Poison

[ 6 ]

An update before I go on vacation for about two weeks. :) Enjoyyy

I wait patiently for Maya to return to our table during the lunch rush. I haven't seen her all week so she insisted we grab a meal during her hour block after her last class of the day and before her shift at the coffee shop. She arrives with a huff and drops into her seat. "You won't believe the week I had," she starts out. "I had three exams! Three!"

"Already?" I ask through a mouthful of my sandwich.

"Yes! Having two jobs typically isn't too bad except for when it's crunch time and I have to study. Luckily the coffee shop job is lenient with hours because it's work study but Food Mart is ruthless. They try to call me in early every day and each time I say no, I feel like my managers start to hate me more and more," she sighs as she puts dressing on her salad.

"Ouch," I mumble with a frown on my face. "They don't care that you're a student?"

"No, not really," she replies with a shrug. "It's fine. They'll get over it. Anyway, how was your week?"

"Fine...No exams," I say with a small smile. "I caught up on homework and hung out with my friend Aaliyah. I avoided my other friends like the plague."

"Do they ever text you to just hang out?" she inquires as she closes the plastic lid and mixes up her meal.

"No, only from Thursday to Saturday to see if I'm down to drive them around," I grumble quietly. 'We all used to get lunch and whatnot. Maybe it's because our schedules aren't lined up anymore but none of them individually make an effort to hang out with me. Plus, I'm pretty sure there's a group chat that I'm not apart of because where else would they make the plans about parties?"

"Screw them," Maya concludes with a shrug.

"I know. It just made me irritable this week. I had to try my best not to yell at my roommate," I respond with a sigh.

"How is she?" Maya asks with a short grunt.

"You were right about those lounge couches," I complain as I lightly rub my neck. I spent last night on one and they're not big enough to sleep on- that's for sure.

"You still could've come over, Ivy! I was just barricaded in my room," she says in a guilty tone. "The door is literally always unlocked. Just walk in. Asa won't say anything. Speaking of Asa!" She immediately perks up as she stares at me excitedly.

"What?" I reply through a mouthful of food. I wonder where this is going.

"He talked about you!" she cheers, which gets a slightly curious gaze from me. I'm confused as to why I'm supposed to care. "He asked why you weren't coming around."

"How did he say it?" I press with a knowing look on my face. I may not know Asa well but I know enough about him to know that he doesn't express excitement, especially not about me.

"That doesn't matter," she replies with a roll of her eyes. I continue to stare at her and she eventually sighs. "He asked if I got tired of you but I just told him about my exams and he caught on."

"So he didn't actually care that I wasn't around," I summarize with a small nod.

"He asked so that must mean he's warmed up enough around you to acknowledge when you're not around," she remarks with a hopeful smile.

"A grand gesture in itself," I retort sarcastically. "Why'd you feel the need to tell me that anyway?"

"Because I know you think he's cute," she mentions casually with a shrug. My cheeks redden and I gape at her.