𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬

CHAPTER 41

Miya above wearing her classic 'barely there' smile.

eccedentesiast

(n.) someone who hides pain behind a smile

Wearing a baseball cap low on her head, Kiara zipped a hoodie over her black romper as she trudged up to the arrival zone at the Hong Kong airport holding a placard labelled 'Miya Demir'. Holding up the sign, she keenly observed as an influx of travellers carrying suitcases in all shapes and sizes formed a kaleidoscope of colours. 

Finally she spotted a slender woman dressed to the nines in a maroon pantsuit strut through the gates, looking poised as ever with her dark brown hair slicked back into a ponytail. Spotting Kiara in the distance, she hurried her pace as her the corner of her mouth lifted ever so slightly– the only indication she ever gave of her delight. Unbothered about decorum, she squealed in excitement as she crushed Miya's body into her own before grabbing the suitcase and ushering the infamous tech mogul into her car.

Leaning over to grab her hand, Kiara smiled, "Has it really been that long?"

Miya raised a brow, "Four years."

"I've missed you."

"We missed you too, you know."

Softening her tone, Kiara tentatively asked, "Did you guys keep in contact?"

"Not really, we all just drifted away. There was the occasional text but we hadn't met in person for ages."

"Well, we'll make it right. How does a girls trip sound?"

"I'm busy."

"Take a break then."

"I don't take breaks from work."

"There's a first time for everything."

"If you can get the others to agree, then maybe."

"I'll convince Alia and you persuade Diana."

"I said you not we."

"Geographical convenience. You two are in US while we're in UK."

"Planning on using emotional blackmail to influence them?"

Playfully sticking her tongue out, Kiara stuck her middle finger up as the two women easily slipped back into their old rapport. They wordlessly breathed in the sights of Hong Kong, sparse conversation littering the comfortable silences. She knew Miya well enough to read the brunette's intentions through slight changes in her demeanour. Her past had broken something within her, so much so that she had subconsciously developed a fear of being herself. 

The girls had only just managed to get her to trust them enough to open up but it had been so long since she truly laughed or smiled and as much as they wished it, she could never act so freely. Her past was still as mysterious to them as the day they met her and anytime they asked, she would simply state that it was irrelevant and that was that– end of topic, conversation over, moving on.

They arrived at their old high school, Discovery College, as they drank in the familiar sights of their hometown, Discovery Bay. The new school principal, James Smith, smiled an adder's grin as rushed over to greet them. With thinning hair and a freshly pressed suit straining against his pudgy figure, it was nearly impossible to believe he was only in his mid-thirties. Eagerly spouting self-promotion, he guided them around the school for a short tour.