talking stage- a sokeefe human au

chapter 33: the thing about maruca

*Biana POV*

"Feeling good! Like I should! Went and took a walk around the neighborhood!" I sing, rubbing the soapy loafa all around my body. "Yeahhhhhh!"

"Could you quit it! People are trying to study here!" Fitz screams from his room.

"Midterms are in two weeks, relax!" 

"Twelve days, actually. So shut up!"

"Ugh." I finish up and go to my room. I sit at my desk and scroll through Instagram until I come across a picture of Maruca Endal. 

And not just any ordinary picture, no. 

A picture of her and Tam holding hands. 

...

"I saw you and Keefe fight for that cup of hot coco sometime last week. You guys looked like you were freezing out there, are you alright?" I ask Sophie. 

"We did? I didn't feel a thing," Sophie look perplexed. 

"You didn't even notice!?!?!?" I raise my eyebrows at her. 

"No! I didn't! Why are you raising your eyebrows at me, I'm confused!?!?"

"If this were a movie, everyone would have slapped their foreheads. But because I put a little too much makeup on, I won't."

"Okay... so do you need help with midterms? Fitz texted me and said you might."

"Ugh, Fitz is so annoying! But yes, I do. How much do you know about Algebra II?"

"I took it last year, so enough. Isn't Dex in that cla- nevermind, Dex is in Pre-Cal. Couldn't you have asked Skylar? Isn't she in Algebra II?"

"Yeah, but I would prefer to get help from someone I know more. Like you..." Tam and Maruca walk by, Maruca talking and Tam looking disinterested. 

How I hate that girl!

"So what do you need help on?" Sophie snaps me out of my thoughts. "Matrices, inversing functions, quadratics? Synthetic division, maybe?" 

I look at her blankly. 

"You don't know any of it, do you?"

"I can inverse a function!" I protest.

"Do you know the quadratic formula?"

"X equals b plus or minus the square root of b squared... something, something, division, something?" 

"I guess you have part of it down. Come on, if you want to get this, you're coming to my house to study every day until the 16th, got it?"

"Get away from Fitz, and get math help?!?!?! Sign me up!" 

"I'm glad you're showing enthusiasm, but I promise you you won't once I'm done with you."

We share a laugh and continue chatting as we make our way down the hall. 

"So how are things with Tam?" she asks out of nowhere.

"Uhh, I don't know what you mean," I try to play dumb.

"I know you like him."

"No I don't!" I protest. "And even if I did, how would you know, Ms. Oblivious?"

"Cause Linh told me!" she squeals, (a rare thing) "you guys would be legendary!!! Buy your Tiana merchandise," she pretends to be a shop owner. 

"Tiana?"

"It's your ship name!" 

"You can't go shipping people that are in relationships!"

"What? You're single, right?" 

"You are completely forgetting about Tam!!! He is a complete hottie!" I shake her shoulders.

"I thought Tam broke up with Marella."

Oh my god, this girl!

"He's now dating Maruca!!!"

"Maruca? Like Maruca Endal? I thought she was really mean or something."

"She is! I don't know what Tam is doing with her!" I make a disgusted face. "How does he like that meanie, and not meeeee???" I wail.

"He might not like her. Sometimes, you like people in your head, but not your heart. I read a book on it. Very intriguing..."

"When did you get so wise?" One moment Sophie's here being oblivious, and the next she's giving relationship advice that's so deep I could drown in it! (Okay, exaggeration).

"About when I started talking to Linh about our plan to get Tiana together," she says plainly. "I mean, our plan to... help you?" 

"Nice save," I say, sarcasm dripping from my voice. 

"Eh, hehehehehehe..."