The next day, while Kayla was getting prepared for school, her mum barged into her room without knocking. Kayla at once turned her head to see who came in, she saw her mum and gave her a displeased look and continued what she was doing.
Her mum looked around her room and then walked up to her, "where were you last night?"
"What do you mean by that? I was in my room as usual."
"Don't give me that crap, you came home very late, where did you go to?"
Kayla turned to look at her mum who was staring at her with a suspicious look, "if you want to know so badly, I left my keys at school, so I had to go back to get them, that's why I was late."
She rolled her eyes and picked up her bag from her bed, her mum spoke up again, "ah I see, um well... I wanted to ask, do you have any money with you, I need it."
Kayla stopped in her tracks and sighed, she turned to look at her mum who was fiddling with the hem of her blouse, "mum, aren't you ashamed of asking your teenage daughter for money? You are a full-grown woman with three kids. You barely do anything at home, all you do is ask for money. Have some shame mum."
With that she left her the room. On her way out, she saw her dad in the kitchen preparing breakfast for everyone, he looked up at her and smiled.
She smiled back at him and sat at the dining table, he came out with her breakfast and pressed a small kiss on her forehead.
"How did you sleep last night?" She replied with a small "fine" and started eating her breakfast, her dad noticed the look on her face and put his hand on her shoulder. "You look upset, did anyone say anything to you?"
She shook her head and smiled "I just had a hard time sleeping last night, that's all."
Her dad patted her shoulder and left to continue with his cooking, she finished her breakfast, took her keys, waved her dad goodbye, and left the house.
On the other side of the world, Skylar was on his way to school when he received a text from his mum.
MUM
Heading to court early today.
Big case.
I won't be able to call,
I'll also be home late, don't wait up.
Try not to get into trouble, okay?
Read 8:15 am
Skylar read the message and just ignored it, he refused to let it spoil his mood today, so he told the driver to turn on some music.
He pulled out his phone and texted Dan, telling him to wait at the school entrance. By the time he got to school, Dan was already there waiting. He got out of his car and went to meet Dan.
They both walked into the school building and went to their first class. When they got to their seats, Dan noticed Skylar's mood was off, he wasn't talking much, and he also seemed to be zoning out. Dan leaned closer and whispered "you good, man?
Skylar blinked a few times before nodding slowly. "Yeah... just tired," he whispered back with a smile.
Dan didn't push further but kept throwing glances at him. He kn ew his best friend well enough to recognize when something was bothering him, even if he didn't want to talk about it.
Skylar peeped at his phone again under the desk, rereading the text from his mum. His fingers hovered for a moment like he wanted to reply, but then he sighed and locked the screen.
Dan heard the sigh and tapped his friend on his shoulder, "hey, is something wrong? You can talk to me about it."
Skylar shook his head, "it's nothing important."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Really, really, sure?"
Skylar glared at him causing Dan to laugh.
They both sat in silence after that, the class started. Skylar could barely focus throughout the whole lesson.
After class, the two friends went out on a walk around the school, to help Skylar clear his head.
On their way around the school, Skylar and Dan were talking quietly when Sophie suddenly appeared in front of them. She was the principal's daughter, the popular girl who always acted like she was the main character in everyone's story.
"There you are, Skylar!" she said, flipping her hair and walking straight up to him. "I was looking everywhere for you."
Skylar didn't respond. He kept walking like she wasn't even there.
Sophie hurried to keep up with him. "Why are you ignoring me?" she asked, pouting. "It's okay, I know you're just shy because Dan's here."
Dan rolled his eyes. "Sophie, can you just go?"
She ignored him and kept following Skylar, going on and on, trying to get his attention. But he stayed silent, not even sparing her a glance.
Then it happened.
Sophie tripped over her own foot and hit the ground with a loud thud. A few students nearby turned to look, then started laughing. The sound spread fast.
Skylar finally looked back. His expression was cold and unimpressed. He shook his head, turned around, and kept walking.
Dan chuckled and followed him. "Serves her right."
Sophie looked red with embarrassment and stood up fuming, she dusted her skirt and stomped off, extremely pissed that Skylar didn't even offer her a hand up.
____________________________
Later in the Cafeteria, Skylar stood in line with his tray. He wasn't really paying attention to anything around him.
Someone bumped into him.
"Sorry," a quiet voice said. The girl didn't look up. She grabbed her food and walked away quickly.
Skylar blinked, watching her leave. Her face... looked familiar.
Then it hit him-she was the same girl who had walked into the changing room yesterday by mistake. She'd run out so fast, he didn't get a chance to say anything.
"Wait..." his voice trailed off.
Dan noticed his face. "What's up?"
Skylar looked at him. "That girl-" then he suddenly remembered that he didn't even know her name. "-she walked into the changing room yesterday while i was changing. She just froze and ran out."
Dan raised his eyebrows, then smirked. "Oh. That explains a lot."
Skylar raised his eyebrow but Dan only smiled and cleared his throat pretending to behave.
