More than just a class project

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully, and we now found ourselves in the cafeteria, surrounded by our friends Kira, Sam, Jack, and Pheebs.

I sat across from Mia as the others chatted about various topics that I didn't really pay attention to.

As I sat across from Mia, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nervous excitement about the project we had been assigned. Like we seem to be put in a pair oftentimes.

Mia was quiet, only speaking up when asked a direct question. She seemed a bit reserved, a total contrast to her other bubbly and outgoing self. I wondered if she was feeling anxious about the project or just bothered about something else.

Taking notice of her appearance, I discovered she had loosened her ponytails, allowing her dark long hair to cascade down her back. I also couldn't help but notice a hint of pink lipstick on her lips.

As I studied her, I couldn't help but feel a sense of attraction toward her. She was beautiful, with a natural grace and poise that drew people to her.

I felt my heart beat a little faster as my mind drifted to the event of the sleepover at Sam's place, the kiss. We haven't even talked about it yet.

The room was bustling with the noise of students chatting and laughing, and the smell of food filled the air. But all of that was soon forgotten as Lily strode over to a table close to ours, her face contorted with anger.

"Can you believe what happened in Biology class today?" she yelled, causing heads to turn in her direction. "Mr. Thomas totally shot down my proposal to be Ray's project partner and paired him with Mia instead. Unbelievable."

Her usual entourage of friends, all dressed in designer clothing and sporting perfectly styled hair, snickered and made snarky comments as they joined her at the table.

"I can't believe Mr. Thomas would pair someone as clueless as Mia with the top student in the class." I heard one of them say.

"Mia's going to drag Ray down for sure. He's going to regret not choosing someone like you as his partner." I heard Jane say, referring to Lily.

We all stopped discussing at our table, with all attention now on Lily and her friends' loud comments. She's trying to get our attention as usual.

I tried to ignore them, but it was difficult with Lily practically yelling.

My friends turned to look at me and Mia with a questioning look. I only shrugged as I wasn't in the mood to explain.

When Lily saw that her loud comments didn't achieve any results, she turned around on her table facing us.

"Nicely played, Mia. But know I'm watching you." She said with venom dripping in her voice.

"Come on, Lily," I said, trying to diffuse the situation. "It's just a partner project. It's not that big of a deal."

But Lily was having none of it. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. "It is a big deal, Ray. I know I would have been a better partner for you than Mia. I've always been your partner for group projects like this. Plus you deserve better."

Mia was about to say something, but I placed my hands on hers to calm her down.

I let out a sigh and turned to Lily before replying. "Look, Lily, I appreciate your concern, but I can handle myself. And I think Mia will make a fine partner. Let's just move on and focus on the project."

Lily huffed and turned away, she grabbed her lunch storming off with her friends in tow. I shook my head and turned back to my own table.

"Ray? Explain yourself."  Kira said crossing her arms.

"It's nothing, guys. You all know Lily. See let's just forget about that."

"Mia, how about the project details?" I asked trying to lighten up the air and make everyone forget about Lily's display. She fished it out of her bag and handed it over to me.

I went through it and handed it back.

"So how are we going to meet up for this?" I asked her.

"That's up to you, Ray. Anything is fine by me."

"I guess it'll be easier if I come over to your place today after school or what do you think?" I asked.

"Fine by me." She replied to me.

Our friends started clapping and catcalling, drawing the attention of the other students in the cafeteria.

The sound of their hands clapping and their voices cheering filled the air, making me feel confused and a bit self-conscious.

"What was that for?" I asked, trying to make sense of what was happening. Mia, who was sitting across from me, also looked puzzled, although it was hard to tell with her usual poker face.

"Guess who finally made plans to go over to a girl's house?" Sam said with a grin, clearly enjoying the joke at my expense.

"It's…it's just for a project, duh. I'm not about to lose 40% of my grades," I defended, trying to brush off their teasing.

"This isn't the first time, Ray. You either meet them in the cafeteria or stay behind in school if you ever get stuck on a project with a girl," Jack pointed out, joining in on the teasing.

"Mia is different, she's part of us, so…I guess I could make an exception," I tried to argue, hoping to shake them off. But it didn't seem to be working.

"Just admit it, you like her, Ray. You're falling for her," Phoebe chimed in, adding to the teasing.

"You all realize she's sitting here with us, listening to you guys gossip about her," I pointed out, trying to stress the point that Mia was present and could hear everything they were saying.

"She doesn't mind one single bit. As a matter of fact, she seems to be enjoying it. Or do you mind us talking about you?" Phoebe said, turning to Mia.

I quickly glanced over at Mia, wondering how she was reacting to the conversation. To my surprise, I saw a tiny smile on her face before it quickly disappeared, returning to her usual neutral expression.

It was hard to read her, but I had a feeling that she didn't mind the teasing and was actually enjoying the bonding moment with our group of friends.

"I actually don't mind," Mia said, surprising me with her response. She even smiled slightly.

"So, back to the question. Do you like my Mia?" Kira asked again, clearly not ready to drop the topic.

"How about your one-month date?" Sam interjected, bringing up the subject that I was trying so hard to avoid.

'Sam!!!!! Why are you after my love life? I'm gonna kill you when I get the chance.' I said to myself before answering.

"We're on it," I said quickly, trying to dismiss the topic as quickly as possible. "Right?" I asked Mia, hoping that she would play along and help me out of this awkward situation.

She looked at me and nodded. "Yeah, we are working on it," she confirmed.

I let out a sigh of relief, feeling grateful that Mia had gone along with my attempt to change the subject. We haven't even talked about the kiss, talk less of the date.

The bell signaled the end of lunch, and I quickly packed up my remaining food. "I'll see you guys soon," I said as I dumped the food remnants in the trash and headed for my next class.

As I walked out of the cafeteria, I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread wash over me. I had completely forgotten about the one-month dare, and now I was going to have to go through with it. But the thought of spending that much time with Mia made my heart race.

'Is Katie right?' I thought to myself. 'Am I truly falling for Mia?'

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I didn't think so. I didn't think I could ever fall in love again.

I sighed. 'I'll just let the dare play out and everything will just return to normal. Hopefully.'