September 14th. Thursday, 2:52 PM.
Malakai rested his head on his table, eyes closed, but he wasn't sleeping. Delilah leaned to her left and gently placed her hand on Malakai's head. After getting a feel of his hair, she couldn't resist ruffling his hair.
"Malakai, we're almost there", Delilah said. "Just one more hour".
...
Malakai didn't respond.
"Is he dead?" she asked herself under her breath. After getting no response, Delilah kept messing with his hair, "Your hair is really soft", she said, ruffling his hair a bit, almost as if he were a dog.
Malakai swatted her hand. "Aryt (Alright), stop", he said, lifting his head and rubbing his eyes with his left hand. "We're not almost done? We have one more day left", he tiredly added, showing he was listening.
"You know what I meant", Delilah replied with a small smile, seeing his hair. "We're almost done for today".
Benjamin turned around after hearing some talk to see what they were doing. "Whoa, Mally, the fuck happened to your hair?" he asked, his eyes widening in surprise.
"She messed it up", Malakai replied, pointing at Delilah, not knowing what he looked like.
"His hair is really soft. Have you felt it?" Delilah asked happily, her smile growing.
William turned around quickly. "I haven't. Let me feel it", he said, snappily reaching for Malakai's hair.
"No! Piss off", Malakai said, instinctively flinching back and outstretching his hands to defend himself. After easily evading William, he got his phone and used the front camera to fix his hair.
Delilah watched him, looking at his hair in particular. "Do you dye your hair?" The ends of your hair are brown?".
"Yeah, I dyed the tips of my hair before I came to America", Malakai replied, putting his phone down after fixing his hair. "This is the first time I tried it. I'll probably dye it again when it fades", he said, picking some of the ends of his fringe to see the colour. "What about your hair? You thinking about growing it out?".
Delilah pinched a few strands of hair and started twisting it, "I'm the same as you. I cut it before coming to this academy. My hair was long before, it came up to here", she said, putting a hand just below her shoulder to give them an idea of how long her hair was before.
"Do you have a picture?" William eagerly asked.
"Yeah, let me show you," she said, pulling out her phone.
She unlocked her phone and started scrolling through her camera roll. She found a good photo and showed the three of them.
"Your hair wasn't that long", Benjamin said.
"Yeah. I wanted to cut my hair just a little", Delilah replied. "Short, but not too short".
"You suit both", Malakai complimented, switching his gaze from the photo to her.
That compliment made her curious. Delilah looked at the picture herself and asked, "Do you prefer girls with longer or shorter hair?".
She wasn't asking for herself. She just wanted to know what he preferred, as Malakai never talked about girls.
"I don't mind, I like both". Malakai shrugged. "I like women".
"Why did you say it like that?" Benjamin chuckled as he said it like a weirdo.
"I have to let you lot know innit".
"What about you guys?" Delilah asked Benjamin and William.
"Long hair, " William confidently answered.
"I don't mind", Benjamin answered.
"You guys don't have a type?" Delilah asked, putting her phone down and glancing between Malakai and Benjamin.
"I have a type", Benjamin said, nodding. "But hair, I don't really care. As long as it's not as short as mine, then I'm good", he said, brushing his hair with his hand.
Delilah turned to Malakai, who didn't answer.
"Not really", Malakai replied, shaking his head, not sounding too convincing.
"He says this every time we ask him", Benjamin told Delilah. "You'll get the same answer we get".
"What type of girl would you go for then?" Delilah curiously asked, looking at him.
Malakai leaned back in his seat. Tilting his head back, his eyes wandered to the ceiling, trying to think of an answer that would be satisfactory.
"I guess someone who can make my heart skip".
Delilah's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as her face scrunched up. "Is that it?".
She turned to Benjamin and William, who looked like they'd heard that answer before. They expected to hear something like that.
"That's a new one", William said. "He usually says someone who can make him happy".
"Nah, he's said this one before too", Benjamin replied. "It's the same thing, but he's trying to sound more sophisticated".
Delilah looked back at Malakai, waiting patiently for him to be serious and give a genuine answer, but Malakai looked like he was done. His face showed he wasn't playing for once. He finished giving his answer and had nothing else to add.
"Your heart always skips for me though", Benjamin jokingly said, smirking, filling the silence.
"Yeah, man, all the time", Malakai responded sarcastically, nodding his head.
