Students are walking and talking during the break on campus with random voices. The atmosphere is stressful and youthful. The sky is sunny, although it is November. From the school stairs, Maryia appears holding her papers, revising with diligence, not caring for anyone. Her outfit is messed up, and her face is sweaty. She goes down to the playground. Ahmed is on the other edge of the playground, about 50 meters apart from Maryia. He rotates around himself with anxiety and randomly moves his lips and hands. Ahmed acts on his proposal. "Maryia, I wanted to tell you about my feelings…" He practices.
Maryia steps the last step on the stairs. Ahmed sees her descending the stairs and centers his hands beside him in surprise. He has seen his love! He is about to express his feelings, but something strange happens. He doesn't move to go to her and speak. He just stares at her with love. His eyes sparkle, and his smile widens. His love conquered his fear. He let his eyes show it.
On the other side, Maryia looked around her and spotted her concentration on Ahmed, who was smiling with sparkling eyes, but.. Is he looking at her?? He seemed to focus on her.. or behind her, maybe? She was in front of the stairs. Maybe he was waiting for his friends to leave the exam hall? She simply couldn't believe he was looking at her. She looks in a shocked way until two girls interrupt this eye contact.
"Maryia, is that answer right?" A girl of the two interrupts her. Maryia looks at them momentarily, then replies after reading the paper. "Huh? Uhh.. Yes, it's right." The girl talks to the other. "See? I told you." They disappear from Maryia's concentration and leave. She returns to Ahmed with her eyes skeptically. Was it the truth? Did he look into her eyes? She was confused. She looks back at Ahmed gradually until she finds him with a sad face staring at her. When her eyes meet, he smiles again with a wider smile than the previous one. His eyes sparkled more, too. Maryia felt stressed and believed it wasn't true. So, she suddenly moves and holds the books and papers in her arms like she told him: No.. my studies at first!
Ahmed's face changes as she moves, leaves their parallel eye contact, and looks at her with a surprised angry face. How dare she refuse him? He is higher than her! Did she even see him? He was also surprised and confused. All they both knew was that they had this eye contact and acted upon it for years later. Maryia reaches a seat and sits on it while looking at Ahmed's eye again with a proud face and uncaring eyelids. Ahmed looks at her again with sparkling eyes but a disappearing smile and a begging face. However, Maryia drops her face to the books she holds with uncaring, painful leaving.
The place was noisy, but in Ahmed's head, it was silent. The place was sunny and warm, but he felt cold. It was like he felt ashamed of himself. He then tenses his arms' veins strongly, showing a violent expression with hopeless and angry narrowed eyes and crossed eyebrows. Some guys and girls in school saw him looking at Maryia. They saw Maryia's attitude, too. One guy looks at his mate wide-eyed like they are preparing their next gossip for the week.
After the exam ends, Ahmed runs to his house. He enters his room, throws the keys on the floor, and cries on the bed. He shouts suddenly. "God! Let me be dead!" His ADHD symptoms as a teen are fueled now by this situation, and the illness returns after recovery for years...
When Maryia returns home, she keeps studying and looks beside her. She was wondering if what she had seen was true or not. She returns to studying after not figuring out anything. Her uncaring attitude stayed for some time as she started dissociating her thoughts and feelings from reality.
****
In the morning, Ahmed is resting on the bed with red eyes. He hasn't slept or changed his clothes since the previous day. He looks at the ceiling for a while, then leaves the bed quickly, like he has planned for something.
In the school corridor, Ahmed, Leo, Pedro, Akira, Omar, and other boys from the class walk along the road to and behind Ahmed. They walk seriously and assertively. After a moment, they reach Maryia's exam hall door. Ahmed gets inside the hall quickly, and the rest of the group follows him. In the hall, Ahmed walks through the sets and the desks searching for Maryia's seat number, which he has got from his friends in the same hall. He finally finds it, kicks it with his palm, and jumps on it. Ahmed orders the group. "Come on guys, lift all these desks and throw them on hers!" The group as a response. "Hooray!"
