"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." – Proverbs 17:22
Maya slammed her locker closed before turning in the direction of the parking lot. She heaved a large sigh and swung her backpack over one shoulder. The school day was finally over. Now all that awaited her was a few hours' worth of homework and a long shift at Scottie's.
Maya's father, still recovering from his injuries, was proud of her for working so hard while also juggling good grades in school. But Mr. Mallory was concerned that Maya was too busy for a high school senior. Most students who were involved in a sport didn't work as many hours as Maya did. Plus, she barely had enough time to relax and enjoy herself during the week—it was always go, go, go.
Secretly, Maya knew the reason why she continued to work so hard and so often: it kept her mind off Jake. She knew the moment she had some downtime, her thoughts would turn to their fight—and there would be no containing her emotions when that happened. No matter how many times she told herself it didn't matter, the truth was it mattered immensely. Jake had left a raw hole in her heart, and she still cared for him, deep down.
But Maya's exterior hardened at the reminder. So what? Maybe the reason she was so soft when it came to Jake was because she still clung to the hope that their relationship could be saved. What if they called it quits? Tears suddenly stung her eyes, and she almost wished she hadn't thought like that. But the realistic side of her knew there was some logic to the argument. If they officially broke up, there would be no more need to apologize, to submit, to compromise. It would be a done deal.
And what would others think? Maya ran through the scenarios in her mind: "Oh my gosh, you and Jake broke up? But you were so cute together!" "Well, we couldn't agree on what colleges to apply for, so we had a big fight and called the whole thing off."
Yeah, no.
Maya sighed and pulled the dangling backpack strap onto her other shoulder. She looped her thumbs into the pockets of her jeans and continued walking towards the parking lot. There was so much more to her and Jake's fight than some petty argument over college apps, of course. They had come to the harsh realization that neither of them had thought much about the future. Without some degree of planning, they would never make it more than another year together.
Maya bit down and began chewing on her bottom lip. Don't cry, don't cry, she told herself. Up ahead, she spotted her mother's car, waiting to pick her up and take her to work. She knew, somewhere out there, Jake was heading home with Koa in his car. Their carpooling had been temporarily suspended during Jake and Maya's fight.
Despite Maya's best efforts, tears started trickling down her cheeks, and she wished her emotions would have waited just a few minutes longer before acting up. She quickened her pace and hoped no one was watching her meltdown. Finally, when she reached her mother's car, she yanked open the door and hopped inside.
"How was your day—oh, honey!" Mrs. Mallory instinctively reached out and wrapped her arms around her daughter. "What's wrong?"
Maya sniffled and wiped her nose. "It's nothing, Mom," she said quietly. "It's stupid."
Mrs. Mallory shushed her and planted a quick kiss on her forehead. Because there was a long line of vehicles behind her, she put the car into drive and headed out of the parking lot, stealing glances at her daughter all the while.
Maya soon stopped crying and resumed her cool, stoic composure. Her mother, who had been waiting patiently, quickly took control of the conversation. "Now, you and I both know that wasn't about something stupid," she said gently. "What's really going on?"
Maya groaned inwardly and debated whether or not to tell the truth. She figured her mother was bound to find out sooner or later anyway. Moms were like that.
"I miss him," she said quietly, and as soon as the words escaped her lips, she started crying all over again.
This time, Mrs. Mallory was stopped at a red light, so she held her daughter a little longer and wiped the streaming tears from her cheeks. "Shh," she said softly. "I know you do. I've been waiting for you to realize it."
"You have?"
"Your relationship with Jake couldn't be tossed aside so easily as that. I know it, Jake's parents know it, and you know it."
Maya pulled away and wiped her nose with the side of her pointer finger. She narrowed her eyes. "You've been talking with Jake's parents?"
"We've called each other a few times, yes."
Maya was a little caught off guard at finding out that their parents had been conspiring behind their backs. "What do you talk about?" she asked curiously.
"Oh, mostly about you and Jake." She took her foot off the brake as soon as the light turned green. "It's hard for us to watch you two grow apart."
Maya sat thoughtfully in her seat, watching a few water drops skim their way across the passenger window. It hadn't rained, so maybe her mother gotten the car washed today.
"What are you thinking about?" Mrs. Mallory asked suddenly.
"I don't know," she mumbled truthfully. It pained her to hear that she and Jake were growing apart, but wasn't that what she wanted?
No. Deep down, she knew that was the exact opposite. I've been fooling myself this whole time.
"You don't have to go to work if you don't want to," Mrs. Mallory added.
Maya realized that they were at the fateful intersection, with their house to the left and Scottie's Surf Shack to the right.
"You can call in sick, honey. Take the day off for once. Spend some time with your dad. You know he's been wanting to finish that movie with you."
But Mrs. Mallory's words reminded Maya of the many conversations she'd had with her father, and that fueled a sudden surge of energy within her heart. "No," she said firmly. "I can work."
Her mother obediently made a right-hand turn, but not before giving Maya a worried glance. "Call me if you need anything, okay?" she said.
Maya nodded. "I'll be fine."
When she stepped out of the car in the parking lot, she calmly wiped away the remaining tears and swallowed the rest of her emotions. It was time for business.
Pushing open the front door, Maya strode inside and saw one of the guys who worked the earlier shift. He greeted her with a smile. "Good, you're here!"
