"The nurses just informed me that they couldn't contact anyone related to that kid," Hylla said, her eyes on the road. After the fiasco this morning, she insisted that starting from this day on, she would never allow Reyna to come to school all by herself. And here she was, driving her to Juniper Heights. "I don't think that kid has any family in this state."
Reyna was staring at the window, all zoned out. All she could think about was the fact that she thought he had appeared out of nowhere. And the fact that she heard him whisper her name before he passed out. Everything happened so fast. He appeared all of a sudden, a flash of black, and the next thing she knew, she was on the other side of the pavement. Then from his chapped lips, he murmured her name. She was not one to believe in supernatural stuff, but she couldn't help but think. . .
Hylla put a hand on Reyna's shoulder, making her flinch. "Are you okay? You didn't get hurt, did you?"
Reyna shook her head. "No, I'm fine. What were you saying?"
"I said maybe the kid didn't have a family in this state. Or anywhere near here." Hylla repeated.
"Do you think he ran away from home?" Reyna said. "I know someone who did that. A friend of mine. He was all the way from Texas."
"From the looks of it, maybe he might have."
The drive was long, and the San Francisco roads stretched on and on in front of her. So many thoughts were buzzing around in her head, and she was struggling to sort them out.
Before she knew it, Hylla slowed down and stopped in front of Juniper Heights, Reyna's school. She was a junior, and she was only one month in at the start of the school year. Would've been really bad if she actually died this morning.
"You be careful, okay? Call me if you've gotten on the bus or if you're going home with Jason."
Reyna's face was burning, but she couldn't reply for some reason. She did not have any response to that. "Thanks for the ride, Hylla." She blurted out.
Her sister only gave her a confused stare. "What? Anyways, I have to go. Take care, little sister."
Reyna watched her drive away before she entered the campus herself. It was almost the end of lunchtime with ten minutes left. Even though Hylla put a bag of drive-thru takeout into her hands, she didn't feel any hunger. As she walked through the hallway towards the cafeteria, all she could do was imagine a thousand different ways Jason would welcome her.
A hug? It was the most likely. And she would melt into his arms in front of everyone. Then he would whisper in her ear how scared he had been to lose her. They would go home holding hands, and he would end their day with another tight hug.
Ever since they became classmates in AP Physics during their sophomore year, and with their amazing teamwork in the student council as president and vice president in the same year, they had been inseparable. Jason was Reyna's best friend, and she was to him. A lot of people always assumed they had been a couple. Reyna didn't mind. After denying it for so long, she had come to accept that she was, in fact, in love with Jason Grace. The only thing that kept her from confessing her feelings was the possibility that Jason did not feel the same way. She feared that once she told him, it would drive him away.
She was sure he did. Yet only a little inkling of doubt about her feelings being one-sided was enough to make her bottle it up. Reyna didn't want to risk it.
The fact that this year, he chose a different elective, made her doubt worse. He wasn't trying to distance himself, right? He couldn't have felt that she loved him in that way. Reyna was as discreet as possible.
Reyna shook her head. It was absurd, the way she was getting ahead of herself. When did she start being so anxious? Every time Jason was with her, or he was on her mind, she couldn't help but exhaust all thoughts on what he would think of her.
She took a deep breath as she opened the doors to the cafeteria. Reyna scanned the room, hoping to see Jason seated in their usual place, waiting for her.
Then she saw her.
A girl she had never seen before was laughing and smiling with Jason at their table. Her choppy, brown hair was framing her small face. She was glamorous and skinny, with her tanned skin and mischievous smile. Her round eyes shone playfully. She was the most beautiful girl Reyna had ever seen.
Reyna didn't realize she had been staring at them for a while, frozen in her spot, until the girl noticed she was looking at her. The girl waved, with a shy smile on her face. She nodded to Jason, who immediately turned and hurried towards her.
Reyna continued to walk towards them, her legs as stiff as lead. Who was this girl? And why was she sitting at their table with Jason?
She felt his hand touch the small of her back, which sent electricity up her spine. But her eyes were still fixed on the girl.
"Reyna, are you okay? I heard what happened this morning, are you hurt?"
But Reyna couldn't answer his question. She responded with another. "Who is that?"
"Piper. Piper McLean. She's new here, from Los Angeles. Piper's going to be in our class for--"
She couldn't manage any expression at all. Before Jason could even finish his sentence, the school bell rang, and Reyna had already turned her back. "I have to get to my Shop class. See you guys later."
Before Jason or Piper could even speak, she turned on her heel and basically ran to Mr Fernandez's classroom. She didn't care if she bumped into people, shouldering her way through a hallway full of students. All she knew was she had to get away somehow, as far away as possible from Jason.
Reyna was fighting for her life as she did her best not to cry. This had been her worst day to date. She forgot her homework, was almost killed in an accident because of said homework, and then welcomed back with disappointment.
She kept her head low as she opened the back door, settling down beside her annoying seatmate.
"How are you doing, RARA?" Leo Valdez whispered to her as Mr Fernandez entered the room. Reyna tried to ignore him until he put his hand on hers. She looked up at him, about to chew him out for his audacity. But instead of his usual playful grin, his expression was serious.
"Just kidding." When he saw the look on her face, he quickly retracted his hand. " Look, we were really worried about you."
He loudly fumbled around in his bag, muttering. That caught the attention of Mr Fernandez, who stopped explaining. "Mr Valdez, what's all the fuss about?"
Leo shrugged. "Nothing, sir. Just telling Reyna here how glad I am you're here. Love you, man." The entire class laughed as Leo blew him a kiss. Even Reyna had to suppress a smile.
Mr Fernandez turned to Reyna. "You alright, kid?"
Reyna nodded. "Yes, sir." Their professor gave Leo one last questioning frown before turning to the board and writing down instructions for today's activity. Murmurs filled the room, bustling with activity. Leo set down a can of coffee from the vending machine. Her favorite drink whenever she felt stressed.
"We're just glad you're safe, Reyna." Leo flashed her a smile and went back to tinker with his project. "Wanna eat out with the gang later?"
Reyna returned his smile. "Thanks, Leo. But I don't think I can. I have someone to visit."
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It's low-key annoying how I got the sudden rush of inspiration just as I was in the middle of preparing for my preliminary exams T-T
I can't believe college is so busy haha
