LEADERBOARD
1) MALAKAI JUNIOR (1-C) - 5,654 POINTS
2) ALEXANDER BURRELL (1-A) - 5,348 POINTS
3) FRANK CARTER (1-A) - 5,331 POINTS
4) DESTINY SIERRA (1-A) - 5,269 POINTS
5) LUNA WOLFE (1-A)- 5,269 POINTS
6) ISABELLA GRACE (1-A) - 5,070 POINTS
7) ALEJANDRO PEREZ (1-A) - 5,014 POINTS
8) BRI LOPEZ (1-A) - 4,851 POINTS
9) EVE MASON (1-A) - 4,847 POINTS
10) ACE STAR (1-A) - 4,835 POINTS
"Tch. It is what it is".
He put his phone in his pocket.
"I kinda want a hot drink".
Malakai was walking back from the academy by himself, which was unusual. He got kept behind by a teacher. Not for a reason, you may think. All the students had an assignment which was due in late November. Malakai just about completed it, submitting it two hours before the deadline. The assignments got marked, and the results were released today.
Malakai got 34/50—68%. For an assignment, that doesn't sound bad. However, the average was 80%, so Malakai got on the lower end. Another thing about this assignment was that the mark they received would be the number of points they got. Malakai got 34, so he got 34 points. Comparing that to the points students got in challenges, it was nothing, but small differences could make a bigger impact than they think later on.
"I should've spent more time on that assignment", Malakai thought, looking up at the dark sky. It was December, so the days grew dark quickly. "He kept me back for time as well (he kept me back in class for a long time)".
Malakai was exaggerating. He got kept behind for fifteen to twenty minutes, if that. He wouldn't have minded if it were Ms Green who kept him behind because she was the teacher he got along with the most, but it wasn't. It was a teacher that didn't like him. His friends didn't wait for him because they didn't know how long he would take, and Malakai told them they didn't need to wait.
"It's whatever, man. Next assignment, I'll try harder. It's not bad for my first time, though", he told himself. "Anyways, what should I get? Tea? Hot chocolate? Lu said there was a good chai place somewhere at the back of the mall".
"Hey! Excuse me!"
Malakai felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, and his eyes led him to look down.
"Yeah?" Malakai replied, confused about what he did, looking at the girl in front of him.
The girl before him was really short, the same height as Nada or a little shorter. She had light skin and a wavy bob cut with brown eyes.
"What's your name!?".
Malakai looked at her straight-faced, unsure why she was pissed and giving him attitude.
"My name? I don't know", Malakai shrugged. He felt like trolling.
"What do you mean you don't know?" she asked, with furrowed brows.
"Wait, wait. Who are you?" Malakai asked back, not recognising her.
"I'm a second-year".
"You're a second-year? You sure?" Malakai joked about her height, smirking.
"Yes, I am", she replied, not catching the joke.
From the tone of her voice, it sounded like she was taking no bullshit from Malakai. There was no point in trolling.
"Aryt. What do you want then?".
"I saw you fighting with someone from my year group a couple of weeks ago", she said, pointing a finger at Malakai.
"Fighting?" It took a couple of seconds for Malakai to think back and eventually
"Ooohh yeaaahh. Oh, wait! It's you!" he excitedly said, recognising the brownish hair. "You're that girl that they got scared of".
"Yes. Now tell me why were you fighting", she said, pressing him for an answer.
"If you tell me your name, then I'll tell you", Malakai said.
"I'm not telling you my name", the girl replied, stand-offish.
"Then I ain't telling you why I was fighting him", Malakai said, turning around and walking away.
The girl quickly went ahead and stood in front of Malakai, blocking him.
"I'll report you for fighting on campus", she said, trying to threaten him.
Malakai looked at her and didn't know if she was being serious or not.
"Go on then. Report me", he shrugged, not caring.
Malakai tried to sidestep and walk past her, but she blocked his way.
"Why were you fighting?" she asked again, not giving up.
"Why do you care? It was just a fight", Malakai said, not understanding her problem.
