The following morning, the campus felt…
different.
It wasn’t something Maya could quite explain.
The crisp autumn air carried the smell of coffee from the student café as eager students filtered through the courtyard, backpacks slung over their shoulders.
Some made their way to morning classes, while others relaxed on the grass, enjoying the weather before their classes started.
It looked like any other weekday, and yet…
something was different.
Normally, it wouldn’t have taken Maya a full walk through the courtyard to realize that no one paid her any mind.
She had been the cheer captain for the past year, and while she was somewhat recognizable, people only ever gave her a second glance.
But today, as she walked, Maya noticed that students would glance at her before quickly looking back at their friends.
Some even gave her a knowing smile, or a few looked away as soon as their eyes landed on her.
A small frown appeared on Maya’s lips.
That felt odd.
She barely had a moment to process it before two first years walked past her, whispering to one another.
“…That’s her.”
“I told you it was.”
“I thought she’d be taller.”
Maya stopped and turned on her heel.
“Excuse me?”
The girls stopped dead in their tracks, eyes widening in alarm.
One of them gave her a nervous smile as they turned around.
“N-Nothing!”
They turned and ran away before Maya could say anything else.
She watched them leave, exhaling slowly.
What was happening?
“Maya!” Olivia’s voice rang out beside her.
The other girl grinned as she walked beside her friend, an iced coffee in one hand.
“Morning,” Maya said.
Instead of replying, Olivia looked at her for a long moment before bursting into laughter.
Maya frowned.
“…What?”
“Seriously? You don’t know?”
“Know what?”
Olivia gestured around the courtyard, where students still gave Maya second looks.
“The entire campus has been talking about you since eight this morning.”
Maya blinked.
“…Why?”
Olivia paused walking entirely, turning to stare at her best friend.
“Seriously?”
“Olivia.”
“The hockey captain.”
Maya frowned.
“What about Carter?”
Olivia gestured toward a bench nearby, where two students looked away as soon as they realized she was looking at them.
“He wrapped his arm around you yesterday.”
“I remember that.”
“He called you ‘babe’.”
“I unfortunately remember that as well.”
“And half the campus witnessed it.”
Maya’s eyes widened.
“Oh.”
“‘Oh?'” Olivia echoed in disbelief.
“That’s all you have to say?”
“It wasn’t real.”
“I know.”
Olivia shrugged.
“The rest of campus doesn’t.”
Maya pinched the bridge of her nose before letting out a tired sigh.
“This is ridiculous.”
“It is.”
“They’re making assumptions.”
“They absolutely are.”
Maya shook her head.
“I don’t have time for this.”
Olivia laughed.
“I don’t think rumors care about your schedule.”
The gymnasium was filled with the sound of music as the cheer squad warmed up on the wooden floor.
Pom-poms were stacked neatly on a nearby table as the girls stretched, chatting amongst themselves about their classes and weekend plans.
As soon as Maya walked in, all the chatter stopped.
She immediately noticed how several of the girls glanced at her before sharing amused looks.
One of them whispered something into her friend’s ear, while another attempted unsuccessfully to hide her grin.
Maya pretended not to notice as she dropped her bag beside the wall and began to stretch.
It only took a few seconds before one of the senior cheerleaders finally spoke.
“So…”
“So?”
“Is it true?”
Maya blinked.
“Is what true?”
“You and Carter Vance.”
Maya immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Another girl raised her hand.
“My roommate said she saw him holding you yesterday.”
“He wasn’t holding me,” Maya replied.
“He had his arm around your shoulders.”
“…Temporarily.”
The girls exchanged knowing glances.
Another girl leaned forward with curiosity.
“I heard he scared Ryan off.”
Maya sighed.
“Ryan left because Carter interrupted us.”
“So he did interrupt.”
“Yes.”
“And then he called you ‘babe.'”
“…Yes.”
“And wrapped his arm around you.”
“…Yes.”
The girl smiled.
“Can you honestly blame people for thinking you’re dating?”
Maya crossed her arms.
“We’re not dating.”
“What are you then?”
“I am tutoring him.” A hush descended over the group of girls.
Then someone whispered, “…That’s actually kind of cute.”
A few of the girls giggled.
Maya turned her head towards the ceiling.
“This,” she said, “is exactly why I didn’t want to explain.”
The girls were laughing.
