He was heavy.
He got off immediately, gritting his teeth as he brushed off his clothes with his hands.
"I'm sorry", He said, avoiding direct eye contact. "You can keep your notes; let's not trouble each other".
He walked away without anything more, hands in his pockets as he headed for the elevator.
"Are you coming?" He asked, about to press the buttons.
I stepped in, having gotten off the couch, and pushed the buttons myself as I watched the doors close, relieved there was no one in the lobby.
It was reassuring that no one had seen him and me.
"Did I hurt you?" He inquired.
I sighed. "No".
He didn't turn around; instead, he leaned against the elevator wall. "This personality of yours- why have I never heard of someone as strange as you before? I would expect someone like you to be a bully's favourite victim".
I looked at him for a short second, then looked away without replying.
"Can't you at least say-
The elevator doors opened, and a boy with messy brown hair and a phone in his left hand stood right in front of us.
His eyes scanned us both, but he didn't say a word and simply entered the elevator.
I stepped out, with Roman following behind me. My heart beat a bit faster as I walked, scared the boy would suspect something; maybe I was just overthinking it.
But though it was very unlikely, the chances were not zero.
"Snap out of it", Roman suddenly said, making me turn around.
"This is the third time you're doing it. Your eyes slowly move around; all I can do is assume you're overthinking".
"What? How-?"
He ignored me, heading for his and Timothy's room, the place he actually belonged.
I would stay with Ariana; he would stay with Timothy; it was simple.
Roman knocked on the door while I stood behind him, waiting for whatever Ariana would say when Roman broke the news.
"Who's there?" A soft voice sang as she opened the door. Her hair was in a messy bun, and she was dressed in pink shorts and a black tank top.
Ariana Klein.
"Roman", she said, her smile widening. "What brings you by this young afternoon?"
"Ariana, I want my room back".
Her hands left the door, and her smile almost dropped, but I could see her trying to calm down. "What do you mean you want your room back?"
"You can hang out with Timothy; I'll even help you two with your work if that's what it takes for this lovebirds' play. Let's just stay how we were always meant to".
"What? Why?" She grabbed his hand quickly. "What happened? I can fix anything".
He sighed, "I just want my old room back in peace".
She let go of him, slamming the door shut immediately.
"I'll come out soon", she muttered from behind the door. "Just give me some time...I need to pack".
Roman muttered something, like a curse word, then walked in the direction of our room, probably wanting to pick up his stuff.
"You need to come with me", He added, not turning back.
I raised an eyebrow, looking around to make sure I was the one he was speaking to. What made him think he could talk to me like that?
I followed him to the room, regardless, deciding to trail behind him for now before Emmanuel would find me,
But then there was the fact that he was Emmanuel's friend.
"What do you want to say?" I asked. We were now back in our ro -no, my room, and he was grabbing some of the stuff he unpacked before.
He put the last of his stuff in his bag, then turned to me, as if he were finally ready to say whatever he called me here for.
"All assignments, " he started. "Group work, projects, and useless activities- you and I should keep doing them".
His words surprised me a bit. "Because?"
"Do you actually want to see your friend's heart broken even further? She's already crying because they won't stay in the same room".
"She'll be okay", I wanted to say. "I've gone through worse", I thought.
But I couldn't let those thoughts my brothers had implanted in my brain grow.
I folded my arms, moving some strands of hair from my face. "I don't mind; just tell me what I need to do at that time, and I'll do it".
He almost smirked. "Do you know how hard it is being my roommate? Are you sure you'll help, or are you planning on leaving all the work for me?"
"I'll do what I can, nothing more than that".
2:15 PM
Ariana rolled her bags back into the room as Roman rolled his out, whispering a small, insincere 'sorry' to her as he left.
She fell onto the bed, her eyes wet, as if tears were coming. "Apple", she called. "Please, tell me, did something happen?"
"Nothing happened", I told her. "He probably just wants to stay with his fellow male".
She sat up, burying her face in her hands; her tears had already soaked her white top.
"How could he-how could Roman do this?! Why did he agree in the first place?!"
I hadn't expected her to scream; I'd thought she was all sunshine and rainbows. Maybe her boyfriend really did matter a lot to her.
I pulled some tissues from the tissue box and handed them to her.
She grabbed my hands instead of the tissues; her eyes were now bloodshot red. "Let's beg him, Apple, please, please. I know I sound stupid, but-"
She bent her head a bit low. "I was really happy about this trip, a chance to spend time with the one I love, and I didn't even get to live it for a day."
"No, thank you." Those were the words I really wanted to say; I couldn't be busy fixing a person's problems.
Her endless sobbing would help her; she would learn that life could be unfair and let go of these feelings very soon.
"I'll see what I can do.", I said.
The sound of rung bells came from outside, signaling that we all had to gather in the lobby. It was already 2:30PM.
"It's a promise, right?" Ariana asked, opening the door. Her smile had returned,
"It's a promise."
I walked with her to the lobby; most of the students were already gathered there. There wasn't much space left since we were a combination of two grades.
At the back were mostly the male seniors; they were tall enough to hear and see from that point, but it was a disadvantage for me because I had to somehow squeeze through them to get to the front.
"Excuse me," I said, trying to make space to pass through. They didn't listen and barely budged when I pushed them.
"Need some help, darling?" a voice said, placing a hand on my head.
I stepped to the side a bit, stopping myself from tripping. "I can see from over here".
Michael tilted his head, his red hair falling past his shoulders. "Scared I won't help you without a price, lovely girl?"
I paid no attention to his attempted flattery, my eyes fixed on our teachers struggling with the microphone.
"There we go," Mrs. Audrey, our French teacher, said. She brought it close to her lips, testing it one more time before speaking.
"Good afternoon, dear students. After a few hours of rest and endless scrolling on social media, it's time to see France in its full glory. The first place we'll be exploring is the Louvre Museum".
Everyone remained silent at the announcement; a lot of people had been there before and didn't wish to see the Mona Lisa for the fifth time.
This group was the majority, so the minority who were excited to go felt embarrassed.
The English teacher, Mr. King, snatched the microphone from Mrs. Audrey, taking over.
"And one more thing," he said, cheerful as ever. "We have all the best activities scheduled for midnight."