"You're a first-year fighting someone from my year. Everyone in my year has to set an example, and you need to learn how to act properly".
"Set an example? Act properly? Heh, not everyone's a neek (nerd) innit".
"What?" she pulled a face, not understanding his slang.
"I don't know what you want from me. That happened ages ago", Malakai said, waving his hand. Since then, even Malakai has stopped being paranoid about those second years. If he saw them again, he would happily square up to them if they asked for it.
"I don't care. I want to know why you were fighting on campus".
Malakai didn't know what her problem was, but she was being persistent.
"Aryt, look, tell me your name, and then I'll answer your question", Malakai said, wanting to know her name.
The girl rolled her eyes, "Ugh, fine. Sofia".
Malakai smiled, "Oouu, you had a little accent when you said that. Aryt señorita".
"Señorita!?".
"Why's there bare (a lot of) Latinas here? Actually, we're in an America, innit. There's bare Mexican and South American immigrants".
"That's racist!" Sofia said.
"No, it ain't. How? That's a fact, no? Plus, my parents are immigrants. Not illegal immigrants, but they're still immigrants", Malakai replied, just chatting shit now.
"Okay, I don't care. Just answer my question", Sofia stopped Malakai from waffling.
"What was the question again?" Malakai smirked, trolling again.
"What's wrong with you!? You're so childish!" Sofia frustratedly said. "Why were you fighting?".
"I don't know. Cuz we wanted to", Malakai shrugged, smiling and looking down at her.
"No, be serious!" Sofia said, seeing Malakai not take her seriously.
"Aye, look, people are fighting!" Malakai said, pointing somewhere else.
Sofia turned her head to where Malakai pointed.
Nothing was there.
"There's no one ther-" Sofia turned to look back, and Malakai wasn't in front of her anymore. She turned around, and Malakai was walking away.
"Hey!".
"Now I really want a drink", Malakai thought, walking away with his hands in his pockets.
Now we're up to speed in the café. Sofia followed Malakai the whole way to the café. Sofia kept asking her questions, but Malakai kept playing around and gave unserious answers.
"Why are you still following me?" Malakai asked, looking up at the menu but knowing Sofia was by his side.
"You haven't answered my questions", Sofia replied, annoyed.
"I did", Malakai said, not paying attention to her.
"No, you didn't. Answer my questions properly!" Sofia replied, hearing the carelessness in Malakai's voice.
"Next, please!"
Malakai moved closer to the till, "Can I have a medium hot matcha latte, please?".
Sofia watched, bewildered, as Malakai ignored her and ordered in front of her.
"Anything else?" the cashier asked, noting the order.
"Señorita, you want anything?" Malakai asked, finally looking at her.
"Don't call me señorita. I already told you my name", Sofia awkwardly said, switching views from Malakai and the cashier.
"Aryt, yeah, but do you want anything though?"
"No!".
Malakai gave the cashier a look that said, 'What do I do?'.
"She's pretty mad at you. Are you sure she doesn't want anything?" she asked.
"Can I get another medium hot matcha latte, please?" Malakai smiled at the cashier.
"what, no-" Sofia wanted to butt in again, but her voice wasn't loud enough nor quick enough to stop Malakai. She didn't know what to do because it wasn't as if she didn't want it, but she hadn't asked for it. She felt bad, thinking she might have acted in a way that made it seem like she wanted something even though she didn't.
"Okay, that'll be $11.12 or credits".
Malakai pulled out his phone to pay for the drinks.
"What did you do to make your girlfriend mad?" the cashier curiously asked.
"She ain't my girlfriend. I met her five minutes ago, and she keeps following me. I think she's my fan", Malakai replied, tapping his phone and paying for the drinks.
"I'm not your fan! I'm a year above you. I'm your senior", Sofia said, telling him off.
"Hehe, my señorita", Malakai giggled, playing on the words senior and señorita.
"Shut up. You're not funny", Sofia said, yet to find Malakai amusing.
