WHEN THE SEA CALLS
Chapter 40: A New Student

Chapter 40: A New Student

"Did you get bullied again?" Reece asked.

Rhea ignored Reece’s question and looked around instead. She noticed Sasha was gone; she was surprised.

She faced Reece. "When did she leave?" She asked. "I mean Sasha."

"Isn’t she your bully?" Reece asked. "You should know."

Reece wasn’t interested in Sasha or the reason why she left. He doesn’t understand why Rhea was interested in the reason why she left either.

Rhea groaned. What is wrong with Reece? Does he always have to sound rude?

Rhea sighed. She wasn’t going to continue this conversation with Reece. She decided it was best she went to the class instead but Reece stopped her.

"What? So you have a problem with me?" Rhea asked.

"You should ask Sasha that, not me."

Rhea furrowed her brows. "What?"

"When will you stop getting bullied?" Reece asked.

"I was not bullied by Sasha, Reece. I fell by myself. I do not know why you keep insisting that she bullied me."

"You must think I did not see Sasha putting her leg to make you fall."

Rhea sighed. She doesn’t understand Reece’s business in this. She wasn’t going to continue the conversation either.

"You can see and say whatever you want. I am heading to class."

Rhea left Reece in the hallway and headed to class. Reece followed her.

"Rhea?" He called but she ignored him. "Have you seen your necklace yet?" He added.

Rhea stopped walking. "I haven’t. I haven’t gone there yet."

"So you could stop and talk to me?" Reece asked.

Rhea could tell Reece was trying to piss her off but she wasn’t going to let him. She ignored him completely and entered the class.

Reece followed suit but instead headed to sit beside Alan. The class was noisy, every student had a thing or two to say. Rhea sat on her seat feeling so bored. With Louie not in school, Rhea could tell she would feel so bored.

She brought out her headphones to listen to music but when the homeroom teacher walked in, she returned the headphones into her bag.

Mr. Martins, the homeroom teacher, had someone with him. Rhea recognized her immediately as Maia.

She is finally here. Rhea thought.

She waved slightly to Maia who had waved at her first.

"Good morning class," Mr. Martins greeted.

"Good morning, Mr. Martins," the class echoed in unison.

"We have a new student joining us today," he said and the student began to murmur.

Rhea said nothing. She just hoped the introduction would end quickly so she could go to her mathematics class.

"Silence," Mr. Martins ordered and everyone kept quiet. "I know you are all wondering why you keep having new students in your class. Well... You don’t need to know why but I can assure you that it’s for the better. Her name is Maia Milan. Make sure you treat her well. Maia go and sit with..."

"Can I sit with Rhea, please," Maia said.

"You know Rhea?" Mr. Martins asked and Maia nodded.

"Rhea has someone she is sitting with. He isn’t in school today because...."

"She can sit with Rhea," Sasha answered. "Louie can sit with Dahlia when he comes back."

"And you?" Mr. Martins asked.

"I will sit over there." Sasha pointed at the empty seat behind Alan and Reece.

Rhea groaned. Why is Sasha trying her best to get close to Alan, who doesn’t want to have anything to do with her?

"She can’t sit close to us," Reece answered. "Maia, you come over here."

Maia took a deep breath and stared at Rhea before heading straight to sit behind Alan and Reece.

Rhea was surprised Maia obeyed Reece without a fight. She did not argue either.

Do they know each other? She wondered.

Mr. Martin sighed. "Sasha, sit down. Maia already gets a seat. There won’t be a need for you to change yours."

Sasha groaned, staring dangerously at Maia who seemed unbothered. She showed no fear, and that was surprising to Rhea.

Maybe Sasha has finally met her match. She thought with a smile.

Sasha was surprised too. Everyone has always shown fear whenever she speaks or looks at them.

Who is this new girl? Sasha wondered. Is she going to claim her territory? She will not let that happen, or the rest of the students will trample upon her.

Sasha sat down, stealing glances at Maia. She was also surprised at how Reece felt comfortable being close to her rather than the other classmate.