Just as Maya was about to speak, the gym doors swung open and in walked Coach Ramirez, clipboard in hand.
She shot the girls a stern look before tapping her foot on the floor.
“What are we all standing around for?”
The girls immediately went to their positions as Coach’s eyes landed on Maya.
“Maya.”
“Yes, Coach?”
Coach smiled knowingly.
“I’ve been hearing some interesting things.”
Maya closed her eyes briefly.
“They aren’t true.”
Coach chuckled.
“I didn’t even tell you what I heard.”
“You didn’t have to.” A few girls laughed.
Coach shook her head with a smile.
“Whether the rumors are true or not, I expect everyone’s attention to be on practice.”
“Yes, Coach.” “Good.”
She clapped her hands together.
“Let’s get started.”
As the girls all gathered into their formations, Olivia appeared in the doorway holding her coffee.
She waved at Maya.
“I’ll see you at lunch!”
Coach turned towards her.
“Miss…Olivia.”
“Unless you’re planning to join today’s routine, I suggest you go to class.”
Olivia smiled sheepishly.
“I was just leaving.” She gestured towards Maya.
“But this conversation definitely isn’t over.”
Maya simply shook her head.
Olivia was impossible to get rid of.
Across campus, the hockey arena echoed with the sound of skates gliding over ice as the team worked through another drill.
Coach Daniels stood near the boards, his whistle in his mouth as he barked out instructions.
“Again!”
The whistle blew, and the team quickly got to their feet.
Carter skated forward, trying to push his thoughts of Maya out of his mind.
Hockey was usually his escape.
Once he was on the rink, it was all he focused on: the game, his team, the coach—anything to keep his mind off her.
But it wasn’t working.
The memory of Maya standing beside Ryan kept replaying over and over in his head.
Practice hadn’t even been over five minutes before Dexter skated over, a smug look on his face.
“So…” Dexter groaned.
“No.”
“I haven’t even asked anything yet.”
“You were about to.”
“I was.”
Dexter rested his stick over his shoulder as he smirked at his teammate.
“I heard you interrupted Ryan yesterday.”
“I didn’t interrupt anybody.”
“No?” Dexter raised an eyebrow.
“I heard you walked over to him.”
“I did.”
“And?” Dexter looked at him expectantly.
“And that was it.”
Dexter stared at him.
“You casually walked over…”
“Yes.”
“…Wrapped your arm around Maya…”
Carter said nothing.
“…Called her ‘babe’…”
Still nothing.
“…And somehow you think you didn’t interrupt?”
Carter rubbed the back of his neck.
“…When you say it like that…”
James skated over just in time to hear the last part.
“I heard Ryan asked her out.”
Carter turned to him immediately.
“…Who told you that?”
Ethan smiled knowingly.
“Interesting.”
“What?” Carter frowned.
“You asked who told me.” said James
“So?” Carter crossed his arms.
“It’s obviously not true.”
“Isn’t it?” Ethan tilted his head.
“You know what they talked about, right?”
Carter opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped himself.
It wasn’t like he knew what they talked about.
In fact, he probably shouldn’t know.
Dexter immediately picked up on this, a grin spreading across his face.
“Oh…” He turned to Carter.
“You asked.”
“I did not.”
“You weren’t curious.”
“No”
“Sure you weren’t.”
Before Carter could say anything else, another defenseman skated over.
“Captain.”
“What?” Carter asked.
“I heard congratulations are in order.”
Carter sighed.
“…For what?”
“I don’t know.” The player shrugged.
“I just heard you’ve got yourself a girlfriend.”
Carter closed his eyes.
“We’re not dating.”
At that moment, Coach Daniels skated over.
“Vance.”
Carter turned to him.
“Yes, Coach?”
“I’ve been hearing interesting rumors.”
“They aren’t true.”
Coach shrugged.
“I honestly don’t care whether they’re true or not.”
The team waited for him to say something else.
“I only care that whatever is happening stays out of my rink.”
“It will.”
“Good.” Coach blew his whistle.
“Back to work.”
The team quickly skated back to their positions.
As Carter approached his spot, Dexter skated up to him one final time.
“You know…”
Carter groaned.
“What now?”
Dexter smiled.
“For two people who aren’t dating…” He skated forward before adding, “…you two spend an awful lot of time convincing everyone that you’re not.”