Destiny

New friend

In Los Angeles, I was part of the volleyball team and won several games that my parents attended, so when I was in my physical education class, I enjoyed it.
"You're really good at playing, Roose," the teacher told me at the end of class. "Did you play in Los Angeles with your school team?"
"Yes."
"You should consider joining the volleyball team permanently and accompanying us to the games."
"I still need to catch up on my assignments, but I'll think about it."
"Take your time then, we'll be waiting for you."
I said goodbye to the teacher and went to change into my sports uniform. When I came out of the locker room, I ran into Alek. The boys' locker room was next to the girls'.
"Bianca, what a coincidence."
"Yeah, big one."
I started walking towards my next class with Alek following my steps.
"Are you heading to Biology class?" he finally asked.
"Yes."
"Me too. We can go together if you want."
I forced a smile. Alek hadn't done anything to earn my disinterest, but he and his group of girls didn't convince me. The last thing I needed was a group of girls making my last year of classes a nightmare. However, we were heading to the same class, so it didn't make sense to say no.
"Sure," I replied.
"Great," he said pleased. You would think he won a million dollars and not just accompanying a classmate to her next class. "I've seen you sitting with Ariana at lunch."
"Yes."
"That's good, she's always alone, especially after, you know, Katherine died. And you? Are you dating someone?"
"I literally just got here 4 days ago."
"Then I was wondering if you'd like to go out with..."
"You went out, didn't you?" I interrupted when I realized where Alek was going.
"Well, go out... I couldn't say we did. We had a lot of trouble. Did Ariana talk to you about that?"
What happened between Alek and Ariana didn't matter to me, but if that topic served to distract Alek until we got to Biology, I'd take it.
"Just a little. She said your sister and hers were like enemies."
Alek frowned.
"Yes, both were after Matthew Weber."
"Ariana told me something about that," I insisted, suddenly fully involved in the conversation because now the protagonist was Matthew.
"Maybe you've seen him at lunch, it was quite a novelty this week because he's been frequenting the cafeteria, he's never done that before. Some of the guys say Matthew is there because he's interested in one of the girls, although no one knows who that girl is. I don't think there's such a girl anyway, nor has he been seen with a girl because he doesn't talk to anyone."
"You don't like him, do you?"
"How could I? He's a show-off just because his family has money."
"What do Matthew's parents do?"
"Many things, I don't really care."
"Do you think he's dangerous?" I asked, remembering what Ariana had told me about Matthew.
Alek frowned as he thought about his response.
"How much harm could a guy with an injury that even limits him from doing sports do? He's just a show-off."
"You're right."

.

.

.

That evening, I accompanied my mom to the market. As we walked through one of the aisles, Alek's conversation still echoed in my mind. Matthew's sports injury explained why I hadn't seen him in any sports classes all week. But then my thoughts returned to Matthew himself—his dark hair, intense gaze, and the imposing presence he exuded. It reminded me of how effortlessly he had bent down to pick up a fallen book at the library, contradicting Alek's account of his injury.
My mom pointed to the shelf in front of her, examining it. "What will you cook this weekend, Bianca?" she asked.
I wrinkled my nose when I saw pasta on the shelf. "Anything but pasta, please."
She chuckled and tossed a packet of rice into the shopping cart. "Alright, no pasta then," she agreed, nodding as we continued forward.
I took a deep breath, trying to push Matthew out of my thoughts. I knew I had to stop before I fell into the same level of obsession as Ariana. My mom smiled at me, discussing cooking rice with chicken for the weekend. I nodded with a smile, attempting to bring my mind back to normalcy.
As we reached the fruits and vegetables section, my mom changed the topic.
"Remember, tonight I'm going out with Rayen, the editor-in-chief. If you want, I can pick up something for you to have for dinner at home," she reminded me.
Suddenly, I saw the perfect opportunity to distract myself from Matthew. I hadn't talked much about my mom's new friend, so I decided to bring it up now.
"Rayen is an unusual name."
"I think it's Native American. After all, she looks like a Pocahontas with her long black hair and cinnamon skin. Rayen is beautiful, like a model."
"What are you going to do tonight? Just the two of you?" I asked.
"In fact, Rayen's husband, Ibrahim, will also be there," my mom turned towards me with a guilty look and blushing cheeks. "I shouldn't be saying this, but Rayen's husband is quite handsome."
I couldn't help but laugh at the guilt on her face.
"He must be really handsome if he makes you blush," I joked, trying to ease her worry that I might judge her for finding other men attractive. Besides, I couldn't stop thinking that Matthew was beautiful too.
She returned my smile with relief in her eyes and continued, "By the way, they have three children, two of whom attend your school. I think it's a girl and a boy." As my mom delved into her memory to recall something, I started bagging tomatoes.
"I remember their names now. They're Matthew and Dana," she said.
I almost dropped a tomato. I was stunned. I looked at my mom, almost unable to believe what I had just heard. My voice came out shaky as I asked, "Are your bosses' last name Weber?"
My mom smiled excitedly. "So you do know them? Are they your friends?"
"No, not exactly. We just share some classes," I replied, trying to appear casual and not as astonished as I felt.
My mom continued talking about the Webers. Meanwhile, I couldn't understand myself—why did it affect me so much to know that Matthew's parents were my mom's bosses? I tried to calm down and stop obsessing over it, but I couldn't ignore that Matthew was much closer to my life than I had thought.