Akiel put in an effort.
For once, he actually made an effort.
He took the necessary drugs on time, ate food which he normally refused to eat and actually rested instead of pretending to be perfectly fine.
Everything about it was almost suspicious, particularly because this particular medicine had been specifically bought by Sylvian.
He looked at the pack of pills in his hands and downed the pills with the help of some water.
He hated admitting it and realizing that he actually wanted to recover.
Not out of the need to abide by the parents' wishes.
Not because he wanted to go back to doing things the way he used to.
And definitely not because he had become responsible.
He just wanted to see Sylvian once again.
That stupid grin.
That annoyingly warm presence.
Being with Sylvian somehow made everything easier.
The moment he thought of that, he frowned.
He would never confess that to anybody.
Most definitely not Sylvian.
A couple of days passed, and Akiel started to feel better.
Then he faced another issue.
His parents came to the conclusion that three months of resting was enough.
His time to return to modeling had come.
Akiel barely made a step into the world of cameras and schedules, and everything started moving fast once again.
Photoshoots.
Interviews.
Fittings.
Trips.
His face had become well-known before his break and his return brought the attention to another level. He was not just some teen who modeled occasionally. Akiel became a well-known teenage model and did work outside of his city and even abroad.
And now, everyone wanted to have him back after three months of him being away.
But he didn't want to come back.
Yet, his parents had made their decision.
But in school, it was business as usual.
Julia decided it was no longer okay to study by herself.
So, she called together some friends for a group study session at the library.
Among them was Akiel.
There was a problem, though.
Akiel was unavailable.
His older sister had found him a tutor, and once this tutor arrived, it became clear that there was no escape.
The library was the complete opposite.
It was quiet, but not silent.
At every turn of the page, the sound of pages filled the air.
Pens moved fiercely against paper.
Someone was whispering from another table and stopped upon receiving a warning look from the librarian.
The sunlight came in through the large panels of glass, illuminating the room's furniture and books.
One of the bigger tables with a view of the greenery was occupied by Julia.
Loaded with study materials, snacks, and healthy foods, Julia looked like she was ready for a few intensive hours of studying.
"Alright," she banged the tip of the pen against the surface of the table.
"Nobody gets out of here unless we finish this chapter," she said.
The other students rolled their eyes in dismay.
"We came here because you invited us,"
one of the students said quietly.
"What about it?" she replied.
"You are terrible!"
"Nice of you to say, thank you."
Sylvian chuckled from the other end of the table.
Julia turned to him.
"At least someone here understands me," she remarked.
"I wouldn't be so sure about it."
"Yeah, thanks."
The rest of the group did not need much time to grab their materials.
Sylvian was busy doing the tasks in his notebook, although he took pauses every now and then to clarify the information or get the answer from a colleague.
It was surprisingly calm.
And somewhere else, Akiel was trapped.
His mentor had been going over the practice problems for what seemed like ages.
Akiel checked the time on the clock.
Then looked at the textbook.
Then at the clock.
Still not moving.
Suddenly his phone vibrated.
He picked up the phone but not for long.
It was a text from Julia.
Julia: Look what you're missing.
A photo came next.
Akiel opened it.
The whole gang was on the library table.
And among them was Akiel.
Akiel's thumb stood above the screen.
Then it got a new message.
Julia: You could have been with us.
Akiel: I have a tutor.
Julia: Excuses.
Akiel locked his phone.
He looked at the book once again.
Three seconds later he unlocked the phone.
He checked the photo one more time.
This time his eyes were on Sylvian.
"...Annoying."
He zoomed in.
Then zoomed back out realizing what he was doing.
He was not able to sneak away.
His mentor was right there observing him closely.
Even if he was able to escape, the parents would get to know about it before he even reached the street.
This is why he had no choice but to stay behind.
Sylvian and his colleagues kept doing their studies while Akiel was stuck in his chair, listening to his mentor explaining yet another question.
Time passed slowly.
The library group became more serious.
The jokes stopped.
The food got finished.
One book became three.
Three notebooks turned into the stack.
The group was beginning to see that the exams were coming sooner than it had been thought.
A week went by.
The library team kept meeting.
Akiel kept learning with his tutor.
And somewhere between all this too much to work on activity and the coming exams, they began feeling more distant from each other--
even though Akiel could not stop thinking of the person he wanted to see.
Sylvian.
And the stupid smile he couldn't get out of his head...