Chapter Four - Partners

“Kya, you’re late,” Kya’s teacher, Mr. Coy of first hour science, said as Kya nonchalantly came through the classroom door. She smiled a sheepish smile as she could feel a slight blush come across her face. Kya quickly took her seat, feeling somewhat like an idiot.

I think I spent too much time in front of the mirror this morning… Tahj has brainwashed me…

Kya giggled to herself inwardly as her heart did a giddy little jump at the mere thought of Tahj.

“-And you’re just in time to hear about our new class science project,” Mr. Coy continued as Kya took her seat and set her bag on the ground. The whole class groaned in unison.

“In this project, you will be paired with another person in the class,” Mr. Coy lagged on as he began to pass information sheets out. One student raised his hand, eager with a question but Mr. Coy cut him off. “-And yes, I will be picking your partner,” the whole class groaned again as a few of the preppy girls up front turned around to give their ‘closest friends’ pitiful pouty faces.

Mr. Coy slowly made his way back to his desk .Kya heaved a soft sigh as she began to read off the sheet of paper the teacher had passed out. Her heart instantly leaped as to what the assignment was.

“Baby project,” A boy, a few seats away, loudly complained out loud. A few people around him began to snicker and chuckle to themselves before the teacher sighed long and dry. He sat down, put on a pair of reading glasses, and took hold of the class roster.

“Indeed, you will be paired with someone, opposite sex as you… And you will have to care and nourish your very own, baby,” Mr. Coy said with dry enthusiasm.

“Can we make the baby too?” The same, annoying kid said, and with this, the whole class began to laugh. Kya only chuckled and rolled her eyes, noting the teacher had ignored every student, and had begun pairing up everyone in the class.

Kya grew nervous in her seat. She didn’t know any of the boys in her class, let alone did she want to care for a ‘baby’ for a week or so with said boys. She swallowed hard and awaited her torture.

Time grew long and Mr. Coy began answering some of the students questions about the project, rather than pairing everyone up, which made Kya furiously impatient. She fiddled her fingers in her lap and kept her intent gaze on Mr. Coy. Before long, she began to glance around the room, wondering which boy would be best suited for her, as well as her average grade in the class, and which boy would most likely cause her grade to plummet.

She gazed about before her eyes gently fell on the dark haired boy a few seats up and diagonal from her. Her heart instantly leaped as she forced back a small, bashful smile. She felt her cheeks redden, wondering why all of the sudden she had felt so giddy towards this one, quiet boy, whom of which wasn’t open to her in the past.

She began to study him, yet again, wondering what about him made him so unique, yet so strangely normal. She slowly began to fade the whole class, including the teacher, out from her mind and thoughts, and before she knew it, Mr. Coy had reached her name.

“Kya, you will be paired… with…”Mr. Coy delayed as he scanned down his roster for a boy to be her partner. Kya’s heart instantly gathered in her throat as she fixed her intent gaze upon her teacher again, dreading and expecting the worst, but before she could have a panic attack, Mr. Coy finished.

“You will be paired with Yhurri,” He said calmly, Kya frowned in confusement and glanced around the room.

Oh my God, who’s Yhurri? I-I don’t even know anyone’s name in this class, really… I-I hope Yhurri’s here today…

Kya worried in her thoughts, and before she knew it, the teacher instructed for partners to pair up to discuss the rules. Kya’s eyes widened as everyone stood and moseyed their way to their assigned partner. She stayed put, having no idea who Yhurri was. She hoped he knew who she was, therefore he’d come to her.

“H-hi…” Said a calm, familiar voice. Kya’s heart basically leaped from her chest from the sight of the boy in front of her. She smiled bashfully, noticing, it was the same, shy and quiet young boy up a few seats and diagonal of her.

He had a small smile on his face, though he looked just as nervous as Kya did. He gently rubbed the back of his head and dark hair in a nervous manner before softly continuing.

“Y-you’re, Kya, right?” He asked; his brilliant green eyes basically hypnotizing Kya, and making her every nerve ending swim.

“Yeah, my name’s Kya,” She said softly as she stood, only to find her knees were beginning to tremble. Kya sighed nervously and smiled a little, “a-and you’re, Yhurri?”

“That’s me,” Yhurri chuckled nervously with a bashful smile. Kya nodded with a wide, tooth-less smile before picking up the paper and holding it in front of her. She blushed and gazed at the paper before averting her eyes to Yhurri, who stood close to her so to get a good look at the paper as well.

