Mariah sat on the bus, feeling lighter than she had all weekend. For years, Ray's mom had been the shadowed villain just over the hill, threatening to ruin everything she had worked on. Agreeing to tutor him and brought Mariah closer to that possibility that she had ever been, especially after she caught Mariah returning the notebook.
His confirmation that his mom would leave them alone lifted a weight that Mariah had carried for years. She almost didn't know what to do now that the fear was gone. Ray couldn't understand her jubilance. She danced around the schoolyard; arms open wide, she laughed freely.
Even his friends didn't make disapprove comments when she joined them at lunch. It wasn't her plan – she was fine seeing him the three days a week they agreed on – but Ray waved her over when she entered the lunchroom with her lunch.
Mariah joined them hesitantly. She had vowed she would never conceal her true self at the school but she didn't want to mess things up so soon by alienating his friends.
Surprisingly, Tyson wasn't as bad as she thought he would be. He was arrogant and had a horrible time focusing unless it was something he was interested in, but he otherwise ignored her. Hilary, too, was perfectly fine with her presence. In fact, she quickly tried to start and conversation with Mariah.
It wasn't smooth.
They didn't have much in common but Mariah appreciated her efforts.
Eventually, Mathilda and Miguel joined their table and it eased some of the awkwardness.
The bus jostled the passengers but Mariah didn't notice as she gazed out the windows. Nothing could ruin her perfect day. Never before had she felt so free leaving that building.
Clean streets turned into graffitied buildings as Mariah traveled closer to home. The crowd on the bus lightened and she was able to spread out a little, relaxing in her seat. The scenery was the same every day, blurring passed her tired eyes.
Until something wasn't the same.
Mariah whipped around, unsure if she what she thought she saw was actually what was happening.
Hilary was standing outside on the sidewalk, alone. She was still wearing her school clothes.
That couldn't be right. Mariah's guts twisted. It wasn't any of her business but Mariah wouldn't forgive herself if something happened to Hilary. Trusting her instincts, she reached up and pulled the line for the next stop, pulling out her phone and sending a quick text off to her dad, letting him know she'd be late again.
Once the bus's doors opened, she jumped out, running back down the block. Her fears were confirmed when she saw a man leaning over the passenger door. The windows were clearly rolled up, but she could still see Hilary through the windshield, eyes wide with worry.
The man just continued knocking on the window while laughing, fulling enjoying scary the poor girl. Getting close to him wasn't something Mariah wanted to do, but there was no other option.
She positioned her large messenger bag on her hip and used it to hip check the man away from the car. He yelled out but Mariah settled him with her angriest look, something Lee taught her when she and the girls started going out alone. Not that she needed him to teach them – they were naturals.
"What?" she demanded.
"Oh-ho, pull your claws back, darling. I just want to talk,"
"Well, nobody wants to talk with you. Get out of here."
Mariah continued to glare at him as she pulled on the door handle. Fortunately, Hilary had already unlocked the door. She locked it again as soon as Mariah was inside.
"What are you doing here?" Mariah asked, stuffing her bag into the floor space.
"I was just driving around when I got a flat," Hilary answered, still looking at the guy stalking around outside. "I've already called a tow but they won't be here for a while."
"Do you have a spare?" Mariah pulled out her phone again, scrolling until she found the right number.
"Yeah, in the back. But I don't think it's a good idea to go out there,"
"Not me," Mariah waited for an answer. Calling Tala was not something she ever did for fun, so he'd know better than to ignore her.
Sure enough, he answered after the fourth ring, annoyed as usual.
"I need you to come to meet me," she said, telling him the streets she was near.
"Last I checked, I wasn't your lap dog,"
"Last I checked, you didn't want to piss Lee off." She knew Lee had given his friends some order to watch out for her, though she'd never gotten any of them to admit it. "And bring your tools."
"What's going on?"
"I have a flat tire,"
"You don't even have a car,"
"Just get here." Mariah hung up so that he couldn't argue anymore. She then turned her phone to the window, showing the man outside the picture of Tala she had set as his ID. One look and he was walking away from the car.
"That's what I thought," Mariah shouted after him though she knew he couldn't hear.
"What'd you do?" Hilary asked, watching him leave.
"Cancel your tow, my guy will be here in a few minutes."
Hilary pulled out her phone. "You have a guy?"
"A friend of my brother's but he knows cars. It'll take him no time to get you out of here."
Hilary sighed, leaning back in her seat. "Thanks. How'd you even find me?"
The time passed by quickly as she explained how she saw her from the bus. She wanted to ask Hilary what she was doing just driving around so far from her own neighborhood. At the same time, she loathed it when people acted like she had no right to go to her school and be up there, so she couldn't treat Hilary that way.