"Hehehe", the cashier giggled at their bickering. "You can sit in the booths over there, and someone will bring your drinks shortly", she told them, pointing at the booths.
"Aryt, thank you", Malakai said before walking away to the booths.
Sofia watched Malakai walk past her, confused. "We're not staying here", she told him, chasing after him.
"You don't have to, but I am", Malakai replied, not stopping with his hands in his pockets.
Meanwhile, Alejandro slid around his seat so he was out of view from Malakai. He saw Malakai walking his way and instantly hid. Maria did the same.
"Who is that?" Alejandro asked. "Is she in your class?".
"No", Maria shook her head. "I don't know who she is. I've never seen her before".
"If you're not going to answer my questions, I'm going to report you".
"Report me? Señorita, relax. Let's sit down first, innit".
The voices were getting closer and closer to Maria and Alejandro's booth.
"Señorita?" Maria thought with a raised eyebrow.
"Why is he calling a girl Señorita?" Alejandro whispered, surprised as he hadn't heard someone being called señorita in a while.
Maria silently shrugged her shoulders, a little jealous Malakai was calling another girl señorita.
"Stop calling me Señorita. My name's Sofia".
"Hehehehe. Your accent slips out when you're mad", Malakai giggled.
Malakai went to a booth, took off his bag and sat inside it while Sofia just stood looking at him.
"Aren't you gonna sit?" Malakai asked, nodding to the seat opposite him.
Sofia looked at him and rolled her eyes before taking the seat opposite him to avoid standing out.
The booth Malakai and Sofia were in was back-to-back with Alejandro's and Maria's booth. Maria peered out of her booth and didn't see Malakai or Sofia, but she heard their voices right next to her. The place where Maria sat was directly back to back with Malakai's booth, so she stopped peering out and returned to her original seating position. She leant back and concentrated.
"Maria", Alejandro quietly called out, seeing Maria vacantly staring.
Maria put a finger to her lips to signal Alejandro to be quiet. She was trying to eavesdrop on Malakai's conversation.
"Now tell me why you were fighting", Sofia said, getting straight to it and not letting Malakai start the conversation.
"Aryt, aryt. Imma tell you", Malakai replied, getting comfortable in his seat. "They started it. They wanted to fight me".
"Why? There has to be a reason they wanted to fight you", Sofia said, tired of not hearing a proper reason.
"I pissed them off at the Halloween party", Malakai replied.
"The Halloween party?" Sofia questioned.
"Didn't you go?" Malakai asked, seeing her confusion.
"No, I didn't know there was a Halloween party".
"I thought all the second years knew", Malakai said. "Did your roommate go?".
"I don't have a roommate".
"Huh?".
"They got eliminated and expelled at the end of the first year".
"My condolences", Malakai said, putting a hand on his chest.
"They're not dead", Sofia said, looking at him weird.
"Do you still talk to them?"
"N-no".
"So they might be dead. You don't know".
Sofia rolled her eyes at him. Malakai wasn't going to make her laugh any time soon.
"So is that the reason you fought each other because you annoyed them at that party?".
"Yeah".
"How did you annoy them?".
Malakai smiled, "I don't remember, I can't lie", he said, looking away and touching his scar.
"Don't lie to me", Sofia said with a bit of an attitude, sensing his lie.
"Señorita, I would never lie to you", Malakai cheekily said, putting his hands up.
"Seriously, stop calling me Señorita", Sofia replied, annoyed. "Do you even know what it means?".
"Nah", Malakai shook his head. "I just know they say it in Spanish. Do you know what it means?".
"Obviously, I know what it means. I speak Spanish", Sofia replied, offended he asked that.
"What does it mean then?".
"It's the same as calling a woman 'miss'", Sofia replied.
"What's wrong with that?".
"Nothing, but I don't like when you say it. You sound like you're being condescending or flirting with me".
"I ain't", Malakai replied. "I'm not tryna offend you or take the piss. And I ain't tryna flirt. I just thought it was a good nickname. I don't call every girl I know that speaks Spanish señorita".
