RUNNING

Chapter Nine(unedited)

“Exchange gift among yourselves, for it increases love between you"....

It was a knock that woke Maraya up from her sleep, she wake up more refreshed and well over her ex-boyfriend. Now the only thing in her mind is her wicked plan for her new roommate.

“hello girlfriend.” Beatrice smiles as Maraya opens the door drowsily.

“Hi.” Maraya answered and moves away from the door to allow her friend in. she walks weakly back to her bed and Beatrice took a seat on Afnan’s study chair.

“Wow. You didn’t tell me you have a new roommate.” Beatrice commented as she took her seat.

“The story of my life.” Maraya snorted.

“tell me about it.” Beatirce asked excitedly. If there is a degree for gossip and backbiting, Beatrice will certainly have a first class in it. There is hardly a time you will sit with her that she will not bring up a conversation about other people and it is one thing that Maraya dislikes about her. She is always keen to know about what is going on in others peoples life with no intention of helping them. Maraya was silent for some moments contemplating whether or not to tell Beatrice about her roommate, she knows whatever she is going to do to Afnan is not right, but a part of her urges her to go ahead and teach Afnan the lesson of her life afterall she has dared to overthrow her.

Maybe it was all afnan’s fault, maybe she was the one that started it all by working to hard to outstand her, she plans to distract her roommate by all means but she didn’t know the way to do it. She is just with her for two days and she knows almost noting about afnan; not her weakness, not her strength. Maybe she was taking step to tame her roommate too soon, maybe she still need more time to know her. She was lost in her thought that for some moment she forgets that Beatrice is still sitting in the room looking at her.

“you did not call me here to have me watch over you, I guess?” she asked looking closely at Maraya.

“Of course not.” Maraya said coming out of her thought.

“So tell me what’s eating you up, or who is stepping on your nerve?” Beatrice asked smiling.

“I don’t know if this is the right time. I’m just so confused that I don’t know what I am going to do, is it that I am not very serious last semester or ….”Maraya starts rambling.

“Stop it.” Beatrice shouts at her to get her to focuses. She knows her friend easily lose focus whenever she loses something precious to her but she mostly get this worked up when it had to do with her education. It was yesterday that Akin told her about Maraya’s inability to top their class, she knows Maraya will be very sad about because she has a funny way of reacting to failure. To Maraya, failure is a product of weakness and it is something she can never stands. She believes that success and failure are completely based on your own choice and if you are not successful in life you chose not to due to your weakness.

Maraya hardly talks about her failure even though they are friends, she usually keeps her feeling to herself and believe things will heal with time. During the time her boyfriend betrayed her trust, she tried so much to talk Maraya out of her pain but each time she mentioned it, maraya always wave it off. Maybe, she is ready to confide in her and talk about her failed relationship or maybe she want to discuss about her school failure since that one is fresh but then, she mentioned someone getting on her nerve? Beatrice keep thinking to herself and watch Maraya as she holds her face in her palm.

“Do you want to talk about it or not?” Beatrice bends besides Maraya and holds her hand. She looked so vulnerable and so different from the strong willed and confident Maraya. Her greatest weakness is failure, she don’t like people getting close to her in achievement since they were in secondary school and anybody that manages to get close to her is an enemy. Beatrice is never the competing type which is why they still remain together since their childhood but the truth is that she dislikes the selfish trait in Maraya.