The car was quiet until Mariah heard and then saw an unmistakable car pull up behind them.
"That's him," she said as Tala got out, his long legs carrying him lazily to the driver's side window. Hilary checked with her before rolling it down. Tala braced his hands on the door frame, lowering himself until he was level with the window.
"This isn't your car," while the words were directed to Mariah, his eyes feasted hungrily on Hilary.
"She's a friend, we have a flat,"
"Your friend got a name?"
"Hilary," she answered for herself, "I go to school with Mariah,"
"How'd she trick you into being her friend?"
Mariah interrupted before Hilary could respond, "Hey, how about we focus on the tire?"
Tala finally looked at her for a brief moment and headed back towards his car. As always, he was difficult for Mariah to read. His eye, layers of blues, had a hint of crazy to them that never left. Mariah had known him since childhood and while she'd seen him act out before, she'd only heard stories of his crazier side, mostly from her brother.
Unpredictable as he was, she was Lee's sister and Julia's friend and that automatically put her on his good side.
"That's your guy?" Hilary asked when he was far enough away.
The way she emphasized 'your' had Mariah mentally shuddering. She opened her door and stepped out on to the sidewalk. Tala was already walking back around with the jack and tire iron.
"Where's the flat?"
Hilary joined Mariah on the sidewalk. "Rear passenger,"
"Spare in the trunk?"
Hilary nodded, pressing the button so that he could pull it out.
Tala set to work jacking up the car. While he was doing that, his passenger door opened and another person joined them. Hands in his black hoodie, he came to stand next to Mariah as Tala yanked on the tire iron.
"Kai," Mariah greeted, "I didn't know you were back too."
"Yep,"
"You still living with these idiots?"
"It's as good a place to sleep as any,"
"I don't know how you do it without killing them,"
Kai didn't reply to that. Mariah looked to Hilary, trying to determine what the girl was thinking. It unnerved her to see her two worlds mixing. She could already see the students at school talking about her and her so-called dangerous friends. She'd heard it all before but she didn't want to go through it again, not when she just received such good news.
Hilary's attention remained on Tala as he rolled the bad tire away and replaced it with the good one. Mariah wanted to forcibly turn her head away. It wasn't that she didn't understand why Tala garnered so much attention. She'd been on the receiving end of Julia's long explanations too many times to be able to ignore his obvious...qualities. But he was Julia's. As far as she and Mariam had always been concerned, Tala was a no-go.
Besides, he was far too crazy for Mariah. She liked a little adventure, but Tala was like a firecracker once he got going.
He was certainly out of Hilary's league, that was for sure.
"He'll be done in a moment," Mariah assured her.
Hilary didn't notice right away. She stared at Tala a moment too long before giving Mariah her attention. "What?"
"You'll be free to go in a minute. He's almost done,"
"Oh, yeah. Thanks."
"Here's your problem," Tala called out. He had the wheel sat up, pointing to a shiny nail head at the surface. "If you want, I can fix this for you,"
"Oh?"
"Well, not here. Back in the garage. I'd have to get it back to you unless you wanted to follow."
Hilary looked to Mariah. Her unsure expression gave Mariah pause. Tires weren't cheap, so of course, she'd want to keep it if she could. And Mariah could understand that she didn't want to go with them alone. She had no choice but to join her.
She nodded reluctantly.
"Okay, I can do that,"
Tala carried the tire to his own car before coming back for the tools he'd left.
"See you in a bit," Mariah waved, getting back into Hilary's car.
Hilary trailed Tala closely, turn by turn. Mariah noted that she was a good driver. Safer than Mariam, at least.
"So, they're friends of yours?"
"Through my brother," Mariah said, "but mine by extension."
"Oh."
Mariah didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure what Hilary was after, but it was clear she wanted something.
"Is your brother good with cars too?"
"Not his thing,"
"Oh."
They lapsed into silence again. Finally, Tala turned down his street and into his driveway. Cars were parked all around the house, even on the gravel yard. Mariah directed Hilary to pull in next to him. They got out while Tala grabbed the tire and brought it into the garage while Kai just walked directly into the house.
Mariah noted how Hilary wrapped her arms around herself. "Cold?"
Hilary uncrossed her arms, dropping them to her sides. "Not really,"
The garage was clean and organized; the only area that was, Mariah knew. There was another car parked inside that his parts strewn around it like exposed guts during a surgery.
"Are you a mechanic?" Hilary asked Tala as he worked on taking the nail out.
"Sure," he grinned.
"You ask a lot of questions," Mariah spit out before she could stop herself.
Hilary's expression dropped. She looked at her feet, arms crossing in front of her again.
"Don't listen to her, Hilary. You can ask me whatever you want," he winked.
