Shadows and Popularity

Chapter 04: What?

Chapter 04: What? 

“Hi.” Nathan said from the other side of the glass that separated the recording board and the room Maya was in. He slowly walked toward the other side and through the door, all the while never breaking eye contact with the wallflower that seemed to have been rendered speechless.

Maya didn’t know what she was speechless about. The fact that Nathan Woods came in the very same room as her on his own free will and knowledge, or that he had the audacity to interrupt her musical rant about her pathetic life and act as though she had been the one to cause him humiliation.

The wallflower started out wanting to say something, then immediately withheld herself. She couldn’t really do it, as outraged as she was, her shyness still overcame her, and her tongue felt as if it had just rolled back at the base of her throat.

“W-what are y-you doing here?” She said instead, following every step Nathan took toward her.

He stopped just a foot away from the stool she sat on.

“We have a problem.”

“W-what?” Maya was immediately perplexed.

Nathan surfed through his pocket, and took out his phone. He was pressing a few buttons on the touch screen when Maya felt a wave of panic hit her. It was an instinct that suddenly engulfed her, an unconscious thought knowing full well that this wasn’t going to end well somehow. But, in no time at all, when Nathan showed her the display on his phone, confusion struck her first.

“What is this?”

“It’s a headline on Britain’s Daily.” He said stonily. “If you can’t read, the caption says ‘The Wood’s heir finally found. But who’s that unnoticeable lady he’s with?’”

“I can read the caption!” She snapped in her usual soft voice. She was still staring at the picture taken of them sitting together in the cafeteria where the glass obviously meant it was taken from outside. The caption was just as what Nathan said, but why would Britain’s Daily be interested in a couple of high school kids? “W-what do I have to do with this?”

“Well…” Nathan started off, putting his phone back in his pocket. “It means, you’re in trouble.”

“H-how am I in trouble of a picture?” Maya was still confused.

Nathan made a disgruntled expression at the same time his shoulders slumped. “Have you no idea of what the media can do to someone’s image? You know, reputation, name, and the like. Do you have any idea on how much of a blow this is to your future?”

“F-future?” Maya’s voice was starting to rise a high pitch. How can one small picture of them eating together cause a blow to her future? She didn’t understand at all.

Nathan seemed to be losing patience with her. “Look, I don’t like this anymore than you do, but we have to solve this problem one way or another.”

“W-w-w-wait, wait a minute.” Maya said as she raised her hands that stopped Nathan when he took an intimidating step toward her. She was starting to get flustered, and when she gets flustered, she starts staggering. “P-p-p-please, start from the b-beginning.” She asked politely though softly.

Nathan seemed to have been studying her when his beguiling dark blues bore a hole through her timid little soul. For all that Maya knew, he might as well have wanted to get rid of her then and there. She hoped not however, for that would mean she wouldn’t have the high school memories she so wanted to remember after graduation.

After what felt like an eternity’s worth of a staring contest yet she knew only really lasted a second or two, Nathan sighed and nodded.

A little bit later, they both sat side by side on separate chairs in the room.