“Are you sure?” She wasn’t convinced.
“Yeah, yeah,” he dismissed it quickly. “I was just thinking about something.”
“Okay.” She scrunched her brows for a second. “Anyway, what are you making?”
“Maybe a stir-fry?”
“As something who specializes in eating, I have very, very high expectations, chef.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way, and I think I have just the plan that’ll wow the judge.”
She smiled. “I sure hope so.”
The weirdness of the situation melted away, and they effortlessly fell back into a familiar routine.
The best part was that, he was in his element. Adrian was confident that he could make a damn good vegetable stir-fry in less than twenty minutes. Just enough time before the two devils return and make another mess.
As he heated the oil in the pan, he could hear her hum a song in the background. It was a pleasant sound, a little off-key, but still pretty good.
Something about today was different.
They reached a milestone, but which one? He wasn’t exactly sure, but he did know that she trusted him enough to be alone with him in his house.
That made him a lot happier than it probably should.
Chapter 8
Aria
Aria kept her window open and let the cool breeze flow into her room. Fall was already in full swing; from the crisp air to the crunch of the sunset-colored leaves. Everything wonderful about fall had begun with the exception of the pumpkin spice craze.
As she lay on her bed with Fractured, a book she needed to read for her English class, she wondered why teachers often assigned books like these. Although she understood the purpose of having a class book (so it would lead to deep discussions and eventually introspective essays), she had to wonder . . . why Fractured?
Call her cynical, but everything about the two main leads were over-idealized.
Fractured, in a nutshell, was about a girl who somehow learned about the future. Throughout the story, she went crazy as she tried to defy it at first, but eventually found out that her defiance and her actions were the reasons why she ended up in the future she hates.
The other main protagonist, some basic guy no one really cares about (Trenton or something), makes an appearance and the girl starts to like him. This of course, leads the plot into one predictable and boring story to the next, coupled with one melodramatic line after another.
Needless to say, they didn’t end up together, and the book tried to make it into such a sad moment. As if real life tragedies didn’t exist aside from unrequited romance and teenage angst.
Aria never considered herself as a literature snob, but when Ms. Anderson assigns books like these, she couldn’t help but question her teacher’s life choices. Maybe Ms. Anderson was going through her spinster phase and was trying to live vicariously through the story? That was fine of course, and Aria didn’t mind if it was a personal thing for Ms. Anderson, but it was a class assignment. Reading this type of trash fiction made her want to throw something to the wall.
Real life wasn’t some fairy-tale meant for kids. Not everyone gets to hear what they want; not everyone gets to have the good options available; and not everyone gets closer to a happy ending. That just wasn’t how real life worked.
Again, Aria glanced at the book and contemplated on whether or not she should just read SparkNotes or Wikipedia instead, because there was literally nothing good about the book. Then again, if Ms. Anderson suddenly decides to quiz them on the material then she’d be screwed.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Aria wondered just how badly she could score on a quiz while still keeping her letter grade. Mini-mental calculations floated in her mind, and she realized that there really wasn’t a large margin of error on the horizon.
She cursed under her breath, opened the book, and attempted to at least skim the material for the fifth time.
Does he even read for fun though? Her eyes widened a little when she realized what she just asked herself.
Why am I thinking about him?
Nevertheless, Aria didn’t become flustered, angry, or even frustrated. It was a small thought to which she felt a little depressed about, but she quickly tried to accept it. It was just another unrequited crush that would eventually pass with time. They all do.
After all, what could she possibly offer him? She knew he was a good, nice, funny, a little stupid but charming guy; and he literally had so many things going for him that Aria knew there was simply no way it could happen.
No way.
Because they were just friends.
Friends.
It’s not like he hinted at anything else. There’s no reason to think about anything else besides friendship. What we have is strictly friendship! She thought stubbornly and looked at the assigned book once more before a wave of irritation hit her.
Besides, he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would go for someone like me.
***
“Can anyone tell me about Brea’s actions and why it hurt Tristan?” Ms. Anderson asked the most A to Z questions imaginable.
One of the girls raised her hand. “It’s because she didn’t want to create any distrust with him.”
“Good,” Ms. Anderson said then continued, “Now can someone tell me what that implies?”
“That she’s a f*cking idiot,” Aria muttered softly.
“What was that?”
Aria realized her mistake. In a quiet room filled with quiet students, her little comment was practically the loudest thing in the world.
Lovely.
“Aria?” Ms. Anderson looked at her expectantly.
“Yes?”
“What does it imply?”
Aria wondered if biting her tongue and telling Ms. Anderson the answer she wanted would get her anywhere. Then again, she already spent countless hours trying to read something she didn’t even like.
