As insane as it sounds to say, I think I might be the most productive person in detention. Diwa keeps glancing at Annabella who in turn spends the hour with Jeremy painting each other's nails. Sakda, I'm pretty sure, is sleeping with his eyes open. And I finished all the exercises Ó Ceallaigh had assigned over the holidays.

Diwa flushes when Ó Ceallaigh dismisses us and she realises she's barely got owt done. Sakda, Annabella, and Jeremy are out of the door before Ó Ceallaigh finishes her holiday wishes.

'Any plans for tonight?' Diwa asks, not un-awkwardly, as I shove my textbook into my bag. She exaggerates her intonation so she'll be able to pass it off as a joke if I decide to mock her for it. 'Kicking off the holidays with summat fun?'

'No,' I answer, poker face affixed on. 'I've got the house to myself so I reckon I'll summon evil spirits and cut up all of my brother's clothes.'

Diwa laughs but can't stop her birth defect need of reprimanding me like I'm a child. 'He's nice.'

'Fuck, marry him then!'

Last thing I need is Diwa joining the Nicolás Fan Club with everybody else on this bleeding planet. I get it—he's perfect and good at everything. And I'm the reason he doesn't have parents. They only left after I was born—because I was born–

–evil.

'I'm a lesbian.'

The response yanks me out of my thoughts and to Diwa's twisted lip.

'He looks like a girl,' I counter but I have to cover my chuckle with a cough. I zip up my backpack but, clearly infected with her nerd brain disease, don't bolt from the library the second I can. 'You got any plans?'

'No,' Diwa sighs. 'I'll go home and study–'

'Study?' I exclaim. 'Not a chance. You can't spend your first night of holidays to study. You've got two weeks ahead of ya to study.'

The vulture emerges in a split second. 'I know this is incomprehensible for your tiny brain to wrap around but I have to do well in school.'

'Or what? What's gonna happen if you don't? Huh?'

'That's not an option.'

I did say she and Nicolás were the same brand of annoying: people who don't care about owt other than school. Like grades are the most important thing in the world when the world is literally on fire. Like I'll be alive in five years anyway.

I glare at the school motto painted on the library wall behind her—"Knowledge is no longer a door sealed".

'It's not like I've got any other plans,' Diwa continues. 'My last attempt at going to a party didn't exactly make me wanna try that again.'

And swear down, I've got to be fucking possessed cause why else would I ever in my life say, 'You could come over.'

Fucking kill me. Please say no. Please say no.

'We can discuss maths strategy,' I say, to make it sound as unappealing as possible. 'Or I can teach you all about devil worship.'

'I'm Catholic.'

'All the more reason for you to learn.'

She shakes her head. Thank fuck! If there was one time I needed to be released from the consequences of my own actions, it would be–!

'We could watch a film,' Diwa suggests.

What? Come again, what now?

'I am not watching whatever physics documentary you reckon is well interesting.'

Just when I reckon I've convinced her to insist she well needs to study tonight, Diwa shuts her notebook. 'We could watch St Trinian's. It's my favourite film.'

My face screws up. Is that summat Catholic?

'No.'

Diwa, as stubborn and unbearable as she is, has already packed her bag. She stands up and pulls on her coat. 'You'll like it.'

'I highly doubt that.'

Still, we exit the library together, in step with each other. She has always been angular and sharp but as I relax into her presence, a roundness reveals itself. Feathered and delicate strokes in place of corners.

My hands slip into my pockets. 'So what's your plan with Annabella?' I ask as we start down the side staircase out of the building.

'Plan?'

Diwa, it turns out, is slow to descend stairs. Her hand stays on the railing and her line of sight affixed on the steps. I turn around on the midlanding to wait for her and she's not even halfway down yet.

'To woo her of whatever.'

Her eyes cut to me for a flash before returning to her feet. 'I plan to ignore it until it goes away.'

'I don't understand you romance people.' We start the next flight of stairs together and at her speed, I'm free to wave my hands around as much as I like. 'It's all your world revolves around and you still refuse to have it. What's the worst that could happen, you ask her out and she says no?'

'This coming from the person who has crafted an entire personality to keep people at a distance,' Diwa retaliates. 'Sounds like someone's afraid of rejection.'

'I don't want anyone to like me.'

'I don't believe you.'

Notes

St Trinian's: Film about an anarchic girl's boarding school where the pupils scheme a plan for saving the school by any means necessary. 

https://youtu.be/JJQ1pAW4uU8