Floating by

Chapter 20: Shakespeare is the Key

The weekend went by pretty fast for Kayla as she spent most of her free time with Margaret. They'd gone back to the comedy club and heckled every single person, including the announcer. So much so that they got "banned" from the club. Which was alright with them, since Margaret was getting off and Kayla didn't plan on going back without her.

Kayla had even convinced Margaret to get into the pool with her, though there was a consequence. She had to do at least one dive for her to see. So with Margaret finally in the pool, Kayla did a simple dive from the 1 meter platform, which Margaret complained about, and swam over to her only to be told that that wasn't a 'real' dive. And that's how they spent their Sunday together, arguing and splashing.

Now being Monday, Kayla had one more minor activity left for the trip and it was an arts and crafts workshop.

She walked into the large ballroom that was brimming with kids, parents and lots and lots of glitter. She looks around a little unsure of what to do, looking for a chaperone or teacher she recognized, but everything was just a blur. She was about to turn around and give up when someone yelled her name. She searched the room for the voice and found an arm up in the air waving at her. She followed that arm and who she saw kind of made her uncomfortable.

"Hi Kayla!"

"Uh. Hi Maya." Kayla says not looking at her.

"Are you here for the arts and crafts minor?"

Kayla just nods.

"Cool. Follow me!"

With that, Maya holds on to Kayla's wrist and gently tugs her along. They weave through the humans and tables and arrive at another door. Maya pushes it open, letting Kayla in, and looks around for a spot. Kayla follows Maya while looking around to see if she can find a teacher or crew member in charge. Her eyes land on a familiar figure and she decides to take a detour towards it.
She taps the person on the shoulder and waits for them to turn before she smiles widely.

"Kayla! You're here. And you're in one piece!"

The person says as they stand and pull Kayla in for a hug which she responds to immediately.

"Hi Leslie." Kayla finally says as the hug ends.

"I see Maya managed to find you."

"That I did Les! Did you ever doubt me?" Maya says as she approaches them.

"In all honesty, yes." She laughs a little at Maya's jokingly hurt expression. "Can you blame me? It's bad out there!"

"And I for not of love, but for honor, risked my life for thy fine maiden."
Maya says as she dramatically kneels and bows her head in front of Kayla.

"Uh...okay?" Kayla says even more uncomfortable than before.

"Maya! Get up. You're making her uncomfortable!" Leslie says with a laugh as she walks away to tend to other students.

Maya stands up and motions for Kayla to follow her. They walk towards a quite little corner with a round table and some craft supplies. They both sit down in silence and start working on nothing in particular.

"Okay, I can't take this. Why do I make you uncomfortable? I don't like it. Tell me what I'm doing wrong." Maya looks at Kayla with begging eyes.

Shocked Kayla just sits there unmoving for a second then without looking at Maya, whispers,
"It's not you. I'm just embarrassed."

"Embarrassed? Embarrassed about what?" Maya says with a confused tilt.

"Our last encounter...I wasn't..I wasn't the friendliest and I assumed...things." Kayla says still not looking up.

"Oh, about the whole you liking Zach and me being there and you not knowing I'm a lesbian thing?" Maya says nonchalantly while picking up some cotton balls.

Again, Kayla is shocked finally looking up and staring at Maya as she placed the cotton balls in a weird order on the table.

"You know about that?" Kayla asks embarrassed again.

"Yeah. Zach told me everything." Maya says looking up at Kayla.

"Everything?" Kayla questions.

"Everything." Maya confirms.

"Oh." Kayla says blushing now.

"You know, you don't have to be embarrassed about it. I understand why you thought Zach and I were dating. But I swear to you, he's like a brother to me. Always will be."

There's silence between them for awhile as Kayla tries to figure out what she's making and Maya continues shaping cotton balls together.

"I think you're good for him, just so you know." Maya suddenly says and continues, "So tell me...what are you making?"

"Um. Thanks I think? And I have no clue." Kayla says looking down at her 'craft' and then back at Maya's.

"Well I'm making something for Morgan." Maya says shyly for the first time.

"What is it?" Kayla asks while leaning over the table to get a closer look. She notices that the cotton balls form letters and the letters form words.

"It's a quote, by-"

"Shakespeare." Kayla says not looking up. She reads the already formed words, "If music be the food of love-" then she continues from memory "play on. Give me excess of it." Kayla finishes. "Twelfth Night." She finally looks up to a gaping Maya.

"Geez. If you weren't into Zach, I'd totally make you marry me. I thought you were awesome because you put those egotistical twins in their place and you dive...add Shakespeare to it...and you can have my heart." Maya says rather seriously, which just makes Kayla giggle.

"So does Morgan like Shakespeare or something?" Kayla asks curiously.

Snapping out of her daze, Maya looks  down at her formed words and chuckles.
"Nope! Hates him. Hates cotton balls too."

Scrunching up her face Kayla is confused by this and Maya continues.

"I'm doing all my favorite quotes in things that she hates. So cotton balls, the word lose, macaroni, glitter and saw dust."

"Okay, why?" Kayla asks still completely confused.

"To show her that I care enough to know the things she hate. Also because I didn't like her very much when we first met, kinda hated her, but she made an effort impress me with things I liked. Including Shakespeare. So it's a good representation of our relationship. Plus it's a great way to get under her skin." Maya says beaming widely.

"Do you need some help?" Kayla asks.

"You're not gonna ask about my history with Morgan? Or why I like her now? Or something?" Maya asks Kayla, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you want me to? I figured you'd sorta tell me if you wanted me to know. It's not any of my business, but I'd like to help."

"Okay." Was all Maya said before they started to complete the cotton ball quote.

The rest of arts and crafts went by and Maya did, in fact, tell Kayla everything about her history with Morgan, why she liked her and what she planned to do. Kayla in turn was excited about the idea. They talked about other things like Shakespeare and Maya being president of the drama club and what they wanted to do in college.

So when Kayla left, she had a new friend and a big smile.