The Assassins Fall: The Mirror Saga

Chapter 3

Maya

The next day...

I was surprised when I heard from Claire the next morning that Aaron wasn't attending school today. Sitting on my bed with my towel wrapped around me and my hair still wet from the shower I just took, I was scrolling through my text messages with Claire. All the meanwhile, avoiding texts from Stephanie and her group of friends. I needed to mute the group chat or leave it. My phone buzzed and I saw another text from Claire, yet another one saying that she couldn't get through to Aaron.

"Maya?" my mother asked as she knocked on my door. I put my phone down and quickly stood up, walking over and opening the door. I stuck my head out and smiled at my mother, seeing her smile back at me. "Are you still not dressed?" she asked me. "Claire should be picking you up soon, make sure you're ready for her when she gets here," she said as she kissed my head and left to make sure my father was ready for work.

I closed my door and sighed, walking over to my dresser and pulling out my clothes. I put them on and grabbed my backpack, opening it to make sure all my homework from the night before was in there. Once I was sure that I had everything in, I threw my backpack over my shoulder and pocketed my phone. Luckily Claire lived only a few minutes away from me, which made picking me up an easy task to accomplish. I heard the front door open and heard Claire greet my parents in very poor Icelandic, which my parents appreciated the fact she was trying at the least.

Leaving my room, I shut my door and walked down the stairs to see Claire holding a hair brush for me. She giggled and told me to spin around, which meant I had to drop my backpack as she brushed my hair. We both enjoyed it since it calmed our nerves and made us closer together as friends. Once my hair was smooth she put the brush in her backpack and looped her arm through mine, after I put my shoes on. We bid my parents farewell and left for her car.

"Alright, so I got word from Liam that Aaron did in fact show up to school," Claire told me, which made me happy on the inside. I hoped he was in a better mood than he was in yesterday, because then we could have an actual conversation. Aaron needed time to tell me how he felt, but I could tell that I might need to be one who 'takes the first step' in the relationship. "So, eat lunch with us, Liam and I will leave after a few minutes. Once you two are alone, either kiss him or just tell him how you feel," Claire instructed me as we closed the doors to her car. "You can do this girl!"

I smiled at her and she started the car, plugging her phone into the car so we could listen to music as we drove to the school. I lived 10 minutes from the school and Claire was always giving me a ride. After school I was responsible for obtaining a ride back home, and due to yesterday's events I chose to take the ride from Claire. She played my favorite song and the two of us started to sing along, dancing in the car as we drove. We passed the bus carrying Stephanie and her friends, I could feel the questioning gaze from her eyes as she saw the two of us dancing and laughing together.

I didn't care what she thought of me. I had Aaron, Claire, and Liam. Those were the only friends and family I needed at school to make me happy. I lowered my window and Claire lowered her's, turning up the music as we sang louder. I could hear the cheers and whistles from the boys on the bus. We sped up and got in front of the bus, our windows still down as we arrived at the parking lot quicker than usual. She lowered the volume as I used the control panel to raise my window as she rose hers. I heard Claire start to laugh, and I turned to look at her.

"Everything alright?" I asked her, watching as she nodded her head, still laughing. I titled my head, wondering what was funny. She pointed to her hair and I pulled down the sunshade on the car, opening it up to reveal the mirror. My hair was a total mess, and I couldn't have Aaron see me like this. "Oh FUCK!" I swore, quickly grabbing the brush from Claire's backpack to brush my hair. I wanted to make a good impression when I told him my feelings, and not have my hair look like a rat's nest.