“S-so uhm… Looks like we’re going to be parents,” Kya giggled softly, causing a suddenly surprising look Kya’s never seen on Yhurri before. He smiled a happy, wide smile and chuckled; his emerald eyes shimmering and widening with the sudden bashful happiness he expressed. Kya smiled and giggled along with him.

“What do we have to care for? An actual baby?” Yhurri chuckled softly before glancing at Kya, a deep blush forming across his cheeks. Kya smiled and glanced down the paper before pointing at a certain paragraph.

“No, looks like we have to take care of an egg,” Kya softly began to laugh, causing Yhurri to softly chuckle along, smiling wide and enjoying himself.

“An egg,” Yhurri chuckled, “How hard can that be?”

“Not too much trouble,” Kya smiled, “but it looks as if every day, we have to trade off the egg. I’ll care for it one day, and you’ll care for it the next, and so on and so forth until it’s due.”

Yhurri grew silent for a moment before smiling a little at Kya. He cleared his throat gently before straightening out his shirt.

“Well, uhm…I-is it, alright if we pick up an egg at your house tomorrow after school? My house is… uhm, under construction,” Yhurri said softly with a sheepish smile. Kya looked up and grinned.

“O-okay,” Kya said happily, “Will we just, go to my house together?”

“Sure, I mean, if you’re okay with that… My, horse likes to graze in the field right by the Janaki river, so, I’ll just walk there afterwards and take my horse home,” Yhurri smiled, he straightened a little as he noticed Kya’s eyes widen.

“You, have a horse?” Kya said excitedly, “Oh, can I come with you to see your horse?” At this, Yhurri’s eyes widened with joy.

“Well, sure! I mean, my horse is really friendly,” Yhurri smiled.

“So… tomorrow?” Kya giggled softly and stared at Yhurri for a moment.

Her heart fluttered slightly. She loved the fact that she was actually making a friend in science class; she now had a partner to work with whenever there were labs. Also the fact that this is the first time ever talking to Yhurri, even though they’ve been in the same class for three quarters now.

“Tomorrow,” Yhurri said excitedly; his emerald eyes glistened with the calm lighting of the room. There suddenly came a loud ringing noise. The bell rang for a few seconds before everyone in the classroom began to pack their things and head to their next hour class. Kya mumbled a soft ‘oh’ and quickly began to gather her stuff. She noticed Yhurri quickly head for his desk and gather his things.

Yhurri sighed softly once he reached his desk. He took a calm, deep breath and gazed down at the dream catcher that was slightly sticking out of his pack. He gazed down at his little trinkets’ beauty with a small, eager smile. He instantly began to feel his cheeks redden, thinking being paired with Kya was too good to be true. He had been fawning over her, loving her from afar, for about half of his Senior year.

This is it… I’m finally paired with her. So ironic what the project is, too…

Yhurri laughed to himself and smiled with before putting his worn, burlap pack over his shoulder and turning, heading towards the front door. He was caught by surprise as he heard Kya softly call his name. His heart leaped and he turned to see his new friend coming towards him with a smile on her soft, pretty face.

Yhurri’s facial expressions instantly lit up as she neared; he smiled softly and inhaled a calm breathe.

“Yeah?” Yhurri asked happily. Kya gently fell into step with Yhurri and the two headed out of the classroom.

“What’s your next class?” Kya asked anxiously with a smile, “Maybe we can walk together.”

“Well,” Yhurri started, his heart a-flutter, “I have history, downstairs, what about you?” His eyes widened slightly as Kya’s expressions lit up.

“I do too!” Kya exclaimed softly, “But I know for a fact we don’t have the same teacher,” Kya said in a slight disappointed tone. Yhurri sighed softly and smiled, feeling as if his boring day had turned to nothing short of exciting.

“Oh well, at least we can walk there together,” Yhurri beamed, causing Kya to giggle softly.

“Sure!” Kya smiled as the two slowly began to head downstairs, “So, where exactly do you live? I haven’t seen you in the Janaki area,”

“Oh, uhm,” Yhurri gently began to rub the back of his head, “I live about a mile or so outside of the Janaki area, I-I think…” Yhurri grew slightly flustered, “I’m, not too familiar with the area.”