Mariah wanted to claw his eyes out, as pretty as they were. The sharp bangs that cut his face gave him a menacing look that dared her. Mariah knew he was only playing with her and with Hilary. However, Hilary didn't know about the kind of games he liked to play.
"It's okay," Hilary answered. Mariah noticed how she refused to look at him again.
Maybe she was smarter than she looked.
They waited until the tire was placed back in the trunk of Hilary's car before speaking again. Hilary pulled her wallet out.
"I only have a few dollars on me,"
Tala waved his hand, pushing her offering back to her. "It's fine,"
"But I really feel like I should pay you something."
"I did a favor for Mariah," he nodded to the girl, "my payment is that I don't have to listen to her whine about it later,"
Mariah bit back the flurry of names on the tip of her tongue. It wouldn't be right to tear into him when he was being nice.
"Well, thank you then."
He eyed Mariah as he walked back inside. He waited at the entry of the garage, smirking until the girls were in the car and on their way before returning to his work.
"Where am I going?"
"Would you mind dropping me off at home?" Mariah asked, hating the idea of getting back on the bus.
"Mariah," Hilary laughed, "of course! It wasn't even a question after what you did for me."
She started giving directions to her street. Hilary drove with ease. "You seem to know your way around,"
"Yeah, I drive around sometimes,"
"You just drive around the city?"
"Sometimes if I have nothing to do. To clear my thoughts."
"My friend does that,"
"Oh yeah?"
Mariah had never felt so awkward alone with another girl. It was a sharp contrast to the time she spent with Julia and Mariam. Maybe it was because she'd known them for so long or maybe she just fit better with her own kind. Either way, Mariah couldn't wait until she could get out of the car.
Hilary parked in front of her house as directed. She thanked her quickly as she got out, ready to shut the door and be done with the weird day.
"Mariah?"
She stopped, turning back of Hilary. "Yeah?"
"I'll see you tomorrow at school,"
Mariah returned her bright smile before shutting the door and heading inside. The sun was just starting to approach the horizon and her dad had been done with dinner for a while. Usually, her dad had a portion out for her, ready for when she walked through the door. Instead, everything had been put away and cleaned. Only the lingering scent of the spices he used hinted that something had recently been prepared.
She walked to the back of the house where her parent's room was. Her dad was finishing getting ready, tying his thick boots.
"I'm sorry I'm late," she leaned in the doorway.
He carried on with his process. "You've been late a lot recently."
Mariah bit her lip. He never raised his voice with either her or Lee. Sometimes she wished he would. It would be easier than dealing with his flat tone of disappointment.
"I'm helping people. It's what you taught me to do,"
"Yes, Mao, but are you extending yourself too much? What about all that you've worked for?"
"Today was unexpected. I saw a friend with a flat tire. What should I have done?"
"I don't know,"
"And the tutoring thing, it's necessary too. It's not taking up too much time."
"You're sure about that?"
"I'm keeping up, Dad."
He looked at her and nodded. Still, Mariah felt he wasn't convinced, and if she were being honest, neither was she. The last thing she wanted to do was go downstairs and spend the rest of her night studying. She was tired. But she needed to, especially if she was going to spend the next three days helping Ray.
"I'm fine," she reiterated.
In her bedroom, Mariah let her bag fall from her shoulder. Her usual messy room was worse than ever and she was in desperate need of clean clothes. Gathering the most important items, she went back upstairs and loaded them in the washing machine.
Back in her room, she cleared off her desk so that she had a clean space to study, stacking all of her books, and making a list of priority assignments.
There was a report due in her Literature class at the end of the week. Three chapters in her Psych class needed to be read and noted – there was a test on Wednesday. History also had a report due the following week, but she hadn't had a chance to start research for it. She'd have to get it planned and sourced tonight if she had any hope of getting it written over the weekend.
And that still left Math, Chem, and Mandarin. Fortunately, in those classes, she only needed to prepare for the week by reading. She could skip Math if she needed, and Chem could be done if she had enough time.
Maybe she could make time by skipping her run in the morning. But only if she needed it.
"I'm fine," she said as she powered up the old laptop. "I can do this."
The plan didn't work out quite as Mariah would have liked it. By eleven, she was finished with the bulk of her work, but she still had a lot of reading to do and her mind was spent. She set her alarm with the intention of finishing in the morning, but when it went off, she could barely move.
It'll be fine, she reasoned as she slowly stretched. She should be preparing for her run, getting her blood flowing. Sometimes education required sacrifices, she sighed.
Mariah rubbed her eyes as the clocked on her desk turned over to six a.m. She'd have to start getting ready to leave if she didn't want to be late. At least most of her work was done. She felt confident that she'd be able to keep up with what was going to be a busy schedule, especially now that school work was going to become heavier as the end of the semester approached.
