Escapade of the Dawn

Chapter 3

As class went on, the sun had begun to shine through the light-grey clouds. Rays of gold and white, peeking onto the cold prison many students called their high school. It was just about to be lunch, the time almost everybody enjoyed about school. Not a single person could hate it; it's the time outside of class whilst in school. Perfect for hanging out with friends without having to worry about parents or permission. 

At the moment, Maya had been day-dreaming, waiting for the bell to release her from English class. It felt as though the day wanted to feel longer for any student that had things to do, or any students who just wanted to go home. 

Finally, the bell rang, multiple students beginning to pack their things, while others had already packed up and were walking out the door. Maya was one of those who always packed up early. She never saw a point in leaving her stuff out when she had already finished with whatever work she was required to do. Before she could leave, she felt another tap on her shoulder. It had been on the top of her backpack strap, so the dread and fear she usually felt was rather... muffled. 

She turned around to see Briar again. "Hey, I didn't catch your name. I'm Briar." He held out his hand to shake it. As much as Maya wanted to shake his hand, be polite, she couldn't bear the feeling of it. Couldn't deal with the amount of fear, dread, and discomfort she'd feel. "I know you. Pretty much everyone in this class knows you." She tried chuckling afterwards, to avoid making it seem like she was making fun of him. It came out a little bit more awkward than she wanted. "Oh, right." He chuckled, "Well, what's your name? If I may ask?" He still had his hand held out. 

She put it simply, and gave her name. "Maya. Can I ask why you want to know?" She realized how rude that might've sounded. "I mean- I didn't mean for that to come out as rude as it did." Backtracking, and lightly blushing from her embarrassment, she turned her head towards the door. Maybe it wasn't too late to run away.

"Oh." Briar seemed rather startled to be asked that. "I've just been, I guess, wanting some new friends." Maya couldn't argue with that. On occasion, she'd wonder what it would be like to have more friends than just Kay and Carwyn. Didn't mean she didn't love those two, but it was definitely a thought that came to her once in a while. 

"So, you're hoping to be friends with me?" Skeptical, and raising her right eyebrow, she didn't entirely know what she was supposed to do in this kind of situation. She'd never been used to making friends. She had gotten so used to just having Kay and Carwyn there with her, she had honestly forgotten what the requirements were to-

"Maya?" Her thoughts were interrupted by Briar looking at her, worried. "Oh, sorry. Habit of mine to daydream a lot." She chuckled, worried if that seemed weird. Briar laughed along, "Well, I was just asking if I could sit with you and your friends at lunch?" Oh no. What does she say? 'Yeah, of course, just ignore the skeptical stares of my two friends!'  What does she do in this situation? What does she say to this kind of question? 

"Maya, where you at??" Kay and Carwyn stood by the door, knocking. "Oh. Those are my friends. Uh, let me introduce you." She walked out of the class, assuming Briar would follow along. "Hey. What're you doing here, if I may ask?" They had usually opted for meeting up at their table in the cafeteria, they never really came over to each other's classrooms unless they had to. 

"Who's this?" They ignored her question. "Oh, this is Briar. He asked if he could sit with us for lunch?" It came out more of a question. Not to make sure with Briar, but to see if it was okay with the two. "Oh, well..." As Kay hesitated, Carwyn continued her sentence to get it over with. "We were thinking of going to the library, and we already have passes to go." 

"Oh, that's fine. I guess I'll see you tomorrow in class, Maya." He patted Maya's shoulder, and walked away. She tensed once again. Ignoring this feeling, Maya turned back to face her two friends. "Are we actually going to the library?" They hadn't told her their new plans. "No, we aren't. You just looked uncomfortable around him. But we will be going to sit in front of the library and say we weren't allowed in if that guy sees us." Carwyn said, as he began walking towards the building the library resided in. A wash of relief, almost dizzying, came over Maya. Thankful, she began walking with her two friends.

Even with this newfound relief, Maya still felt incredibly shaky. Still rather uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the unexpected shoulder patting, or the idea that her friends were able to read her discomfort. She had not yet addressed this problem to Kay, nor to Carwyn. She wanted to, but how does someone explain they're terrified of being touched? How does someone get it across to another person that it isn't just a simple discomfort, but a genuine fear? A terrible dread that washed over her, at any moment when someone lightly brushed their arm against hers in the hallway from lack of space. How the hell do you explain that? 

They sat at the stairs nearby the library and began eating the food they brought from home. Or rather, the food Carwyn brought for them. Maya, rather uncomfortably, opted for sitting on the cold floor next to the stairs. The cold usually calmed her down. Either that, or it would make it worse. Thankfully, the cold floor wasn't too annoying for her. Didn't entirely calm her nerves, but they at least gave a distraction. 

"Maya, you're peanut butter's slipping." Kay chuckled, as Maya hurried to bite into her sandwich before it dropped onto her clothes or the floor. "So, you guys wanna do something this weekend?" 

Woah, a chapter right after I posted yesterday? I wrote this throughout all my classes today, I should prolly stop doing that. 

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter.