FRIDAY, APRIL 7TH. 11:20am.

Amaya ran out of the dining hall. On her way out she could hear a few people ask her if she was alright, but she ignored them  and kept going. She ran as fast as her legs could take her and occasionally turned around to make sure  no one was following her. Her hands were shaking and her heart was beating fast. She saw a restroom and then she ran inside without even checking if it was the male or female restroom. When she got in she saw a girl washing her hands by the sink, she was lucky to have entered the right one.

She ran into a stall and started pacing about in the small space. She bit her lips until she managed to draw out some blood. She rolled out some tissue and dabbed it on the blood, until there was no blood anymore, and then she tossed it on the floor. She began to do what she did whenever she was in a difficult situation; she began to think. Her mind drifted far. She thought of all sort of frightening things that made her even more terrified. She wondered how he found her, she wondered if he had always known where she was all along and had been watching her like an animal watches its prey. She also thought of the possibility that Ryan betrayed her and sold her out to save himself. That made her really furious. She felt like she was being pulled back, she thought that finally she would be free from the fear that haunted her in all her dreams. Relief washed through her when she thought that she had finally escaped from her past, but unfortunately for her, she had not. Her past was in the same building and on the same floor as she was.

Someone knocked on the door, and then she shook. She moved back until her back was touching the wall of the bathroom. She placed her hand over her mouth and held her breath. 

" Hey are you alright in there?" she heard someone ask in a worried tone.

"Yeah," she said, but her breaking voice betrayed her and told the truth. The person must have heard her panicking.

"You don't sound okay," the girl said.

"I'm not okay now, but I'll be fine soon," she said. "I don't mean to be rude but please I need to be alone now," she begged.

"Okay," the girl said "if you're in trouble and you need help, you should tell someone," she said and then she stood by the door for a bit before reluctantly leaving. 

Once Amaya was sure that she was gone, she started worrying again. She ran her hand through her brunette mane as she thought of a way out of the mess she was in. She then realized that she was more susceptible to getting hurt if she was alone, and so she decided to leave and surround herself with as many people as possible. She opened the bathroom door and stepped out, she walked to the sink and washed her face. She looked into the mirror to see that she looked a mess. She combed through her hair with her hand and then she dried her face with some tissue. She walked to the door and placed her hand on the handle, she took in a deep breath before pulling it open. She poked her head outside and looked left and right. She scanned through the people that were walking the halls. No one she did not want to see was there, and so she stepped out of the restroom and ran  to the elevators.

She took the elevator to the first floor. When the door opened she saw Orla standing in front of the elevator with the most worried expression on her face. She was holding both her bag and Amaya's bag. Amaya did not even realize that she had left her bag in the dining hall. Orla let out a sigh of relief as soon as she saw Amaya.

"I hate you," she screamed and then she ran to hug Amaya. "I was worried about you, someone told me that you ran out of the dining hall like a crazy person," she said and then she pulled herself away from Amaya and looked at her face. "Are you okay?''

Amaya nodded "Please don't ask me further questions," Amaya pleaded and then she took her bag off of Orla's shoulder.

"What sort of friend would I be if I don't ask questions?" Orla pressed.

"An understanding friend," Amaya replied and then she began to walk. Orla walked right behind her.

"Wrong," Orla said, "I'll be the worst friend there ever was. Just tell me something, even if it's something as minuscule as a letter." She brought her thumb and index finger close together to indicate how little information she needed.

"Okay," Amaya stopped, and then she turned around. "I'll give you a number instead, it's 7," She said, and then she continued walking.

"Seven?" Orla repeated. "What on earth am I going to do with that lousy information?' she sulked.

Amaya ignored her and kept on walking, Orla saw that she seemed adamant about not saying anything else, and so she just quietly walked beside her and followed her to wherever she was going. Amaya walked all the way to the library and then she took the stairs up to the third floor where the group study rooms were. 

"Why are we at the library? Orla asked.

"I need to complete my history essay, and I know you haven't completed yours either." She said.

"Can't we do that later?" she whined.

"Nope," Amaya shook her head "it's due by midnight, we hardly have any time," she said.

Once they got to the third floor, they walked all the way to the end of the room to their favorite spot.  It was the spot they always went to whenever they studied together and they always irrationally got mad whenever someone was there already. Their favorite study spot was a small glass room that had a navy blue rectangular table and four white chairs. They always pushed their seats all the way to the window so that from time to time, they could distract themselves with whatever was going on outside. Lucky for them, three students were just leaving the room by the time they got there, and they quickened their steps to make sure that no one got in before them. It wasn't that there was anything special about their study spot,  they just loved it and always seemed to be able to focus better there. It was ironic because that room gave way for all possible distractions. There were people passing the glass windows, and the windows leading outside were also a distraction.

They placed their bags on the table and settled in their seats opposite each other, by the window. "I'll complete my paper right after I tell you about my new boyfriend," Orla smiled.

"You're still seeing that guy?" Amaya could not hide the shock on her face. Orla was very pretty and so she had the luxury of being picky with the guys she dated, and even after she chose someone, the relationship never really lasted because she always felt like there was someone better and more deserving of her love and attention.

"Yeah," she smiled. She did not take any offence to what Amaya said because she herself knew the sort of person she was. She did not think that she was better than anyone, she was not trying to be picky, and she was not trying to hurt the feelings of all the guys that she had dumped, things just happened that way. She wished that she could settle with one guy and be in a happy relationship. She hoped that her new boyfriend would be the person she feels deserves her love and attention. "There's this maturity about him that I find very attractive. He's big so he makes me feel protected, he has kind eyes that make me feel safe," she stared off into the distance.

"I'm happy for you," she said, sincerely "What's his name again?"

"Jared," she smiled "I would've loved you to meet him, but he'll be going home to visit his family tomorrow morning," she sulked.

"How nice,' Amaya said, she was losing interest in their conversation "Now that I've heard about your Jared, let's get to work," she said, and then she pulled out her laptop. Amaya had already written her essay, all she had left to do was edit. She planned on taking her time to complete the essay, she needed to distract herself. Amaya was good at pretending that she was okay. To do that, she would always distract herself by doing something that needed all her focus.

Orla lay her head on the desk and sulked. There was nothing she hated more than all the papers she had to write. Sometimes she would curse herself for taking a course that required a lot of research, bulky ready and writing. She would always wish that she took a science course, but then she remembered that she was not smart enough for all that and she would not be accepted into any science program. Even if by some miracle she managed to be accepted, the courses would kill her faster than a bullet to her head could. She lifted her head up and pulled out her laptop from her bag.

"Can you complete my essay for me?" she asked, although she knew Amaya would say no. She always begged Amaya to help her write her papers, and anytime she did, Amaya gave her long and gruesome lecture of the importance of doing things yourself, she'll tell her that 'it's always important to know how to stand alone in life,' and that 'depending on people will only make you useless.'

"Okay," Amaya replied, without looking up. Her fingers were jumping quickly on the keys of the keyboard.

Orla laughed and then she lifted up the lid of her laptop.

"I said I'll help you, what are you doing?" she looked up at Orla. She seemed annoyed.

"I'm about to complete my essay, I know you won't actually write it for me, Miss. It's important to learn to do things yourself," she mimicked a part of Amaya's usual lectures.

"I also say there's always a first time for everything," she said. "Today's the first time I'll help you write your essay," she pulled Orla's laptop beside hers "and it'll also be the last,' she  pursed her lips and gave Orla a look to show that she was serious.

"I knew my annoying persistence will work one day," Orla smiled. She was satisfied with herself. "Don't make the essay too good though, I don't need anyone to question me. Just make it good enough for me to get a B+," she said.

"Don't worry, I know what standard you're at," Amaya laughed.

"Don't worry I know what standard you're at," Orla mimicked and rolled her eyes. She got up from her seat and started pacing about the small room. She got bored easily, and anytime she was bored she ended up disturbing Amaya. She stood behind Amaya and rested her chin on her shoulders. She peeked at Amaya's laptop to see what she was writing, not that she really cared. "Your hair smells bad,'' she complained and then she picked at Amaya's hair. "You should wash it."

''Text Jared and stop bugging me," Amaya said and then she shrugged Orla's chin off her shoulders. Orla frowned and pouted, and then she took the seat that was beside Amaya.

"He's busy all day today," she sighed " he has classes and some papers due. He's a grad student and so I don't like bugging him much cause he's always busy,'' she sulked.

"Then go play games on my phone or something," she said. Orla grumbled and then she rummaged through Amaya's bag for her phone. She could not find it and so she shoved her head into the bag to get a better look. She still could not find the phone, so she emptied the contents of Amaya's bag unto the table. She pushed everything aside and then she saw a ticket. A plane ticket. Orla furrowed her brows and then she picked up the ticket. It was a one-way ticket to Seoul Korea.

"Amaya, what's this?" Orla held up the ticket "You're leaving the country tonight?" she asked. On her face, it was evident that she was hurt that Amaya was leaving the country without telling
her. But more than hurt, she was confused as to why she would be taking a one-way trip out of the country when they were yet to write their final exams.