Delilah giggled a little, "What about William?" she asked, pointing at him.
William turned and tilted his head at Malakai.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Malakai said, screwing his face.
"Answer the question dude", William replied, swiping his hand at him.
"Bro, you look like an alien, and your name's Willy. My heart ain't doing shit".
Delilah and Benjamin burst out laughing.
William closed his eyes and lifted his head to the sky. He knew it was coming. He let out a deep breath.
"My name is William or Will. Not Willy", he calmly told him.
"Willy's easier", Malakai replied, shrugging.
"Willys two syllables, Wills one. What are you talking about?" William said, getting triggered.
"I'm not talking logically. I'm talking about me. It helps me sleep at night knowing I can call my best friend Willy", Malakai said, making himself laugh.
William shook his head. "I hate this guy, man", he said, turning around and leaving the conversation. Malakai successfully triggered him.
Despite all the jokes, Delilah was still thinking about Malakai's answer.
"Malakai. Were you serious?" Delilah asked. "Surely a lot of girls can make your heart skip a beat".
Malakai looked at her and knew he wasn't escaping the question. He smirked. "I guess", he shrugged. "Like, don't get me wrong innit. I find a lot of girls attractive. Every girl in this class is attractive. But that's it. I don't feel anything special".
"We're talking about type though", Benjamin said. "Isn't there a type of girl you prefer over others?".
"Physically no", Malakai shook his head. "If someone's pretty, they're pretty innit. Every race has pretty women".
"So you're talking about personality?" Delilah asked, understanding him a little. "You're thinking about what type of personality you'd want a girl to have".
"Kinda", Malakai replied. "But it's not like my type is nice, caring girls cuz most girls are like that. I just want someone who can make my heart skip", he said, trying his best to articulate his thoughts.
"Have you ever had a crush?" Delilah asked.
"Probably when I was younger, but I can't think of any recently", Malakai replied, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his desk. "I don't know. I feel like if I were to like someone, I'd feel something different. A new emotion or feeling. I'm just waiting on that feeling innit".
"Do you know what type of feeling you're waiting for?" Delilah asked, wanting him to describe it, feeling like he was talking about love.
"Nah, but I feel like I would know when I feel it", Malakai said, vacantly staring ahead and trying to describe what he was imagining in his mind.
"Okay..." Delilah normally said, despite being entirely unsure how to respond.
She still wasn't convinced by what Malakai said, but she could see he wasn't lying. Everyone has a different perspective on love. Even Delilah didn't have a full definition of what she thought love was, but she understood crushes and types.
Benjamin sat up and excitedly fixed his posture. He thought of something.
"I heard when you hear the words I love you, it increases your heart rate", he said, completely making it up.
Malakai snapped out of it and looked at him, "Do you want us to try it or something?".
"Yeah, Mally, you should try it", William said, returning to join the conversation again after eavesdropping the whole time.
Malakai looked at Delilah to see what she thought about it.
"I don't mind", she said, wanting to try it. "But don't fall in love", she jokingly said.
Malakai smirked. "I doubt I will". He straightened his back and slightly twisted his body to her. "Aryt, you say it first. I'll see if my heart skips a beat".
"What? Why me?" Delilah asked, glancing at everyone.
"I agree", Benjamin quickly said.
"Ladies first", William followed.
Delilah tilted her head, "I'm feeling a bit of deja vu."
She exhaled with a little smile. She turned her chair towards Malakai and sat up straight. Malakai didn't turn his chair. He kept his same position just looking at Delilah. Benjamin and William secretly pulled out their phones and recorded.
"Okay... Malakai, I love you".
...
After that, it felt like time had stopped. All Delilah heard was silence.
Silence? Why did she hear silence? Wasn't there supposed to be background noise of people talking?
Delilah slowly turned her head to the right and saw most of the class staring at her. All of her classmates witnessed a confession. Well, it looked like a confession, but in reality, it wasn't.
She quickly turned back to Malakai, who was smiling like he always does. He moved his hand to his chest to feel his heart.
"Nah, I don't feel anything", he said, shaking his head, clearly taking the piss.
Delilah was embarrassed. She felt her body burn up.
"Aren't you going to say it back?" she said with a tinge of panic in her voice, waving her hands.
"Why would I say it back?" Malakai replied, grinning from ear to ear, knowing what he had just done. "I don't love you".