Most of their classmates had run away from sitting close to them because they feared and only dared to sit there on the days they were absent from school.

"Who do you think she is?" Dahlia asked. "She is not afraid of them. She is not afraid of you either."

Sasha frowned at Dahlia. "What do you mean? Are you saying I have lost my touch?"

"I dare not say that," Dahlia mumbled.

Mr. Martins was done addressing them, he decided to talk to them about their projects.

"For the upcoming projects, we are going to put it on hold until next week. I already have the list of names but I have decided to make a little change to it."

The students were happy with this change. They had forgotten about the projects after spending three days at home.

"What are you having this morning, class president?" Mr. Martins asked.

"Mathematics," he answered.

"That will be all for today. You can head to your class now."

Mr. Martins left and the students began to leave one after the others. Rhea picked up her bag to leave too. Maia walked up to her.

"Are you heading to class?" She asked.

Rhea nodded. "I am."

"Can we go together?"

"Sure."

They left the class together and went to the mathematics class.

"Can I sit with you in this class?" Maia asked.

"You can. We do not have specific seats here."

Maia was happy to sit with Rhea. She sat down bringing out her books.

"Why are Alan and Reece not in class?" Maia asked.

Rhea furrowed her brows. "You know their names already?"

"You don’t know their names?" Maia asked.

"I do. How did you know their names? No one mentioned it."

"Reece told me."

Rhea was surprised. Reece spoke to her?

She sighed but said nothing. "Do you know why they are not in class yet?"

Rhea shook her head. "I do not know. I don’t think they will be coming."

"Do you know why?" Maia asked.

Why is Maia interested in them? Rhea wondered. She is not in love with Reece. Is she?

"Do you?" Maia asked.

Rhea groaned. Because they are always fond of missing classes.

"I do not know why, Maia. Nobody knows. They are always...."

"Look?! They are here," Maia pointed at the door.

Rhea stared at Alan and Reece as they found their way to one of the empty seats.

Why are they here? Why did they decide to attend mathematics class today?

Maia waved at them. "There are empty seats here."

Rhea scoffed. Does Maia think they will listen to her? Of course, they won’t.

Rhea was shocked when Reece and Alan headed in their direction. She was more shocked when they sat behind them.

Maia turned to face them. "I am glad you came."

Reece smiled but said nothing. Alan focused on his phone but locked up when Maia spoke. He smiled slightly to Rhea’s greatest surprise.

Rhea blinked. Did... Did he just smile at Maia?

She was certain he smiled, though it was so quickly, it could hardly be noticed.

Mr. Spooner walked in and class began. Rhea felt so uncomfortable with Alan and Reece behind her. Though she could say to some extent that she was familiar with Reece, she still felt uncomfortable with him.

The class ended after what seemed like forever and Rhea breathed a sigh of relief. She packed her books, ready for music class.

"What class do you have next?" Maia asked.

"Music," Rhea answered.

"Me too," Maia answered. "Are you done? Can we go together?"

Rhea nodded. "Sure."

They left the class together and headed to the music class. Rhea was surprised Maia did not talk to Reece or Alan. She did not ask them what class they had next.

Maybe she is overthinking too much. Maybe they are not close at all.

They got to the music class and took a seat. Reece and Alan did not show up, and that made Rhea believe she was wrong, thinking they were close.

"Can you sing?" Rhea asked.

"I can’t say that I can. What music do you like?"

Rhea shrugged. "Hip-hop?"

"You do not like siren songs?"

Rhea furrowed her brows. "What are siren songs?"

"Mermaids’ songs. You don’t know any?"

Rhea shook her head. "I don’t."

"I will sing one for you."

Maia began to sing. Her voice sounded so beautiful, Rhea smiled.

"You sing so well," Rhea said after Maia stopped singing.

The other students who were listening to the song began to clap their hands.

"I think they like it," Rhea whispered.

"Thank you," Maia answered. "Do you want to learn how to sing a siren song?"

Rhea nodded. That won’t be a bad idea. Would it?