Mr Ken shifted his gaze from her and continued the lesson, he wanted to tell Derick to tutor her but he didn't want to make things worse for her so he just proceeded with the lectures.
"You know, I heard that black people are dumber but I thought you were different. You proved today that you are. . ." Gina didn't complete her statement so she chuckled mockingly and Mona who was sitting across from her.
They were having lunch in the cafeteria as usual by the window. Mona just played with her food enduring the insults Gina threw at her. "What annoyed me the most was that Derick still was on your side." Gina almost spat at her. Mona left her head lowered and forcefully planted the pasta in her mouth.
Gina hated her silence. "You are rich, rich people are known to be the rulers and they consider poor people a piece of trash, they see them as useless things. Now I realize that no matter how dumb you are, you can never fail because your parents' money will back you up but me, I have no money so I have to study hard and pass out of this school and maybe someday we won't see each other again. I have no other choice but to know mathematics so I can impress my parents with my reports." She gazed down at her food.
Mona acted like she heard nothing, just after her insulting statement. Derick found his way to Mona. He had spotted her when he arrived at the cafeteria to have lunch with his friends. After getting his lunch, he left his friends and sat next to her on the chair.
Mona glanced at the figure beside her and finally lifted her gaze at Gina to see that look. She signalled to her to act rude to him.
"Mona," his voice caused her to lift her head but she didn't look his way. The boy tucked strands of braids behind her ear and turned her head to face him. "You okay?" He asked.
Mona was silent for a while, she could do anything for her friend and that can be bringing chances for her to be with the boy she likes, sacrificing her crown so she wouldn't lose because she could still lift herself with her parents' money as she mentioned earlier but break someone's heart for her? No.
Mona nodded her head. "You are not eating," he stated.
"I don't feel like eating," she replied.
"Are you okay?" he asked again and when she didn't reply he lifted the cutlery in her food packing some pasta and then he travelled it into space to her lips. Mona lifted her gaze to see Gina clenching her cutlery and her jaws staring fiercely at her. Mona closed her eyes and pushed Derick's hand off her front.
"Stop irritating me," she said to him, Derick was surprised at her reaction. "I said I'm okay, what part of I'm okay do you understand? Don't you understand English?" Mona cursed herself for replying to him in that manner. She could view how stunned he was by her sudden change.
Gina smiled. "Mona, how could you? He was just worried," she played the role of a good friend.
Derick swallowed and stared at Gina before sitting upright. "You left yesterday without telling me," he needed a tangible reason.
"I didn't want to stay and I texted Gina to tell you that I had something to do, wasn't that enough?" She wasn't staring at him but at her food.
"You are not in a good mood." He stated in a shaky voice and gathered his tray in his hands. "We'll talk later when you are. . . Normal," he uttered and left the table.
"Mona you shouldn't have," Gina wanted Derick to see the good side of her. Mona couldn't stand that she hurt his feelings. She regretted what she did and glanced at Gina with that apologetic look.
She stood up and turned around. "Derick!" She called out to him and when he looked back at her, she proceeded her steps toward him. Derick's gaze followed her until she was standing right in front of him. "You are right, I'm not in a good mood. Yesterday and now. . . I'm sorry for not meeting your expectations. It wasn't intentional, I'm sorry." Mona apologized, she couldn't break his heart, she had broken him more by not accepting his feelings. That must hurt a lot because she was feeling the same way at the moment but being rude to him would crush him more.
She understood that no one had control over their heart and just fall in love randomly. Her head was lowered. "Can I ask you out on a date?" He asked.
Mona glanced at Gina who was already on her feet glaring at the both of them.
"No," she replied.
"How about we go see the pink stone together?" He asked again.
Mona lifted her gaze and nodded, she'd make it clear to him that she had no feelings for him. He shouldn't mistake her feelings for him.
"Alright, let's meet under the beech tree after school," he tangled his finger with a strand of her braids before walking away.
Mona walked back to her chair to see Gina taking her tray away to sit somewhere else. Mona bit her lips into a thin line and continued her lunch. Gina sat with Stephanie, Deborah and Victoria. They were also glancing at Mona who was staring at the window eating silently and alone. She felt their gazes on her and could feel they were murmuring about her. She let their opinions out of her head and focused on her lunch.
The day was over, she packed her bags and saw how Gina rushed away from the class, Derick wasn't in class. After packing her bags and Michael leaving their seat, she sat down and covered her face with her palms before trailing it through her braids, she sighed and stretched her hands up in exhaustion. She yawned and told herself. A new day will arrive soon.
She carried her bag and wore it before finding her way to the beech tree close to the parking lot.
Derick sighted her first so he sent his friends away and waited for her to get to him. He doesn't take his car with him to school because he loved adventures just like Mona and having that in common. He felt they were meant. That was what drew him to her more. When Mona reached him, he grabbed her hand and tugged her with him to the bus station.
"You still have that grumpy look on your face, aren't you going to smile like you always do?"
Mona was sitting by the window on the bus, she loved the light and was always on the bright side, she loved nature and was always by the side where she'd feel the breeze but her class teacher placed her seat in the middle because she never concentrates on lessons whenever she sees the sky or view nature.
Mona forced a smile on her face. "Maybe once I see the stone, I'll feel okay," Mona glanced at him with a forced smile and returned her gaze to outside the window.