Playing with the snowflake key chain in her hand, Szeina hardly noticed the sound of the whistle and howling from the football field.
She briefly recalled the day when Granola handed it to her.
A white Camry.
The car was an advanced gift. She received it between autumn and winter. Hence, she chose the snowflake key chain to commemorate that day.
With a sigh, she put away the key chain, hearing approaching footsteps. She had herself seated by the bleachers, surprisingly surviving the second day of being in Alwreck High.
The mean girls or the brunette was like a dream. Szeina didn't see any trace of them earlier.
Except for Yvann, the girl named Laura was no longer in her classes either.
The last part admittedly had her disappointed. She was looking forward to having at least one friendly face in her classes for today.
However, instead of the friendly Laura, she has Yvann as a classmate for most of her subjects.
Talk about irony.
"This better be important," Yvann said sharply upon his approach. Against the afternoon light, his grey eyes stood out.
The chestnut brown of his hair glinted on top of his head and almost looked too mesmerizing. If they didn't start on the wrong foot, Szeina might have been taken by his good looks.
Visible mud stains from the field caked all over his cleats. The same could be said on the hem of his black jersey shorts and white shirt.
"Oh, trust me it is or I wouldn't have wasted my precious time coming all the way here."
"Neither would I want to invest my time for someone like you."
Szeina had to remind herself that she still needed him to get the assignment from Mrs. Avery done with perfection.
She didn't want to screw this one. Her dignity was at stake. They would perform it in front of their classmates.
She had no plans to be remembered as the new kid who embarrassed herself in trying to act out a Shakespearean play.
"Well, someone like me already found the piece that we could use. Apparently one of us cares about grades more than pride."
Yvann raised a skeptical brow after hearing Szeina out.
"Is that all you had to say? You know there's a thing called instant messaging? It could have saved both of us from wasting our precious time."
"Well, first off, I don't have your contact. Second, no. That's not all." Szeina grabbed the copy of the script she readied the night before.
Shoving it on his chest, she looked at the guy pointedly.
"Read that and meet me after your football practice. Let's see if you have what it takes to act."
Yvann scoffed.
"You must be the president of the drama club back in your old school. Why don't you go back there and stay with your geek club?"
Szeina felt like she was slapped on the face, hard. So hard, her cheeks were beginning to hurt.
Not wanting to give Yvann the satisfaction of leverage, she refused to respond to his taunt.
"If you don't care about your academics, don't drag me down with you."
Leaving him with his arrogance, Szeina took off. She needed some privacy before having to face Yvann later on.
--
Szeina splashed cold water on her face. She never met anyone so embarrassingly bad at something.
Yvann might have insulted her about being part of the geeks in her former school. It was a far fetch theory but at the very least; she knew how to act.
On the other hand, Yvann would be a work in progress. If she was to hope for progress.
Drying her face, she let out a sigh.
Her lone footsteps convinced Szeina that no one else was around. Shivers run down her spine and had her turning her head from time to time to check if someone was walking behind her.
The silence reminded Szeina of the fun memories she had at Shantel Academy.
Dark hallways and empty classrooms. Her best friend Hope would have been thrilled to join her as she made her exit from the school building.
Szeina shook her head. She can't let herself get drowned in the array of memories.
Plunging in the cold evening vibe, Szeina took a deep breath. She savored the sensation and the cool air.
Neither Neyandro nor Granola was picking her up tonight. She told them she wanted to try coming home by herself..
Whatever fear Granola has of her commuting by herself needed to stop.
Granola was ready to argue with her reasoning when she informed her about coming home late earlier. But since it was a special day, she backed off.
Szeina could understand why Granola was overprotective of her. The recent events from Shantel Academy had her worried for Szeina most of the time.
A repeat of it could happen.
Szeina shivered at the thought.
Not wanting to dwell on it further, she pushed forward to get to the gate and finally hail a ride home somewhere.
If she cannot accomplish this, she'd have to reconsider and call Granola. That was her instruction.
To satisfy her, Szeina agreed to it.
In the middle of her getting closer to the school gate, she spotted a car parked halfway out of the enormous exit.
Upon closer inspection, she realized it was Yvann's car.
Oddly, she could see a silhouette crouched beside it. The person's hands were covering his ears.
Out of curiosity, Szeina hastened her pace and took a closer look.
The stranger crouched beside Yvann's car seemed to be no one but him.
Under different circumstances, she wouldn't bother to ask what was up or if he was alright. But seeing that no one else was present to offer him any help, she reluctantly tapped him by the shoulders.
"Hey,"
Slowly, Yvann lifted his head and met Szeina's gaze.
The first thing she noticed was the fleeting emotion evident in his eyes and the lack of his usual cocky attitude.
Pulling himself together, Yvann gradually got on his feet.
"Do you need a ride home?"
At the back of her mind, Szeina wanted to say no.
But the haunted look in his eyes convinced her otherwise.
"Actually, I do."