"Hey Ethan," she said. "Is Nikki here yet?"
"No, but you're a little early."
Maya glanced at her phone and realized he was right. Well, that was a first. Usually Nikki arrived before her.
A few minutes later, though, the front door opened again to reveal a slightly breathless and beaming Nikki. She jogged into the employee's room at the back of the store and immediately came face-to-face with Maya.
"There you are!" Maya said. "I beat you this time."
Nikki just rolled her eyes and punched in. She grabbed her apron and tied it around her waist, while also rolling up the sleeves of her shirt so they wouldn't get in the way.
"Hmm, leaving your hair down today?" Maya asked, noticing that her coworker had neglected to put it up in its usual bun.
Nikki patted her brown locks thoughtfully. "Yeah, I think it's time for a change. And Scottie won't mind."
Maya shrugged and pulled up her own hair into a stylish messy bun.
"Something wrong?" Nikki asked.
"Nope. Just a little tired." The lie came smoothly off her tongue, and Maya immediately regretted it. She had avoided all conversation about Jake for over a week, so naturally she was reluctant to talk about her boy problems all of a sudden. But she had grown close to Nikki, and she felt guilty about keeping secrets.
A ding from Maya's phone spared her from any further talking, so she gratefully pulled it out and checked the new text. It was from Hannah.
Nikki grinned and pointed at the screen. "That sounds like fun," she said.
Maya abruptly turned and realized that Nikki had caught a glance at the text over Maya's shoulder.
"Oh," the latter said, a bit noncommittally. "Yeah." She reread the words on her screen again, not really sure what to do. Hannah had expressed her interest in going on another double date with her and Jake, so it looked like Maya had some explaining to do whether she liked it or not.
An idea suddenly came to her. What if she didn't have to go on this double date? It would spare her an awkward conversation with Hannah for sure. Instead of Maya and Jake going with Hannah and Benji, maybe Nikki could go in Maya's place. Hannah loved meeting new people, and finding Nikki a date would get Maya's mind off her problems with Jake. It seemed perfect.
"Wait," she said, turning to face Nikki with a hopeful smile. "I have a better plan."
Nikki raised an eyebrow. "Okay?" she cued.
"Jake and I have already gone on a double date with Hannah and Benji, her boyfriend. So what if you went on a double date with them instead?"
Nikki wrinkled her nose. "Um, who would be my date?"
"That's what I'm here for." Maya opened her arms as if to encompass the entire world. "I have connections! I can totally find you a guy in time for the date."
"I don't know, Maya..."
"The last time we talked about this, you agreed to go along with my plan." She smiled broadly, knowing she had the upper hand.
Nikki nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I know."
"Why are you so hesitant? This will be super fun, and Hannah and Benji are really nice."
Maya was about to text a reply, but Nikki grabbed her wrist and gave her a pained expression. "Wait—Maya, please don't say anything yet," she pleaded. "I'm not sure if I want you to find a date for me."
"Why?" she asked curiously.
"It's not that I have cold feet," Nikki said, with the air of one who has experience in the boy department. "I just...I have someone in mind already, that's all."
Maya's expression brightened. She had thought as much! Something was definitely going on between Nikki and Koa. If Maya could set the two up, it would be exactly what she needed to get her mind off her turbulent emotions. "Spill," she demanded, taking a seat on the counter and leaning forward eagerly.
Nikki rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "See, this is why I didn't want to tell you."
"Start with his name."
Her smile vanished. "No, I can't do that...I'd rather have him be a secret. We're not even official or anything, so if word gets around to him that I said we were a 'thing,' that would be super awkward for me."
Maya nodded sympathetically. "I won't say anything," she promised. Then, deciding to push her coworker a little further, she added, "I probably don't even know this guy unless he goes to Ventura High."
She paused. "Well..."
"Ooh, are you dating younger men?"
Nikki laughed and swatted her arm. "Hey! That's not necessarily a bad thing."
"So you are into younger guys. Interesting." She feigned curiosity.
Nikki just waved her comment aside with a toss of her hand. "Look, the important thing is, I'm interested in this guy and I don't want him to hear that I went on a date with someone else. I want to stay available, just in case."
Maya wiggled her eyebrows at the word "available," causing both of them to giggle. "Alright," she assented. "I won't set you up with anyone. But can I text Hannah back and say that you can go?"
"Sure, as long as the double date doesn't conflict with my work schedule."
"Do you have any evening classes at college?"
Nikki shook her head, so Maya took that as her cue to text an explanation to Hannah, ending with a suggestion for the date to take place next Friday night. Nikki, once again, watched over Maya's shoulder and smiled when the text was sent.
"Perfect," she said.
Suddenly, the door to the employee's back room burst open, and Scottie came in with a troubled look on his face. "There you are!" he exclaimed. "What's taking you girls so long?"
Maya and Nikki exchanged a look, trying to hide their smiles. Maya quickly hopped down from the counter and wiped her hands on her apron. "Sorry," she said. "We'll be right out."
Scottie gave both of them another warning look before hurrying back to the front of the restaurant.
The girls laughed quietly to themselves. "I hadn't realized we were almost ten minutes late," Nikki said, embarrassed.
"Time flies when you're having fun," Maya chuckled.
"And it flies even faster when you're talking about boys," Nikki agreed.
They pushed open the door and headed to their stations before another valuable minute could slip by.