After only a week of summer vacation, Aliara was already searching for something engaging to pass the time while the other two girls searched for inspiration for their vacation project.
Uma exhaled deeply and declared, "I'm bored!" She attracted the other two people's attention, "Same!" Bella, lying down next to Uma, remarked,
"We are getting bored here, and Guliana is enjoying her summer at Jeju Island." She was talking about Guliana's visit to her hometown.
When Aliara picked up her phone, she saw a message from Ivan. Although they hadn't spoken since that day at the cafe, their conversation had stuck in her memory.
Though neither of them dared to confront it, they were both aware of the warmth spread around them when they thought about the other.
The other day, as Aliara walked home, she couldn't get the thoughts out of her head. They had talked about topics they weren't even comfortable sharing with those closest to them.
'Carina' had become Ivan's favorite nickname for Aliara after they had texted each other that evening. However, this was all well and good until she was saddened by his sudden disappearance.
She had not received a message from Ivan since then, so when she saw his name on the phone screen, she became excited and opened the chat window right away. "Hey, Carina, how have you been?" seeing his text, she smiled.
"Oh, I didn't know you were still around?" She typed back, causing Ivan to smile from the other side. "My Queen, if I have to apologize for my hasty disappearance, I truly apologize."
Whoa! he gave her a new name, but Aliara's eyes dilated and she screamed as she sensed someone's presence over her head.
Uma was staring at her and her phone back and forth, grinning like a crazy person. When Aliara realized that her entire screen was in front of her friend, she gasped even harder. She closed the device and threw it aside quickly, watching as Uma sat down in front of her.
Glancing at Uma's face, Aliara became alarmed. She realized she had to explain what had happened, but not before turning to check for Bella, asking, "Where is she?"
"Is it even really important? She left ten minutes ago because she received a call from her house, and some guests showed up. However, could you perhaps explain what happened, now that I've read "My Queen"? Uma enquired, getting right to the topic.
"It is nothing." Aliara started, but Uma interrupted with, "A situation ship?" which Aliara quickly denied, saying, "No no, it's nothing at all."
"And the 'My Queen'?" Uma raised her eyebrows and questioned, "No, please understand it's sarcasm," to which Aliara vigorously shook her head as she tried to make a point. Attempting to avoid meeting Uma's gaze, the latter shrugged.
"I don't think it's 'simply sarcasm,' but I also don't want to force anything out of you." Uma stared at Aliara with worry, "So just be sure to not get hurt while playing around," which caused Aliara to sigh heavily.
"We are not playing and—don't worry— I - I don't like him at all!" Aliara exclaimed.
"Alright, I'll stop asking now and go use the loo." Uma rose and made her way to the restroom, attempting to allow the irritated girl in front of her some space.
As the door closed, Aliara swallowed hard because she knew Uma would bring this up again sometime. But her eyes shifted as she heard the buzz of her phone.
She stepped into the freshly created group chat when she saw several messages from Ivan saying, "Check out the group chat."
'Mrs. Nancy?' She scrolled down to an announcement in the chat, but as she read it out, her shoulders began to ache. "What was this all about?" Uma asked as she exited the restroom and sat down next to her.
"Oh, that's the exhibition," Uma remarked, causing Aliara to turn to face her and enquire, "You know about this?"
"Yes, Mrs. Emma probably gave us a spoiler in physics class, but you were busy as usual." "Ah, I see. You were conversing with the youngsters' "SC," Uma answered, earning an understanding nod from Aliara.
"That implies that you two are competing to improve the display, isn't that right? Oh, so Ivan will be leading the other team?" Aliara nodded, and Uma let out a cry upon realizing what was happening.
"It's not entirely against; after all, to ensure that the setup goes smoothly, that's the main reason we have two different presidents every year," she said, getting a quick nod from Uma.
"I will participate in this and I will stay in your team," Uma added, getting Aliara's happy approval before sending her the participation acknowledgement.
Aliara looked at Uma once as she filled the form, then said, "Uma, can you not talk about this with Bella and Guliana or anyone, there is nothing between us so I- I don't want to make-" but Uma interrupted her in the middle of her statement.
"Ah no worries I won't I will keep my mouth zipped but I will surely look forward to any exciting updates" Uma cheekily said, giving Aliara a reassuring nod.
Aliara thought softly, "Well, having someone know about it wasn't that bad. At least she could have someone with whom to share her thoughts relating to him."
.
.
.
Ivan was sitting on the white gaming room couch, blankly staring at his phone. He felt as though Aliara should have responded to him, but she was active in the group chat, responding to the teachers.
He realized that he was feeling sadness and felt that perhaps by vanishing on her, he made her ignore him without realizing the situation on the other side. His lips formed a small pout.
He continued to look the same, causing the other person in the room to laugh hysterically, changing his expression from that of a lost puppy to one that was irritated and angry.
"I'm sorry, but you're making that face," the man said, pausing to gather his breath and stop laughing.
"Stop it, Federico," Ivan shouted, as the other man moved next to the billiard table and said, "Ah crap, I should have taken a picture, come on, make that face again," Federico added that he heard the other person sigh angrily, which caused him to burst out once more.
The man approached Ivan and sat down on the white couch, attempting not to laugh. "I assume this is the little miss once more?" he asked.
"Tell the truth to me!" He said, causing Ivan to roll his eyes. Federico nudged him, causing him to slap his hand in defense,
Federico gave Ivan a doubtful glance as he stated, "Not really, but I think she might be ignoring me because I vanished for a week on her, was busy with some side work."
"Perhaps you like her?" When he questioned Ivan, his eyes widened slightly, but he tried to hide it by turning back to his phone.
"Dude, tell her the truth; I'm sure she'll say yes," Federico yelled, but Ivan shook his head in response, giving him the upper hand.
"Come on, I'll bet!" he urged. "If she answers "yes," I win; if she answers "no," you win."
Federico said raising an eyebrow, "Also I will give you a week to send me a screenshot of her reply" He nughed the other person again whining like a child,
"Fine fine but she will say no" Ivan said almost screaming and Federico passed him a proud smile, somewhere Federico thought Aliara would say yes unaware of what Ivan's cunning mind could do while the two got back to their gaming session.
~Maria
YOU ARE READING
Elected To Love
Teen Fiction"Together, they're perfect as a team, but when it comes to matters of the heart, can they find a way to make the perfect match?" Aliara Marinelli, the fiercely competitive head girl, has a plan for everything except Ivan Sokolov. Ivan, the annoyingl...