"Do you even know my name?" Sofia asked, thinking he was calling her señorita because he had forgotten.
"Yeah, it's Sofia", Malakai replied. "I ain't calling you Señorita cuz I can't remember your name", he smiled.
"Fine", Sofia reluctantly accepted, rolling her eyes again. "Wait, you haven't even told me your name", she remembered.
"I swear I did".
"No, you didn't. You said you don't know".
"Hehehe", Malakai giggled, remembering he said that and finding himself funny.
"My name's Malakai Junior".
As soon as he announced his name, a waiter came and placed their drinks on the table.
"Two medium hot matcha lattes. Would you like anything else?".
"Nah, we're good. Thank you", Malakai replied, giving the waiter a thumbs up.
"Is that your full name?" Sofia asked.
"What?" Malakai replied, bringing his drink closer to him.
"Is Junior your last name, or is your dad called Malakai, too?" Sofia repeated her question.
"My last name is Junior".
"Are you lying to me?" Sofia didn't trust him.
"Nah, Junior's actually my last name. I can show you my ID if you want".
Sofia looked at Malakai, who was taking off the lid of his cup and looking at his drink. By the way he answered it, it sounded like he got asked that question a lot.
"Oh… no, I believe you", Sofia was interested by his name. "What class are you in?".
"1-C".
"Oh…" Sofia was disappointed by the class. She didn't know what class to expect, but hearing 1-C made sense by how he was acting.
"What class are you in?" Malakai asked back, putting the lid back on his drink.
"2-A".
"2-A? Rah (wow)", Malakai said. "That means you're in Micheal's class. Are you friends with him?"
Sofia looked down at her drink, "He's in my class, but we're not friends", she said in a lower tone.
Malakai was surprised to hear that, "I thought everyone was Micheal's friend".
"Not me. I don't need to be", Sofia dully replied. "Why did you get me a drink?" she asked, quickly changing the subject and not touching the drink as she felt guilty.
"It would be awkward if only I got a drink", Malakai replied. "Why? Do you not like matcha?" he asked, seeing Sofia eyeing the drink.
"No, I like matcha…. a lot", Sofia guiltily replied, finally bringing her drink closer to her. "Do you like matcha?".
"I don't know. I've never tried it", Malakai shrugged. "This is my first time".
"Why did you pick it? When you were ordering, it sounded like you've had it before", Sofia said.
"To try it, innit", Malakai said. "There was bare stuff I haven't tried on that menu. I've always wanted to try matcha, so I thought I might as well innit. I doubt I'll like it, though. It looks kinda weird".
Sofia took a sip of her drink.
"I think you'll like it. A hot matcha latte is better than an iced matcha latte, in my opinion", she shyly said, embarrassed to look at him.
"Yeah?" Malakai smiled, liking Sofia opening up instead of giving him attitude. Malakai didn't take a sip of his drink yet as it still felt too hot for him. "What position are you on the leaderboard?".
"First".
"Your first?!" Malakai repeated, surprised.
"Yeah".
"Wait, that means it's you", Malakai said, pointing at her. "The girl that Micheal said was first, and no one was close to catching".
"People can still catch me", Sofia commented, sounding a little bitter. "What about you?".
"I'm first, too", Malakai casually replied.
Sofia gave him a look. A deadpan look.
"Why are you looking at me like that?".
"I'm not falling for that. You're in class 1-C".
"Señorita, I told you I would never lie to you", Malakai cheekily smiled. "I'll show you right now". Malakai unlocked his and pulled up the leaderboard. "I'm kinda pissed, though. We did an assignment, and I did shit", he said, showing Sofia her phone.
Sofia's eyes couldn't believe it. Malakai's name and picture were next to the number one, and his class was 1-C, while all the names below him had class 1-A. She also got confirmation that his name was actually Malakai Junior.
"H-how are you first?".
"I'm like that. I'm too good", Malakai playfully boasted before taking the first sip of his drink. "Oi, this is aryt".
Sofia looked up at Malakai, "How is this guy first? He's not serious at all.".
