Elite Affairs - Book one

Chapter Twenty Seven

Note- I changed Léon character. It's going to be Marcus Baker.

Aiden sat at the back of the exam hall, his eyes fixed on Mariya as she tried to make sense of the chemistry questions in front of her. The seats had been rearranged for the test, and now she was at the very front near the door, with him three rows back. Since her suspension, they hadn't spoken, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. But he knew he couldn't stop watching her.

Mariya leaned over her paper, eyebrows drawn together as she scribbled, paused, and erased. Aiden's chest tightened a little. Even though they weren't talking, he couldn't help feeling drawn to her, admiring the way she concentrated with all her energy. Her quiet determination had always made him notice her-he just hadn't expected it would still have the same effect after all that had happened.

Aiden watched as Mariya struggled with the exam questions, her frustration becoming more obvious with each passing minute. She tapped her pen, bit her lip, and kept pausing as if trying to pull the answers from thin air. He could tell she was close to giving up.

Chemistry had always been her least favorite subject; he remembered the time he'd seen her cry over it, the frustration getting the better of her. That memory tugged at him now. Her expression was different from the confident look she usually wore, and he could almost feel her frustration radiating across the room. Watching her try so hard, he found himself wanting to say something reassuring, even if he knew he couldn't.

Aiden sighed, his eyes drifting to the ceiling for a moment as he fought off a pang of regret. If she hadn't done what she did and ended up suspended, maybe things would have been different. He'd have offered to help her with chemistry, tried to make it easier, maybe even eased that quiet frustration she always seemed to carry during exams like this. But instead, they were silent strangers.

He looked down at his paper, already finished, and decided it was time to get up and hand it in. Pushing his chair back, he walked to the front, his footsteps barely breaking the thick silence of the room. As he passed by Mariya's desk, he caught a glimpse of her paper-a tear had smudged the ink near one of her answers. She didn't look up or acknowledge his presence; her head was bowed low, completely absorbed in the exam and her own quiet frustration. Swallowing hard, Aiden let out a small sigh, then turned and walked out of the room, feeling the weight of things left unsaid.

Aiden lingered by his locker, his thoughts still on Mariya as he absently flipped through his notes for the next subject. The chemistry exam had been their first paper of the day, and he'd finished early. A few students trickled out of the exam hall, but he barely noticed them as he glanced at the small gift tucked inside his locker.

It was a delicate silver hairpin, studded with tiny crystals that sparkled even in the dim light of the science hall. He'd picked it out on their last school outing, carefully choosing it with Mariya in mind, picturing how it would catch in her blonde hair. He'd meant it as a Christmas present-a special gift for someone you couldn't stop thinking about, even if you didn't say it aloud.

He sighed, running his thumb over the polished metal. Despite everything that had happened, he couldn't just forget about her. Whatever she'd done, whatever had led to her suspension, didn't erase how he felt. Holding the hairpin, he thought of how much he'd wanted to make her smile with it, even if it seemed out of reach now.

Aiden leaned against his locker, still staring at the hairpin in his hand, lost in thought. The shrill ring of the bell brought him back to the present, announcing the end of the first exam. Startled, he slipped the gift back into its place. As students filed into the hallway, he caught a glimpse of Mariya stepping out of the classroom. She was walking quickly, her head down as she made her way toward her locker, her face still set in frustration from the exam.