I didn't even need to say anything as I looked at Mia tight-lipped. I wasn't sure how to answer her question without being too obvious. But judging from her expression, she already knew my answer. She wasn't kidding when she said that I sucked at hiding my feelings.
"Maybe next week?" I offered as Mia's glare intensified.
Mia had a very terrifying stare. She wasn't even using much facial muscles as she looked at me. Her brows weren't furrowed, but they were just as heavy. Her eyes were expressionless, and the corner of her lip were tilted downwards. But even when she stared at me like this, it scared me. It was as scary as Daniel's glare, if not, scarier.
Daniel showed his anger through his eyes, forehead, jaw, and even through words. It was easy to figure out when Daniel was angry. Mia, on the other hand, I had no clue. So, as I looked at her I couldn't tell if she was angry, annoyed, or disappointed.
What felt like forever, Mia suddenly sighed and looked to the side. "Well, we do have class with Daniel next. Maybe I can convince you to talk to him then."
I laughed. "No. I'm good. Thanks for the offer though," I mumbled as I moved my attention to my sandwich.
Mia spent the first half of lunch trying to convince me to walk up to Daniel in the lunch area and speak to him. I first said, 'you're hilarious', and then several no's after that.
"Come on, Ellie! You need to do it. It's part of your bucket list for crying out loud. How are you going to finish it if you can't even say 'hello' to a boy?"
She made it sound so simple. But she was right. I needed to get over this fear. Daniel played a big role in my Bucket List. He was officially the key to ticking off item 21: make a difference to someone else's life. If I was successful in changing Daniel for the better, then I had done something no one else was able to do. But that meant I had to interact with him. Couldn't I just leave that for the second half of the year though? I mean, there was no rush. Right?
"I need time to get used to him," I mumbled. "And for him to get used to me."
"He's not an animal," Mia rolled her eyes. "I mean, yes, figuratively speaking, he's an animal. But literally speaking, no, he's not."
I bit my lip, refraining myself from laughing.
"How do we get Daniel Ross to talk to you?" she asked herself.
Mia's expression changed suddenly, and instinctively, my heart dropped. Uh oh. That face, she held right now, was never a good sign. It was the type of expression that could be best described as a 'light bulb moment'. And whenever she had it, it meant run. So, cautiously, I started packing my bag and preparing to run as fast I could. Whatever Mia was thinking, it wasn't good. But before I could make a run for it, the bell rang causing me to jump in my seat.
Mia rubbed her hands together mischievously and I gulped. "Wh-what are you planning?" I stuttered.
Mia frowned innocently. "Whatever do you mean?" she played dumb. Of course, she did. "Come on, we'll be late for class," she said eagerly.
The whole way there, I cautiously watched her. Trying to figure out what she planned because I knew she devised something. All I knew that it has something to do with getting me to talk to Daniel. And the fact she was refusing to tell me meant I wasn't going to like it.
As we entered class, I headlined to the back. I took a seat at the back corner, placing my bag at the feet of my chair and pulled out my exercise book. I looked over to my side expecting Mia to be there, but the seat was empty.
I frowned. My eyes surveyed the room, looking for her. She definitely walked in with me.
I found her standing at the front of the class. Just standing there. Patiently. She wasn't even doing anything. She wasn't making an announcement or looking at her phone. She just stood there with her arms crossed and tapping her foot on the linoleum floors.
"What are you doing?" I mouthed to her once we made eye contact.
She doesn't respond. Instead, she looked over her shoulder and found a sudden interest in the poster of the quadratic equation. Was this part of her plan? It seemed dumb.
More student piled into the room, taking up the remaining seats. No one sat beside me, as expected. They probably knew this was Mia's seat. But some asked me why Mia was standing at the front. I had no clue. By now, the only people that weren't in the class or sitting down was Mia, Daniel, and Kyle.
Mrs Fern walked in. Her eyes on the documents in her hands but abruptly, halted to a stop before she could topple over Mia. Mia hadn't noticed her yet as she was staring at the wall on the other side of the room as if she had a deep fascination in mathematical equations.
"Would you like to teach the class today, Amelia?" Mrs Fern asked.
Mia jumped. She looked over to Mrs Fern and her cheeks burned a bright red. She shook her head quickly before she sat at the front.
My eyes widened as I suddenly realised what her evil plan was. No way! She was trying to force Daniel to sit next to me!
I searched the room immediately to confirm my suspicions and I was right. There were only two seats left and of course, they were the one beside me and the other one beside Mia. How was she so confident that Daniel would sit beside me? What if Daniel decided to sit next to Mia instead? I mean, I highly doubted Daniel liked me and I was pretty sure he hated me.
It wasn't too long after this that Daniel and Kyle entered the room in all their glory. I averted my eyes immediately, trying not to notice them.
