(Revised) Keeping A Straight Face | ✏️

Chapter 4

Darko's POV

The cup of coffee Taylor brews me tastes extra sweet. Sure, the extra spoonful of sugar I add to mask the bitter taste of instant coffee helps – but it's still nice.

A good night's rest seems to have reset Taylor as well, as he's getting ready to leave he seems back to normal. Thank God Ana fixed his car up – the bus ain't a safe place for anybody.

I check my watch. I've got an hour to kill before my first class. It's rest day, so no gym this morning. I make myself some oats, then packup the unused inflatable mattress (that has still somehow deflated, without anybody sleeping on it).

I nearly moved onto it this morning. Thanks to my schedule of waking up at 6AM every day for gym, sleeping in is a rarity. I woke up and saw Taylor fast asleep next to me, the tangerine morning rays spilling on his face like drizzled honey on toast. Despite the pillow barrier between us, I felt so close to him, like I could just reach forward and touch his cheek or move his jet black hair away from his closed eyes.

I didn't do it. But, lord, how I wanted to.

The hour ticks by quickly, and a quick shower later, I'm in my car on the road to campus. The lecture bleeds by, and soon, my stomach growls as if the oats were a fading memory.

I pull out my phone and send a group text. Going to Brewed Awakening. Any1 there?

My tummy rumbles again. As I'm halfway there, my phone pings – It's Taylor.

Bella and I are on the way. I think Lyra's coming, she had those posters she wanted to hang up. See you soon! Usual table I assume?

I send a thumbs up and find our usual table.

For university food, this place is pretty decent. It sits at the centre of campus, attached to the university's library, and has been a navigational point for many old and new students. The majority of staff are also students, so for those with more flexible classes, it works out well.

Soon, Taylor and Bella arrive, the former already nursing a cup of something. Bella's munching on a hash-brown. They must have ordered before sitting down. I smile and say "howdy".

"Any word from Lyra?" I ask as they sit. Taylor shrugs, while Bella points to a nearby building, where Lyra's sticking a big A3 sheet of paper to the wall.

You know that one group member you have that you're not exactly close with, but everyone else is? Yeah, Bella is that friend to me. Our friendship can be best described as two parallel lines; always near each other, but never engaging or crossing paths. She and Taylor met during his first year of university, and they've been pretty inseparable ever since. They both study music – Bella leaning more toward theatre and acting.

Here's where you'd think I'd be jealous, but Taylor's said more than once to me that he wouldn't date her. He wouldn't lie about that. He never lies to me.

"Here she comes," Bella says, flicking a few loose strands of ginger hair out of her face. The freckles dotting her cheeks seem to move around as she frowns in annoyance, mumbling to herself about how she needs to get a haircut soon.

I look toward Lyra. She's campaigning to be a member in the university's student council. I'm about to wave to her when Trent, a classmate of hers and a total fuckin' douchebag, picks up a poster she's holding and rips it in half, throwing it over her head.

"Fuckin feminist piece of shit. You'll never win the campaign," He spits, snickering. Soon, Trent's walking away, heading over to Duncan, his friend and lackey (as Lyra describes him).