Secretly Hidden

Chapter 9

After about fifteen minutes of silence, I glanced over at Matthew, I could hear him shuffling through the same pages, writing, erasing, and shuffling pages again. I sighed and stood up. I walked around while stretching and walked behind him. I glanced at his page to look at what he had been stuck on.

It seemed he wasn't understanding resonance structures or their relative stability. I leaned over his shoulder and pointed at the structure.

"You are forgetting about the double bonds," I said. He glanced over to me quickly.

"I don't get get you mean," he whispered. I barely heard it and honestly thought I had imagined it.
"Okay, it might be best if I work on a white board next time, but for now I'm going to explain from the beginning."

~~~~~~

"I can't believe I didn't realize the double bonds move like that, I was so focused on the lone pairs," Matthew said. We were walking back together to the main campus since it was barely early spring and it was already getting dark out.

"It's understandable why, sometimes people focus on one thing and forget the big picture," I said smiling.

"Now that you explained it, I feel so dumb that I was so stuck on it," he said and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Matthew, it's really okay. It isn't an easy subject," I said, looking at him as we walked.

"I get that, but at the same time, I just feel like I can't be bad at anything. Who would ever expect me to be bad at something, I-" he stopped for a second. "I don't know.  I don't know what I'm trying to say."

"No, I get it," I said. He looked at me and I gave a small smile. "You really did amazing today, you caught on quick."

Matthew looked like he didn't know how to respond to my words. We reached the main building and I opened the door.

"See you," I said and walked in leaving him to his thoughts.

~~~~~

Once at home, I sat at dinner while contemplating over things.

"Is there something bothering you Lexi?" My mother asked. I looked up at her.

"Mom, is there any way I can reveal my identity to someone?" I asked. Both of my parents quickly looked at me.

"I'm not so sure about that," my dad started. I sighed.

"If you think about it, it took you a couple weeks before spilling it to Mr. Davis. I can have you guys meet them if you want. I just finally have a friend and I want to not lie to her about my whole life."

"I suppose your father and I can make a decision after meeting her. We would have to set something up so she doesn't get caught coming to our home by the media, it would be hard to explain without exposing you," my mother added. I smiled at her and nodded.

"Thank you! I promise you two will love her!!" I exclaimed. She waved  her hand and continued with her meal.

~~~~~

The next day I excitedly entered school and went around trying to find Amanda. I ended up bumping into her as she was walking to her first class.

"Amanda!" I said. She looked up from her notebook she was looking over.

"Lexi! What's up?" She asked.

"I know this is sudden, but do you want to come over to my house soon?" I asked. Her eyes widened a bit.

"Of course, that would be awesome. When?"

"You can pick a day that's best for you. Just let me know and my parents will send a car to pick you up," I explained. She gave me a smile.

"Okay! I'll tell my father and let you know!" She said. We walked side by side in the hallway as she told me about the test she was about to take.

I looked up in the hallway and happened to see Jae, the new student, walking the opposite way.

I could tell that school wasn't being kind to him. The back of his hair was all ruffled, probably someone did it since the front was still styled with gel.

I still had to figure him out. I had no clue who he was and how we coincidentally had all the same classes.

He looked up and we briefly made eye contact again, but just like last time he quickly looked away anxiously and hurried off.

I couldn't stop thinking about the Jae situation, even by Friday it was lingering in the back of my mind. At lunch that day, I looked around for Jae. I couldn't see him anywhere nearby.

"Hey Amanda, have you spoken to Jae? The new kid?" I asked. She looked at me and shook her head.

"I haven't even had a chance. I don't think I have ever seen him outside of class or in the hallways on the way to class. On that note, I don't think I have ever heard him speak a word to anyone," she said in thought. I nodded.

"Okay... I'll be right back," I said. She nodded and held up the book she was reading while eating.

"Sure, I'll be here."

I stood up and continued looking around while walking around the cafeteria. I couldn't catch sight of him, and new we weren't allowed off campus during lunch. He had to be somewhere. I opened the doors to leave the cafeteria and froze. I saw Jae sitting on a bench in the hallway.

The hallway was long and had windows on both sides to see the gardens that surround the cafeteria. He seemed to just be sitting slumped back and had no food with him.

I quickly walked back before he noticed me. I bought some snacks and quickly returned to the hallway. I slowly walked up to him and stopped once I was next to the bench.

He heard me and looked over. Before, he always quickly looked away, but this time he seemed confused and panicked once he saw me.

I didn't say anything and just held out an apple. He looked down at it for a moment before slowly grabbing it.

"Thanks," he said, looking relieved for some reason.

"You know... I know the cafeteria gets loud, but the seats are comfortable and you can always sit with Amanda, my friend, and I."

"Oh, ummm, yeah I can probably do that," he said awkwardly.

"Okay, yeah. Just join us Monday, I'll see you next class." I said before walking back in.