Shadows and Popularity

Chapter 30: Dance

Chapter 30: Dance

“This is crazy!” Maya whispered.

Nathan shushed her with a smile, before gently tugging her by the wrist through the empty dark halls. He used his phone to light their way and Maya couldn’t help but smile.

She knew where he was leading her, but for what he had in store for her, she had no idea whatsoever.

Still Maya silently followed him through the halls, but halfway through, his phone’s light started to dim and he asked if she would mind if he could use her phone to light their way. She didn’t mind, and they exchanged phones. In the spur of the moment, as Nathan guided her through the halls she was already familiar with, since the phone was dying anyway and since she wasn’t sure when she’d get the chance again, she looked into his phone’s gallery, and to her surprise, she found a file entitled with her name.

It couldn’t be, could it? Still, she had to find out. She opened it, and picture after picture of her came into the phone’s screen. Her blush was as dark as the night setting the pictures were taken. Every background was a place they came across during their night out on the town, and the realization came just as the red battery notification flashed and the phone died.

That’s why he kept pointing that phone at me!

“We’re here!”

She looked up at him just as he opened the also unlocked double doors of the cafeteria. She thought he looked back at her with that unfamiliar warmth in his eyes again, but wasn’t too sure since he immediately took his eyes away from hers. They both stopped in the middle of the cafeteria, the very center of the rectangular wide room, the bench seats were placed to flank the length of the rectangular tables, and they both stood in silence, the windowed wall on one side letting the full moon’s light cascade through its glass and giving the place a surreal silver glow.

And as they both stood there in silence, his hand still holding onto her wrist, Maya felt a sudden calm engulf her. So much has happened in the span of a single week, sometimes she thought her life was better off on a reset, and other times she wouldn’t exchange for all the gold in the world. From a shy little wallflower used to the shadows of her solitude, to one of the most popular new names on their school’s social media.

It was a rough week, but she survived, and from now on, she was going to keep surviving no matter what was to happen. She was sure she could, especially with her new companion to stay by her side.

“This is where it all started.”

Nathan smiled when her fingers entwined with his as she nodded.