ONE PLUS ONE

003: sisterly love

       Lydia slammed her food tray down on the table. "No, Malia. Absolutely not," she said with an annoyed huff, plopping down on the seat beside Allison.

       Malia followed a few feet behind, her smile long gone and brows furrowed, and sat down on the other side of table—beside Kira, across from Lydia. "Why not?" she asked, probably for fifth time within the past two minutes. "I mean, you're great at math and I'm not, so it would only be appropriate if you shared some of your knowledge with me." Malia turned in her seat, so she faced Kira and Allison, who both sat at her right. The two looked unfazed with their friends' argument, not sparing a glance of worry to their side, since they were both used to the constant bickering. Lydia and Malia had a friendship much like sisters, which included loving each like family but also getting on each other's nerves on a regular basis. "Okay, what do you two think?" she asked them, pulling their attention away from their low-quality food. "Should she help me or not?"

       They both shrugged and looked down at their trays again; they learned not to get involved in their arguments, otherwise it would be seen as taking sides, which would lead to an unwanted split in the group. So the two kept quiet and waited until the argument was over. Malia gaped at them, offended by their lack of interest, even though she knew their reason behind it. What lovely friends I have, she thought, crossing her arms and huffing in discontent like an angry child.

       But she refused to give up, so she decided to poke Kira's arm—once, twice, thrice—until the girl caved in and turned toward her. "What?" Her tone showed she still didn't care in any way, but Malia chose to look past that. She gave Kira a pointed look, as if saying, You know what, and nudged her again to signal for her to speak. Kira seemed to understand this, and she gave a defeated sigh before speaking. "Just help her already, Lydia. You know she needs it anyway."

       Malia turned to Lydia with a proud smirk, arms crossed and head cocked to the side as she said, "See, she agrees with me. You're my tutor, whether you like it or not." She knew she had won the discussion, the crushed look etched across the redhead's features giving her away; it might as well have been a white flag waving through the storm. As cruel as it sounded, the defeated expression was Malia's favorite out of all the ones Lydia could pull. It gave her a satisfactory and joyous sensation, to have won against the mastermind with a sharp tongue, and she enjoyed it those few times it occurred, basking herself in victory without a slight tad of guilt.

       "Fine," Lydia huffed out, crossing her arms, too, and leaning back in her chair, "but only under certain circumstances."

       Malia rose a brow and narrowed her eyes; Lydia had a way of sneaking her own wishes into unwanted situations, so they wouldn't turn out as planned but transform into a whole different thing. "And what are those circumstances?" Malia asked with suspicion thick in her voice. She no longer tried to hide when she felt certain things—anger, doubt, annoyance, it didn't matter what—since Lydia would know on the second, the redhead knowing her too well to miss something so blatant.

       Lydia cocked her head to the right, twirling a lock of hair around her finger and puckering her lips; she acted like Malia in the hallways, mocking the latter's previous behavior. "Hm, the first thing is," Lydia mused, continuing her act a little longer before it came to an abrupt stop, a dead serious grimace replacing her childish smile, "I want you to read the assignment before you ask me. No asking me after skimming over it, no complaints two seconds after you're given a task. Read it—multiple times if you need to—and if you still don't understand what you're reading, then you can ask me. But not anytime before, okay?"

       Malia nodded her head, eager to hear the next things. If they were as easy as the first, she could agree to the terms without a doubt; reading was not very hard, it was the comprehension part she found tough. No matter how many times she read the same piece over and over again, it was impossible for her to process and understand the material. This did give her the habit of handing it to Lydia for answers before she read it, but she felt it was hopeless to try when she knew the outcome; she would change it, though, if it meant she could get a tutor.

       Lydia continued when she was sure Malia had agreed to the first condition. "Secondly, try to understand it. I know you don't get half of it, but you do get a small fifty percent for the most of the time. You get it but refuse to believe in yourself, so you end up giving up before you have even tried to think it out. So promise me that you will attempt to solve the equation yourself, and if you're completely lost, you can ask me for help."

       Again, a small nod came from Malia, which Lydia took as her cue to continue. "Then, the last one, we're gonna watch The Notebook tomorrow without any complaints."

      At this, Malia stood up from here chair and leaned over the table, her hands planted it on the surface to steady herself and her eyes burning with fury. "No! Absolutely not. I'm not watching that dumb movie one more time. Do you know how many times you have forced us to watch it? You know, I've actually lost count, but I know it's way too many times. Besides, I'm sure Kira and Allison don't want to see it either. Right, girls?" Nothing but silence came from their part, once again betraying their own friend. Malia sank into her seat, defeated and out of hope, crossing her arms with an offended pout. "God, I hate you guys sometimes."

      Lydia took this as a form of agreement and clapped her hands in excitement, laughing with a light heart before saying, "Then it's settled—I'm your new tutor starting on Monday and we're watching The Notebook."

       Malia merely sighed again; at least she got herself a tutor.

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oh how i love writing about lydia and malia's love-hate friendship