“Oh,” Kya smiled as she stepped a little closer to Yhurri, “Well, if you want, I can show you around town sometime, maybe, this Friday?” Kya said with slightly pleading eyes.

She stopped herself in her mind for a second. She realized how open and carefree she had been acting around Yhurri, and she had only known him for a matter of about ten minutes. Kya blinked a few times before shaking off her thoughts. A friend is a friend. They come and go at the most random times… Right?

“S-sounds, great!” Yhurri smiled in a seemingly excited manner. He stopped gently, causing Kya to stop a little in front of him.

“I-is, this your class?” Kya asked softly as she peered to the classroom behind and a little to the right of Yhurri. He nodded gently, his brilliant green eyes filling with slight sadness.

“Yeah, but, would… You like to meet me here after school?” Yhurri asked anxiously as he began to finger the soft material that draped diagonal from his left shoulder to his right side, over his chest. He frowned further, noting Kya’s smile drop. She sighed.

“Oh, I can’t… I promised my friend, Tahj that I’d tutor him today…” Kya said softly, causing Yhurri to nod with a sheepish sort of smile.

“Oh, no worries, there’s always tomorrow, remember…” Yhurri said ever so softly, before Kya softly placed her hand on Yhurri’s arm in an excited manner. Yhurri instantly blushed.

“Oh yeah! Here, lemme give you, my number,” Kya said softly as she began to rummage through her bag.

Yhurri’s eyes instantly widened as he gazed at the girl in front of him, whom of which had pulled out a small piece of paper, and had begun writing her number on it.

Is… This really happening? Gosh, first day meeting this pretty girl, and I already have her number… Yhurri chuckled to himself and smiled wide. His cheeks reddened further as his smile continued to grow.

“Here you go,” Kya smiled wide and handed Yhurri the small paper with her number neatly written on it. Yhurri beamed and took the piece of paper with a small smile before the loud, ear shattering bell broke the calm silence around the two.

“Th-thanks,” Yhurri said excitedly, though he tried to hide it, “I-I… would give you my number, but our phone lines, are uhm… down.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, I’ll catch you tomorrow, yeah?” Kya smiled as she slowly began to step away. Yhurri instantly nodded.

“Oh, yeah, of course, tomorrow,” Yhurri smiled a wide, goofy smile before slightly waving back to Kya. She giggled softly and waved as well before quickly heading to her History class.

Yhurri heaved a long, happy sigh before gently gazing down at the small piece of paper he held, with his new found friends’ number on it.

“It’s only second hour... and already this day rocks,” Yhurri chuckled to himself as he stepped into his History class.

- - -

“We’re lab partners, Lily!” Kya exclaimed; she gently shook on her friend, Lily’s hands in an excited manner. The two girls sat in their usual area for lunch, under the willow tree near the tennis courts.

“That’s great, Kya! You should get to know him better now,” Lily giggled and took a sip of her soda. Kya heaved a long sigh and nodded.

“ Yeah… He’s coming over to my house tomorrow to pick up an egg,” Kya said softly. Lily cocked her head gently.

“An egg…” Lily said, mono-tone.

“It’s our lab project,” Kya started softly, “We’re supposed to take care of an egg for a week, and trade off every day.”

“Ohhh I see where this is going,” Lily giggled, “You picked Yhurri as your lab partner, cause you wanted to play pretend parents,” Lily began to laugh, “And pretend to have his babies,”

“Lily it’s not funny,” Kya whined as she gazed at her friend pleadingly.

“Yes it is,” Lily laughed; Kya just frowned, but blushed.

“Mr. Coy paired us together, Lily,” Kya giggled, “I had no say in who my partner was,”

“Oh but I bet you’re very happy with this outcome,” Lily giggled.

“Well… Of course I am, I mean, so far, Yhurri’s a good friend,”

“So far…”Lily murmured. Kya stared at her.

“Lily, I don’t like him that way…” Kya said deeply and softly.

“But why not?” Lily whined with a small giggle.

“I don’t know, I just-“

“H-hey, Kya,” Said a familiar voice from behind. Kya’s eyes widened as her heart instantly leaped and gathered in her throat. She whirled around in her seat, at the table the two girls sat at, and turned slightly, to see none other than Yhurri, with a bashful smile on his slightly sun-kissed face, nose and cheeks.

“Y-Yhurri!” Kya said happily, “What are you doing here?” With this, Yhurri’s smile instantly dropped.

