The bright rays of the sun on my face woke me up. I blinked, trying to gather my thoughts when I remembered it's school day. I sat upright with a gasp, looked beside me and found an empty space—Maya was awake already.
My eyes darted to our reading desk. Her school bag was not there, meaning she'd gone to school without me. I fumed silently, got out of bed and dressed for school.
“Oh,” Mom exclaimed as I almost collided into her on my way down to the kitchen. “Slept late?”
I kissed her on the cheek and shook my head. “I guess I was a little tired and Maya didn't wake me up. I'll deal with her when I get to school.” Mom chuckled because it's the same song I sing every time my twin crossed me or did things without me.
“Go easy on her. Remember, she's your sister.” I scoffed, picked an apple and a banana from the fruit bowl and hurried out of the house.
Arriving at school, I got strange looks from my classmates in the locker room as I dropped my stuff in my locker. They would glance at me and whisper among themselves. I rolled my eyes and slammed my locker shut. Cynthia was standing beside me, smiling in a funny way. “You look weird, what's wrong with you?” I frown at her.
“You've not heard?”
“Heard what, Cynthia?” Irritation was slowly crawling up my spine and I had to get to class soon. My friend leaned into me and whispered,”There was a kerfuffle at the principal's office this morning and Maya was there.”
I raised an eyebrow. Cynthia liked to use big words because she'd taken some interest in reading the dictionary like it was a textbook, but really. “Kerfuffle?”
“Yea, like a fuss. Did you know?”
I groaned, adding my ignorance of this recent situation to the big list of things I would hold over Maya's head when I see her. How was I her twin if I was unaware of things? I started walking to class and she kept pace with me. “No, I don't. What happened?”
Cynthia paused abruptly and so did I. “She reported to the principal that Mr George touched her in a funny way after class some days ago.”
“What?” I was sure my eyes were as big as saucers.
“Ha! I knew it couldn't be true,” Cynthia exclaimed with some excitement, pointing a finger in my face. I couldn't mask my shock. “Esmee and I had a bet on this. What's Maya up to, huh, ‘cause she's gonna get Mr George fired. I heard the principal.”
“Cynthia, you should be a journalist, you know? Why do you go around eavesdropping?”
“It's true, isn't it?
I shut my mouth and left her in the hallway, hurrying to the principal's office. His secretary said he was in a meeting with staff. Maybe that was Mr George. But why would Maya say such things? I took out my phone and sent her a text. “Where are you? Call me.” No response. I went back to class.
I had a hard time concentrating for the next six hours because Maya didn't show up in class and her phone was switched off. After the last class, I walked up to a group of students whispering and overheard the news that Mr George was suspended. On my way out of school, I ran into Helen.
“I'll never forgive you and Maya for this. Lies!” She spat at me and I froze on the spot. I couldn't say a word. Did Mr George really harass Maya? I wanted to believe my sister above everyone else. I ran all the way home, upstairs and burst into our bedroom.
Maya was admiring herself in front of the mirror, wearing a pink top and grey joggers—she was home all the while and skipped classes. She spun on her heels, her hand on her throat. "Omg! What is wrong with you? Why did you barge–”
"Shut up, you mean girl!" I screamed as her mouth fell open. She'd never seen me like this. Even I could not believe my reaction. "Why did you skip classes? What did you do? Mr. George…he's suspended and Helen..." I gasped, out of breath.
“What? She says she'll never forgive me? Pff" Maya waved her hand dismissively like it was nothing. I stared at her, astonished.
"This is no joke, Maya. Why did you lie? What did you do that for?”
“I didn't lie,” she said coyly, sitting on our bed. “Do you believe me or not? You back me up, remember?”
What did I get myself into?
[TO BE CONTINUED….]
I think Maya may have bitten more than she can chew and Lilian feels responsible for it. Is it possible that Maya's accusation against Mr George is true? Stay tuned to the continuing parts for the resolution of this story.
Check out PART ONE of this story.
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