Expectations

Aria slowly trudged towards the classroom door, stopping as she heard voices inside.

"Hey Taehyung, don't sit next to that snob. She's not even pretty. Come sit with us today, please?"

A boy chuckled. "Is that what you think? That she's ugly?"

"I didn't mean that. It's just, well, she's the dean's daughter." A girl's coy voice could be heard from the hall. "And she's so stingy. She won't share her work with anyone."

A few others made sounds of agreement.

"Well, I-" Before the boy could say anything more, he was interrupted by a loud squeal from outside.

"Aria, how did you do on the test? I bet you were amazing again." The people within the room turned pale, their hearts stopping at their throats.

Outside, Aria smiled weakly. "It wasn't so bad. How about you, Hailey?"

"Ugh, don't even mention it. It was horrible."

"Why are you still standing outside? Go in, I'll talk with you inside." Before Aria could respond, the Hailey pushed open the door excitedly and pulled Aria inside. Just as the two girls entered, multiple pairs of eyes went to them, creating an extremely suffocating atmosphere. "What? Why are you all staring at us?"

"No reason," a girl, presumedly the one who had spoken before, muttered.

Knitting her brows, Hailey looked quizzically at the people in the room. She whispered quietly to Aria, "Hey, you're not being bullied, are you?"

Aria laughed frostily, "No, of course not."

"That's a relief. Anyway, it looks like we're interrupting something by staying here, so let's just go outside to talk."

"Wait," Taehyung said, standing up. "That was a misunderstanding. I-"

"I don't want to hear it." Aria cut him off "I don't care how you see me. Just stay away from me in the future, okay?" Her expression cold, Aria strut out of the classroom and slammed the door.

The girl at the side was almost in tears. "What do I do? What if she tells the dean and I get kicked out of the school?"

Hailey, who was still in the room, shot her a glare before going outside to follow Aria.

"Hey, what was that about?" Hailey grabbed Aria's arm, stopping her.

Aria avoided making Hailey's eyes. "It's nothing much. They were just gossiping, that's all."

"You're just going to let that go? Let them step all over you?"

"Well, what else can I do? And it's not that big of a deal anyway. There's no need to blow it up."

Hailey sighed, "That's always been your weakness. You're too soft, Aria. You don't fight for what you want. You're not going to get anywhere in life if you continue like this."

"But…" Aria murmured quietly. "I can't always do what I want."

Hailey rolled her eyes. "You don't get it, do you? You only live once. You have to do what makes you happy."

Aria went silent, mulling over what Hailey had said.

…

The bell rang loudly, signally the end of school. "Okay, class dismissed," the teacher announced.

The room was immediately filled with the screeching of chairs and the shuffling of books.

"Aria, can I leave cleaning duties to you?" The teacher asked.

"Yes ma'am." The girl nodded as she packed her books.

"Alright. If you need anything you can go find the office." The teacher smiled, picking up her handbag and leaving the room.

The students followed the teacher out the door, and soon the classroom was empty.

Aria quietly grabbed a mop in the corner and went to clean the floor of muddy patches of footprints and small pieces of crumbs. As she mopped, she began to hum a soft melody. Following the tune she sang, she moved her body along. Her soft humming turned into a clear, melodious sound as it resounded throughout the room.

The faint sound of footsteps could be heard, but the girl did not notice as she was engrossed in her song. The footsteps stopped outside the classroom; the figure hidden from view. For a while, they listened to her sing, her soothing melody turning into a brilliant climax and then ending with a slightly sad tone.

As Aria ended her song, she heard clapping coming from behind her. Surprised, she turned around, only to see that Taehyung had walked into the room.

"What a beautiful voice," he praised, beaming widely.

The girl frowned, "What are you doing here?"

"I left my bag over there." The boy replied, pointing to a desk on the far-left corner.

"Well, go get it then."

"I will, later. But I want to ask you something."

"What?"

"Why don't you go pursue singing? I'm sure you'd be great at it."

"What do you know?" Aria demanded. "Don't speak if you don't know anything."

"I know."

"What?"

"I know why you can't. It's your dad, isn't it? I heard from the other kids."

The girl glared at the boy.

"Isn't it that you want to impress him? To show him what you can do? That's the only reason why you're studying so hard, isn't it?"

The girl looked sceptically at the boy. "Why are you nosing your way into my life? What does it matter to you?"

"Nothing. I just thought to let you know, you don't have to pressure yourself and do whatever is expected of you."

The girl stared doubtfully at the boy. They had only met a couple of days ago, why was he telling her all these things?

"Well, I've got to get going now. You can go on with your cleaning and pretend I never came." The boy shrugged, reaching for his bag and walking away.

The girl watched as his figure grew smaller and disappeared from room. Staring blankly in front of her, Aria clenched and unclenched her fists.

A sudden feeling of desperation welled up inside her. She was unable to quell the emotion within; it was intense and exploded in waves. She hadn't ever felt this way before; it made her feel a strong urge to do something, to go somewhere. Staring at the empty hallway, the girl sprinted from the classroom, down the stairs and to the school gate.

Panting heavily, she looked around her. It was too late. He was already long gone.