Ignorance Is Bliss

10 . Edwin

Something was definitely off.

I was sitting across a rather moody guy also known as my boyfriend. His chin was resting on his crossed arms, his lunch left untouched. Asa was frowning slightly and his eyes looked like they had a dark glow to them. Like a wolf, I thought. It sounded really dumb, but believe me, they looked like they had changed colour. Maybe he was wearing contacts. He wouldn't speak to me, other than mumbling a few words. In a weird way, he reminded me of a child who didn't get the Christmas present he wanted and was now sulking away in a corner. Why — he didn't say. Sadly, there were too many reasons out there for me to have an idea of why he was feeling that way.

I nudged his arm with my elbow.

"Mind telling me what's going on?"

Finally, he lifted his head. When he looked at me, his face seemed sterner than usual. He didn't give me a response and instead kept on staring at me.

Gee, it was worse than I thought. Especially for me. I always felt awkward in these types of situations. I never knew what to do when someone was mad at me. It felt weird getting all emotional about something, so I wasn't the kind of person to cry about it or hug it all out. So, what was I supposed to do — offer him some of my food? Or pretend like everything was okay until he eventually got over it?

Before I could decide between two unintelligent ideas that would probably end up making it worse, Asa suddenly rose from his seat. He heaved his bag over his shoulder, giving his lunch plate one last look before he left. A few seconds passed until I awoke from the daze I was in. As I tried getting out of my seat, I hit my knee on the table. I bit my lip, ignoring the sharp pain and quickly left the cafeteria.

He hadn't gone far, still walking at a normal pace.

"Asa, wait!"

I stopped short when he turned his head in my direction.

I stepped closer to him, afraid that he'd take off any second now.

"Did I do something?" I asked with a cracked voice. Not because I was about to cry, but because my throat was starting to feel a bit sore. Maybe I caught something.

He sighed heavily, making me feel like I was too dumb to understand his level of knowledge.

"No, Marion, you didn't do anything. In fact, you did too much."

I stumbled back.

"Who?"

Asa kept the mask of a face he was wearing, unaware of his mistake. I felt sick to my stomach.

"Who is Marion?"

I bit down on my teeth, feeling the bile rise in my throat. Not only did he still not comprehend, that that wasn't my name, but he now seemed even angrier than he did before. His jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"Don't do that," he scolded. "Don't try and change the subject."

I scoffed.

"What the hell are you on about?"

My voice rose automatically, the more hurt I felt. I hated causing a scene, especially when there were hundreds of students next door. But I couldn't help it.

He sighed again, but this time for a different reason.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at him," he said with irritation.

I blinked. I felt like I was in some messed-up dream. He wasn't listening to me. I couldn't stop making excuses for his behaviour, but this was on another level.

"It was obvious he had some sort of feelings towards you. Did you see the way he was looking at you? You could see from a mile away what his intentions were."