They started to bring all the desks and seats in the hall and put them on Maryia's seat and desk. At the same moment, Ahmed sits on another desk and puts his leg on the other. Suddenly, Leo brings a bag and opens it, getting a Shisha out of it and lending it to Ahmed, who gets the stick and sips it. Ahmed then looks at the door they have closed in a challenging face. He was waiting for Maryia to come to the hall and talk to him, expressing his anger.
Some time passed, and the exam bell rang. Ahmed and the group immediately get out of the hall without being seen. Maryia and the exam hall mates, including Maryia's friends, Khadija, Tania, and Katy, arrive in the hall with surprised faces. Tania stepped in front of the messed desks tower which was in the middle of the hall. "What's this mess?" Tania said.
Maryia looks at the seats, noticing the mess tower is on her seat and desk. She feels a weird situation and crosses her eyebrows, then looks behind her, showing that she believes someone meant her by this behavior. Tania continues in a hopeless, sarcastic voice. "Uhh... those idiots. What were they thinking of?!" The group of mates entered the hall and returned the seats and desks to their places.
After the exam, the students exit the exam halls along the school corridor. While Ahmed rests on the wall kneeling one leg on it, putting his hands in his jeans pockets, Maryia gets out with her friends. When he notices her, he sends his leg to the floor and adjusts his position to face Maryia. He smiles slyly at her with narrow eyes, expecting she will argue. As she passes by him, she laughs at a joke Tania says. Ahmed drops his jaw in surprise. She wasn't interested in even arguing! While he looks to his side with a hopeless expression, Maryia, who has already passed by him, smirks and rolls her eyeballs to their edges.
The second semester came. Maryia arrives at the class and sits on her seat. After a while, Ahmed enters the class. His eyes are red, and his mouth is open. He looks at Maryia, and Maryia looks at him with a cold face. Their eyes trace each other until he passes by her. Ahmed then looks on his way to his seat. Maryia smiles slyly with a sharp look at the board.
In Maryia's room, she covers herself with the bedcover and looks away. She picks up her phone and puts her finger on the front camera to cover it, she has delusions of being spied on. She opens Twitter and then opens Ahmed's profile. She turns off the phone, puts it on her pillow, and looks at the ceiling. Then, she closes her eyes and takes a deep inhale, then exhales, praying. "Allah, support me."
****
Ahmed is asleep on his bed, covered by a blanket. He is sweating and shrinking his eyes. He is experiencing a nightmare or a flashback. He wasn't sure.
He sees his hand scribble on the wall, then he rotates and jumps on the bed he is standing on as he sees all the room walls full of scribbles. He stops, sees Sarah shocked in front of the door, and puts her hand on her mouth. "Ya Allah, again Ahmed?" She looks at him, and he continues jumping and rotating, and then he sees Faried, Ahmed's father, entering the room and looking at the walls. Ahmed keeps jumping while looking at them. Faried shouts. "Oh, my gosh! What's all this mess!" Ahmed sees Faried approaching him, pointing to him with his hands, and raising his voice. "You are a stupid and crazy child. Are we going to clean all this mess forever?" Ahmed stops jumping, and Faried slaps him on his face. Ahmed falls on the bed and starts to cry.
(Ahmed is sweating and tensing his eyebrows.)
In the morning, Maryia, Khadija, Katy, and Tania rest on a desk. The girls laugh loudly. Suddenly, Akira and Pedro pass by Maryia and look at her. Maryia looks beside them and leaves the place. Pedro looks at Maryia while she is going. "The cruelest girl in our school!" Akira replies. "Yes, she cheated on him. He does not deserve this." They rotate their heads. Maryia looks to the floor, then looks forward and determines in her walk. Tania stands up from the desk and rests on it. Pedro looks at Tania, Khadija, and Katy. "Why are you supporting her?" Pedro asks. Katy furiously replies. "Listen, you do not know the truth. This guy, Ahmed, has told you..." Akira interrupts. "He did not tell us anything. Trust me!" Tania wonders. "So how did you know about her story with Ahmed?" Akira lifts his shoulders. "As you knew!" Tania replies. "She did not tell us anything."
