12 : Article
708 Words
“So, how was the Principal's office?" Youhei asked after class ended. Meldei finished packing her bag and stood with a face, but her response was cut off by Mr, Foster.
"Monday, guys. Get everything done this weekend. I need your grades for November by next week."
Everyone murmured a collective reply before scattering out. Meldei hurried along.
"Lea," she called. Noleak glanced down at her hand, so Meldei released it and stepped back.
"I have class."
The lie hit her with a pang. "The Principal wants to see you," she said regardless. "Did you quit the council, Lea? I heard Sarak mentioning someone resigning."
"Yeah. What about it?"
Their previous argument stood between them now, so palpable Meldei felt it like a wall. "I didn't know," she said. "You didn't tell me. Why though?"
Noleak turned away with a shrug. "I'm tired of needing to talk to people, so I quit. That's all."
Meldei was left there stunned. She swallowed, pulling the bag closer to herself.
"Let's go." Youhei paused next to her. The corridor was emptying quickly as Meldei moved along.
"Still thinking about the picture?"
"I don't know." She watched the ground as they paced. "You saw how cold she was today—or not, I guess."
"I'll find a chance to talk to her," he said. Meldei glanced up. "But you'll have to keep her from running away."
She smiled, feeling the heaviness lift just a little bit. "I appreciate that."
They rounded the corner. Meldei slowed when she saw Silika walking from behind, a distance away. When Meldei looked, she rapidly turned toward her friends again like nothing happened.
Puzzled, Meldei decided to dismiss it as they emerged outside the building. Sure enough, if Nika saw Youhei walking beside her now, things were going to get a lot hotter than they did during lunch.
She probably hadn't forgiven her yet, Meldei guessed, not seeing her waiting around.
"Is someone picking you up?" Youhei asked.
She nodded. "What about you?"
"My house is close by," he said, indicating the direction of Nika's apartment. "Past the market. I'm used to walking back in Japan."
It would've been nice. "You can still enjoy it now. But you might want to drive after this season. Especially in the afternoon."
"I don't have a license yet."
"Neither does Lea. Here, you'd just have to know how to operate a car and you're good to go. Well, unless you get caught, then the police will charge you three times more."
He raised a brow. "Because I'm a foreigner?"
She laughed. "Welcome to Cambodia."
Youhei smiled, shaking his head. "Honestly though, I was shocked about the traffic at first. I thought we were going to crash on the way to the mall."
"Is it that bad? Well—I grew up here, so I'm kind of used to the mess."
"It's very different, to say the least."
"How long have you been here?" she asked. They'd fallen into an easy pace between the arching trees.
"Around two months before summer class," he said. He suddenly winked—then she realized he was only dodging the sunlight. "We went to see the Angkor What. Did I say it right?"
"Wat," she said.
"What."
"Heavier."
"Heavier?" He cleared his throat, looking very serious. "Angkor—Angkor w-what."
She cracked and quickly covered her mouth when he sighed. "That works too," she assured, though he protested.
She caught a girl staring as they reached the entry hall. To Youhei's unawareness, the girl's eyes followed him as he passed, fixed on the contagious smile on his face.
But what Meldei saw then was behind him, on the huge announcement board on the wall. She stopped.
"Our teacher mentioned something about choosing the best project, right?"
"For the poster," Youhei replied. "The one in the hallway."
Her mind was turning like gears, beginning to click into places. The best project would be displayed. If the content so much as stirred gossip, then it shouldn't take long for the entire campus to hear about it. It was a big risk, but Meldei saw no other choice to save her friendship.
"I'm going to write an article," she rasped. "I'm going to write about that photo."
- Writer