"Mariah," her mom called down the stairs, "did you do laundry yesterday?"
"Oh, crap!" Mariah bounded up the steps. "I forgot. I put my school clothes in the wash but I forgot to move them to the drier."
Her mom was dressed in her work scrubs, getting ready to leave as she followed Mariah to the hall laundry. Mariah frantically pulled her items from the wash.
"God, now they smell. I don't have time to run them again,"
"Why didn't you wash them this weekend,"
"I was busy,"
"Mariah."
"Look, I don't have time for a lecture."
Her mom stood in front of her, hands on her hips, pink eyebrow arched at the declaration from her youngest. Mariah regretted her words immediately, but she couldn't back down now.
Seeing that her mom wasn't going to continue, Mariah stuffed her clothes in the dryer, adding extra dryer sheets in hope that she wouldn't add 'the poor girl who smells like mildew' to her list of titles at school. Setting the heat to high, she slammed her hand on the start button.
Pushing past her mom, she ran back downstairs, ripping off her pajama shorts and the tank top and jumping in the shower without waiting for the water to warm. Mariah tried to focus on the task at hand but all she could think was how tired she felt and how her clothes were going to be wet and rank and she'd still be late.
Getting out of the shower, grabbed the towel she had thrown on the floor, and toweled her hair vigorously. There was no time to blow dry or style it and the only makeup she had enough time for was some mascara and lip gloss. Finding her last clean pair of underwear, she ran back upstairs in hopes that somehow, her laundry was magically dry by some miracle.
They were damp, of course, but they'd dry by the time she got to school. There was nothing she could do about the remaining wrinkles. She threw the load on her bed and pulled out the items she needed. They felt horrible and rough against her skin, and underneath the scent of the dryer sheets, she could still pick up the faint smell of clothes that had been wet for too long.
She threw her books in her bag and then pulled on her loafers before heading going back up the stairs and out the door.
Mariah barely managed to wave down the bus before it left. If the bus driver noticed how disheveled she looked, he was polite enough not to mention it.
Taking an open seat, Mariah tried to control her breathing. There was a point, as she was flying out the door, that she almost wished she missed her bus. If she had, she'd have given up, gone home, and crawled back into bed. Her dad would write her a sick note. She'd guilt him into it.
But she had made her bus and that was for best. The school covered material quickly and missing even one day could set her back. Plus, there was Ray. He'd figure out that she was absent, of course, but they still didn't have each other's phone numbers and she had no way of letting him know.
The bus ride was entirely too short for Mariah's liking and before she knew it, she was disembarking and practically dragging herself across the schoolyard. It was hard to believe that just the day before, she was dancing around Ray in the same space.
"Mariah! Hey," she heard her name called. Turning, she saw Ray next to Tyson and Hilary, waving her over.
She slowly made her way to them, though all she wanted to do was get to her locker to put things away and then find a place to sit until class started. Both Ray and Hilary seemed to be chipper morning people, which didn't Mariah in the least. Tyson on the other hand looked like he was still asleep. The way his head lulled to the side, eyes barely open, she was sure she could push him over and he wouldn't notice.
"Good morning," Ray greeted, echoed by Hilary.
"I guess,"
"Everything okay?"
Mariah didn't want to tell him her entire morning, because then she'd have to explain why she was so tired and pressed for time. She wasn't sure how much Hilary had told Ray about her afternoon and she also didn't want to make it seem like her schedule was too busy.
"It's fine," Mariah repeated for what felt like the hundredth time since the night before.
Hilary reached out and grabbed her hand. "I have something for you," she said, pulling her away.
She led Mariah to her car, motioning for her to get in with her. Mariah wanted to fight her off, not enjoying being dragged around, but found herself not caring all that much.
"What?" she asked once they were in the car.
"Here," Hilary held out her hand. Pinched between two fingers was a hair tie.
Mariah blinked at the surprising offer. "Thanks," she said, grabbing it and bunching up her frizzy hair.
"And here's some eyeliner, if you want. You usually do a cat eye, right?"
"Yeah,"
"You can finish my coffee if you want, I've had enough," she handed her the warm cup.
Mariah didn't try to hide her smile as the warm liquid hit her tongue. Coffee was always a treat and one she definitely needed that morning. "God, that's good," She looked to Hilary who just watched her from the driver's side. "How'd you know?"
"I could tell. No offense, but you usually look a lot more polished than this."
"None taken,"
Feeling better, Mariah quickly lined her eyes using the visor mirror, before handing the tool back to Hilary.
