Angel in the Courtyard [Book 2]

Chapter 19 - Khaleel

What a dumb way to start class. Talking about my favourite colour and hobbies wasn't going to bring me closer to the people who mattered. Arisa wasn't going to stop being afraid of me and Matilda wasn't going to forgive me. Then there was the rest of the class. How many of them blew up Hino's email with messages about how I should take over for Loyal? I never wanted my friend's title. I never wanted to take on the burden that came with receiving all the answers to tests and exams. I just wanted to support my boy. I wanted to make sure he had enough money to survive in the real world. I mean—why else would Zander, Hino, and I agree to divide a 30% cut for ourselves and give the rest to Loyal?

None of it mattered anymore. Loyal was gone and I had no intention of offering his special services to anyone. His clients could whine and bitch until they got carpal tunnel, I was not going to become the devil's successor.

Mr. Arkins finally started an introduction to biology. His class was only an hour and a half but time flew by because of his peculiar teaching style. He was so interactive with his students that he even got me, the guy who wanted to waste time staring out the window, to pay attention. By the end of it, I was surprised by my own interest in the subject.

My next class was politics with Mr. Hermans. I wasn't particularly looking forward to it but there was no point in complaining. I grabbed my textbooks and stepped into the hall. I could feel a lot of eyes on me. I didn't know if it was because of Loyal's auto-reply or some other dramatic reason. I was able to scare a few people off by staring back, but others were more resilient. I was just about to reach the staircase when a kid appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of me. I say kid because she barely reached my shoulders. Her hair was long, thick and jet-black and her eyes were big and brown.

I stared down at her, waiting for her to move out of the way, but she didn't. I decided to be the bigger person and walk around her but she blocked my path. "Do I fucking know you?" I glared daggers.

"Do you?" she replied.

"I don't so get the hell out of my way."

I felt a hand whack my arm. My head turned to find Arisa standing behind me. "What is wrong with you?" she asked. "You've been prickly all day, Khaleel. How about you rein it in a little bit?"

How long had she been there? What was she doing keeping so close to me? She was the one who said my world was too chaotic and scary for her. Now she was looking for reasons to dive back in? I couldn't help but be frustrated by the whole situation. "I'm trying to rein it in," I said, grinding my teeth. "I'm—it's hard—I can't rein in anything when you act like an Arisa!"

"I don't know what that means," she sighed.

I couldn't contain my scowl. "Just lay off for a bit would you?" I snapped, stealing the hall's attention. "It's hard enough liking you—at least give me a fucking minute to move on."

Arisa blinked. Her blue eyes were calm and collected but I could see through her facade. I had hurt her with my words.

Before I could attract more attention, I moved past the kid and hurried to the staircase. I didn't say anything wrong. I didn't. Arisa was the one who said she didn't know if she could be with a me and now she was acting like nothing happened? And whacked my arm around like we were friends? It was messed up.

I rushed down the steps and found Matilda Hawkins  standing at the bottom of the staircase. She was chatting with a former student council member. A timid looking guy who's name I couldn't remember. My feet stopped on their own and my heart clamped up. Karma was at work. I was having a hard time reaching Arisa, because the universe decided to give me a taste of my own bitter medicine. I was struggling to overcome my unrequited feelings for her, because I made it difficult for Matilda to overcome hers.

My feet dragged me to the last step. "How are you?" It was all I could ask to get her attention.

The timid boy scurried off as soon as he spotted me. Matilda faked a smile. "Great, but I have to be getting to my next class—so, see you around!"

"Wait," I blurted. "I'll walk you."

Matilda maintained her composure. She was also wearing a facade but unlike Arisa's it was a lot easier to see through. "No, thanks," she told me. "Bye."

And just like that, she was gone.

My chest clamped up tighter still. I wasn't going to hit on her. I wasn't going to ask her any insensitive questions about her feelings towards me either. I just—seriously, from the bottom of my heart, wanted to tell her how sorry I was. I didn't know if any good was going to come of it but I wanted to try. Maybe the word stopped having meaning. Maybe 'sorry' wasn't enough anymore. Maybe I overused it and now she felt like there was no weight or sincerity behind it. Even if that were the case, I couldn't just let things be.