Like a mother, she cared

Lillian Grey, Anna, and Diego walked through the hallways, feeling the vibe at every corner with students grouping together.

It is a familiar imagery one can witness during the exam seasons.

"Wow, it is tight," Anna spoke.

"Yeah, because it is the finals, and this is it," Diego remarked.

"…" Lillian Grey.

The trio strolled as they reached the top floor where their exam will take place soon. A lot of students have already tented outside the room.

Rustling noises along with whispers of academic words swirled through the air as every student gave their best in scanning for the one last time.

Lillian Grey did not have her book; She remained quiet as expected; It is her usual behavior during exam season. She doesn't talk in general or even unnecessarily.

She thinks it might erase all the things she had worked hard in memorizing. Instead of chattering about the test, her eyes went desperate in something else.

Anna noticed it.

If it were before, she would openly state her comments. But right now with the stingy mood going on in between Lillian Grey, Giselle, and Diego, Anna chose to whisper whatever is in her mind strictly to Lillian alone.

"Stop looking so hard for Giselle. She just texted me," Anna leaned into Lillian and passed the message.

…

Because she left so early, Lillian Grey reached the school sooner than any day. She waited outside for the rest of the gang to join. However, only Anna and Diego arrived at the same time together. Lillian wanted to wait but, seeing Diego so uninterested, Anna pursued Lillian to move.

Also, Anna texted Giselle to know her whereabouts.

After a few minutes of the trio reached the floor, Giselle replied saying that she just entered the campus.

Hearing Anna's message, Lillian Grey, without a second thought, retreated.

"I'll be back," Lillian said as she left the place.

Unsteady in her move, Lillian descended the stairs two at a time. Her actions screamed recklessness. Like a flash, she passed through the crowd.

Rushing downstairs hurriedly, she stumbled upon another student who also seems to be in haste.

It was Giselle.

...

"Hey," Giselle greeted.

"Hi," Lillian gaped.

Giselle stared at Lillian Grey steadily. It is their first time meeting after the weekend group studies.

'Group Studies!'

'Lilly's present.'

Giselle's sweaty face flushed in the red shade when remembering the moment. She took a step back automatically.

"What are you still shy for?" Lillian said as she smirked at Giselle's cute reactions.

***

Returning from the dinner that day, Lillian Grey decided to thank Giselle for her precious gift.

Lillian Grey pondered for a while about choosing whether to call or send a text.

'If I call her, then it will become awkward for both. She might not respond properly. Plus, if I talk now, then I won't be able to see her reaction. However, if I send a text and then later meet her in person, she might show me some response.'

'I do want to thank her in person.'

After a long debate that night, Lillian finally decided to send a text to Giselle.

It was a simple 'thank you' text along with a few heartfelt words. Lillian Grey sent in late at night.

The next day, she spent every minute preparing for her exams.

Giselle's gift motivated Lillian Grey to work hard in her finals.

***

Seeing her right now in person, Lillian Grey can't stop smiling. The more she smiled, the more Giselle blushed. She didn't have the guts to face Lillian Grey's grinning face.

If not for the exams, Lillian would have gone hard in teasing Giselle and enjoyed her every reaction. Since it is the finals, Lillian chose to remain silent. However, the feeling of gratefulness remained in her eyes, along with a playful simper.

Lillian tried so hard to meet Giselle's gaze, but she failed when Giselle kept avoiding her efforts.

"Stop it, Lillian," Giselle begged.

"Why should I?" Lillian chuckled, still keeping her wide grin.

"You are making it worse," Giselle exclaimed.

"Oh, Am I?" Lillian returned.

Giselle took a peek at Lillian and saw her grinning face focusing on her. Retracting her vision to the ground, Giselle pushed aside Lillian and ran upstairs.

"Wow, she left me behind. Giselle! Wait up!" Lillian grumbled as she followed.

Both reached one after the other and spotted Anna and Diego.

Anna saw the two and smiled at them while Diego's eyes focused on one particular thing;

Lillian Grey held Giselle's hand tightly.

The firm hold gave Giselle's lily-white hands a rose color.

Diego's bows twitched at seeing it. He did not react outside, but inside, he was burning.

At that moment, the school bell rang.

The kids all got startled from the sound. Some furiously flipped through pages while the nerds punctually entered the classroom one by one.

It got crowded a little bit because of the tense atmosphere.

"Alright, here we go, our last finals as high school seniors," Anna announced.

"All the best, let's do well," Diego said, looking at the three girls behind him.

The three nodded at the same time.

"Of course, let's go," Anna said.

Diego went first, following him Anna walked into the classroom. Giselle was about to take off as well but paused her steps when she saw Lillian Grey not following her.

Giselle saw Lillian standing still, her feet refusing to move. Her eyes wavering aimlessly, hands turned to fists shaking a little bit.

Lillian Grey was in exam fever.

…

Because Lillian got excited to see Giselle, she temporarily ignored the exam pressure. Only when the bell rang, she hit reality.

She was scared.

The final exams, this is it.

The sound of the bell still ringing in her ears as she froze in fear of not screwing it up.

Giselle saw Lillian's state. She approached her; slowly grabbing her hand into her own, Giselle warmed it up by gently brushing it.

Lillian felt a heat strike up in her, her vision dimmed, and at that moment, she saw nothing but Giselle alone in front of her.

Giselle was softly smiling her hands wrapping Lillian's as those lean fingers caressed Lillian's knuckles so gentle with care and love.

"You are going to do great, Lilly," Giselle spoke; her voice very soft and mellow like a melody.

It was as if Giselle was singing a lullaby to Lillian.

...

Like a mother, she cared.

Like a friend, she supported.

Someone like her is in her life, by her side – Lillian Grey thought.

For a few seconds, Lillian felt perfect silence and only heard Giselle's beautiful voice. It brought her back to reality.

She took a deep breath, gripping onto those soft fingers that gave her the warmth.

Lillian grey thanked Giselle while enclosing those two palms into her chest.

"Thank you," she expressed.

Giselle only nodded and smiled.

"Alright, let's get this over with," Lillian said.

Giselle agreed, and they both entered the classroom together.

Soon, the kids all went inside, and the once crowded corridors became empty. Silence fell all inside the school building.

The teacher stood with a bundle of question papers on her hand as she gave out the instructions before starting the exam.

The kids all listened to it attentively, and soon it reached an end. The staff began distributing the question paper to the students.

One by one, everyone got their paper.

As soon as those sheets reached Lillian Grey, she grabbed it confidently.

Shutting her eyes for a few seconds, she prayed to the Lord for all the strength to get through the exam smoothly.

Sighing to herself, she flipped the question paper to its first page and took a glance at it.