"I'd offer my concealer, but I don't think we're the same shade,"
"Don't worry about, this is great. Feeling better already," Mariah took another sip. "I guess this makes us even,"
Hilary shrugged. "If you want to keep score, but I would have done this anyway,"
"Because of Ray?"
She nodded slowly. "Ray likes people in general, but he doesn't get attached easily,"
"Is that so?"
"Yeah,"
"Are you saying he's attached to me?"
Mariah followed Hilary's gaze to the boys. Tyson had woken up a little more, starting to talk a bit, but Ray was obviously distracted.
"I'm saying any friend of Ray's is a friend of mine,"
Mariah realized she wasn't going to get much more from her. "That explains Tyson then,"
Hilary laughed, opening her door. "He's not that bad,"
Mariah got out, taking the coffee with her, and joined her on the way back to the other two. She tried to keep up with their conversation and was surprised and comforted to find that it was very similar to how her, Julia, and Mariam talked.
They followed her inside as she exchanged books from her bag to her locker, listening in as Hilary spoke about how the winter carnival was going to be arriving in a few months and, as the member of Student Events and Activities Committee, they were trying to organize a night where only their students could be admitted.
"We just have to guarantee that at least 80% of our students and facility will buy tickets, which is hard to do so far in advance,"
"You can count me in," Tyson said, "I am determined to beat every single one of those games,"
"They're carnival games, Tyson. Of course, they're rigged."
"I'm still determined. I just gotta work on these guns,"
"Gross, stop kissing your biceps,"
"What do you think, Mariah?" Ray asked.
Closing her locker door, she leaned against them. "I think he's got to work on a lot more than his guns, considering they're mostly about strategy and aim,"
"Hey, I've got aim,"
"I meant about the carnival," Ray continued. The way he tilted his head cause his bangs to fall in front of his eyes, though she could still see his eyes through the strands. "Will you go?"
Mariah shrugged. She knew what he meant the first time. The carnival came around every year and every year her friends talked about going, but then tickets were usually expensive and it was always crowded so you spent most of the time waiting in line for the rides, and even if you didn't want to ride anything, the treats and games cost an arm and a leg too.
For the first time, with Ray staring at her earnestly, Mariah wanted to lie about her circumstances and she had to fight off those strong impulses.
"Shouting out fifty dollars to walk around isn't really my idea of a good time. And don't even get me started on the hay bale rides, right?"
If she had the money to throw around like them, then maybe walking around with the lights and sounds and paying ten dollars for a small stuffed animal wouldn't be a bad way to spend her night. But that was what kept her and her friends away, and there was no shame in that. At least that's what she told herself.
Ray's smile dropped. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean - "
The bell rang then and Mariah waved the rest of his comment off. There was nothing she needed to hear an apology for. Her circumstances weren't his fault.
"I'll see you after?" He shouted down the crowded hall as she walked away.
Mariah looked over her shoulder. He was still standing by her locker. Nodding once to let him know she'd heard, she turned away.
Her heart was beating fast as she entered her first class and took her seat. Her shoulders felt heavy as well. She wanted to blame the coffee or just the entire morning in general. Still, she knew that despite what she told herself, it was the embarrassment that weighed her down. The sudden shift if Ray's expression when she told him she why she didn't go to the carnival was enough to remind her that even if they had things in common, they weren't the same.
The day dragged on and on until the final bell rang. Mariah didn't even enjoy her math class as she usually did. It was still her favorite by far but she'd been in a fog all day and not even equations were enough to pull her out of it.
She'd hidden in an empty classroom for lunch. Another reminder that she hadn't had a chance to make lunch at home that morning. Laying her head down on a desk had been a nice break but her rumbling stomach distracted her the rest of the day.
She somehow even beat Ray to the library that afternoon. The argument with the librarian had only lasted a minute until he came in and the lady checked them in without another word.
"She's lucky you came in when you did," Mariah grumbled as he let her into the room. "I was about to tear her face off."
"Are you okay? You seem a little..."
"Scary?"
"Irritable,"
The words 'I'm fine' were on the tip of her tongue. She had pushed through tough situations since she was a kid and this was no different.
"I'm...just tired," she surprised herself by saying. "I stayed up late and this morning was crazy. The only thing I've consumed all day was Hilary's leftover coffee."
"Why didn't you say something?" She didn't know how to react to the alarm in his voice.
"What was there to say?"
"I didn't see you at lunch, we could have shared with you,"
"I know, but I just wanted to rest. I took a nap in an empty room." She said that, but the truth was she didn't know that they would have shared their lunch with her. But hearing Ray say it, she didn't doubt him.
"Let's get you something to eat,"
Mariah shook her head. "No, we're here to study,"
Ray turned with his and already on the door, pulling it open. Mariah had seen him smile and laugh and she'd seen him concentrate. Mostly, though, he had a relaxed, neutral expression. Carefree, she liked to think of it as.