“Oh, I was just… Looking for you, cause, I… didn’t want to sit alone at lunch anymore,” Yhurri said softly as he began to step closer to the two girls.

“You can sit with us,” Lily said excitedly, before Kya could say anything. Kya instantly stared at Lily with a furious blush on her cheeks. She then turned and smiled at Yhurri.

“Yeah, Yhurri, you can eat with us if you want.” Kya smiled warmly and happily as her new found friend smiled wide and stepped closer to the two.

“Thank you so much,” Yhurri said softly as he took a seat next to Kya, whom of which sat across from Lily.

“Of course,” Kya smiled as she scoot over a bit, “So… You can’t find your friends or something?”

“Well, to be honest… I don’t have any friends at this school,” Yhurri frowned and relaxed a bit in his seat.

“Aw, why?” Lily chimed.

“I, uhm… transferred here from, my old school, last year, and have been having a hard time making friends,” Yhurri said with a small frown, “This place is really different from what I’m used to.

“Where did you used to live?” Kya asked anxiously.

“Uhm… I, actually… moved here from Romania,” Yhurri said softly as he glanced about.

“WOW, Romania?” Lily exclaimed, “That’s amazing! It must be so much different than America, huh,”

“You have no idea,” Yhurri mumbled softly.

“No wonder your name is so cool and exotic,” Kya giggled softly.

“Thanks,” Yhurri chuckled. He then heaved a soft sigh and gazed about before speaking again, “I wonder where my brother is,”

“You have a brother that goes here?” Kya questioned happily.

“Yeah, his name’s J-J…Jisepi,” Yhurri said softly as he glanced between the two girls.

“Jisepi?” Kya said in an amazed sort of way, “That’s such a cool name, is he in our grade?”

“Yeah, he’s, a few months older than me,” Yhurri said softly as he could feel beads of sweat gently cling to the crown of his head.

“That’s cool,” Lily smiled.

Suddenly, the bell began to ring, and Lily quickly stood.

“Gotta run. Drama class is all the way on the other side of the school,” She said in a peppy tone before waving ‘goodbye’ to the two and leaving. Kya and Yhurri waved as well before Kya heaved a soft sigh and stood.

“So, where’s your next class?” Kya asked curiously.

“Oh, I have art,” Yhurri said plainly. Kya gasped softly.

“Art?” Kya’s eyes widened, “I take art too,”

“Really?” Yhurri smiled wide as Kya nodded, “Yeah, I like to paint.”

Kya smiled wide and nodded in agreement before the two teens stood and slung their bags over their shoulders, almost in unison.

“What class do you have?” Yhurri questioned, “Maybe we can walk there together again,”

“I have math,” Kya pointed forward, noting her class was just through the double doors she pointed to; as well as the art classes. Yhurri’s smile instantly widened.

“Well that answers my question,” Yhurri chuckled as the two slowly began to walk towards the big double doors that led indoors into warm, heated air.

As the two gently walked together, Yhurri blushed and fell into step with his new good friend. He caught himself gently gazing at the girl next to him. She had a small, blissful smile spread across her face, and her long chestnut hair glistened in the calm lighting of the hallways. Yhurri smiled wide as he felt his heart flutter. He could’ve sworn he’s never felt this feeling, or this much affection towards a girl before. He knew they had only truly met this morning, but he couldn’t help but already feel so safe and secure in a friendship with her.

“Well, here’s my class,” Kya said softly as she slowly began to step closer to it. “If, I don’t see you after school, I’ll see you tomorrow morning, okay?”

Yhurri instantly smiled and blushed. He loved how certain she was, how much she smiled around him, and how kind and warm she was towards him, when he had no other friends in his new environment. Yhurri softly nodded and smiled wide.

“Tomorrow morning for sure,” Yhurri chuckled and waved a little, “Bye Kya,”

“Bye Yhurri,” Kya chimed softly as she gently turned on her heel and stepped into her classroom.

Yhurri’s heart softly leaped as she said his name. He blushed and looked down to his shoes a little as he headed towards his art class. He felt as if he had enough motivation and inspiration to paint twenty paintings in one sitting.

“Tomorrow morning…” Yhurri softly whispered to himself as he glanced back at the classroom his new found friend disappeared into.

- heart - haha

Enjoy! stay tuned!

- Kya/Vyntresser