Mind game
708 Words
The library was unusually quiet for a Thursday afternoon, except for the faint scratch of pens on paper and the occasional whisper. Eliana sat at their usual study table surrounded by her color-coded notes and neatly stacked textbooks. Her fingers drummed anxiously on the table. Zion was late again.
she checked her watch; five minutes, ten minutes, twelve minutes the door finally creaked open and Zion sauntered in like he owned the place, A smug smile curved his lips, sleeves rolled, a pen twirling lazily between his fingers
" Didn't miss much, did I? " He asked sinking into the chair opposite hers.
" You are thirteen minutes late " She snapped
" lucky number, maybe as well make this our best session ".
Eliana narrowed her eyes " You realize this counts for forty percent of our grades right? "
He gave a short laugh. " What, you think I don't care because I don't come in flailag with high-lighters and color-coded tab? "
She ignored the jab and asked " Did you do your section? "
Zion slide a sheet of paper across the table. It was hand-written - clean, sharp, precise.
" YOU quoted zimbardo?" She asked suprised." And referenced kohlbery's theory
She hesitated "You actually read.... the material?"
"Contrary to your assumption I do read, I just don't feel the need to broadcast it".
She exhaled slowly. "You could've let me know"
"You never asked" He leaned back with that insufferable smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"You usually don't do the work".
"I do what matters and when it matters"
He gave her a look that held just enough edge to unsettle her.
She bristled. "You are incredibly arrogant".
"I am accurate" His voice dropped cooler now.
"You think effort equals value, I think outcome does that's where we differ".
Eliana slammed her laptop shut and said "You act like you don't care,but here you are, turning in analysis better than most students".
Zion tilted his head "You're mad that I'm good at this, admit it".
"I'm mad that you pretend you're not" she replied him.
He leaned in, "Why does it bother you so much that I don't play by your neat little rules?"
"Because this isn't a game" she replied sharply.
He chuckled - dark, low with something dangerous beneath and said "Everything is a game Elijah".
"Stop calling me that" she said sharply
"Why? it fits, you like pretending you're
not soft under all this order and
ambition" Zion asked.
Eliana's pulse quickened "You don't know anything about me".
"But I notice things", he said tone sharpening.
"You write in margins when you are nervous, you double-check your laptop battery before class. You sit in the same seat, third row from the front dead center".
She swallowed
"You like control because without it , you feel like you're drowning".
Her voice was tight "You're projecting". He laughed again but there was no warmth "Maybe, but it's still true"
Eliana stood up abruptly and said
"I don't have to sit here and be psychoanalyze by someone who can't even be on time".
"You are not leaving because you are offended, you are leaving because I am right " Elijah said not moving. Her hand gripped her bag strap.
"You want me to be stupid and lazy so you can dismiss me, but when I beat you intellectually you hate that more"
She froze.
He stood, closing the space between them without touching her. His presence was magnetic suffocating, " You will go home and pretend this doesn't get to you, but you will still hear my voice in your head. You will still wonder what I will say next".
Eliana's voice cracked "You are so cruel".
"Only to people who try to pretend they are untouchable" Zion said coldly
She looked away, jaw tight.
"I am not your problem Eliana, I am your mirror" He whispered.
She turned and walked away without another word, heels clicking sharply across the floor. her heart pounded with a mixture of fury and something far more dangerous - Fascination.
Behind her Zion watched her go with no apology in his eyes only calculations.
He knew what he was doing.
And it was working.
- Writer