This expression was none of those. The slight frown mixed with his narrow eyes, which seemed to be darker than usual.
"We're going to get food," he said firmly. "Let's go."
Mariah wordlessly gathered her bag from the table. Somehow, she knew that this wasn't an argument she was going to win. The librarian gave them an annoyed look as they walked past but Mariah didn't care. She followed Ray silently all the way to his car.
"What do you want?" He asked as he turned the car on.
"Anything is fine,"
"Okay,"
It was the shortest he'd ever been with her. The way he turned the wheel was with an assuredness unfamiliar to her. It took a while before she realized where he was going.
"You remembered the way,"
"I've got a pretty good sense of direction and memory,"
Mariah spirits became higher as they drove. She started playing with the radio, turning his saved stations.
"Wow, you really have no taste in music huh?"
"I don't listen a lot. Most of those are Tyson's,"
Mariah arched a brow at him. "How often is he in your car?"
"Almost every day. Why?"
Mariah shook her head, laughing.
"Why? Is there something wrong with that?"
"Do you ever think that maybe you let others control you too much?"
They turned into the parking lot and came to a stop in front of the restaurant she shared with him first.
Turning off the car, he turned to her. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you let Tyson set the radio stations in your car and you pick him up for school. You let me drag you halfway across town without telling you where we're going," she motioned to the eatery in front of them.
Ray chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't care about any of those things. Why make a big deal about getting my way when I don't care,"
"So that people don't think they can walk all over you when you do care."
"They don't."
Mariah looked at him, grinning, hoping he'd explain.
"Like how when I wanted to get you something to eat, we did. And how when I wanted my friends to be friends with you, they agreed. And when I wanted to continue our sessions, I forced my mom to accept it."
Mariah's smile fell a little. Hilary's words about Ray being attached echoed in her head.
"Tyson's been one of my closest friends for years, so if he wants to set the radio stations, who cares. It makes him happy."
She nodded. "Okay. I guess that's nice." There was a beat of silence. Taking a deep breath, she forced a new smile on her face. "So, food?"
There were a few seats available when they went inside. Ray motioned for her to pick one, waving her away when she tried to say that she could pay since he drove.
She took a seat near the back, feeling unsure of what she was doing. Ray was supposed to be her student and friend. She hadn't expected him to take charge in such a way; he'd always been so mild before.
He sat across from her, placing their number on the table.
"Thanks for bringing me," she said. "I guess I needed this more than I thought."
"It's not a problem. I got a good grade on the test last week, so you can consider this payment if it makes you feel better."
"See, I told you!"
"Thanks to you,"
"You're the one who did the hard work, I just helped."
When their plates were delivered, Mariah dug in immediately, wild at seeing fresh food in front of her. "You were so right," she said through a full mouth, taking another bite as soon as she swallowed.
Ray was a bit slower in his approach, taking smaller forkfuls. "Hilary told me about yesterday,"
Mariah stopped to look at him. Chewing the rest of her bite, she smiled. "Oh yeah?"
"Thank you for looking out for her,"
"I couldn't have left her out there alone,"
"It's good that you saw her when you did."
"Yeah, lucky."
"Or fate,"
Mariah choked.
"You don't believe in fate?" Ray asked.
"No, of course not. There's no basis for it."
"So, all of the coincidence in the world, is just that?"
Mariah shrugged. "Things happen. Sometimes good things, sometimes bad things. That's literally life. It's how it works."
"That's not an argument against fate,"
"A newborn baby dies from a disorder," Mariah puts out her hands, "and a criminal gets off without charges. Explain the concept of fate behind that."
They continued to debate as they finished their meal. It had been a long time since Mariah had been able to just sit back and not think about school or the consequences of her actions. Ray was a surprisingly good debater, letting her state her points without interrupting and countering point by point.
"You still haven't convinced me though," Mariah tossed her napkin on to her empty plate.
"No? Well, then we'll have to continue another time,"
Mariah checked her phone and sure enough, it had been an hour already. She should be getting on the bus, but Ray had already driven her closer to her home. If she'd actually be home earlier today.
She noticed messages waiting for her in the group chat and decided she'd read through them. If she did it when she got home, she'd get stuck talking to them instead of studying as she needed. When she opened the chat, her good mood vanished.
Julia had cursed Tala to the depths of Tartarus and farther. Reading the messages between Mariam and Julia, she gathered that he had said something about seeing other people.
Memories of the way he looked at Hilary the day before came up.
"Um, I've got to go," she said, putting her phone away and standing up. "Thanks for...this."
"I can take you home,"
"I'm not going home right now. There's an errand I have to run."
