Silence sneaks into the atmosphere. Freya mopes at nothing exactly, while Ben is still on his knees with his bouquet of flowers in his hands.
(Rebecca moves forward, making herself visible to Ben Carson)
"Oh Mrs. Adams. Wow, I didn't notice you were here. Hi. Just uhmm you know. I should get up" Ben spluttered, getting on his feet with his face down. He felt the humiliation of a thousand souls.
"Hi to you too. You asked my daughter out on a date. Interesting. I really do think your feelings are real though, seeing you couldn't wait till morning to do this. Don't worry, I'll leave you both to it" Rebecca said, leaving the both of them alone in the sitting room.
(Ben looks up to Freya, who was still looking puzzled)
"Freya. Why aren't you saying anything?" Ben gives Freya a soft tap on the arms.
(Freya exhales audibly)
"I...I don't know what to say. I don't know how I feel about you"
(Ben moves closer to Freya, making a lot of eye contact. Freya could see in his eyes that this dude was in love with her)
"But you kissed me!"
"Yeah, I know. What you said back at Habatat gallery was just amazing. No one my age has ever cared about me that much, except Lucas, who is my best friend. I kissed you because I felt you deserved it" Freya moves away from Ben, to catch her breath.
(Ben keeps talking though)
"Wait, what! I don't feel you right now. You kissed me because you pitied me? That's just shit"
(Freya turns back to Ben)
"Ben? No. It's not really the way you think"
(Ben starts to feel the heat of being rejected)
"But that kiss. It felt real. When we kissed, I felt something. I thought you felt it too" said Ben, who wasn't doing a nice job in hiding his emotions. He wasn't trying anyway.
"It was real Ben, but..."
(Ben suddenly feels a glimmer of hope)
"But. What?"
"I don't think I'm good enough"
"Holy shit! I get to decide who and what's good for me Freya, and what I know is, you're perfect for me"
(Freya grabs his hands)
"Okay, fine. I would go out with you, but for now, let's not get into a relationship. That could get too complicated, and right now, I just want life to be easy for me"
"Cool. On the long run, you'd definitely be my girlfriend. I'd text you the time and the address for our date" Ben says, as he hands the flowers to Freya.
"Wow, they're beautiful. Thanks Ben" Freya smiles, as she can't get those cute eyes of hers from the flowers.
"Got to run now. Mom has been texting" Ben informs, as he turns to leave.
"Oh sure"
*************
(MCHS day 2)
Being a Senior student in final semester, a lot is expected of you. Getting a perfect score in the SAT is paramount since College admissions are competitive.
Freya missed a lot of classes during her 80 day break from School, she needed to catch up. Lucas, her best friend and study partner helps her out.
"This syllabus is sick" Freya protests.
Lucas leans over to Freya, who was having a hard time studying.
"Yeah well. That's what happens when you go drop out of school and come back three months after"
(Freya throws a soft punch at him, chuckling)
"SAT is just in some weeks time, and I've barely covered any topic on Math"
"Hmm, The scholastic assessment test can be tricky. I actually think its a bit easy. I bet you're going to trash the SAT"
"I wish" Freya vacillated, not certain of doing well in the SAT.
"Come on. It's just a 1600 marks in total. Pretty sure you could score between 1000 and 1600"
"Easy for you to say, you've been studying"
(Lucas gathers the sheets of paper scattered all over the table, arranges the books and puts them back into place)
"What are you doing Lucas. We've barely studied for an hour, and you're wrapping up?"
(Lucas moves closer to Freya)
"Yes Honey. You need to get rid of doubt first. You must pass the SAT, you have to. We have to, no doubts, okay? Let go of the fear of failure, study smart, and trust me, you're, we are going to make it"
(Freya sighs)
"I'm glad I got you Lucas. You're amazing" she chirped, as she scooted forward, reaching for Lucas, hugging him tightly.
"Okay, enough of this hugs Freya. I heard you're going out with Ben Carson now" Lucas mood changes real quick.
"Where did you hear it? Who told you that?"
"Are you kidding me? Carson has been blasting it into everyone's ears every chance he gets"
"I only agreed to go on a date with him later this evening, and he's already saying am his girlfriend? Great! Just what I needed!" huffed Freya as she gets on her feet to leave the library.
(Lucas glares angrily at Freya)
"You didn't even tell me all these. I had to hear it from somebody else. We are best friends Freya, at least I thought we were. Best friends tell each other everything"
"I'm really sorry about all these Lucas, but you just have to accept this new version of me. Fine, we are best friends, but I shouldn't have to tell you every detail of my personal life"
"Of course. I just knew you would do this one day. Dump me, and be with Carson. He's the hottest dude in MCHS anyway"
"No, you grow up dude. We aren't kids anymore! I love you, but I've changed. I still love you as a best friend, but things can't go back to how it was three months ago" barked Freya, as she walked out of the library.
"Oh shit. My bag" Freya recalled, going back into the library, and staring ridiculously at Lucas who was still in shock.
"When you're ready to be my best friend again Lucas, text me" she says, leaving for the hallway, to find Ben.