Love Maze

Chapter 2

"Anya!" Her mother's sharp voice brought her journey down the stairs to a halt. "You are not leaving this house without some food in you."

"But, mum-"

"No buts! Here," Mrs. Brooks commanded, sliding a plate towards her. "Sit. Eat."

"But, mum, I'm going to miss the bus!"

"Well, you should have thought of that before you decided to waste the entire morning lazing around."

Sighing inwardly, Anya took a seat at the table and gave the bagel in her plate a long look, as if accusing it of making her stay for so long. She picked at her breakfast moodily, nibbling at tiny bits every few seconds. Faith, who was standing to her right, elbowed her.

"Get on with it!" She hissed under her breath. "The longer you take, the greater our chances are of missing the bus. I really don't want to walk today."

At that, Anya began wolfing down her food in earnest, while wondering why her friend had come to the house in the first place. Hadn't she said they would be meeting at the bus stop? Oh well. She wasn't too eager to walk to school herself, and in a matter of minutes, she was done. Pushing back her chair, she hastily gathered her things and headed towards the door.

Much to her dismay, she found her mother blocking her path again. Mrs. Brooks handed her a glass of OJ. Suppressing a groan of frustration, Anya grabbed it and took a few big gulps. Finished, she thrust the glass at her mother triumphantly and wiped her sleeve across her mouth.

"There you go, mum. I'll see you after school."

"Don't forget to pick up dad's shirt from the dry cleaner's on your way back, darling. Have a good first day of school! I love you."

"Love you too, mum." With that, she pushed past her mother and let herself out.

The air outside was brisk; Anya shivered as a cold breeze blew past her. Autumn had descended over New York, and she saw evidence of it all around her. Besides the feeling of the chilly air on her skin, the crisp autumn leaves that crunched under her feet were blazing red, orange, russet and gold. The girls quickened their pace, both their minds occupied with the express hope that the school bus wouldn't leave them behind. As they turned left at the next corner, a smudge of yellow approaching them from a distance caught Anya's eye.

"The bus!" She took off running towards the bus stop. After a second of hesitation, Faith ran after her.

The bus screeched to a halt and they reached it, gasping for breath, just as its sliding doors flew open. They clambered in, still slightly out of breath. Sighing with relief, Anya slid into the seat next to Faith. She felt a tap on her shoulder.

Frowning with impatience, she turned around... and came face-to-face with the most gorgeous guy she had ever met, with the possible exception of a certain brown-eyed boy back in India. But unlike Zayan, who was cute in a puppy-ish way, the boy who had tapped her shoulder was ruggedly handsome, with windswept black locks that fell in his piercingly blue eyes that fixed on her curiously.

He gave her a friendly smile now, and Anya couldn't help but think that she had never seen anyone with such white teeth even in a toothpaste ad.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Aiden Clearwater."

Anya just stared at him, her mouth slightly open. Say something, Anya, she scolded herself in her head.

"You're Anya, right? I heard you go to Sierra High. Actually, I just moved here. I live a few blocks away. I thought you could show me around school."

This piqued her curiosity. He had heard of her? It was surprising that even her neighbours knew about her, considering the fact that she spent so much time in her room watching kpop videos and rarely made an appearance out in the sun. The smile began slipping from Aiden's face. She couldn't utter a single word, and yet she couldn't tear her eyes off him. He cleared his throat.