"Mariah," Ray said, "I can take you,"
She hesitated. "It's not so much an errand as a message I have to deliver,"
Ray shrugged. "Doesn't matter, I'm at your service,"
Mariah wanted to turn him away, but taking a car would be a lot faster than trying to get through on the bus. "Fine," she agreed.
Once in the car, she found herself giving the same directions she did to Hilary just the day before.
"You seem mad," Ray commented off handily. "Not something I said, I hope,"
"Nope. But it's a good thing I didn't get to the librarian. I'm going to need the energy."
"Anything I can help with?"
Mariah imaged his reaction if she were to tell him the truth. "Nope," she repeated. Pointing to Tala's place she had him pull over. "Wait here. I should only be a minute,"
Ray seemed doubtful as she looked at the house. "Um,"
"Wait."
Mariah strode into the open garage, seeing Kai stretched out over the engine of the car inside. If he was surprised to see her, he didn't show it.
"He inside?" she asked without stopping.
"Leave him in one piece,"
"No promises!" She opened the door to the house, slamming it shut behind her.
"What the -" a gray head popped out from the closed-off kitchen to her right.
"Claude, hey, great to see you," Mariah brushed him off, heading for the stairs. He was a few years younger than her and had always been a good kid, but was not the focus of her attention at the moment.
She bounded up the steps, making sure he knew someone was coming. Sure enough, Tala opened his door at the end of the hall, angry sneer pulling on his lips until he saw her.
Then he was just annoyed.
"Don't you close that door on me!" She kicked it open as he tried to shut it.
"Are you kidding me," he shouted, "why are you here?"
"Julia told me what you said,"
He rolled his eyes. "Of course she did, because everything that happens between us is for everyone to know, right? We're not even together now. And, again, why are you here?"
"I don't care if you want to see other people. In fact, I would love it if you left Julia alone," Mariah said, pointing a finger at him, "but not my school friends."
This took him off guard. He laughed. "What are you talking about?"
"I saw you flirting with Hilary yesterday,"
He scoffed. "That was just fun," he said calmer than before, sitting on his unmade bed. "God, she blushed like a schoolgirl, too. It's been a while since I've seen that."
"Look, I don't care. But don't flirt with people in front of me, and especially not my friends, because then I have to keep it from Julia so that it doesn't hurt her. So, if you care about her at all, please."
"Yeah, fine,"
"Don't act like I'm taking something away from you. Girls aren't toys, you know."
"How do you know I wasn't serious about Hilary,"
"Please. I know your type. And Hilary does not fall into any of those categories."
He chuckled, once, lowly. "I hate to break it to you, Mariah, but you don't know all that much about me and my type. But I will respect what you've...well, you didn't really ask did you?"
"You'll live," Mariah turned to leave, shutting the door as he told her to. Heading back down the steps, she found Claude sitting on the sunken couch next to his friend Aaron as they split a sandwich and watched TV.
"Thanks, Claude. Is your brother around?"
"Bryan's in the basement," his eyes didn't leave the TV.
She looked toward the door that would lead downstairs. She had a special place in her heart for Bryan - he was the best of all these boys if you asked her - but Ray was in the car waiting for her. She didn't want to keep long, or else risk that he might come in after her.
"Tell him I said hey when he emerges, okay,"
Claude nodded. Mariah shook her head, laughing to herself. Oh, how she missed the days of just vegging out after school. Things were simpler back then.
Back in the garage, she was surprised to see Kai was no longer working on the car inside but was outside with Ray looking at his engine. Ray saw her and smile awkwardly while Kai poked around.
"What's going on?"
"He wanted to look at the car,"
Mariah tilted her head. "And you just let him?"
"He's your friend," Ray reasoned. Then, less sure, "Isn't he?"
"Kai, what are you doing?"
Kai came out from under the hood. "I just wanted to see,"
"Well, now you've seen. We've got to go."
"Any chance you're selling?"
"Kai!"
Ray looked at the car and then back to the straight-faced man. "Uh, no?" He laughed.
"Can I take it for a ride?"
"Kai,"
"Actually, I really don't like other people driving it. It's the only thing I really care about concerning it."
Kai looked Ray up and down. "We're about the same height,"
"Okay," Mariah pushed Kai away, "we're going. Back to the garage with you."
Kai strolled back inside while Ray started the car. "So, message delivered?"
"Yeah, message delivered,"
"Home now?"
Mariah paused. "Sure,"
"You don't sound sure?" Ray asked, putting the car in drive.
She chuckled uncomfortably. "It's nothing,"
"I'm actually excited to see where you live,"
"Why?"
"I don't know. You've told me about the squeaky porch swing that your dad built and how he painted it that bright blue because your mom liked it,"
Mariah nodded.