"Señorita, I've got a question".
"W-what?" Sofia said, startled, as she wasn't concentrating and had just been staring at Malakai.
"Who are you? Cuz when I fought those guys, they got scared when you came", Malakai said. "Are you like a student president or something?".
"No", Sofia shook her head.
"Then why did they get scared?" Malakai asked, confused.
"Because I would've gotten them in trouble".
"How?".
"I would've told a teacher".
"You're a snitch?!" Malakai said, flabbergasted with his eyes wide.
That reaction surprised Sofia.
"Señorita, that ain't good. If you snitch on people, no one's gonna like you".
"I don't care", Sofia replied, rolling her eyes.
"What do your friends say? Surely they're telling you not to snitch".
Sofia didn't answer. She stayed quiet and sipped her drink.
"Do you have any friends?" Malakai carefully asked.
"I don't need any. I'm fine on my own", Sofia snapped back.
Malakai felt something after hearing her response. It felt like a lot of things were connecting, and Sofia's attitude and behaviour were starting to make sense.
"Nah, come on. There's surely one person you talk to, innit", Malakai said, hoping there was.
Sofia didn't instantly respond. She saw Malakai's gaze and felt like it had sympathy written all over it.
"What?! I'm first. Everyone's jealous of me. It's not my fault they can't keep up", Sofia bitterly said, not wanting any sympathy.
"Señorita, that ain't good, man", Malakai softly replied. "It's fine being alone sometimes, but you have to at least have one person to turn to. There's nothing worse than being all alone".
"Easy for you to say. I bet you're popular", Sofia said, keeping her drink close to her mouth.
Malakai blew air out of his nose and smiled, "I ain't popular. Everyone hates me".
Sofia looked at him and thought he was lying again. "Everyone?" she asked doubtfully.
"Yeah. My own class probably hates me now, too", Malakai replied. "But it's fine though cuz I've got like ten people that like me... I think".
"Why does everyone hate you?" Sofia asked, wanting to relate.
"I'm not a good person", Malakai said, not looking at her. "I joke all the time and take nothing serious. I've pissed off a lot of people. I don't even know why I do it".
"Are you sure they're just not just jealous of you because you're first?" Sofia said.
"Nah, I doubt anyone's jealous of me", Malakai shook his head. "I mean, I showed you the leaderboard. The guy below me is 300 points away. He's gonna catch me next semester. My luck's gonna run out soon. It's already wearing out".
The mood dampened after that. The two remained silent, sipping their matcha lattes. Sofia didn't know what to say, and Malakai didn't know how to continue.
In the other booth, Maria was still trying to eavesdrop. The entire time, she'd heard bits of Malakai talking but couldn't hear anything Sofia said. The background noise of the café was interfering with her hearing.
"Maria, should we go?" Alejandro quietly said. "We can't stay here forever".
"We can't leave. They'll see us", Maria replied.
"What's wrong if they see us?" Alejandro asked.
"It'll be awkward", Maria said. "Let's wait a bit longer".
"Why would it be awkward?" Alejandro asked, wanting to leave.
"Didn't you call him dangerous and say he fought your friend?".
"Yeah, but we're just going to leave. We're not going to look or talk to him. He might not even notice us", Alejandro said.
What Alejandro was saying wasn't wrong, but Maria was curious. She wanted to hear what Malakai was talking about, even though she couldn't perfectly hear the conversation.
"I've got an idea", Malakai said. "No one likes me in my year group, and no one likes you in your year group. And we're both at the top of our leaderboards. So we should date and become a couple. We would be the most hated couple in the entire academy. That'd be sick (cool)", he randomly thought of something stupid to lighten up the mood.
"Who would ever date you?" Sofia bluntly said.
"Woooooow".
"No, no. I didn't mean how you look. I meant how you act", Sofia quickly cleared up she wasn't talking about his scar or appearance.
"I know, I was just joking", Malakai said, seeing her panic a little. "Señorita, you're not really good with jokes, are you? You don't have to be serious all the time".
