
"See you!"
Getting out of the lab I ran toward the front gate trying to retrace the path we took and seeing if she was hiding somewhere, while I tried to contact her through my phone, but the messages didn't even arrive on her phone.
Damn it, Maria! Why don't you answer me!
When suddenly…
"Woaaah!"- Passing through the hallway someone quickly opened a door and grabbed me by the wrist, pulling me inside a small storage. It was dark, humid, and I couldn't see who was holding me. I was shaking and was about to scream when the person holding me put their hand over my mouth, covering it and whispered in my ear.
"Shhhhhhhh! Calm down, it's me, Carlos, from yesterday."
Without thinking twice, I pushed him again and slapped him in the face and furiously questioned him:
"What the heck are you thinking!?"
"Ouch!! Calm down, calm down! And speak lower!"
I was about to scream again when he once more covered my mouth.
"Hey, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, and about yesterday too. I'm no kidnapper but I've been looking for you the whole day while avoiding a certain group of people. Listen to me carefully; the yellow envelope with the photos inside, do you have it here with you?"
I pushed him away again, and still very anxiously responded.
"Actually no. What about it? What is this all about!? Let me out of here!!"
"Tch… Is it at your home? Can I go over there now to get it?"
"Uh!? What?"
"Can I!?"
"What makes you think you have the right to go to my house?"
"I can stay outside, whatever, I just need the envelope with the photos. You can even guide me blindfolded so I won't know where you live. But, please, let me get them back!" - For someone who was asking me to be quieter, he was talking louder and louder as he got more agitated.
Still very suspicious about this whole thing, I took one step back, feeling my back touching the wall behind me.
"No. To be frank, I don't have time to lose with you right now. My friend is in a pinch and you're in my way."
"Friend? You mean, Maria, with whom you were yesterday?
"Yes, her. Why you ask?" - I really wanted to get out of that room.
"I don't think she is in danger; I saw her at the bus stop just a few moments ago and she seemed okay..."
"Wait, what? You're sure it was Maria? Was she with someone?"
"Sure, it was her, you cannot miss a girl like her, you know. But yeah, I think she was alone."
"Pheeew!" - I sighed in relief, sliding my back down the wall, reaching the floor- "If you're not lying, I'm giving you some credits" - Although I was in a strange situation, just the fact that Maria was safe made me feel at ease.
"So, can we go pick up my envelope?"
"No."
"Uh, wait, what? I just told you your friend is safe, there should be no reason now for you to withhold my photos."
"Oh yeah? First you hurt someone and then don't give a damn about it. Now you forcefully throw me into some dark room, touch me without my consent and now say there's no reason for me to be mad?"
"What….! You sound like I'm some kind of molester!"- Aren't you? - "I've already said I'm sorry, ok? What else do you want?" - He really was talking loud now.
I extended my arm and showed him the palm of my hand.
"My paper"
"What?"
"I think that in the midst of the confusion, I took your photos while you took my paper. I have some important notes there, would you give them back? Then I'll return your photos."
"Paper? Hm, I think I remember something like this in my bag but didn't give it much attention. Is that what you need to return my photos?"
"Yes. That and to never pull me or another woman into a closed room again in your life."
"Tch, I'll go back to my house to get it, and you return to yours to get my photos, deal?"
"Deal"
"All right, let's go-"
SLAM!
"What is this all about, Carlos!?"
As we were about to exit the small storage, someone slammed the door from the outside. Although the light from the outside was hurting my eyes, I could see the silhouette of three persons standing right in front of us, all of them with their arms crossed and with an angry expression.
"Could you explain to us what you are doing, Carlos?"
Oh boy...