The school day continued in its usual way. The teachers gave lots of homework and some even announced when the exams would be. Not the best news one would like to hear but it was good to know when to study for exams.
It was already 4 pm but they still had an hour of school before going home. It was history class. Mr Myers elaborated on the way he wanted the project to be done.
,,Pay attention everyone. As I've already told you before, I want it to be a presentation which you will present in front of the class. It should be at least 15 minutes long and I expect similar amount of speaking time from all students. If you haven't started yet I'd advise you to start soon as the deadline is today in a week. Since it's already late I have a proposal for you all, you can stay here and start working for the project now or you can start later but I'll expect even better results from you. If you want to leave the classroom you're free to do so."
After he was done speaking several students decided to leave the classroom.
,,I will stay here, how about you Saphina?"
Zypher asked her while preparing his notes
,,I will stay as well. There would be no point in going away , especially since we are a group. If we start now we will be able to finish more quickly than the others" She also took out her notes and watched as the majority of the students left the classroom.
In fact only Zephyr and Saphina remained in the classroom, everyone else had left.
,,Seems like you two are the only ones willing to stay and start now. Well good luck and if you have any questions feel free to ask"
Mr Myers sat down on his chair and started typing things into his laptop.
They began with their research on laptops that they borrowed from the school. Saphina was tasked with the general informations while Zephyr was interpreting and analyzing the data. They were so focused on the work that they didn't even notice the bell ringing.
,,You can go now , the bell has already rung. You don't want to go home late do you?"
Mr Myers said laughingly.
They quickly put their notes in their bags and returned the laptops to the library. After leaving school grounds they walked side by side towards the train station.
,,How about we meet up tomorrow after school to finish our presentation?"
Saphina thought for a second and then replied ,,Yes that's fine by me. It would be best to meet up at the library then. So at 15:30 tomorrow after school at the city library would be great"
Zephyr nodded and after seeing the train arriving they rushed and got onto the train just in time. The train was empty and so Zephyr sat down at a seat near the exit. Saphina sat opposite of him.
-These quiet moments are sometimes more calming then when I'm alone. It's weird…I was always alone to and from school but now I'm not….But after the project is done I doubt we will talk much let alone sit like this. After all humans tend to separate after finishing the work.
Half an hour later they got off at the station and walked down to the roadside.
,,See you tomorrow"
,,See you tomorrow"
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As Zephyr walked home he saw Max in a distance. He walked towards him but then stopped after seeing Max talk with a girl. She had long ginger hair and with the combination of her green eyes she was truly a beautiful girl. Max told him about her once. Her name was Mia and apparently they were childhood friends.
Not wanting to disturb he quickly continued walking home without getting seen.
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The next day all Zephyr could think of was the meeting after school.
-Ugh whyyyy…I am thinking too much about useless things…sure I'll meet her after school today but we will only do the presentation and then our exchanges will be done. We probably won't talk with each other , we only do this for the project after all…
Zypher himself didn't believe his words but lying to himself was easier than admitting the truth.
The school day passed in a blink of an eye and there he was. Zypher waited outside the meeting point already ten minutes too early. He wore a white shirt which pronounced his lean muscles more clearly, and he wore loose pants to feel comfortable in the heat.
Just a few minutes later he saw Saphina approaching him. She wore a white dress, not too bright and not too flashy. Just a modest white dress.
,,Seems like we are both a bit early but it's not a bad thing. Let's get started then"
Saphina's words motivated him and so they went into the library and sat at a table together with their laptops in hand and after discussing some key detail the continued their work.
The unbearable silence was only interrupted by the sound of keys being pressed against.
They tried to keep away the heat with fans but it was no use.
,,The heat is causing me to loose focus. What do you say about getting some ice cream to cool us down?" Zephyr had never been more afraid to ask a simple question
,,Good point let's do that. I'm getting quite worn out in this weather." Saphina smiles as she swipes away some sweat of her forehead.
They put their laptops in their bags and then go outside to get some ice cream. They wait in a line as Zephyr looks around and then unexpectedly spots Max and Mia outside together as they walk around eating ice cream.
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-I'm wondering what made her want to go outside this afternoon
Max looked at Mia while taking a bite of his ice cream.
She had asked him to hang out today after school , it wasn't uncommon but it was still unexpected.
,,I wonder Mia, why did you ask to hang out with me today? Sure it's nice weather today but surely it's not the only reason."
Mia blushed when hearing Maxs voice
,,We're childhood friends aren't we. I just thought that it would be appropriate to hang out together like we did in the past when we were little."
-It's true we are childhood friends. We were born on the same day in the same hospital and our mothers just so happened to be neighbors. We grew up together and always hung out together. But that was a while ago. Our parents had basically forced us into being friends. It wasn't a choice. I don't hate her but I don't have any special opinions about her either. Knowing her for this long just makes me wary of her. She's someone who you wouldn't want to mess with. Her parents are quite wealthy and have a lot of authority. When we were younger I tried to warn her boyfriends about her but they just thought I was being jealous. In the end none of them left the relationship happy. Mia is the type of person who always wants something and since her fathers loves to spoil her rotten , she gets what she want. She always wanted to be friends with me and that she was my only friend. Many other people I tried to hang out with just stopped being friends with me just because of her. That was until Middle school at least, there I met Zypher. He was surprisingly tall for a middle schooler and he was also way to smart. Even though he was popular he was distant and very shy. So it surprised me when he asked if I could be his friend. At first I wanted to decline since I didn't want more people to ultimately stop being friends with me because of Mia. But he didn't stop, he was quite stubborn so I agreed. We hung out often after school and played games at my house. Now that I think about it, I was never at his house before. When Mia caught knowledge of Zypher I thought my happy days would be over again but somehow he stayed. He didn't disappear or stop being friends with me. I don't know what happened back then but I'm grateful for Zypher being my first friend, through him I found courage to get more and more friends and soon I had more friends than I could count. Mia despises Zypher for that but doesn't intervene for some reason. I hope it stays that way.
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-Max looks so cute when he's lost in thought. I just wish he talked with me more often.
,,So Max, how is your new class?"
,,It's alright. Sadly I'm not in the same class as Zyph but since I can still see him during break time it's fine"
She gritted her teeth at the mention of Zephyrs name.
-I hate you Zepthyr….You're lucky that Max likes you because if you did even a single mistake I'd erase you. You stole the one thing most precious to me and I can't even take revenge.
,,Uhhh You always talk about Zephyr, what about others ? For example me? Do you miss being in the same class as me ?" She had puppy eyes on but Max couldn't care less.
,,I suppose so but we are neighbors so we see each other every day anyway."
She didn't like that answer but she couldn't do anything else but continue to look like the perfect girl.
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As they finished their ice creams, Saphina and Zephyr walked back to the train station. It was already getting dark and they didn't want to miss the last train.
,,We're almost done with the presentation. We made good progress."
Saphina nodded. ,,Yes that seems to be the case. I think we will be able to finish the rest at school."
Zephyr knew what that meant.
-We won't meet up again. That's what she's saying.
,,Yes that's correct."
The entire rest of the way was just silent. They didn't talk. There was no need. The train started approaching their station and so after they got off, they just waved goodbye and walked their own ways towards their homes.