From the corner of my eyes though, I could see Daniel. He didn't look happy. Who pissed him off?
"Sorry that we're late, Miss," Kyle apologised first. Daniel followed with a mumbled apology.
Mrs Fern didn't even bother looking at them when she told them to take a seat. Both Kyle and Daniel observed the room. I was looking at them now. Daniel's eyes landed on the seat beside me before our eyes met. I could tell he was thinking to himself. Probably debating whether he wanted to sit beside me or risk sitting at the front.
He took a step towards my direction, but Kyle stopped him with a hand to the shoulder. He leaned in towards his ears, and Daniel's expression changed from annoyed to super irritated. Daniel mumbled something under his breath and abruptly, sat next to Mia.
The look on Mia's face was priceless. I tried hard not to burst out into fits of laughter as Mia looked at him wide eyed. Her plan wasn't as bulletproof as she hoped.
Kyle took the seat beside me and presented me with his million dollar smile. "Hey, Ellie," he whispered as he took out the books from his bags.
"Hi," I responded back with a smile.
I was in such a good mood I didn't feel embarrassed or awkward. Suddenly, I noticed that Kyle was smiling shyly.
Curiosity got the best of me and I turned slightly more towards him.
"So, what did you say to Daniel? He looked like he wanted to kill you."
Kyle chuckled, low enough so Mrs Fern couldn't hear. Mrs Fern hated it when we talked in class, even if it was independent study time.
"I told him I wanted to sit next to you," he whispered back, and I felt my cheek burned. "I mean, considering we're friends. Right?" he added quickly. "We're lab partners, so only makes sense if I sat next to you instead of Daniel."
It didn't make sense. Daniel sat next to me in English. Regardless, I accepted his answer and nodded. I was somewhat glad that it was Kyle sitting beside me and not Daniel.
"Besides, I kind of figured out you're scared of Daniel."
My eyes widened. "What?" I cleared my throat. "Is it that obvious?"
Kyle nodded amusedly.
I looked back at Mia. She was glaring at Daniel from the side, as if lasers were coming out of her eyes. Daniel, however, ignored her as if she weren't there.
Halfway through class, Kyle leaned towards me. "So, what happened between you and Mia?" he asked.
"What? Nothing," I answered panickily. "What makes you think something happened?"
"Well, usually, you two are always stuck together. Makes it really hard to approach you when you're with her," he answered bluntly. My cheeks burned again. "So, why the sudden change?"
"No reason," I lied.
I continued pretending to be extremely fascinated by the reading material. I was too nervous to let Kyle discover the truth or risk him finding out that the only reason why Mia wanted Daniel to speak with me was because I was a Peer Support Leader. If I did, it wouldn't be long before he told Daniel.
"I find that really hard to believe."
I looked at him. Since when was he so curious about me and Mia? It wasn't like we were friends.
"Well, are you going to tell me?"
"She's a bit crazy," I found myself saying. That came out wrong. Kyle frowned. "She wanted me to sit next to Daniel."
Why did I tell him this? Of all the things I could've said, I told him the truth. There was something seriously wrong with me. Why couldn't I think of a viable lie?
"Oh, why?" he looked disappointed.
"She's making fun of me," I laughed awkwardly, but low enough so Mrs Fern wouldn't hear. "I told her that I hadn't realised that my neighbour was Daniel until I saw him on first day. So, she dared me to approach him and be like, 'hey, welcome to Mackellar College' and then walk off." And the Oscar for the worst liar of the year goes to Elizabeth Scott!
"Well, that's a shame. I guess you should be glad I wanted to sit next to you then," Kyle winked.
I was taken back by the wink but cleared my throat and looked away. Did he just wink at me? Why?
Before I could ask him what he meant by that, Mrs Fern's voice echoed in the room. I jumped in my seat as I straightened by gaze, fearing I was in trouble. But Mrs Fern wasn't calling me but was calling Daniel.
"Daniel Ross," the voice was so loud it caught everyone's attention. I found Daniel laying his head on the table, his eyes closed and literally snoring.
"Mr Ross," Mrs Fern said again, but Daniel doesn't budge. "Mr Ross!" Daniel jolted up. He took in his surroundings with tired eyes before they turned to look up at Mrs Fern. "Is my class boring you, Mr Ross?"
Daniel yawned, leaning back into his seat. "What do you think?" he asked monotonously.
Mrs Fern's lips thinned. She didn't speak another word. She moved to the teacher's desk, pulled out a pink slip from one of the drawers and handed it to Daniel.
"I had about enough of you, Daniel. Head to the Guidance Counsellor's office at once."
Daniel carelessly took the slip. He stood up, grabbing his unopened backpack, and headed straight to the door.
"Wait," Mrs Fern said.
