Lana POV
To say I was angry would be an understatement. Why the hell would Mr. Eliot ask Maya to explain homeostasis when he clearly knows we are not even in this class? The man was just evil. That's probably why he's short. Actually, scratch that — it's me that has been hyping his height all this time. That man is brief. Like, if escaping the dwarf gene was a competition, he barely made it.
And I already knew he would come after me once he was done embarrassing Maya, but thankfully some guy answered the question before he could. I thought we were finally off the hook. Nope. The tiny menace had other plans.
"Lana," he called, adjusting his glasses like some movie villain. "What is the body's response to cold called?"
Excuse me?
How am I supposed to know that? Why does biology even exist in the first place? Our body reacts to stuff, okay, that should be enough explanation. This is exactly why I'm going into acting because I do not have the patience for this suffering.
Honestly, biology was terrible, and Maya was not helping matters either. Since that class ended, she had been acting weird. Quiet. Moody. Frowning every two seconds.
"What's wrong with you?" I finally asked, annoyed because I had been trying to talk to her for the past ten minutes. "You've been acting strange since biology."
Maya barely looked at me.
"I need to confirm something," she muttered.
I frowned. "Confirm what? First you said you wanted to check on Lee, now you want to confirm something. What exactly are you trying to confirm?"
"Lana, not now."
And then she walked away hurriedly before I could stop her.
What the hell was her problem?
I sighed and dragged myself toward my next class. Maths.
I hate maths with every single piece of my soul.
The moment I entered the class, I spotted Mary immediately and dropped into the seat beside her dramatically.
"What happened to Maya?" Mary asked. "She seemed upset when I saw her."
I groaned. "I honestly don't know. She's acting weird for no reason. She'll come around eventually."
I rested my head on the desk tiredly. Seriously, why do people enjoy biology? That subject is mentally exhausting.
A few moments later, Lee walked into class, and like usual, the entire room turned to stare at him. Normally, he sat in front. So did Maya and I, mostly because Maya had been obsessed with getting his attention for ages.
But since Maya wasn't here today, I sat at the back with Mary instead.
So imagine my surprise when Lee started walking toward our row.
And then sat directly behind me.
Okay… weird.
I didn't think much of it at first, but throughout the entire class I could literally feel someone staring holes into my head. It was intense enough to make me uncomfortable.
I turned slightly and caught Lee already looking at me.
His gaze didn't even waver.
Why was he staring at me like that? Was he looking for Maya?
"Mary," I whispered nervously, "why is the dude behind me staring at me like a creep?"
Mary looked way too amused. "I'm surprised you're even asking that."
I blinked at her cluelessly. "Do you think he's looking for Maya?"
At this point his staring was making me self-conscious, so I quickly tore a sheet of paper from my notebook and scribbled something down.
Me: Hey, are you looking for Maya?
I passed the note to him nervously.
He looked at my hand, took the paper, read it… and frowned.
Immediately, I turned away because I was not interested in provoking anybody. Instead, I forced myself to focus on the board. Who knows? Maybe today would finally be the day algebra started making sense.
A few seconds later, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
Lee handed me another folded note.
I opened it and frowned.
Before I could even react, Mary snatched the paper from my hand, read it, and gasped dramatically.
"I knew it!" she whispered excitedly.
"Knew what?" I asked, completely lost.
But before she could answer, class ended.
Later, while walking toward the cafeteria with Mary, I spotted Maya leaning against the hallway wall. Relief instantly flooded through me.
"Maya!" I called happily. "Guess what? I think I found a way for you to finally talk to Lee—"
But instead of looking excited, Maya scowled at me.
Actually scowled.
Then she turned and walked away without saying a word.
I blinked in confusion before turning to Mary. "Okay, seriously, what is her problem?"
Mary winced. "Yeah… you just got caught in Maya's grudge web."
"What is that even supposed to mean?" I asked, now fully frustrated because if there's one thing about me, my entire life practically revolves around Maya. So her ignoring me was affecting me way more than it should.
Mary sighed dramatically before pulling me toward an empty table.
"Sit down."
I sat.
"You remember that day at the football field?" Mary started carefully. "When Lee kept staring during practice?"
I nodded slowly.
"Well… Maya thought he was staring at her."
"Okay?"
Mary gave me a look. "Lana… I think she finally realized he was staring at you instead."
For a second, my brain completely stopped working.
Then it finally clicked.
And my eyes widened in horror.