Shadows and Popularity

Chapter 11: Dorm Rooms

Chapter 11: Dorm Rooms 

Maya was used to waking up early at 4 a.m. every school day.

This would give her enough time to stretch, do a little bit of laundry, clean the house, get breakfast cooking, and get ready for school. Unfortunately, since yesterday, her sleeping schedule was tousled. Yesterday she woke up around 5 in the morning, not enough time to clean the house but enough to at least get breakfast on the table and do some last-minute laundry. That morning however, she woke up around six thirty, an hour and a half's time before her first class starts, and was racing to the bathroom. She had to wake up Clarisse before and after her shower, and after she got changed. The musician couldn't be awoken though, so she set to at least make some quick breakfast.

Clarisse was at the table the moment the pan sizzled.

Maya ate her carrot sandwich with time in her hands while Clarisse ate as though her life depended on it. The musician girl finished her food in half the time Maya did, and just as the wallflower gulped down her glass of orange juice, Clarisse got back down, out of her sleeping clothes and wearing her rock star styled threads. The musician wore a black blazer over her green tank top. Her leather jeans was tightened by a golden chain belt.

Again, Maya saw the difference in them. Out of all the clothes in Clarisse's closet that she had the choice to wear, she chose a modest, greyish-black long sleeve shirt that fit comfily around her waist. The neckline was wide and started at the end of her shoulders, but pink straps kept them in place. A single silver star was its only décor on the shirt's chest as she wore a pair of simple blue jeans.

"So," Clarisse sounded as Maya cleaned the counter. "Where'd you two go off to last night?"

She inadvertently squeezed the cloth, her face blushing at the remembrance of their time out on the mountain. "Uh..." She didn't know what to say, and in her fluster, she started to clean the dishes. "I- we- How did you even know about that!?"

The musician raised a brow. "Sweetie, I've read the school's blog." Maya stopped all action as Clarisse shook her head. "Some people just don't have a life to live I guess. To be able to post these kinds of stuff right after it was published sure takes the cake. I mean, don't they have anything else better to do?"

Her voice went cold. "I guess..."

Clarisse looked at her when she turned the faucet off and wiped her hands on the nearest towel.

"Maya?"

"Let's go to school." The wallflower looked back at her with a smile. But in that smile, Clarisse noticed something different. "We're going to be late if we don't hurry."

She passed her when she got out of the kitchen entrance and didn't bother looking back at her when she started looking for what shoes she might wear.

Boots, combat boots, platform boots, and, what a surprise! More boots...

Maya's shoulders dropped. The sight of leather and cooking eggs earlier had already made her want to throw up but she didn't want to take control of someone else's house and just cook them something they might not like. Scrambled eggs were a basic breakfast for most people, but she hadn't cooked any in such a long time, even her uncle was gracious enough to not make her cook any form of meat whatsoever, not even eggs. That, along with everything that had happened last night, and her lack of sleep, all equal to an uncollected Maya.

Honest to goodness, she hadn't felt this way since she ruined their class play back in elementary school. She was to play as a tree back then, but during the play where snow white was sent to lose her way in the forest, she started sneezing vehemently, unable to stop. The leading actress forgot her lines then, and started blaming her for it. Maya felt terrible after the play, and along with the cold she got from getting pranked with a water balloon the day before, the only way she got over the ordeal was a long, good cry on her uncle's shoulder. She ruined his favorite shirt then, and she cried all the more.