Deceitful Romance: Loved by a Manipulator

Chapter 2

Class was hard.

Not the teachings, not the subjects, but the people. There were too many of them in the clustered room, giving her a feeling of claustrophobia and anxiety. Everyone's scents mixed and the expensive, stinging perfumes of the girls made her want to vomit. She restricted her gaze to the professor and focused on listening to her voice. The whispers were tuned out for a brief moment, the unnecessary glances her way ignored. Her nostrils would flare each time when the feeling of nausea overcame her and she had to clench her pen tightly.

Must be because she hadn't eaten.

Or slept.

She swallowed the acid back down her throat and focused back on the lecture. It was nothing new. Just something she had to go through while dealing with people. Something that she could cope with. It was there for her whole life.

Overall, the hot air in the room was hard to intake. Soon she could hear rustling beside her. Sky was taking off her jacket and fanning herself with a notebook. It was one of the things they had in common, which Maia considered a great bonus to their ‘friendship’. Once the class would be over, they would comment on the suffocation they experienced and accuse the rest of the whiny students for being too wimpy to let some fresh air in.

Alas, the girls cared for their makeup way too much.

Another cause for irritation.

When the hour ticked by and the class was finally over, Maia and the girls left the room in a hurry. A breath of rainy, summer air would do them good while they’re on their break. They had two hours to do whatever they wished before one more class, a time they would willingly spend talking and joking in their little corner. The college campus never had any attractive spots to them, so the girls found a small space at the corners of their floor where they could sit and freely talk about anything. It wasn't as though it was always free, but they made sure to catch it before anyone else could sit there. Often, though, they were interrupted by other students from their major. They would invite themselves into their conversations and waste their time on awkward glances and chuckles on topics none of them understood.

Or simply didn't want to talk about.

Maia would react, but she knew the girls were too good to chase someone away just for that reason. She kept her mouth shut. For reasons unknown to her, Lina and Sky found her quietness in those situations unnerving. They pointed out their wishes; that she would involve herself in stupid conversations so that the three of them could later laugh at those that dare intrude their time. But Maia wasn't too fond of that idea.

She simply didn't have what to say.

Now, as they took their respective place, Maia hoped that there would be no imposing from other students this time. The narrow hallway through which they passed to their usual spot was deserted, making the paintings of unrecognized artists seem all too lonely. They turned the corner and immediately let their bags flop onto the, allegedly, oversized shoe closet. It was right in the corner, next to both passageways. It gave them the view of the empty corridor that ended with the staff bathroom. Right across from them, reaching high to the ceiling and pressed against the left wall, was a wooden bookcase. Inside were, what Maia recognized as, Chinese, Japanese and Korean dictionaries, books and guides. The covers were all black or brown, decorated with golden or shimmery orange letters that stretched into beautiful illustrations. There was about a hundred of them, maybe two, all set and placed perfectly by the color shades giving a very pleasing and aesthetic view to the outside world. What separated the masterpieces of Asian authors was glass, shaped as two indifferent doors. The keyholes in them were empty, probably kept by one of the staff in the college facility. If she could somehow access those keys and just for one day feel the embedded writings on the covers, stare at the beautiful curves of the ink written on the thin pages, she would be in the clouds for the rest of her studies.

Her eyes gently shimmered in the dim light as she spaced out for a moment. Lina and Sky were already used to Maia's occasional shut-down moments, to which they simply lowered their voices and left the girl to her imagination. Once she would come back, they would immediately include her in their conversation, leaving behind the dust of her previous daydreams. Maia slowly climbed onto the ‘shoe closet’ and made herself comfortable. She was calm now, her mind still and waters of her heart silent and in peace.

Last night's activities were left in the memory of the image of the dirty kitchen and, finally, she could breathe like everybody else. The three slowly indulged in funny topics, criticizing and speaking their minds as the bubble around them closed for the two hours of break. Maia wouldn't change this moment for the world but, just as she had learned in the past, she always expected the unexpected.

“Oh! I have to tell you something.”

Lina exclaimed in excitement. Maia recorded that moment as the start of her daily dose of aggression and euphoria and simply nodded to her exclamation.

“I saw the most beautiful boy here on campus. You won't believe how gorgeous he is!”

“If he's gorgeous by your standards, I'd rather pass.”

Sky retorted and scoffed, making goldilocks furrow her eyebrows.

“Oh shush it. I'm serious.”

“So? How did he look like?”

