My Words Are Law

Can we be friends (2)

If not for Chryses' help, Amaryllis would not have been able to pass the paper on time.

She strolled out of the faculty with a sigh of relief, and as soon as she looked up, it was the sight of the male leaning on the wall that first greeted her. He was looking back. Or rather, had he been staring at her all along?

Amaryllis felt perturbed as she fixed the straps of her bag on her shoulders. Whether it was one or the other, he doesn't seem to mind getting caught.

Could it be..?

"Are you... by any chance... following-"

"Mr. Taylor." Her question was interrupted by a deep, authoritative voice behind her.

A professor..?

Her cheeks dyed red at the realization. She doesn't even need to look back to verify that she was mistaken yet again. Chryses wasn't looking at her. Nor did he follow her. She bit her lips in humiliation and hung her head as she lumbered out of the way to give space for Chryses, who was now advancing towards the professor after regarding her with a smile. 

Of course, he wasn't following her...! 

It was pure luck that she wasn't able to deliver that embarrassing question. However, if Chryses heard the preceding words, it wouldn't be that hard to put two and two together. With his rotten personality, he was probably inwardly sneering at her bold presumption that he was interested enough to follow a lowly peasant.  

The conversation behind her swiftly became indistinct muffles as she focused on retreating away from the situation. Once she turned to the sharp corner, her limbs leaned to the wall for support, a silent wail escaping her lips as she covered her face with her hands. Thankful for the sudden vibration in her pocket, her fingers desperately dug her cell phone out, hoping it was something important, so it could divert her brain from diving further into a never-ending spiral of shame.  

Amaryllis stared at the message, the contents effectively grabbing her attention away from the earlier embarrassment.

Mrs. Swanson: Tomorrow is sports day... Will Amaryllis be coming, too? 

Sports day...

Sports day!

She almost forgot! Ivor said he'd be participating in track and field, didn't he? She clicked on the calendar icon to see if she managed to do all the tasks she meticulously scheduled beforehand and was not disappointed to see them all crossed out and that Friday remained blank. 

She went back to the chat window and typed in her reply. 

'I will. :)'

'Wonderful! I'll be expecting you tomorrow. Actually, my daughter also joined the track and field. Your brother's on the same team!'

Amaryllis chuckled. 'Yes. I hope the kids will have a lot of fun tomorrow.'

"Amaryllis..." 

She looked up from her phone and spun around when she didn't see anybody. 

Good god... 

How many times does this make? And in one day! "O-oh. Hey," she replied as she returned her phone in her pocket. If she knew he'd pass here, she wouldn't have lingered for long... 

Chryses slid his gaze away from her mobile to peer at her face. The carefree smile was completely erased from her lips and was replaced by an awkward one.

He looked away momentarily before speaking again. "I thought you had already left. What were you about to ask me earlier, by the way? I didn't quite hear it properly."