At 10 pm sharp, our group assignment finished. Gira, who is tired and bored, checks her cell phone many times. I can understand, because I  have been dying too, stricken with anxiety since earlier.
Maya and her father left Hail Hall 2 hours ago. Gira told me, but I pretended to be engrossed in my presentation. I don't know how to behave. I let them go without saying goodbye, let alone pleasantries.
Didn't Maya herself say that we weren't that close? If that's what she wants, I'll adapt. I don't even know if Maya is acting or not in front of her father. I don't know if Maya is hiding her sexual orientation. I don't know anything about her. Since the last time she called, she never spoke again.
"Are you sure you don't want to take it?" Gira asked from inside her car. I bent down, leaning in so I could hear her voice over the roar of the car engines.
There's no way I could have asked h to take me to Yovanes' house. If Gira asks too many questions, I won't be able to answer them. Or if I forbid her to ask, I won't know what's on her mind. I chose to uncover the darkness of the city streets of Purasabha rather than worry about her opinion.
"Don't worry about me," I said before Gira left. Slowly the car pulled away leaving me in the overhang of Hail Hall. Not wanting to wait any longer, I walked home alone. Through the darkness of the road to Yovanes' house.
When I was about to open the gate, someone pulled me. I gasped, reflex waving hand. However, seeing who was standing with me now made me hold back and not scream.
Maya. Her face was pale. Her eyes are glazed. Her gaze implied darkness. She turned and I followed her into the car.
I did get annoyed at her. However, forgiving her denial in front of Jacob earlier was an easy matter now.
My hand stretched out to grab her face. I breathed fast, kissed her longingly and didn't think of letting go for a minute.
But, Maya didn't feel comfortable with my actions. She pushed me.
"Where are you going?" asked Maya sharply. Her eyes judged my behavior.
I obviously can't answer. I asked back, "Where have you been? You said you were out of town? Calm down? Actually you haven't been going anywhere. Have you? You didn't think I could eat at Hail Hall?"
"Answer me first!" Maya pounded on the steering wheel. Her voice cornered. She couldn't control her emotions.
I frowned at the corner of the door. Bram's story resonates. Then the sound of an automatic door lock. I realized Maya had locked us in the car.
"Maya open the door..." I shivered with fear. What is Maya planning? What will she do to me?
Maya suddenly stiffened. She turned to me. So slow. "Answer me, Alesia." Her smile appeared, full of bitterness. "Whose house is there?"
"If I don't tell you, what are you going to do to me, Maya? You're going to kill me? Like the boys at your school?"
Maya was taken aback by my question. "Wh-where are you..." Then suddenly she calmed down. "Oh, Bram told you?"
The sudden change in Maya's behavior gave me goosebumps. I gulped. "At least you explained to me. Did you kill him on purpose?"
"Do you believe I killed him on purpose?" Maya narrowed her eyes. She was curious about my next answer. But like the snap of a finger, so quickly her demeanor changed. She squirmed restlessly. "Hh... What are you doing there at this time of night? Is that the woman's house? Why don't you just go back to your house? I'll take you. Do you want me to take you now?"
I stood still and watched her movements. I've never seen Maya being this paranoid. What was she really thinking? What exactly bothered her now? Several times I tried to touch her, her body language implied reluctance.
So I decided to give up. "I'm running away from home. A lot of things have happened since we didn't meet." My eyes flash. "I had a fight with my parents. They had been separated for a long time and Bram hid their divorce from me. I felt completely ignored in that house. Especially by Bram. Also because he made us like this."
Maya didn't say anything. So I took the initiative to approach. "I miss you, Maya."
Maya shifts. She never behaved like that.
"Are you all right, Maya?" I asked while stroking her hair.
She shook her head. "Who? Whose house is it? How long are you staying there? Why not stay at my house?"
"Can I stay over at your house? I thought the last time I was there, you kicked me out, Maya? Did you forget?"
Maya nodded and looked out the window. "Yeah... I forgot."
"Then what else have you forgotten? I think you have a lot of secrets, Maya. Are you going to forget me too one day?"
Maya immediately turned around. Her brows furrowed angrily. "Don't you have any secrets? You talk as if you have no secrets!" Maya gripped my arm tightly. "Whose house is it?"
"Maya! Let go!"
"Answer me, Alesia. Or I'll go in there and find out myself!"
I'm still trying to break free, but Maya is strong enough. And what I know for sure, I'm not going to let Maya go in there and rampage at Yovanes' house. "Okay, Maya. That's my friend's house."
"Woman? Man?"
I nodded. "Man."
"B*tch!" Maya cursed.
I gasped. Recent facts about Maya. She could say that cruel to me; the girl she had slept with. But, Maya wasn't wrong. She called me with the right vocabulary.
"Yes, Maya. You are right. I am a prostitute. I rent my body. There are many men who have slept with me. And there, in that house, there is a man who gave me money. I slept with him," I blurted out angrily. "You should know, Maya. Since I met you, I stopped coming there. I try to be worthy of you, Maya. I believe that I love you! But what about you? Your only job is to sleep with me, then you kick me out. Not to mention, my brother hates you half to death .You didn't even explain anything to him and make him understand! Are you a murderer?" I wiped my tears quickly so they wouldn't drip.
Maya felt cramped. Her chest heaved and she began to breathe through her mouth. "You are a prostitute?" asked Maya haltingly.
"Yes," I answered disgustedly. "I'm a wh*re. And you're a killer. We hit it off. Don't you think?"
Maya turned to me. Her eyes showed disappointment. Her tears flowed smoothly down her cheeks.
"But I didn't kill anyone, Alesia. The boy jumped off the building of his own free will," she said after a long silence. "I'm trying to hold it in."
Geez! I was wrong!
"But, Bram... You... The police arrested you." I forced myself to speak, even though I knew my chest was about to explode.
Maya shook her head. She gave me no mercy at all. She unlocked the car door. "It's late, Ale. We'll talk another time."
"Maya... I..."
"The man in the house is waiting for you." Maya pointed.
Yovanes stood in front of the house. He looked right and left. He seemed to be tapping his cell phone. In a moment my cell phone rang."Maya... Listen to me. I can leave him... We can..." I stuttered.
"I said get out!" shouted Maya. Then she whispered, "Or do you want me to take you there?"
Once again I wiped my tears. Then I got out of the car. A message popped up on my phone. I pressed the link Maya sent me and read the title.
"The Murder Case of Maya Summer High School Student is Closed; She Tried to Thwart the Suicide," wrote the report.
When I was about to turn around to correct my mistake, Maya's car was gone.