He knew the whole class was watching and heard the confession, so he was just going to make it more embarrassing for her.
"That was the deal!" Delilah said, louder, panic clearly showing now.
"Deal? I don't remember. I don't see no contract", Malakai said, trying not to break down and laugh.
Benjamin and William were already laughing with their phones out. Delilah was getting no help.
"Damn, Mally has already got a girl confessing to him. You need to step up your game, Lu", David said, nudging Lucas's arm.
"I'm not a playboy. I don't know where you got that idea from", Lucas replied, knowing full well it was Malakai who started it.
"You kinda are one", David said.
Lucas smirked, "If you think I'm one, you need to look up the definition", he said. "I've just been in a lot of relationships".
"See Maria, I told you he was trouble", Tanisha said, frowning in disgust. "A girl confessed to him, and he's laughing in her face".
Maria didn't respond. He chin was resting on her palm while her eyes stayed locked towards that corner.
Back in the corner, Delilah knew she had been played, and the worst possible scenario happened. She had to try to resolve it because looking at those three, she knew she wouldn't help. She stood up and announced,
"I don't love him! We were testing something out!".
The class looked at her like she was crazy. It didn't help that her face was flushed, not from conveying her feelings but from embarrassment.
Malakai, William and Benjamin were dying of laughter. William and Benjamin were still going strong, both of them barely keeping their phones still while recording.
Delilah couldn't do anything more. She sighed and dropped into her seat.
"Why're you recording?!" she shouted, finally noticing their phones. She tried swiping Benjamin's phone.
"We needed evidence for the experiment", Benjamin replied, laughing while dodging Delilah's attacks. "This is so we can review the results later".
Benjamin swiftly put his phone in his pocket, far away from Delilah's reach. Seeing that there was nothing she could do, Delilah gave up and slumped into her seat, defeated.
"Don't worry. We'll get 'em next time", Malakai comforted, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Shut up", Delilah said, annoyed, avoiding Malakai's gaze and backhanding his hand away. "I'm never trusting you again".
"C'mon, it ain't that deep". Malakai said, trying to fix things. His tone didn't sound too sympathetic though.
"Mally, you've done enough", Benjamin finished laughing. "You've hurt her feelings".
"Ahhh, my stomach hurts", William said, holding his stomach.
Delilah was pissed, but couldn't help but smile. She hid her smile with her hand, hiding her face from them, finding the funny side of it all. Even though the three embarrassed her, she was glad they had gotten close enough to play jokes like that. Plus, she couldn't be too mad because she played right into their hands. On the brighter side, she knew that now it was free game. She had a pass for revenge at any time.
Malakai looked at Delilah with his peripherals and acknowledged she wouldn't talk to him, but he noticed she wasn't angry or hurt. He turned to his left to look out the window.
"Damn, it's raining again".
It was pouring down, but it didn't look miserable. From the inside, it looked calm and tranquil.
"Again? It's the first time it's rained while you're here", William said, picking up on what he said and looking at him like he was confused. "It's the first time it's rained in about three weeks. You've only been here for two".
Malakai paused for a second and thought about it.
"...Oh shit yeah.... In England, it's always raining, so I guess I'm used to the rain", he replied, his eyes glued to the rain.
Delilah sneaked a peek at Malakai while he wasn't looking. She couldn't see his eyes, but from his body language, she could tell something was different about him. A moment ago, he was crazy and laughing his head off, but now he was calm. It was a complete energy shift. She wouldn't call it relaxed. She couldn't call it anything. She couldn't put a finger on what it felt like. It almost didn't feel like Malakai.
"Maybe he likes the rain. He did say it rained a lot in England", Delilah thought to herself. "Maybe this reminds him of home".
She suddenly felt eyes on her. Delilah spun her head to the front. In the corner of her eye, she noticed a little pretty model looking at her.
"Great, she's looking at me again... Or is she looking at me?".
"Sorry, I'm late! Let's get started quickly", the teacher said, rushing into the classroom and hastily putting his books on the desk.
Everyone became silent and faced the front.
Maria stopped looking towards the corner and turned to the teacher.
Delilah, one last time, glanced at Malakai without turning her head.
Malakai was still looking out the window.
Delilah rested her elbow on the table and placed her chin on her palm.
She quietly sighed, and under her breath, she said,
"Clueless".