Maia interfered, leaning her head on the wall and giving her full attention to the angelic girl. Sometimes, Lina reminded her of a doll. Her blue eyes at most. They were deep ocean blue, only lighting up when some of the sun reaches them. Glimmering and crackling with life. But her skin and the smoothness of it looked like expensive porcelain, always shinning and looking freshly washed. She was, indeed, angelic.

Innocent.

“Okay, so; he was tall, very tall, tree tall. I'd give him approximately, 6'4'' of height.”

“Hell.”

“He had broad shoulders and all those perfectly fit body parts. Raven hair.”

“How black?”

Sky leaned forward, interested and listening to each word Lina spoke. Maia, on the other hand, hummed in wonder and tried to piece the image of the boy together in her mind. But she was too distracted and uninterested in the news to give it her best.

“As black as the night. But those eyes!”

Lina squealed, clasping her hands together.

“They were light blue, almost like the sky, if only the coat of slight silver color wasn't there.”

“Damn. Are you sure? That's a rarity.”

“I'm positive.”

Maia chuckled at the excitement of the two, turning their gazes to her form.

“You two sound like fifteen-year olds.”

“Trust me, if you could see him, your panties would drop to the floor.”

Sky covered her chest with a hand as she stared at the angelic girl in shock. Maia's eyebrows were already reaching the ceiling, the statement replaying in her mind. Lina wasn't the type to say those kinds of words. She never cursed, unless ticked off, never included herself in the talk of s*x and if something did consider boys, she would only give subtle and reserved comments. She was the ‘good girl’, raised by the church and loyal to her unknown future husband.

No marriage, no s*x.

Let alone a kiss.

“If you're saying that, then he must be a god.”

Maia commented, making Sky choke back her laughter and Lina squint her eyes in mock imitation.

“I'm telling the truth. Whether you believe me or not, you'll judge when you see him.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have a strong hunch that we'll be seeing him soon. Maybe just briefly, but we will.”

“Psychic.”

“Shut up.”

Maia stared at Lina for good thirty seconds until she confirmed that the hunch the girl was feeling was just her desire to gaze upon the said godly man she saw in the halls of their campus. She soon zoned out and returned to her previous daydream for about a quarter of time. For the rest of their break, Maia and the girls discussed their study plans and the projects they had to work on in the upcoming weeks.

No matter what, the three would always stick together. Presentations, projects, study appointments and dates. Outsiders were welcome as long as the three were there and got each other's back. When picking the assignments, the most agile one was to sign them up as fast as possible. That job usually fell into Maia's hands, which she sometimes found quite annoying. Nonetheless, she was good at getting them the best seats in classrooms, the best topics for work and best projects. She picked with her own taste and the taste she knew the two had and so far she had pleased both girls with her ability to push through to the finest rows of students. That meant that all three were at the top of the score list. Sky, Maia and then Lina. They all had their downfalls, but they always made up for it.

They were among the best.

An hour and a half of yet another session and the girls were finally roaming the hallways of their college completely free. They visited the toilet and eventually found themselves strolling to the exit. Maia tried to keep her facial muscles intact, refrain herself from grimacing at the crowd that cramped through the entrance door. She pushed through along with the two and at last took in the breath of fresh air she had been longing for.

Her eyes looked up at the clear blue sky. There was no trace of the morning rainy clouds, none of the smothering scent of water. Just clear, cloudless skies. Staring up at the brightness, she could feel her eyes watering from the wind, stinging from the lack of sleep. But aside from that, there was a strange energy that flew through her, a low pump of adrenaline and euphoria that made her lips spread into a smile. She inhaled, lungs filling with oxygen. Her mind finally went silent for the day, her thoughts clear and void of all the previous malevolency, letting her spread her cheerful wings at last. She looked down at her friends chattering and soon followed up on their slow stroll, pulling down the sleeves of her jacket and covering her hands completely.

She refused to reconcile and think of the night before. As the girls decided to go out for coffee for the next few hours, she settled her thoughts and included herself in the upcoming discussions.

She hoped for euphoria to stay in her veins.

Throughout the day, she prayed to be this cheerful tomorrow.

Maia Adler never loved the rainy nights. They brought something she could not fight alone in her shared apartment. She would throw herself into the abyss and let go, forgetting the consequences of her actions. Even when knowing that the way she chose to escape from that atmosphere was painful, agonizing, she relished in the feel of relief that washed over her the upcoming morning. Just like today, when the laughter of her friends fills her ears and the taste of coffee explodes in her mouth, she appreciates the quietness of her brain, the absence of depression.

There was just something Maia couldn't have predicted.

Her senses for the feeble rain might have been sharp, but she was dull to the smell of the uprising storm.