Three Sides of a Triangle

Chapter 4 - Friendship

   Akan entered the kitchen only to find Alan on the floor, a metal bowl over his head, covered in white powder from head to toe, with, next to him, Maya laughing to tears and taking photos to immortalize this hilarious site. Akan rushed to Alan's side, lifted him up and asked him how he ended up in such a situation.

   However, Maya was quicker and explained the situation from her point of view. She started by clarifying the reason for her presence in the kitchen. She wished to bake cookies for them and distribute the rest throughout the neighbourhood because it was the holidays, and she wanted to bring some holiday cheer and spirit to their calm community. 

   Therefore, she had woken up at exactly six-thirty-three in the morning because the preparation took a while and she wanted to finish them by nine that morning. Later, at around seven, Alan joined her, supposedly because he was bored and hungry. 

   As they were gathering the ingredients for the recipe, she had passed an egg to Alan, who did not catch it, making the egg fall on the floor, but, for some untold miracle, it did not break. Alan, too lazy to pick it up, had left it on the floor and had gone to get floor and a bowl to put it in. He had successfully taken the floor and had placed it in the recipient without incident, but as he was making his way back to Maya, he had somehow tripped on the uncracked egg, fallen on the floor, making the container filled with floor he was holding, fly up in the air, before falling back on his head and covering him in floor, making him look like a ghost.

   Maya added that she had seen him one second before with the bowl in his hands, walking towards her, and the next, lying on the floor with that same bowl on his head. As she concluded this adventure, she burst out laughing once more, reliving the scene.

   Maya is a wolf. She became one at the age of three, when she had gone down the slide once but had fallen on her behind at the end of it because her parents had been distracted and on their phones. She had been so frustrated about the lack of attention that she had morphed into a baby wolf pup and had howled in their direction to arouse their attentiveness, which was a success for they instantly cradled her in their arms, drove home and calmed her down with her favorite treats. However, Maya was not drained of her energy, which was customary for children her age, but rather even more energetic than before the transformation. Moreover, by the age of five, she was fully in control of her wolf self, and, by seven, she could shapeshift on command without hindrance. That was one of the many reasons why everyone who knew this young lady admired her.

   Furthermore, she was at peak of school hierarchy, being queen bee and all, and every guy, throughout her school years, especially in high school, for she had had a glowed up, longed to be her friend or was interested in her, the latter being the case of her closest guy friends, Akan and Alan. The justification for this was quite simple. Maya was the model student: top of her class, tutored, was class president, leader of the riding, volleyball and cheerleading team, captain of the chess and animal rights club, as well as the leader of the welcoming committee and part the theater club. In addition, she practiced martial arts like taekwondo and fencing. To top it all off, she was an independent, single, boss queen, gorgeous, no apparent sign of acne or other imperfections – which were existent but hidden under a light layer of makeup – with curves in all the right places. To finish her physical description, she had piercing hazelnut-colored almond-shaped eyes and long curly brown hair that seemed golden when she was under the sun. She also happened to volunteer at a soup kitchen on Saturdays, took care of the children at her church and helped at an animal shelter on Sundays. This girl was kind and caring and seemed to be perfect in every way.

   And yet... there was more to her that was lying under the surface...

   That most people hadn't discovered yet....

   Now, moving on to Alan. Alan was a late bloomer, for he only transformed for the first time, becoming a snake, two years ago, and unfortunately, still did not completely know how to master his animal self. The young man lived with his aunt, because his father abandoned him after telling him the same excuse every irresponsible father tells their child before leaving for good ''I am going to get some milk''. His mother got put down after going rogue at work and killing three of her co-workers. He never mentioned his family, since, for him, his aunt was his only true family.

AKAN

   Our journey began on the first day of Grade 1, where fate intertwined our paths and forged unbreakable bonds. Maya joined our circle during a lunchtime encounter, choosing to sit beside me amidst a sea of options, sparking the beginnings of my infatuation. Alan and I crossed paths in the school corridors, his quest for his class leading to an instant connection when I offered him my aid. These chance meetings blossomed into enduring friendships, growing stronger with each passing year, enriched by shared experiences and unwavering camaraderie.

   However, would their friendship always be so strong?