Friendship And Family (Currently undergoing a rewrite. Do Not Read.)

CHAPTER 9. Confession

                   Maria's POV

We rushed to the science lab after our lunch at the cafeteria, surprised to find Mathias in front of the building. We didn't expect that he would show up because he had been avoiding us lately. He wasn't present in class, and he didn't have lunch with us, for the first time in our squad history.

His navy blue hoodie was pulled over his head to provide his face enough shelter from the sun? Or for whatever reason he had it on in the first place as the atmosphere was dense with heat.

"You didn't show up for lunch," Andrew said to him.

"I didn't feel like it," he replied, avoiding an eye contact.

I peered closely, then noticed a faint, imprint of fingers on both sides of his face that his light skin failed to hide. A weight of guilt settled on my chest. The same emotion reflected on the others' faces when they saw it too. We all committed the same crime, but Mathias paid twice.

"We're sorry about what happened." Agnes' voice was buried in remorse, and there was nothing else the rest of us could say to repair the unfixable damage.

Mathias stared at us for a while. "Can we get to work already?" he said. "We're running out of time." He then turned around and walked inside the lab.

We glanced at each other, bearing a shameful mark of disloyalty, but more surprised at his attitude.

Our work mood was a contrast to what we had yesterday; boring, quiet and awkward. The lab was messier than I'd imagined that I doubted we'd make it on time. If only we had just skipped lunch. But then we wouldn't make any progress on an empty stomach.

I started to hear voices while we cleaned, and soon the science students began trooping in, looking like doctors in the white lab coat they wore on their uniforms.

"Oh, God..." Andrew muttered to himself in a breath of annoyance, his head bent as he focused on wiping the hard-stained dirt off one of the tiled island we were both cleaning. Mathias, Agnes and Francis were cleaning the counters.

I could barely survive the mumbling and snickering from these naughty folks as they spread out to their seats. My eyes caught his and I immediately looked away, feeling more embarrassed. I'd had too many awkward encounters with him. But cleaning a science lab with a bowl of water and a towel while he watched had to be the worst. Although unlike the others, he wasn't being a wanker.

"Make sure it's sparkling clean," one of the students said to Andrew, having a good laugh with his classmates that were around him. Andrew paused that instant with a clenched jaw and, before I could stop him, he kicked the stool the boy was about to sit on, causing him to fall hard on the ground.

Gasps, laughter and chatter that encouraged a fight filled the room. The boy pounced on Andrew the moment he sprang up, creating an uproar from the science students that craved violence. They held and pushed each other against the islands and counters in swift motions, falling the wooden table of lab tools we'd kept aside in the process.

We were too embarrassed to stop the fight, except Mathias who stood with a straight face, and whose eyes filled with anger and disappointment were fixated on Andrew.

I glanced at him, pleased to see that he wasn't impressed by the fight like most of his classmates were. He was seated patiently on his stool with a face that hoped for a class to hold, too composed for a teenager, which made him more attractive.

"What's going on here?!"

The room went quiet, as though someone paused a mass of cheering, grumbling and clamouring fans in a football stadium. Andrew pushed the big boy who had shoved him in the wall and began adjusting his shirt.