Lost at Heart

Chapter Three: Feathers in the Mist.

The classroom was lit, with rays from the windows cutting through into the space.

Ray sat on one of the desk bench, eyelids closed, his vocals spinning an acapella - low, stirring, a bit rough around the edges. It was a song he wasn't done writing yet - it was like an alarm to his heart.

A sudden burst of thumps of footsteps and laughter broke the silence.

Ayla, in her tennis uniform, her curls bouncing and being dragged in by Titi in a lobster grip.

"Come on, you said you needed to rest. This is better than walking in circles. Don't you think so?," Titi whispered with a mischievous smile.

Already Ayla's gaze was on Ray. The sound of his voice caught her and she froze midway. She stood still, her heart tipping for a millisecond. The voice carried a lot of pain - she could feel it flavoured in the lyrics.

Ray looked up then, with a pinch of surprise on his facial appearance but also seemed unperturbed. His eyes briefly scanned her from head to toe, eyes locked on hers.

"You play tennis?," he asked, his fingers drumming on the desk.

"Are you kidding?," Titi reacted in a gentle voice.

Ayla didn't say anything, just smiled warmly.

He laughed lightly, watching her as he twirled with the ring on her finger.

Titi then nudged her on the shoulder and whispered into her ear - she smiled faintly and nodded, and walked towards the desk bench which Ray sat on and settled on it, maintaining a small distance.

Ray sprang from his seat, his voice as cool as ever. "Didn't me to _"

"Scare me? No, you didn't," Ayla replied too quickly.

Ray simply said "I see."

Though present with Ray physically she was lost in thoughts - her mind flashed to Ben or rather the fact that she hadn't noticed his absence from school immediately, not until the following morning when his test summary dropped in the class group chat. She hadn't called nor texted. And now she felt it.

She remembered how she had shown up late, carefully packed fried rice in her tote. He didn't seem to notice her.

The snub pained her more than she would want to admit.

"Your friend's not here?," Ray said subtly.

Ayla blinked, realizing who he was referring to.

She became defensive. "Busy, perhaps. I don't keep tabs, you know."

Ray could sense something was off but he didn't want to push further.

As Ayla turned to leave, Ray caught her by the arm "Am always here."

She turned sharply, her eyes fiery, but she soon found herself smiling...

The day before, on her way back from class, it had started to drizzle. A very beautiful car had pulled over. The woman inside offered her a ride. Ayla accepted, grateful. She didn't know why she felt so at ease with this stranger.

The woman had this lovely eyes and her body language was filled with warmth.

She didn't know it that the person that gave her a lift was her mother's very good friend back in the days - that was Ray's mum, quite the irony!

Ray leant forward as Ayla was still stuck in Dreamland as if to kiss her but she made a guarded retreat.

"Were you going to kiss me?," Ayla asked, her lips twitching into a subtle smile.

"Maybe," he replied, then lowering his voice to a whisper"Your hair's lovely by the way."

She found herself bubbling with smiles but her mood shifted soon and so did her face.

She left the classroom, almost running.

Ayla stirred gently in bed and stretched herself awoken by the thrilling alarm of her phone.

She brought her bag close and zipped it gently after going through it - inside the tote was her highlighter, lip gloss, her notebook and maybe most importantly the warm meal in a plastic container.

Earlier that evening, Titi had cooked a tasty okra soup with smoked fish and spiced just enough to warm up the stomach.

Ayla was close, hands busy with her phone, earphones plugged in, though her eyes rarely left the pot.

"You are not fooling anyone - definitely not me," Titi said without looking her directly in the face.

"Am innocent, please. I didn't say anything," Ayla replied casually.

"You didn't have to, " Titi said smilingly, ladling soup into a food container. "Don't act like this soup isn't for this your special friend."

Ayla grinned, lips closed but eyes bright with delight. "You are amazing, baby girl."

Now, as Ayla was ready to head out, she applied her body mist again. Then she put on her weather jacket, and picked up her tote bag.

"Read for two," Titi said playfully. "I will come late for night class today."

Ayla nodded and then walked out, quickly descending flights of stairs.

The classroom seemed too quiet even for a night class. Ayla sat in her own space, unpacking the warm okra soup and fluffy fufu from her food flask.

But Ben barely looked at her, not to talk about her meal - there was no giving up now.

She extended her hand and touched him on the shoulder as he was absorbed in some pop music.

"Am not hungry," he shot back at her. "I came here to study."

Ayla blinked, the sting sharp. But she said nothing. She quietly rewrapped the meal and stared at her own notes, everything turning blurry.

The weight of everything pressed on her - the cold shoulder, the test she had flopped, her confusion around Ray, the things left unspoken. And suddenly she cracked.

She leaned forward, her hands trembling as she pulled her test script from her bag and slid it towards Ben.

Ben looked down slowly. "Ayla..."

She was already wiping her eyes, failing."It's nothing," her voice breaking. "Like always I tear up when I yawn, remember?"

But when Ben made her to lift her head up, her eyes glistened, and that brave appearance gone in a puff.

She collapsed against his chest, shoulders shaking.

Ben hesitated for a few seconds before wrapping his arms around her.

"You should have told me."

"I didn't want to. I wanted to fix it with this food - my apology." She let out a shaky laugh against his shirt.

He said nothing at first, just held her. And then, with a soft sigh, gently said in a low voice. "Ok, then. Try sleeping a little - I will wake you up later."

She nodded and lay her head sideways on the desk of the desk bench and soon fell asleep.

Ben woke her up later.

Ayla sat up, her eyes focused on the food yet untouched.

She arched her eyebrows, fixing her beautiful eyes on Ben's "Can't you just swallow a few balls of fufu. You need the strength for night class."

Not hesitating further he opened the flask, inhaling the rich aroma of the okra soup.

"Let's eat it together, my baby," he said with a smile.

Ayla narrowed her eyes at him, scrunching her nose in mock suspicion.

"Did you just call me your baby?"

"Who else would that be?," he said playfully but Ayla caught something else in his eyes.

She made a face, but her lips curved slightly. They both dug in, eating quietly, but the silence was serene.

Meanwhile as Ray sat awake having dinner of steaming akara and warm akara, his mother's words echoed in his head.

"She's Crystal's daughter - use that leverage."

The idea left a bitter taste in his mouth. How could he hurt her like this?

But then again it didn't seem like he had many options.