Kiri's phone buzzed loudly against her painting easel. She felt her teacher's eyes shift to her every time. Hiding behind the canvas, she went to silence it. She stopped, seeing the messages from her brother.
Lo:
(lo'ak) dude i messed up (lo'ak) like bad (lo'ak) like, bad bad
(kiri) with what (kiri) r u ok? should i call tey
(lo'ak) no pls dont (lo'ak) i'm fine, like i'm safe, i just messed up bad (lo'ak) so yk how i asked out reya right
(kiri) oh no
(lo'ak) well we have this period together and we were talking right and the teacher was all tsireya please quiet down and ofc i took the blame bc i was the reason she was talking (lo'ak) mind you i haven't spoken to her at all since friday
(kiri) what (kiri) why not
(lo'ak) IDK MAN I WAS NERVOUS??????? (lo'ak) but (lo'ak) ok i get out a piece of paper and i write sorry and she says its ok and she drew me a snail so like awe (lo'ak) then a little while later i give her another note and it's like do u have plans on saturday
(kiri) we have saturday practice
(lo'ak) and she says we have saturday practice (lo'ak) yes exactly i forgot about that (lo'ak) and then i'm all like wanna go get sumn to eat afterwards
(kiri) w rizz w rizz
(lo'ak) SEE YOUD THINK SO WOULDNT YOU!!!!! (lo'ak) but then my bitch ass teacher is all like "i'll take that note young lady🤓😡" and like i dont actually think she's ever gotten in trouble from a teacher before so this might be like the worst thing ever to her bc shes so good and quiet in class (lo'ak) and rn she has these angry eyebrows and she looks upset and i don't know how to help bc like it's my fault but i can't apologize or say anything bc the teacher will get on my ass again (lo'ak) i feel so bad bro
(kiri) well we go to 4th soon (kiri) you could just wait it out till the bell rings and then see if she tries to walk with you to her next class (kiri) i gotta go my teachers coming
Kiri shoved her phone under her legs quickly, picking up her sketching pencil. She feigned surprise when her teacher cleared her throat behind her. "What are you working on?" she asked, eyes narrowed. "Just, you know, brainstorming," she mumbled, struggling to maintain eye contact. "You have nothing started," the woman said bluntly. Kiri dropped her hand to her lap in frustration. "I've been helping her," a soft voice called. Kiri turned and saw Ninat poking her head around the edge of her own canvas. "We don't think the materials provided fit her artistic vision. It's really not her fault." Ninat's jaw was set in defiance. Kiri smiled appreciatively at her before turning back to her teacher. "Yeah," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "Not my fault." The woman sighed deeply as she turned away, giving Ninat a sideways glance as she made her way back to her desk. "Thank you," Kiri mouthed. Ninat beamed at her, nodding. "Of course," she mouthed back. The bell rang and the class scrambled to put their supplies back in their designated spots. Kiri sighed, hanging her empty canvas in the corner of the room marked with her name. She really should think of something to paint before her teacher caught onto Ninat's lie. "I put your paint bucket up," she heard a voice call. Ninat stood behind her, holding a small green sketchbook in her hands. "Thank you, Ninat," Kiri said, as genuinely as she could. "For all that you do." Ninat grinned. "Well, she's a cunt," she said bluntly. Kiri scoffed in surprise. "What? She is," Ninat laughed, shrugging. Kiri grinned, looking around the room for Rotxo. He was nowhere to be found. 'He must have already left,' Kiri guessed, embarrassed by how weird that felt. "What's your fourth?" Kiri asked, shouldering her bag and following Ninat out the door. "Precalc," she answered, not looking back at Kiri. "Oh! My brother has that class," Kiri called, grabbing onto Ninat's bag to keep up. Ninat was tall, with long legs. She was a very fast walker. Kiri wasn't short, but she found it difficult to keep up. "You're such a fast walker, Ninat," she laughed. Ninat slowed, looking over her shoulder with a grin. "Sorry," she breathed, matching Kiri's stride. "Yeah, your brother's in my class. So is Rotxo," she added, smiling a knowing smile. "Oh, is he?" she asked, acting as if she didn't already have his schedule memorized. "Mhm. They sit in the back and whisper the whole time." Kiri laughed. "Sounds like them," she said. Ninat nodded.
After they went their separate ways, Kiri spotted Ao'nung's head towering above the rest of the kids in the hallway on the way to econ. She hurried to catch up with him. "Oh, hey Kiri," he murmured, looking down at her. "Kiri? Hi," Neteyam said, looking around Ao'nung. Kiri hadn't even realized he was there. "Hi, guys," she said, grinning. They were walking together. How sweet. Kiri imagined Neteyam waiting for Ao'nung to come into the building from his internship by the front doors, bouncing his leg nervously in the way he always did. "I need an idea of something to paint for art class." Ao'nung grinned. "What's Rotxo painting?" Kiri shrugged. "Don't know, he didn't try to talk to me today. Neteyam winced. "O-oh, okay," Ao'nung said awkwardly, glancing at Neteyam for help. "It's fine," Kiri said, dismissively waving her hand. They entered their classroom and sat down at their usual spots. Spider was across the room from them. The seat where Ao'nung used to sit was empty. He sat at the desk in front of Neteyam now, diagonally in front of Kiri. The way his long legs were folded under his seat looked even more uncomfortable from this angle. His knees poked out into the walkway. He was hunched forward in his seat, writing something on a paper. Kiri's gaze flicked to Neteyam. His eyes were fixed on the back of Ao'nung's head. He spun his rings absentmindedly, seeming lost in thought. Ao'nung straightened up suddenly. This seemed to bring Neteyam back to earth. He blinked and looked around nervously, eyes eventually landing on Kiri. She tried her best to hide her grin, but she knew he saw it anyway. She blinked pointedly at him and then at Ao'nung. Neteyam made a face, rolling his eyes.
Kiri turned her attention to her classwork, pulling out her binder and pen. She felt someone watching her. She discreetly scanned the room, eyes locking on the singular pair that were already looking at her. His eyes were very green, like moss. He blinked as they locked eyes. She widened her eyes slightly in a questioning way. He widened his in return, a lopsided smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He raised one eyebrow after the other, wiggling them one at a time. Kiri grinned despite herself, impressed. "Kiri," Neteyam hissed, nearly inaudibly. She looked over at him. "What?" "Stay focussed," he said softly, gesturing to the board with his head. She knew he was right, she truly should stay focussed. She didn't know enough about economics to just guess her way through. With a frustrated sigh, she returned to her work. After a few minutes, she glanced over at Spider again. He wasn't looking at her. His chin rested in his palm and he was slumped over his paper. His curls had been tucked behind one ear, exposing the airpod he had in. Kiri wondered what music he was listening to. She blinked and looked back down at her paper, feeling a headache start to build behind her eyes.
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she is soooo paper bag by fiona apple
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