"I'm not serious all the time. I just follow the rules", Sofia replied, pouting.
"You can't follow the rules all the time. You need to have fun, innit. That's probably why you've got no friends", Malakai said. "You know what, señorita. I'll be your friend".
"No".
"Hehehe, what do you mean no?" Malakai giggled, finding her rejection funny.
"I don't want to be friends with you", Sofia said.
"That's a lie. I know you want me to be your friend", Malakai smiled.
Sofia looked away and sipped her drink to avoid agreeing.
"Whatever you say, imma be your friend anyway", Malakai said. "But you need to make more friends. Imma chat to some second years and tell them you're a good person".
"Why?" Sofia moaned.
"Señorita, you can't be alone. You need some people around you. You need to make memories, innit", Malakai said, looking at her. "Look, I can tell you don't come from a rich family like most of these guys, so obviously you wanna win the money and shit. But, in the future, when you look back on these three years, you wanna be happy, no? Like me, I've made so many memories in this one semester just by messing around with my friends".
"I don't want a lecture", Sofia said.
"I ain't tryna lecture you… aryt maybe I am", Malakai smiled, knowing he was waffling to her. "But hear me out though, innit. You understand what I'm saying. When you look back on these years, you wanna think of the good times. Maybe you're telling yourself you're happy alone, but I know truly you ain't. Being alone is the worst, I know. You think you can handle it, but there's times when you just can't. That being said, if you're gonna be friends with people, be friends with genuine people, not fakes".
"Okay, okay. You're starting to sound like my dad", Sofia said, stopping him.
"Aryt, my bad", Malakai replied, taking a sip of his drink. "I like speaking my mind like that".
BZZT!!
Malakai's phone vibrated on the table. Malakai picked it up and saw he got a message notification.
"Fam, this guy always asks me to buy him shit", Malakai said after reading the message.
William messaged him to buy some groceries for dinner. Malakai picked up his drink a little and shook it to see how much was left. He still had a quarter of the drink left. Malakai picked up his bag and got out of the booth.
"Aryt, it was nice to meet ya, little señorita, but I need to go now", Malakai said while putting on his bag.
Sofia was too shy to look at Malakai as she was secretly enjoying the conversation.
"Oh yeah, here", Malakai held out his phone to her.
Sofia looked at his phone, clueless.
"Give me your number, innit".
"Why?" Sofia asked, a little defensive.
"How else are we gonna talk?".
Sofia rolled her eyes and slowly took the phone to fill in her contacts.
"Look, I ain't saying we have to talk every day, but if you wanna talk, I'm there, innit", Malakai said, clarifying his intentions.
"You're not planning anything, are you?" Sofia asked, handing Malakai his phone.
"Nah, I promise I don't have any ulterior motives", Malakai confidently replied. "Plus, neither of us needs a relationship. We're first. We're tryna win, innit", he smiled.
Sofia tilted her head down, "yeah", she said with a little smile. The first time Malakai got her to smile was at the end of the conversation.
Malakai picked up his drink, "Aryt, señorita. Safe (bye)", he waved.
Sofia's bye was stuck in her throat as she watched Malakai leave, who also waved bye to the cashier at the register as he left the café. That was the first time in a long time someone had hung out with her. It was only towards the end of the conversation she realised she was enjoying it and that she wasn't okay. All this time being alone, she thought she was fine, but after one interaction, it felt like she found something she wasn't even trying to find. One thing she didn't even know she needed. A little bit of company.
"Maria, he's gone. Let's go", Alejandro said, eagerly getting out of his seat.
Maria quietly got out of her seat, picked up her bag, and her empty cup.
"What are you going to do when you get back?" Alejandro asked.
"I don't know. I'll probably lie in bed and binge a few episodes of a show I've been watching", Maria replied.
"You're not going to revise a little?" Alejandro asked as she mentioned she was going to revise.
"Nah, I'm a little tired".
Before walking away, Maria slyly glanced behind her to get one more look at Sofia.
"I wish that were me".