Pedro waves his hand. "Of course, she did not. She will not say I had a crush on Ahmed, and I made him love me, and then I cheated on him to make him a joke in front of the entire school!" Tania waves her hand. "What? In front of the whole school? Seriously? You are talking like she told us to gather the students to watch Ahmed proposing to her. Kind of!" Katy, Tania, and Khadija laugh, and then Tania rotates her head to them. "And how did she cheat on him? Did she even talk to him once?" Katy comments. "Yes, exactly. You know, Akira, that some guys and girls say that they like each other because of the way they look at each other, and they are already attractive." Tania seriously looks at Akira and Pedro. "Most of the guys here are jealous of Ahmed because he is better than them in everything. Most girls dream of being his girlfriend. Particularly, they say nuts to make him lose prestige by persuading him that she made him lose his pride in the school." Tania waves her hand. "Huh? Guys, come on!" Tania smiles sarcastically. "Yes, this is why they talk about them," Katy comments. Pedro points his finger at them. "Tell the truth, do you think she does not manipulate him?" Khadija repeats the
information. "She did not say a word about that matter. Do you mean because people here say they like each other and flirt with their eyes? These students are cheating on you with their talk, folks!" Akira points his fingers at Katy and Tania. "I will just tell you a word. She will regret losing him." Tania moves her head down. "Like, okay. She may be in love with him, but not care about him." Pedro lifts his shoulders. "And he does not care, either!"
Tania raises her head and looks at Pedro. "So why are you saying things and spreading rumors?" Akira objects. "We did not! We listen to what the others say about them when they are in the same place." Tania closes her eyes and points to Akira and Pedro with her hand. "You, both! You are manipulating the situation to make her suffer rather than him. It is all done." She opens her eyes and waves at Akira and Pedro. "Watch your mouths, later." Tania leaves, and Katy and Khadija follow her.
****
Ahmed is scrolling his phone screen in his room. He clicks on a guitar song on SoundCloud and puts his hands-free in his ears. He looks up with wide eyes and smiles.
In the morning, Ahmed is sitting at the back of the class. Maryia is seated in front of the other side of the class. Suddenly, Ahmed stands up and sits on the right side of Maryia at another desk. Maryia pins her eyes on the teacher. Maryia moves her notebook to the other side from Ahmed and writes with her pen on it. Ahmed looks at her, then holds the book on the desk and looks inside it. Maryia looks at the teacher, and then Ahmed looks at him. Maryia writes in the notebook, and then Ahmed writes in his notebook.
Ahmed peeks at Maryia, who finishes writing and looks at the board. Ahmed looks in his book, and then Maryia peeks at him. This situation is stressful for Maryia and challenging for Ahmed. Ahmed keeps looking at the book and smiles. He puts the book on its base and writes on it. Maryia looks at the notebook, puts the pen strongly, and exhales.
Ahmed looks at her and smiles. Maryia glares to the other side. Ahmed's smile disappears and he looks at her for a while. Maryia crosses her eyebrows strongly and rubs her hands while Ahmed looks down for 2 seconds, then shakes his head up and down. "Ok, come on, guys! See you next week." The teacher said. The teacher leaves the class, and the students stand up to get out of the class. Some girls behind look at Ahmed and Maryia. Ahmed stands up and looks at Maryia. He
steps forward slowly, and Maryia looks to the other side. He passes by her, puts his hands in his pants pockets, looks down, and leaves the class. The girls behind put their hands on their open mouths. Maryia looks back to the door and widens her eyes. She crosses her eyebrows, looks down, then holds her books and moves up.