Manipulate

Alia leads me down the hallway. Her face creases with every step she takes.

“What’s wrong?” I question.

Alia stops and turns around. “I’ll tell you when we get to my apartment,” she says quickly.

Alia guides me through the adult’s quarters and up multiple staircases. She stops at her apartment and takes out a key. The key is a card with a barcode on the back. The scanner chirps happily when Alia puts the key up to the scanner.

“Come on in Abhaya.” Alia motions toward me.

I follow her. “Is this where you live?” I ask in awe.

“Yes, this is where I live. Did you think that I live under a bridge or somewhere irrational?” Alia asks with a smile.

“No,” I say, shaking my head with a smile.

Alia leads me into the kitchen. “Abhaya, I need your help. Max asked me out and I have no clue what to wear,” Alia whispers.

“If you’re asking for help, I’ll gladly help you,” I state.

Alia breathes a sigh of relief. “Yes, that’s what I was going to ask you. Thank you, Abhaya.”

“You’re welcome,” I return.

It takes Alia over an hour to find something to wear, to do her hair and makeup.

“How about this?” Alia asks.

She holds a white pressed long-sleeved shirt with a black pencil skirt up. I tap my chin and click my tongue. I wave my finger.

“Perfect. I saw a pair of shoes that would go perfectly with that outfit,” I state.

I rummage through Alia’s closet until I find a pair of black two-inch heels. Alia’s face lights up.

“Those are perfect!” She exclaims.

Alia goes into the bathroom and changes. She comes out with the white shirt tucked into the black pencil skirt. Her smile is bright and her brown eyes glow. The heels make her legs look longer and more defined as she spins around in a circle.

Alia plugs in her curling iron and waits for it to heat up. While she’s waiting, Alia grabs a pallet of eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara and lipstick. I sit on the closed toilet seat and observe her as she brushes the eyeshadow over her eyes.

“The red looks stunning. It brings out your eyes,” I blurt out.

Alia smiles and glances at me through the mirror. “Do you want me to do your makeup?” She asks.

“No thank you,” I decline as politely as I can.

“Okay. But one day you’ll have to let me do it though,” she says and she goes back to applying the rest of her makeup.

Alia picks up the curling iron and starts wrapping her medium-length brown hair around the wand. When she releases the hair, her hair falls graciously around her shoulders. In the end Alia’s hair is curled and half of it is pinned back with a triangle pin. Her makeup is red eyeshadow with pink lipstick. The black eyeliner and mascara make the red look darker than it really is. I stare in awe at her beauty.

“Max will love it!” I exclaim as I do a quick check over of her outfit.

Alia blushes at my comment. “He’s always impressed when I show up in sweatpants and t-shirts,” she mutters.

I laugh at her comment.

There’s a knock on the door. Alia smooths out her skirt and takes a deep breath. “Good luck,” I whisper.

Alia gives me a small smile and opens the door slightly. She smiles when she sees Max. Max stares at Alia in awe.

“Y-y-you look amazing,” Max stutters.

“Thank you. Abhaya helped me pick it out,” Alia says, blushing at his comment.

After multiple awkward comments, Max and Alia leave. It’s four o’clock when I get back to the dorm. The dorm is practically deserted, no one is in the room and I didn’t see anyone in the hallway. I crawl up onto my bunk and lay there. Dinner will be served in two hours. Abi climbs up on my bunk.

“Hi, Abhaya!” She chirps.

“Hi, Abi.” I yawn.

“Can you help me with my paper please?” Abi pleads.

“You guys have to take classes here?” I ask in confusion.

“Yeah. You graduate when you’re fifteen,” Abi states.

I nod. “Got it.”

Abi pulls out her disc. The screen glows a green color with a black and white keyboard. “So, we have to write an essay about a foreign dish for World Cultures class. And I don’t know what dish to pick out.” Abi sighs.

“First of all, what country are you looking at? Then choose a dish native to that country,” I explain.

Abi types in Swedish cuisines. The results pop up in a matter of seconds. Abi gets her essay done in half an hour.

Abi leaves my bunk and I lay back down. Theo climbs up onto his bunk and sits there. Water beads his face and his shirt is plastered to his chest.

“What happened?” I ask.

“Ice bucket challenge,” Theo responds.

Theo is drenched in water from his hair to his pants. “Wow. Are you guys normally this dumb?” I ask sarcastically.

“First of all, I got dragged into doing it by Nick. And yes, we do stupid stuff,” Theo explains.

“Nick’s the stupid one, isn’t he?” I ask.

“He is and will always be,” Theo agrees.

Theo slides off of his bunk and disappears out of the dorm. I sigh and lay down on my bed. My body feels heavy and exhausted from everything I do now. I promised Aj and dad that I’d find mom and bring her home. I just have to make it through the next few weeks without slipping up, I think as my heavy eyes close.

I wake up to someone shaking me half an hour later. “Abhaya come on. We need to go to dinner,” Abi whisper-yells into my ear.

“Okay. Give me a minute,” I say groggily.

I sit up and bite back a hiss. No one ever knew that I was in pain. And I want to keep it that way.

I leap off of my bunk and onto the ground. I pick Abi up and give her a piggyback ride. As I carry her down the hallway, Abi laughs and shrieks in delight. I smile and remember that Aj and I would do this when we were younger. I attempt to hide the fact that my back burns from the extra weight. Abi’s smile is bright when we get to the cafeteria.

“Thank you Abhaya! That was so much fun! Can we do it again some other time?” Abi questions.

I hesitate. “Uh. Sure.”

Abi smiles and hugs me.

About half of the dorm comes down five minutes later. The cafeteria doors swing open and everyone piles in to get food. Some of the boys push and shove each other, in the end they get yelled at by an adult for reckless behavior. Before I know it, the cafeteria is full of laughter, loud talking and screaming.

I get in the never-ending long line. I feel a nudge on my arm. “Here,” Theo says shyly.

I look at Theo. His face is pink and his eyes are glued to the floor as he speaks to me. “Thank you,” I say in return.

The line shifts and I get to the food.

“You should try the basil rice with the carrots,” Theo points out.

“Okay. I’ll try it,” I say, accepting his suggestion.

Theo laughs. “Are you always confident or just when you feel like it?” Theo asks as the line shifts.

“I’m always confident,” I state, pretending to act offended.

That manages to get Theo to smile. “You’re quite amusing Abhaya,” Theo states as he piles rice onto his plate.

I don’t respond to his comment. But I return a small smile.

I finish plating my food and I leave the line. I sit down next to Alia.

“So, how’d it go?” I ask as I scoop up the rice.

Alia blushes. “It was amazing,” she gushes.

I lean in and whisper, “what happened?’

“Max took me on a walk. He even packed a picnic too!” Alia says in a low voice.

I smile. “That’s amazing, Alia! You’re so lucky to have him.”

Just as Alia is about to say something, Max comes and joins the table. Max sits down next to Alia. I look away and scoop the rice up with my fork. I glance at Alia and Max. They’re laughing and Alia slaps Max on the arm. They love each other. I can tell.

I poke at my cheesecake. It’s peanut butter and chocolate. Theo sits down next to me. “Did you like the rice?” Theo asks.

I snap out of my daze. “Oh yeah. It was really good,” I say quickly.

Theo laughs. His face faded as soon as he sees my tray. “Abhaya, did you just eat rice, water and cake for dinner?”

“I told you, I’m not that hungry,” I remind him.

Alia quits talking to Max. She glances over to look at Theo and I. She whispers in my ear, “Abhaya, come with me and Max after dinner. We’re going to see Rae.”

My blood runs cold. What did I do?