Unmatched

The Group Meeting

The rest of my day had gone quite nicely, Luca making up a majority of the fun. We decided to go into another pub by the corner after Goodman's, and met up with a mutual friend of his from his aviation school.

What time is that meeting at again? I wondered.

I checked my calendar.

4pm.

It was only 3:30, and I had taken my shower after the gym, cooked, and did most of my homework.

Maybe Maya will be at that meeting. I wonder if she even enjoys these group tours.

I hadn't told Luca about my newfound interest, even while he pushed to hear about my love life. But Maya isn't a love interest. I just met her. I probably wasn't even on her mind. 

I rubbed my face, I had more things to focus on anyway. I looked at my calendar for today.

4pm - Group Meeting

5pm - Dinner

6pm - Tutoring

Tutoring? Oh yeah. I had set up a tutoring session for a high school kid from my neighborhood on a coding project he needed help with. I remember those days. And that class.

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I groaned as I turned over in my bed. I had taken a nap, a long one it seemed.

I cracked my eyes open to see the time, 3:58pm. I groaned again and closed my eyes again. Maybe 5 more-

Shit. THE MEETING.

I sat right up, wiping my sweaty hair out of my face, throwing on a hoodie, jeans, and my shoes, gosh how had time swept by? I rushed into the bathroom, and fixed my hair, pinning back a few strands and made my decent down to the main floor.

I was too tired, or too rushed to even think about where to sit that I took my first chance at the first open seat in the group.

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I glanced over at who decided to sit next to me. Looking like she had just woken up, her dark wavy hair rolled down reaching her mid back.

So that's what it looks like dried and down. It looks so, soft. She looks so,

As I looked at her, she turned and those brown wide eyes made eye contact with me again. To which I didn't hesitate giving her a friendly smile to.

Her face stayed neutral, and she looked the other way, not even as affected as she was yesterday that I was in her presence. Maybe she didn't recognize me?

Right as I was about to say something, Anna started our meeting.

"Hi everyone, thank you for making it."

Anna's blonde hair was up in a ponytail, and she looked like she had just gone on a run as her pale skin was red, along with her nose from the cold.

"As you all signed up for, we will be taking a group tour to Kent tomorrow. Departure is at 9am, and because you are all a rather large group, I and 3 other group leaders will be splitting you all up."

She continued,

"The first group is Kallias, Maya, James, Lisa, Rett, and Caterine"

I chuckled and could feel Maya turn to me with wonder as to what I could be laughing about. It had dawned on me she had no clue who I was, and hadn't yet realized she'd have me in her group.

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I had chosen to sit next to the brat who had come knocking on my door yesterday. He turned to me with that grin, to which I just ignored and looked the other way. Make him think I don't remember him. I don't even know his name anyway.

Honestly, what bothered me wasn't him, it was his, his confidence, his relaxed attitude, he had actually enjoyed our conversation. It irked me.

I slumped into the chair, sinking my head deeper into the cozy crook of my hoodie, hearing Anna list off our groups.

My dad had told me to try to engage in more group activities, to "branch out" as he put it. But honestly all I craved were my usual past times: Read, listen to music, hang out with my two friends, and draw. But I tried, for him at least.

I didn't recognize a single name besides Caterine, who I had class with two times a week and kept to herself. Caterine was of a curvy figure, had a round face, and full cheeks. She was from Spain, and always dressed with light colors no matter the item: skirts, dresses, button up blouses with those flowy arms, you name it. It matched with her sweet, quiet personality. Even now, she sat so nicely with a white bow, her dark black hair framed around her face.

Meanwhile, I was wearing a dark green hoodie I stole from my brother, jeans, and dirty sneakers I had worn just about everywhere.

I was a mess.

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I tried not to look at her too often, but she was slumped in her chair, looking as unamused as ever that I wondered if the quick tongued, fiery persona I had seen was just a quick outburst.

Anna wrapped up our meeting, and I turned to catch her attention before she could leave.

"Do you usually pretend not to know your neighbors?" I asked with a light tone that hopefully didn't come off abrasive.

She looked over at me.

"No, I usually don't care to talk to them. Or tell them what to do with their lives"

"That's not" I chuckled.

"That's not what I was doing, or at least what I was trying to come off as" I said.

She just looked at me with eyes that yelled annoyance at my attempts to converse or get to know her.

"Whatever" she said.

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I didn't care to answer that stupid question he asked, really because I had no interest in talking to him in general. But I used his attention as an opportunity to ask him,

"Do you know who's in group 1? I don't know anyone but Caterine"

He blinked, and grinned again, his smile lines drew, making that stupid grin... appealing. He seemed to always grin when I said or did something that "amused" him. 

"Yeah, they're all pretty cool people. Though I doubt you'd care to talk to them anyway" he said.

I knew what he was doing, trying to read me, and act like he had a "sense" of who I was. So I shrugged carelessly, and he continued

"I'm actually in your group." he said.