Maya Carter was the kind of girl everyone knew. She could walk through the school hallway and somehow manage to say hello to at least five different people before reaching her classroom. She was confident, funny, and always surrounded by friends. Teachers knew her, students knew her, and even people from other year levels seemed to know who she was.
Evelyn Brooks was almost the complete opposite.
Evie preferred sitting near the back of the classroom with a book open in front of her. She wasn't unpopular exactly, but she wasn't interested in being surrounded by people either. She liked science, computers, reading, and pretty much anything that gave her an excuse to avoid school gossip.
The two girls barely spoke.
That changed on Monday morning.
Their English teacher walked into the classroom carrying a stack of papers and announced that everyone would be starting a new assignment. It was a research project that would take several weeks, and the students would be working in pairs.
Maya immediately turned toward her best friend, expecting them to be partners.
Before she could say anything, the teacher started reading the pairs.
"Jessica and Lily."
Maya's smile disappeared.
"Ryan and Thomas."
She looked at her friend.
"Uh-oh," her friend whispered.
"And Maya and Evelyn."
Maya blinked.
Across the classroom, Evie looked up from her book with the exact same expression.
They stared at each other.
Maya had barely spoken to Evie before.
The teacher continued explaining the project, but Maya wasn't listening anymore. She leaned toward her friend and whispered, "Who even is Evelyn?"
Her friend looked offended on Evie's behalf.
"She's been in our class all year."
"I know that. I mean, I don't know her."
Across the room, Evie quietly packed her book away and pulled out a notebook.
Maya glanced over again.
Evie looked back.
Neither of them smiled.
After class, Maya walked over to Evie's desk.
"So... we're partners."
Evie looked up.
"Apparently."
Maya laughed awkwardly. "I guess we should probably figure out what we're doing."
"Probably."
There was a pause.
Maya looked at the assignment sheet.
"Do you have any ideas?"
Evie thought for a moment.
"Maybe we could do renewable energy."
Maya nodded. "That actually sounds good."
Evie looked slightly surprised.
"You agree?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"I don't know. You seem like the type who would already have a completely different idea."
Maya laughed.
"And you seem like the type who plans everything six months in advance."
Evie smiled slightly.
"I don't."
"You definitely do."
"I really don't."
Maya grinned.
"Okay, maybe I was wrong."
For the first time, Evie laughed.
It wasn't a huge laugh, but Maya noticed it.
She hadn't expected Evie to be funny.
Or easy to talk to.
They spent the next few minutes figuring out what they needed to research. Maya was surprised by how much Evie knew about the topic, while Evie was surprised by how many good ideas Maya had.
When the bell rang, Maya packed her things.
"So, should we work on it tomorrow?"
Evie nodded.
"Yeah. Same place?"
"Sure."
Maya smiled.
"Cool. See you tomorrow, Evie."
Evie paused for a moment before smiling back.
"See you, Maya."
As Maya walked away, she realised something.
Maybe being paired with Evie wasn't going to be as bad as she'd expected.
And Evie had a similar thought as she watched Maya leave.
Maybe the popular girl wasn't quite what she'd assumed either.
