Don't Look Behind You ⇒ Lucaya [DISCONTINUED]

girl meets mixed up

{r i l e y}

The day passed by slower than usual. This seemed strange to me, as most of the time, hours went by rapidly for me. Maybe the clocks went back today or something; I had no idea.
Then I recalled a day in which I was mind-numbingly bored, and was typing in random things into the Google search bar, one of these things being 'time slowing down'. I'd been led to a strangely interesting article that said that apparently, if you were having fun, time would go by quicker in your perspective, whereas if you were not enjoying yourself, time would be sure to go as soon as possible.

But I didn't think I wasn't 'enjoying myself'. I was meeting up with my friends for the first time in ages, and had even made a new one. That was quite an achievement for me, and in normal circumstances, I would have been elated. So why wasn't I feeling good about Lucas Friar?

Of course I felt good about him. He was pretty, charming and endearing all at once, for being the new kid at school. He seemed...well, perfect. There was a stereotype that newcomers were supposed to be quiet, complacent and stoic, but this boy was the complete opposite. In later months, I liked to think that this was the cause of my crush on him, but admittedly, it was not.

Lucas Friar, from my fourteen-year old self's perspective was nothing short of a model, and I had to make him mine. My best friend was intervening and I could not allow that. Surely if she liked me, she would step aside, just this once?
She didn't seem to get the hint (or maybe she was just trying to spite me). All throughout the day, the two were bickering in a way old couples do, and though I didn't want to show my true emotions on my face, it was disgusting.
Clever me realised right at midday, that this was the root of my uneasiness. Lucas and Maya. Which was when I started to question myself.

I'd never claimed Lucas. He wasn't an object that could be picked up from a store and be deemed 'yours'. If he liked Maya more than me, then I should've let him. Who was I to demolish my best friend's happiness?
The virtues ended shortly after I came back from the bathrooms and glimpsed Maya and Lucas teasing each other again. And it was only lunch-time.

They caught sight of me finally and urged me to sit with them at lunch. I was flattered and replied that I would come later; I had to visit my locker.
This was a lie. I just needed time for thinking about what the heck was going in my brain.
I did not like Lucas. I did not like Lucas. I'd known him for less than a full day, for god's sake! I knew nobody who developed a liking for someone in less than twenty-four hours. Even I wasn't capable of such a thing.
But it seemed like I was.

I delayed my journey to the cafeteria for as long as possible, by walking in 'pigeon-steps' leaving me with time to think. And the more I thought, the more one prominent idea became less and less recondite: I wanted Lucas Friar.
Refusal of that fact would be me straight-up lying, and I couldn't do that to myself.

Mustering up my self-respect and womanly power, I stormed through the panelled doors of the cafeteria, to spot my friends bantering with each other on the far right. Grabbing a juicy, crimson apple out of my bag, I grabbed an empty seat next to Farkle Minkus, someone I would call my 'other' best friend.

Farkle was an impish boy, with terrible bread hair and an atrocious taste in fashion. When he wasn't wearing turtlenecks in vibrant colours, he was wearing clothes from the '80's. This usually gave people a bad first impression and made them stay away from him. Farkle was the embodiment of the phrase 'don't judge a book by its cover', though; his personality was impossible to imitate. He was goofy, childish and the genius of the school. Every year, he participated in this quiz show called the 'Buggie Awards' and scored amazingly well.

"What took you so long, Riley?" he asked, munching on some cheese-flavoured chips that I despised. If he wasn't careful, his tongue would be bright orange by the time he finished the packet, and his breath would be fetid.

"Uh, stuff. My bag fell over as I was holding it and everything went everywhere," I replied, eyes lingering over to where Maya and Lucas were listening to the conversation. "How are you guys? Did you make it through here alright, Lucas?"

Huckleberry (as Maya had ingeniously dubbed him) smiled and nodded, in a way too adorable not to mention. "Yeah, I did, with Maya and Farkle's help."

Oh! So he was actively denying the fact that I had helped him too (sort of). We were playing hard-to-get, were we? I'd show him hard-to-get!
My mouth did not stop moving and my larynx did not stop vibrating until Maya stood up all of a sudden. She looked desperate for something, though I couldn't name what. The bathroom?

"Guys, I just need to go to the toilets quickly," she said, confirming my guess. "I'll see you soon."
With that, she fled, leaving the rest of us in a silence too awkward to be described. Farkle sat there emitting crunching sounds from the rip-off Cheetos, I sat there twirling my hair desolately and playing with my apple cork, and Lucas...he, well, just sat there. Looking nice.

It was Farkle who broke the silence by announcing that he would have to go too.
"I'm also leaving for the weekend after school. My parents have a meeting in Virginia, which I have to attend as well. I'll see you on Monday, or possibly Sunday."

Mrs and Mr Minkus were the founders of Minkus Enterprises, a prestigious company with prestigious people working for it. Nobody was too sure what they did, but the only information they needed was the popularity of the entity. They could make up their own theories after that. That was an interesting metaphor for just about everything.

So that left me and the Texan.

All my bravery had shrivelled up and I didn't feel right talking to him anymore. Why was everyone going all of a sudden? No, I wasn't even exaggerating, the whole student body was standing up and forming and a straight line out of the emergency exit doors. What was going on?

"Riley," Lucas nudged me, forcing me to stand."It's a fire alarm. We need to get moving."
At last I zoned back in and followed the rest of the school out of the door, on the path to freedom. This wasn't the real thing, right? Just a drill!

I cursed myself as soon as I saw the deadly red flame engulfing the Science department.
People were taking pictures, crying and what-not, but most of us were looking on to the scene in front of us in horror. Mr Lewis our class teacher had made us stand in a single line, and was reading off our names on the register in an anxious tone. I scanned the diameter, recognising a few people, and was relieved to find everyone I knew was present.

I nudged Maya next to me, and whispered, "I'm glad everyone's here. I don't know what I would do if somebody got hurt."

'Maya' did not look at me in a friendly manner. In fact, the Maya I had nudged wasn't Maya at all. She had long black hair tied in a bun and a stoic face. Where was Maya? At the end of the line?

Wait.

She couldn't still be in the bathrooms, could she?

Just as that thought struck my mind, Mr Lewis arrived at her name in the list. He waited for a short span of two seconds before widening his eyes in fear. In those two seconds, my heart arrived in my mouth, beating rapidly and out of rhythm. Lucas, in front of me, tensed and clenched his hands into fists.

"Where is Maya?" our teacher demanded, doing his level best to maintain a straight face. His frowning lips were thin, thinner than the chances of Maya getting out of the school in time. The fire snaked its way hurriedly through the school, not caring if it devoured everything in its path. Fire trucks were making their way towards the campus, but even they couldn't beat flames in terms of speed.

Where was Maya?

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this is a bit shorter than my other chapters, but i hope it lives up to your expectations!! i honestly hope i finish this freaking book before i die, because by the rate i'm going, the future doesn't look too bright.