Skylar and Dan sat at their usual spot in the cafeteria, trays of food in front of them. They ate in silence for a while, until Dan leaned back and gave Skylar a curious look.
"Okay seriously," Dan said, lowering his voice. "Why are you so bothered about a girl who just bumped into you?"
Skylar didn't say a word. He shot Dan a sharp glare, the type that said mind your business, then went back to eating.
Across the room, Kayla had found a quiet table and sat down. She placed her tray on the table, let out a small sigh, and mumbled to herself, "Nice one, Kayla. Real smooth."
She shook her head and picked at her food, trying to forget the whole thing.
But peace didn't last long.
A group of girls walked over—Sophie's friends. The kind that followed her around like shadows, always ready to stir trouble.
"Well, well," one of them said, smirking. "Still sitting alone?"
Before Kayla could respond, they started messing with her, knocking over her drink, tossing her food onto the floor, laughing like it was some kind of sick game.
Kayla didn't fight back. She just sat there, staring down at the mess, fists clenched in her lap. She had learned not to react. It happened too often, and reacting would only make it worse. Besides, one wrong move and she could lose her scholarship. That wasn't a risk she could take.
The students around them watched but said nothing. No one wanted to mess with Sophie's group, not when Sophie's dad was the principal.
Skylar kept his eyes on his tray, pretending not to notice.
But Dan, who was watching the whole thing, nudged him. "Dude isn't that... the same girl that bumped into you?"
Skylar looked up. His eyes found her, sitting there while the girls laughed and threw napkins at her. Something shifted in his expression. He didn't say anything, but before he could even know what he was doing, he was already on his feet.
Whispers broke out across the cafeteria as Skylar walked straight toward them. People stared but no one dared to speak.
One of the girls turned around and froze. "Oh-Skylar! Hey!" she said quickly, faking a smile. "We were just joking around, nothing serious-just having fun."
"That's not what it looks like to me." Skylar said with a cold unreadable expression on his face.
The laughter stopped, the girls exchanged nervous glances, then scattered without another word, like mice running from a cat.
Skylar stepped closer and bent down to help Kayla. She looked up at him, unsure, but finally reached and took his hand.
As soon as she was standing, Kayla let go and kept her eyes down. She turned away quietly, heading toward the bathrooms.
Skylar followed her.
Dan stood there for a second, completely confused, then hurried after them. "Wait-are we... following her now?
____________________________
Inside the bathroom, Kayla stood in front of the sink, trying to wash the stains of her uniform. She was quiet, focused, not even realizing someone followed her.
When she stepped out of the stall a few minutes later, she stopped in surprise. Skylar was standing there, leaning against the wall. Next to him was a guy she didn't recognize.
Her eyes widened and her face turned red. She suddenly realized who had helped her earlier.
She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
Skylar spoke first. "Are you okay?"
She gave a small nod, still not looking directly at him.
The silence between them felt heavy and awkward.
Dan cleared his throat. "So... what's your name?
"Kayla," she said softly.
Dan smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm Dan. And this awkward guy here--" He elbowed Skylar, "--was about to tell you his name."
Skylar blinked, as if just realizing where he was. "I'm Sky--"
"Skylar," Kayla said, finishing his sentence.
He stared at her, caught off guard. She finally looked up and met his eyes for a second, then looked away again.
Another moment of silence passed.
Dan groaned. "Okay, enough of this weird tension. We're going. Come on, Romeo." He grabbed Skylar's arm and pulled him away.
Kayla also walked away feeling more embarrassed than ever.
As the two boys walked off, Dan kept scolding his friend. "Bro, what was that? You've never been so awkward and speechless in your life!"
Skylar didn't answer. He just looked ahead, still trying to figure out what had just happened.
Dan laughed and shook his head. "Man, you're down bad, already."
Skylar gave him a look, but dan was already chuckling to himself again.
Dan tugged him by the arm when he realized that they'd soon be late for their next class. "Come on, bro, we're gonna be late."
Skylar quietly followed him to class, but his mind wasn't there. It was still stuck on Kayla—her face, her voice, the way she looked at him earlier, her eyes. And... her body.
He shook his head, trying to snap out of it. 'What is wrong with me?' he thought. 'I've talked to girls before, even had multiple girlfriends before. Why does talking to her feel so different?'
His heart was beating faster now, and he suddenly felt hot, like the air around him was too heavy.
"I need a sec." he muttered and slipped out of the classroom.
In the bathroom, he splashed cold water on his face, gripping the sink and staring at his reflection. "Get a grip," he told himself.
When he walked back into the classroom, he acted like nothing happened.
Dan gave him a side-eye. "You good?" he asked with a teasing smile.
Skylar didn't respond, he didn't know what to say. Was he fine? He didn't know.
Dan leaned closer, whispering, "You're blushing man. What was in that water? Her name written in soap bubbles?"
Skylar sighed in defeat. He knew this teasing wouldn't stop anytime soon, but he accepted his fate.