5 Invitation

The school canteen was extremely crowded, but luckily Maya and the others found a good place to sit down without searching for long.

"Aren't you having anything for lunch?" asked Laurey.

Maya merely shook her head and lowered her gaze after seeing Laurey looking at the empty space in front of her. While the others had placed trays of food in front of them, the table on her side had remained empty.

"I overslept today and didn't have time to make myself food," she replied.

"But you can just buy something? There's enough choice in the canteen and some of it is really tasty here."

Silence. Still lowering her gaze, Maya raised her shoulders a little to hide her head between them. She had never received money from her parents, neither for food at school, nor for anything else. Therefore, her meals depended on what was left over at home.

"Just forget it, Laurey," Kira said, ending the silence.

"Anyway," she continued," I can't believe Maite would come straight back at Maya the very next day after what she got up to. I just wonder what her intention was."

"Who knows," Annabelle countered, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe she just wanted to apologise. But I don't think it's right, because then it's only because she's got a poor reputation in the class now."

"True. We wouldn't know if she was serious," Laurey nodded.

Maya remained quiet during the conversation. Inwardly, she was enjoying this discussion about Maite and that she now had a bad reputation in school, but she couldn't let that show outwardly. If she got involved in the conversation, she might give herself away.

"I'm glad I could still find you, sweetheart!" a familiar voice called out.

At the same time, all four girls turned and looked up at their teacher, Mr Mayers, who had come up behind them and was smiling at them.

'Sweetheart?'

"You're not supposed to call me that here, Dad!" bitched Laurey.

Without waiting to see why Mr Mayers had come here in the first place, she folded her arms and averted her eyes. Mr Mayers, on the other hand, smiled somewhat awkwardly.

'Mr Mayers is Laurey's father? That's most interesting!'

"'Well, don't be like that. So I forgot once, so what? You're among your friends here, after all. Forgive your old dad."

"What do you want, anyway? You can see I'm having lunch with my friends."

The mood turned a little. Before, it seemed to Maya like genuine dislike and coldness from Laurey towards her father, but appearances were deceiving. Now it looked like they were getting on well and Laurey was merely teasing him for forgetting their arrangement. A relationship she could never have with her own father. Never would they get on so well.

"Your mother is cooking a little earlier today because she has an appointment late at night, so please don't eat too much, will you? You know how mad she can get."

"It's fine," she replied stroppily.

But then Laurey's eyes fell on Maya again. Why, she couldn't tell, but it felt awkward, so she quickly averted her gaze from Laurey and looked back at the floor.

"Hey dad, is it okay if I bring a friend?"

There was silence for seconds. Maya didn't dare look up. Had Mr Mayers understood that Laurey meant Maya? What would he say to that? Would he refuse? Why was this actually making her so uncomfortable right now?

"It's okay, I guess. Your mother always cooks too much, anyway. You're welcome to join us, Maya."

"Thank you," she whispered.

When she looked back up, Mr Mayers was already leaving. Instead, the others now looked at Maya and burst into giggles.

"Oh man, you're really cute, as insecure as you were just now," Kira grinned.

Until now, Maya had always presented herself as confident and strong. It was the first time that her classmates at this school saw her as so weak and insecure. However, there was not much Maya could do about it. Something inside her made her feel uncomfortable when it came to others' opinions of her.

There was always this fear of not being accepted for who she was. Of being rejected because she was different. It wasn't a constant battle inside her, but every time someone formed an opinion about her, she carried that battle in her mind.

"Don't be embarrassed. But at least you'll have a proper meal today. You'll see, my mother is an excellent cook! I'm sure you'll enjoy it!"

Maya nodded. Thoughts were just flowing around in her head. On the one hand, it might be nice to meet a friend's family, but on the other hand, the thought of seeing a happy, different family while her own was so bad made her sick.

Never could she show her friends her own family, or even mention a word about her parents. Besides, she had to be careful that Laurey's parents didn't notice any of the bruises. The wounds on her upper body might not be a problem, but she would have to replace the make-up in the worst case.

Did she really have to? In a house where her parents, especially her father, couldn't just barge in. What he was doing was illegal. After all, that much was also clear to Maya. Until now, fear had always held her back from going against it in any way. But what if she just sneaked off to Laurey's family after school without letting home know?

What if Mr Mayers, as a down-to-earth teacher, found out about the domestic violence at Maya's home? They could charge her father with abuse. It could even lead to him being locked away?

So did she really have to hide her wounds? Or could she not use this situation to destroy a part of her bad life? After all, all she had to do was destroy her father's life and some of the pain would be taken away. Besides, she would be in the home of the Mayers, Laurey's father. Who said she could only destroy one life?

Why not get rid of both an unfortunate part of her life, and in the process punish someone with a better, undeserved life for that one?

Thoughts bubbled wildly inside her, and she found it difficult to sort them all out properly. But she was sure of one thing - it was worth a try. Mr Mayers would be the key to bringing the surrounding lives more in line with justice.

"I would be happy to visit you and have dinner with your family," she said to Laurey.