"Now that I know about your dad and my mom, it gives everything a whole new context. He could have been my dad."
"Uh, I think the way biology works means that your mom could have been my mom."
"Or we could have been siblings,"
"You know, I don't think biology works that way either," she laughed.
"He should be home right now, right?"
"Yeah, just finishing dinner for me and my mom,"
"Do you think I could meet him? Does he know who I am?"
Mariah looked out the window. She hadn't thought that it would get this far. "I don't think that's a good idea,"
"Why not,"
"Because...I never told my parents I'm tutoring you."
Ray pulled in front of the only blue house on the street and put the car in park. Turning to her, he waited for her to continue.
"What?" Mariah asked as though she didn't know what he was waiting for.
"I can't believe you,"
"I never said I told them."
"You gave me so much trouble over my mom and you never even told your parents!"
"Your mom threatened to have me removed from the school!"
"And that explains why you never told your parents?"
Mariah nodded. "Because they wouldn't want me tutoring you, the son of the woman trying to ruin my life." She hadn't meant it to sound so weak, but it was the truth. "I lied because I wanted to help you. And then because I liked it."
Ray reached out but then dropped his hand. Mariah didn't know what he saw that caused either action.
Licking his lips, he turned away from her for a moment. Then he removed his keys from the ignition and stepped out.
"What are you doing?" Mariah grabbed her bag and got out of the car.
"Well, you showed up at my house and ruined my secret, don't you think this is fair?"
"No!"
"Mariah," he stood in front of her, "we have to get past keeping secrets. Between the two of us, my mom was definitely the worse one, right? And she relented."
"You don't know my parents,"
"Can't be worse than mine," he smiled as he walked up to her door. "She tried to have you kicked out of the school, remember."
"Don't joke,"
They stood before the front door, Ray waiting expectantly while Mariah deliberated.
"Fine," she said finally, giving up under his intense stare. "But don't blame me if it doesn't go over well."
She opened the screen door and the front door, calling out for her dad.
"Back here," he called back.
"Can you come here?"
A moment later, her dad appeared down at the end of the hall. She tried to imagine what Ray was seeing. A tall man, board in the shoulders, with deep amber eyes and graying hair. All those physical details that she saw every day. But it didn't answer what Ray would be feeling.
"Hello," her father greeted, reaching out a hand. His eyes were unsure but welcoming.
Ray grasped it readily. "Hello, sir."
"Dad, you know how I said I was in a tutoring program at school?"
"Yes," he said a little more at ease.
"Well, this is one of the students I've been helping. He gave me a ride home today." At Ray's judgmental eye, she amended, "Actually, he's the only kid I've been tutoring. It's not so much a program as just me and him."
Her father's surprise hurt her. "Oh?" She'd be hearing about this later.
Ray was apparently done with waiting. "I'm Ray Kon, sir,"
Mariah stared at Ray, shocked that he'd be so bold. But he kept his eyes on her dad, unwavering as her dad looked between the two of them.
"Mariah?"
"Yes, Dad?" Under his hard stare, she stood strong. She wasn't going to act like she was ashamed of her actions. They were good, despite her lies.
Her dad turned back to Ray. "Thank you for driving her home, Ray. It was very nice to meet you, but Mariah has her own work to get to now, so if you don't mind,"
"Of course. It was nice to meet you, too. Your home is very nice,"
Her father nodded, motioning him to the door.
"Bye," she said, "I'll see you tomorrow."
After the door shut, her Dad turned to her.
"I don't want to hear it," she said, "I've had a long day and I know what you're going to say."
"Do you really think this is a good idea, messing around with that family?"
"No one is messing around, Dad. I'm just tutoring him."
"You're struggling under the weight of this schedule – don't you dare deny it to me – and all because of that boy,"
"It's not all because of him and I'll figure out a new schedule," Mariah argued passionately. "I don't want to stop this. Besides, his parents already know."
"And they're fine with it?"
Mariah stalled. "His dad is. But he promised his mom will back off, so that's good."
Her dad took a deep breath. Mariah waited, watching his every move. "I don't want to be unreasonable about this," he said. "It worries me, you being close to them. But for now, if your grades start falling, you have got to end it. You've worked too hard at that school to let anyone get in the way, friend or otherwise."
Mariah threw her arms around him in a tight hug. "Thank you, daddy. That's the best thing I've heard all day."
"Okay," his laughter rumbled against her head from his chest. "I'll still talk to your mom about it, but please make good choices."
"I will,"
He moved her head so that he could look her in the eye. "And don't lie to us again, Mao. I mean it."
Mariah agreed, not knowing of any other scenario that would require her to lie.
Thank you for the time you spent reading this. I would love to hear your thoughts - Konix