Teen Romance Fantasy

Act 9 (Ch)

He said that I should search for something that I wanted. There wasn't anything. I talked to Eric about it but he didn't have an idea either or at least none that was helpful. When we played a round of Seeker in the evening, he showed me a few skins that were rather expensive but none of them really sparked anything inside of me. Kadir on the other hand thought that it could be a new game. We looked through some games together but that wasn't it either. Anthony had the most obscure idea. He thought that I might want some new clothes. Well and Tyson, he didn't even try. 

I struggled to focus in school. Math had never been a subject I was good at but now it got even worse. Sadly nobody in our group really had a clue on what to do. One day I even stayed a little longer at school in hopes of finishing my homework. Nikola surprisingly offered to help me. Everything went smooth until we got to the last task. This one just didn't make any sense. Not even Nikola knew what to do. His grey eyes seemed to devour the task but nothing came out of it. We looked at it from every possible perspective until we gave up.

"It's no use. Let's just give up." He muttered. I didn't like the idea but I wasn't stupid enough to argue with Nikola. If he didn't know the answer, why should I have known it?

"Sucks but I guess you're right."

I packed all my stuff and was ready to leave, when suddenly someone opened the door. It was Sarah. Why was she still at school?

When I looked at Nikola, his expression changed. He started at her in disgusted manner. Once he noticed me looking at him, he made a motion with his hands that told me that he wanted us to leave. He gestured to the door, where Sarah was standing.

"You guys are still here?" She asked quietly. I nodded and jumped from one leg to the other.

"We actually just wanted to leave." Nikola answered. 

"Of course. Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you guys."

"You don't bother us at all. I think Nikola just needs to get back home early." The moment I said that, Nikola rushed past Sarah, who jumped out of the way just in time. What had gotten into him? At least Sarah didn't seem to be bothered by his behaviour or at least she didn't show it.

"What were you doing here anyways?"

I showed her the task Nikola and I couldn't solve. She stared at it for a few seconds before she suddenly announced that she knew the answer. At first I didn't believe her but then she wrote down the solution for me and how she calculated it. It seemed so logical and easy when she did it. How come we didn't solve it?

The more she explained, the more I was intrigued. Was this just luck or was Sarah actually that good in math? We weren't in the same math class so I wouldn't know. If I remembered correctly, she was in the same math class as Tyson but all he ever mentioned was that Alexy was a genius, when it came to math. This had to be a coincidence or not?

"I didn't know you were this good at math."

"I'm not."

"Nikola and I couldn't solve it."

"This was just luck. I've seen a similar task somewhere before already."

What was this sudden change of attitude. Usually Sarah had a bubbly personality but right now she seemed cold and distant. It was clear that she didn't want to talk to me but why was that? Had I done something wrong or was it because of Nikola?

I left before Sarah. She said that she had something to do. I offered to wait but she told me to go ahead. While I did wonder what she was planning on doing all alone in this classroom, I didn't have the courage to ask her.

The next day I showed Nikola Sarah's solution. Well, I tried to show it to him but he just wouldn't let me, once he heard that Sarah helped me. I asked multiple times what his problem was but he stayed silent. Only after a couple of minutes he finally spoke up.

"I just don't want anything to do with that freak."

"It's just the solution to a math problem."

"So? It's still from the freak."

"That's unnecessary. If  someone like Louis had solved it, you'd have accepted it without a second thought."

"From Louis? No way. He's not any better than the freak."

Believe me when I tell you, I was confused by the whole situation. I talked to Anthony about it but he couldn't help me out. He knew from Aisha that she wasn't good to talk with them either. They all used to be in the same class. Perhaps they got into a fight at some point and couldn't solve it. Still, weren't they all a little overreacting? Whatever, who was I even to talk?

When I saw Sarah in the classroom later that day, I remembered that I hadn't actually thanked her for helping me with the task. Lately I felt as though I was rather indebted to her. When did I start to feel more casual around her?

If only Luna hadn't been with her, I would have walked up to her. Talking to Sarah wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be. However, talking to other girls or in front of other girls was still impossible. Sure, I was told to let go of the past but it wasn't as easy as you'd think.

Anyways, I waited for Luna to leave which happened once she saw Tyson outside. That was my chance now. I walked up to Sarah, my head held high. I looked directly at the mist and said what I wanted to say.

"Thank you for yesterday. Because of you I was the only one in our class, who solved the task. Is there any way for me to repay you?"

She began tilting her head at me. For a split second I felt as though she was confused or perhaps even surprised. She leaned towards me, holding her hands out in front of me. Then she shook her head quickly. Eventually she said something that I'd never forget.

"There's something you can do. You can stay away from me."