Ayla slumped her shoulders sadly after she finished talking on the phone. The call was made by the HR at the place of work, which she was supposed to report to that day. She had called to inform her of how disappointed her boss felt when she didn't show up. She also relayed a message from her boss as she claimed: Ayla wasn't supposed to report to work anymore as she had been cancelled already. Ayla was shocked at how ruthless their moves were. She was sure she was in the wrong, but couldn't they have asked her the reason why she didn't show up at work as expected? No matter how much Aylsa explained herself to the human resource manager, all she got was cold silence. After getting tired of her bullshit, the manager hung up unapologetically. And just like that, the only job that could salvage Ayla's situation was gone. She was sure about one thing, nothing good ever happened to her. Only negative stuff seemed to be linked to her , never even giving her a second to breathe.
She sighed. What was she going to do now? She couldn't borrow money from Hayden. After all, it's not like they were that close to each other. She wasn't even sure of his intentions toward her, so there was no way she would let her guard down around him. He had taught her enough lessons already.
After thinking for a while, Ayla decided to set the matter aside for the time being and focus on recuperating. Only after she got well would she be able to find herself a job. She wasn't the kind to depend on people for help. She was independent, she had learnt that from her mother.
As she was eating, her phone chimed with a notification. Even though she knew it wasn't a good trait; checking her phone while eating, she decided to ignore that for the day. Who knows if she would get some hood news from the text?
She opened the message and saw that it was Shay who had sent her a message. He was asking if she watched the movie he sent her the night before. Ayla's lips twitched. She wanted to lie to him, but she couldn't. What would happen if he asked her some questions related to the movie, yet she didn't watch it? Moreover, she wasn't good at lying. She was sure she would get exposed almost immediately. After thinking for a while with her thumb hovering above her keyboard, she came up with an answer;
Ayla: Sorry, I slept off while watching yesternight, I'm about to continue watching from where I left.
Shay: Kk, let me know when you are done, bye for now.
After reading his response, Ayla smiled before she clicked on the link to watch the movie. At least she had time to laze around. It wasn't a big deal if she watched a movie, right?
Just like that, she watched while eating. She even forgot about the pain on her body as she was solely on the movie.
"Why are you so focused on your phone? Who are you texting?" Kylie, Shay's girlfriend, asked when she saw that Shay wasn't paying attention to what she was saying. Instead, he was fully focused on his phone. In fact, he was actually smiling so brightly.
"Oh, in texting a friend. I wanted to introduce her to you." Shay placed his phone aside and turned to look at Kylie, his girlfriend.
"It's actually a she? " Kylie exclaimed in shock before she glared at him. Shay was shocked by her sudden outburst. Was there anything wrong with his friend being a girl?
"Yes, I met her when she was sick and I helped her, and we bacaje friends." Shay explained. He wished she could understand that Ayla and him were just friends and nothing else.
"Really?" Kylie suspiciously eyed Shay. She wanted to make sure there were no traces of lying on his face.
"Really. Don't you trust me?" Shay frowned and looked at Kylie doubtfully. What was wrong with her all of a sudden? Didn't she always trust him? What had changed all of a sudden?
"Alright, so, where is she? " Kylie asked when she heard Shay's accusation. She knew she was overreacting. But she couldn't help it, especially after she had seen how bright his smile was when he was texting with her.
"Something cropped up at her home, so she had to rush over." Shay explained.
"Oh. Make sure to introduce her to me when she comes back." Kylie said and looked at Shay seriously. She was reminding him. She also wanted to know who that girl was.
"Alright, I gotta go, I have to go to the lab." Shay looked at his watch and said. Yes, he had a lab session to attend that afternoon, so after having lunch with his girlfriend, he excused himself when he saw that it was time.
"Okay, see you later." Kylie hugged him and pecked him on the cheek .
"Sure." Shay nodded and left briskly. A minute later and he would be late. He was always punctual, so he hated being late unless something happened. The only day he was late for class was when he took Ayla to the infirmary when she fainted. That was a genuine reason for being late. Kylie watched as Shay walked away, and a trace of worry sprouted in her heart. While with her, Shay had never smiled as brightly as he did while texting his so-called friend. Was she going to lose him since he had found himself a friend? Kylie decided that she had to meet Shay's friend, who happened to be Ayla as soon as possible. Only then could she rest assured. After all, she had trued calming her heart down, but she couldn't. She didn't like the feeling of doubting Shay as he had always been loyal, but this time, it was different. The twinkle in his eyes was new to her . Was there going to be a transformation?
Kylie contemplated for a while until she came to a conclusion: she had to be around Shay from time to time to avoid any inconvenience. She had to protect what was hers, how could she trust just any random woman being around her boyfriend? After all, a woman's sixth sense is always right. She figured she would need to be careful so as to keep Shay. Otherwise, she would be left alone by him . That was a premonition she had.
In class, as Hayden taught, he couldn't help but miss Ayla. Somehow, he had grown accustomed to her presence in class. Moreover, she was attentive and would always answer questions in class, which always made the class active. Now that she was absent, the class was dull and dormant, which instantly demotivated him. However, since it was his duty to deliver knowledge to students, he had to fulfil his part with no doubt. Whether they took his lessons seriously or not was up to them. After all, they were grown ups who could make decisions on their own.
"Our lesson ends here today." After he was done teaching, Hayden announced while closing his laptop.
He didn't spare the students another glance as he left.
He had just begun parking his things to head home when his phone rang. It was his best buddy, Graham, who was calling.
"What's up?" Hayden said on the phone the moment he picked up the call.
"The scar removal ointment is here. Pass by the hospital to pick it up." Graham said .
Hayden raised his eyebrows. 'How fast?' He thought.
"Got it." Hayden said and hung up .