Daniel turned around, his expression bored, like he couldn't wait to get out of here so he could sleep more. Mrs Fern observed the room until her eyes landed on me.
"Miss Scott," Mrs Fern started, and I was absolutely terrified that I was going to be reprimanded for talking during class too. "Can you please go with Mr Ross and ensure that he actually goes to the guidance counsellor's office?" she asked politely. Why did it have to be me?
I felt so tongue tied at the moment, I couldn't say a single word. I observed my surroundings noticing everyone's eyes on me. Even Daniel's. But not with a bored expression. Rather, with a newfound interest and that made me nervous. What was he thinking?
Out of all the students here in this class right now, being almost twenty-three, why did she have to pick me? It was like the world was against me. But then again, Mrs Fern most likely knew that I was his Peer Support buddy. Of course, she would know. Almost all the teachers knew who we were buddies with.
I nodded, stood up and left the room with Daniel. I didn't bother bringing my stuff with me. We headed to Mr Halliday's office in silence. I maintained at least two steps of distance between us with me at front and I could feel his eyes on me, making my spine shiver.
I tried speeding up my pace, hoping to get there faster so I could leave him quicker. But the walk there felt like a century long even though it was only two minutes.
When we reached Mr Halliday's office, I sighed with relief. I knocked on the door—probably a bit too eagerly, which caused Daniel to frown. I ignored him and listened carefully for Mr Halliday to answer from the other side. Mr Halliday responded with his usual, 'come in'. I opened the door, stepping aside for Daniel to enter. I told Mr Halliday what happened in exactly eleven words and turned around to leave.
"Miss Scott," Mr Halliday called before I could shut the door. No!
"Yes?"
"As Daniel's buddy, I thought it would be beneficial if you joined us."
Wait. Did he just say, 'buddy'? I looked over to Daniel, realisation dawning on his face. My plan was ruined. From a single, minor request, my whole plan just exploded right in front of my face. Not like the plan was foolproof but that was the only plan I had.
I hesitated before I nodded quietly and sat beside Daniel. His expression was back to being stoic and looked over to Mr Halliday as if he were trying to prove something. Was this some sort of act? No way could Daniel act so cool about this. If I were in his position, I'd probably be crying and begging Mr Halliday not to suspend me.
"Now, Mr Ross," Mr Halliday began, "can you please tell me what happened in class?"
I never seen Mr Halliday in action before. His usual bubbly self was now sober. His voice was deep and stern, with a little hint of sympathy.
"I fell asleep."
He was so blunt. I was honestly expecting Daniel to come up with an elaborate excuse like he couldn't get enough sleep last night. Or a smart ass comment like how he was testing teacher's response times when someone sleeps in class.
"Did you not sleep well last night?" Mr Halliday asked.
I was now intrigued. Did Daniel have problems at home? Was he sleeping in a dumpster last night?
Daniel shook his head. "No, history's just boring."
He wasn't wrong about that. I snorted in amusement, and it wasn't very subtle because Mr Halliday looked at me briefly. His eyes frowning at me. I hid it with a cough.
Mr Halliday ignored me. "Unfortunately, Mr Ross, this behaviour isn't acceptable here at Mackellar." I doubted it was acceptable in any other school. "As punishment, it is only fair that I give you detention given this isn't the first time you've been in my office in the past week."
Wait, what? Was he serious? How many times has Daniel been in here? The school year just started. I wasn't sure if I should be shocked, appalled or impressed.
"Okay," Daniel replied casually with no care in the world.
Mr Halliday began filling out a form. "I want you to start cleaning the courtyard after school tomorrow for the next two months on every Friday." Yikes. Sucks to be Daniel. I wouldn't want to spend my Friday afternoons staying back to clean the courtyard while everyone goes home for the weekend.
Daniel's posture straightened. He looked ready to fight it, but he held it in. He suddenly glared at me as if I was responsible for getting him into detention. Hey, you were the idiot who fell asleep in class! I tried ignoring him by concentrating on the way Mr Halliday wrote but all I could feel were the daggers Daniel was sending me.
"Oh, and Miss Scott, you'll be there to supervise him and ensure he does what he's meant to do," Mr Halliday added.
"Wait, what?" Did I just get detention? That wasn't fair! I didn't do anything wrong. Why was I being punished to spend my Friday afternoon babysitting a man child?
Mr Halliday arched a brow. "Is there a problem?" he asked His expression was serious that it made me shrivel into the seat.
"Uh," I shook my head, chuckling awkwardly. "No, no. No problem."
This time, I glared at Daniel. How could he do this to me? He was unaffected by my scowl and instead, shrugged it off like it was a bug. Then it dawned on me. I'd be forced to spend more time with Daniel, alone, while he knew I was his peer support buddy.
My life couldn't get any worse.