LOVELORN

7|Tutoring & homecoming

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

IF CAIO was shocked to see me, he didn't show it. I, however, was bothered. It was one thing having a tutor I didn't know, but having someone I was sort of friends with, or at least on the path to becoming friends with, that was different. I didn't want him to know how much of an idiot I was.

"Naya, this is Caio. Caio, this is Naya," Mrs. Leigh introduced. Little did she know we already knew each other. "Caio was one of my best students last year when he took this class. He's an overall excellent student and I'm sure he'll be of great help to you."

I nodded and greeted him before Mrs. Leigh went on to explain how tutoring was a good opportunity for both of us. Caio had supposedly tutored people before, so at least he knew what he was doing. For the sake of my grades and the whole grounded issue, I sure hoped this would work.

"Why don't you two chat and figure out how you're going to set this up? I'm sure you'll be able to arrange the rest yourselves."

"We will," Caio confirmed.

After giving us encouraging smiles, Mrs. Leigh left the room.

Caio turned to me. "After school in the library on Monday? We can make a plan then."

"Uhm, yeah. Sure. See you then."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

After school was done, I met up with Zora outside. She was standing next to Mai who was leaning against a red SUV, which I assumed was hers. They were talking, but I was too far away to hear. As I got closer, I heard a few words including 'art' being used quite a bit.

"Naya, hey. It's good that you're here, I need a second opinion. Purple or blue?" Mai asked out of nowhere.

I blinked. "What?"

"Don't think, just answer."

Deciding not to question it, I blurted out one of the options. "Purple. Can you tell me why you need a second opinion for that now?"

She did a thumbs-up. "Purple it is. I asked Zora about a minute ago if she thought I should dye my hair purple or blue, but I thought I'd ask you too. Should I go with a more bold purple or a softer one?"

"Bold," I answered without a second thought.

It made sense with her style and personality. While she didn't have one set style, it appeared she commonly went for more alternative fashion. Sometimes she completely switched it up, however. Mai was pretty cute, though, with light brown monolid eyes, soft features, and shoulder-length hair, she could pull off any color.

"Maybe-" Zora was interrupted before she could get further.

"Caio, my dearest. You've finally arrived!"

The man in question rolled his eyes at Mai's dramatics. A smile threatening to break through was a tell-tale sign that he found his best friend amusing, however. He tossed an arm over Mai's shoulders, putting his weight against the car. The gesture drew attention to their height difference. While Mai was probably pretty average, Caio must have been at least a foot taller. I peeked closer and realized he had hints of pink in his afro. Something in me told me that was Mai's work.