The Gentleman Plan

4. Learn to control your temper

"Hey, where do you want to meet up for your tutoring?" Emre said, plopping down next to me and dropping his food tray. 

"St-Anne's Library?" I proposed.

"Okay, we'll go directly after school together." 

"Alright," I said, taking out my lunch.

"Are you going to be eating with us today...?" I added when I saw him putting in his earphones and watching Netflix.  

"Oh, well yeah, but if it bothers you guys, I can leave."

"No, stay. It's just the first time you've sat with us all throughout high school. Besides, you need to stop being antisocial, so take out those earphones." I said, smiling and turning around to face him. 

"Okay, then." He laughed.

"What made you want to sit with us today, though?" Jordan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm tired of my friends, I guess I needed a change." Emre shrugged.

"That has to suck," Akira said.

"What sucks?" Kai asked.

"Well, being tired of your friends. I can't imagine a day without these idiots." Akira answered, leaning her head on Toby's shoulder. 

"I guess you're right, but to each their own. Besides, my friends aren't the best." He laughed.

"What do you mean?" I asked. 

"They're two-faced. I can't get my own opinion out without being criticized. And have you met Rayan and the rest? All they want to do is be popular and be a part of Nico's gang." He sighed.

"I don't see the fuss about Nico's gang. They bully people and feel proud of it. They don't even seem to have a personality. Daniel, for example, is an absolute airhead. And I know this because I've done three projects with him." I said. 

"The nicest of them all would definitely be Henny." Toby winked at me while I rolled my eyes and stared at Henny who only a few tables away. As if he sensed my stare, he winked and gave me a dazzling smile

"Woah, am I missing something here?" Emre pointed at us as I ignored Henny.

"Well, um, I kind of dated Henny? It was never official." I answered, waving my hands around. 

"What? How the hell did we never know about this?"

"We kept it lowkey, I don't know."

"Maya, you should also mention something." Jordan retorted. 

"No, there's nothing to mention!" I deadpanned.

"Hold up, you better tell me," Emre said. 

"They still have a thing going on." Toby winked while Akira looked away awkwardly. 

"Oh my god, that's not true," I answered. 

"Oh, please. We see the looks between you two, we can feel the tension from miles away." Jordan smirked.

"It's nothing. We just never had a real talk about what happened between us, so it's just weird now." I looked at Emre. 

"I can't believe I didn't know about this. Henny and I are close, I thought he would've told me." He exclaimed.

"Well, that's the thing. He didn't want anyone to know." 

"Why?" 

"He didn't want to be seen with me." I slowly said, fiddling with my bracelet.