Chapter Seven

(Phone Rings)

"Who's this?..Can hear you.... Coming over?.... Now?.... I'll text the address..."

Maya replied from her end of the phone. She was just awoken by the buzzing sound of her phone, which she had inadvertently left on vibrate. It must have been the night before.

Tess was to come to her house that day for a visit. It was the first time she was to come over, and Maya most certainly wanted to make a good impression. After a brief yawns and stretches, she reached for her phone and quickly typed the home address

Sunrise Residential Area

House Number 45.

Besides Alabama Main Mall

After a click on the send button, she crawled back into the comfort of her bed and cuddled herself with her Stuffed Bear which she called Molly.

It was 6:45 pm by her bedside clock and the next day was a Friday. It was definitely not the perfect night for a sleepover. On a second thought, the next day was supposed to be the School's Awards Night.

Undoubtedly, Maya reflected. The School is jam-packed, with series of events, for the last couple of weeks.

"I surely can't raise my grades up, if I'm so preoccupied with School Events." She said as she had sat up and began converting her words to writings, on her Diary. No one was meant to see that,

Absolutely No one.

It was to be her legacy, of a lived existence.

Back then in her previous schools, where she had occasionally been jeered and made fun of, that was where the idea of writing her feelings and emotions, sprung up from.

It somehow had a way of numbing the pains she occasionally felt.

She stopped briefly as though a sudden thought eluded her. It was a partial reminisce and suddenly the downstairs main entrance door bell brought her out of the Partial Oblivion, she constantly found herself in.

"That must be Tess." She said rubbing her fore head hard with two fingers. It must have been a slight headache, she concluded.

"Tess!" Maya exclaimed welcoming her with a warm embrace.

"Maya so Good to see you." Tess replied.

"Mum meet Tess, my friend, the one I told you about."

Maya said giving her mum a 'Remember what I told you look'.

Her mum had a way of disappointing her, when it came to issues like this,

but luckily, she did remember..

"Oh.. Tess Montes I remember, so how's your family?" Mrs Anderson asked.

"We are large." Tess replied as the whole house bursted out laughing. The two flew the stairs and arrived in Maya's room.

"Your house is amazing, you get a whole room all to yourself?" Tess asked gazing.

"It's not that big." Maya replied trying to be as modest as she could be.

"In my house, I have to share a room with my five brothers. With my eldest brother away to college, I still have to wrangle four boys!" Tess said suddenly shrieking to her words.

"It can't be that bad." Maya said almost laughing.

"It can't?... I try to keep the house neat and all and the second I'm away, everything falls apart. Once, they used my toothbrush, All of them!, They speak in codes I mean what is 'Bipity bap'? They wear five under wears, a week"

"Umm OK, so that's like thirty five." Maya said sounding abstractly calculative.

"No you don't understand, Five Under wears." Tess said, this time emphatically.

"Yikes! I think that's enough family talk. We should study and talk about a lot of things I'm so happy you are here.

Which do we study Math, Chemistry, History maybe Spanish we have a test on Monday on it. What do you think?" Maya asked sitting cross-legged on her bed. Whilst Tess sat oppositely, on her bedside table.

"Well, I think Chemistry first, then Spanish." Tess said.

After approximately thirty minutes.....

"Maya what's on the fifty-second page, it talked about thermal combustion. There's a word after that, what's it? Unfortunately, my brothers ate my book." Tess said this time she let her legs move to and fro as they swung.

"Emm... That should be ex... Ex... F...v..p... Ex... " Maya said biting her lips..

Oh dear

"Let me Have a look see. Is it a compound?" Tess asked reaching for the book.

Trust me it's not a compound. It should be a very simple word.

"This is explosives." Tess said.

Right!! It just had to be so simple

"Was that what you tried pronouncing?" Tess asked.

"I guess." Maya replied whispering, but she believed she was audible enough.

"Maya, is there something, I don't know?" Tess asked. Just then she felt something behind her... A book perhaps she thought, and turned to flip the pages over.

What's this?

"My name is Maya Elisa Anderson and I am... " Tess read out loud fast enough, before Maya could snatch the book from her hands.

It was her Diary!!

"Hey.. Give that back"

Maya said moving towards the table.

"Dyslexic." Tess completed the first sentence and just immediately, Maya snatched it away.

How on earth did I leave my diary on the table, and not in it?

"Dyslexic... That's it....that's why it's hard for you right? This is the secret. How come you didn't tell anyone about this?" Tess asked.

"You weren't supposed to see this." Maya said locking it away.

"But I did anyways, maybe you should learn to be more careful with your secrets." Tess advised.

"I'm supposed to be your friend and friends don't keep secrets as such from each other, do they?"

Now that's nice

All Maya did was to smile. She explained the whole predicament to her apparent new found best friend. Starting from when she had just discovered she couldn't read...

They had spoken for a long time until Tess stood up to leave.

"It was a great time with you Maya, but I have to leave now and help my Nona prepare dinner." She said lifting her bag to leave.

"What about Spanish, we didn't get to study it... You know a little Spanish don't you?"

Soy muy bueno en Español

"I am very good at Spanish"

Tess said.

"Entonces Enseñame"

"Si quiers aprender Español, lomo lo hice, tendrias que conocer a mi Nona".

"Slow down kiddo, I'm at sea.." Maya said within chuckles.

"You will have to learn Spanish The way I did, the hard way and you will have to meet my Nona for that" Tess replied she had Now found herself sitting by the edge of the bed.

"What's a Nona?" Maya asked estranged.

"That's my grandma." Tess replied..

"You can visit my home after the awards night and see for yourself what I mean... With my parents outta town, I live with my grandma and four brothers." Tess said shrieking once more.

"Speaking of Awards Night, you are coming right?" She added more comfortably this time around so much so that she had helped herself with an M&M candy bar she found in the room.

"I'm not going, as you can see I have my Spanish to improve, everything needs to be improved... Do not eat that, that's the last I have" Maya replied.

"It's your first ever and besides its a school activity, everyone is going to be there, you have the whole weekend to study." Tess added.

"Even though I would have to go, I turned down Scott and Daniel. Figured out the latter, was taking someone else. If I eventually show up, it makes the whole situation awkward doesn't it?" Maya asked.

"Daniel Bryant asked you out, and you turned him down! Do you have any idea what you just missed. Any girl would kill to be in that position." Tess said.

"He's going to be with Allie so that's no big deal." Maya replied shrugging.

Tess drew closer and when she was just an arm distance, she asked.

"Do you want to go out with him, even if it's just this once?"

"I.... But Allie." Maya stammered and bit her lip it became involuntary with time.

"Do you?..." Tess asked again.

"Scott?" Maya answered but it sounded more like a question.

"I'll handle them." Tess assured.