Framing

Maya had not expected that. Who could have guessed that her little lie would land in the eyes of the class president? That would make everything even more exciting than Maya had already imagined.

"Don't worry, Maya. Iki is a good class president. If she says she'll handle it, she will," added another girl in the group.

Maya paid little attention to her. Her mind was on imagining how this event might turn out and she could hardly wait.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"My name is Kira, by the way though my friends call me Iki, and if you have any other problems in class, come and see me. As class president, it's my duty to help find a solution to any problems."

"And my name is Laurey. And this is Annabelle."

"Thank you very much," Maya repeated. "I'd like to wash my hands now. Excuse me."

"That's okay. We'll see you right at second period then."

Annabelle and Laurey were of no interest to Maya. Two grey mice, nice to look at, but nothing more. Kira, on the other hand, was a pretty and confident girl. With her appearance, she was sure to be popular with the boys and girls of the school. The thought did not appeal to Maya at all, but first she wanted to wait and see how the situation with Maite developed.

In the girls' toilet, she washed her hands and, after washing off the chalk, looked in the mirror. She couldn't help the grin that decorated her lips. It was not the friendly grin she presented in class; she knew that. No, this grin here was mean and full of gloating.

It was only when the first bell rang for the second lesson that she snapped out of her stupor and hurried to get back to class in time for the second bell.

Outside the classroom, the students had gathered and were waiting for Mr Mayers for the second lesson. As she made her way to the others, she spotted both Maite and Kira in the group. They were both standing far away from each other, but nodded to Maya almost simultaneously. As when she met the class, she grinned.

Mr Mayers arrived punctually with the second bell and was the first to enter the room. That was apparently customary, because otherwise anyone could have gone in like that. After all, the door was unlocked the whole time.

"What's that?" escaped the teacher.

"Maite, Maya, didn't I ask you to clean the board?" he asked, spinning around.

Everyone else went to their seats shrouded in silence, and only Maya and Maite remained standing at the front.

"But Maya," Maite opened, "you said you were going to clean the second half before class starts?"

Maya lowered her head.

"I..."

"Would you please explain to me what exactly is going on?" asked Mayers.

There was silence for a few seconds until Maite broke it.

"I had started cleaning the blackboard. Maya went to the door, and I asked her what was going on. She replied that she just wanted to stretch her legs and would do the rest when she got back. When I had done my part, I went out."

"Is that true, Maya?"

"No," she whispered meekly. "It's not true..."

Her body trembled slightly and in the silence, even her soft sobs were clearly audible. That she was playing this state perfectly, no one noticed it seemed. Instead, everyone was silent to each other.

"If I could just mention something," Kira hooked in.

Out of the corner of her eye, Maya realised that Kira had risen from her chair and directed a grim look at Maite.

"Maya was with us for the second half of the break. She told us that Maite had told her to clean the board alone as a freshman. She also told us she only cleaned the left half because she thought it was unfair to take Maite's part as well."

Mr Mayer let his gaze wander towards the blackboard. It was indeed the left half that was neatly cleaned.

"Her hands were also full of chalk," she added in conclusion.

"Yes, that's right," both Annabelle and Laurey echoed. "We both saw it."

Only now, with the vigorous support of Kira and the others, did Maya lift her gaze again, still playing the sad one. Her insides were completely intoxicated. Maite's gaze alone felt so good, and it seemed as if the blonde no longer understood the world around her. The looks from her classmates also felt wonderful.

They all felt sorry for Maya. Poor Maya, who was bullied and then blamed by a classmate right on her first day. While not all the attention of the class was on her, it didn't matter. They directed the positive part of the attention at her, while Maite only earned contempt. She deserved it, though.

Why did she have to look good too and be such a cheerful girl to boot? If she were more like Annabelle or Laurey, it wouldn't be a problem. Instead, she wore good-looking, long blonde hair and was so kind.

"But that's not true at all," exclaimed Maite. "I cleaned the blackboard."

Mr Mayers sighed.

"Has anyone seen Maite with chalk dust on her hands?" he asked the class.

Everyone shook their heads. Not a single one had seen Maite like that, it seemed.

"Because I washed my hands first!"

Her voice grew louder. She seemed distressed because no one believed her. Even her teacher's gaze was still sourly fixed on Maite. With one hand, she wiped the tears from her face, running out of the classroom as she did so.

Silence returned. Maya was still standing at the front with her teacher. The event, which was why none of her classmates said a word, still charged the entire atmosphere.

"I'm sorry," Mr Mayers apologised. "Experiencing something like that on your first day is anything but nice. I hope you still get along well with the others. Besides, I'll have a talk with Maite's parents."

Maya nodded her head. For her, this theatre was a complete success. Nonstop, all her classmates turned their understanding gazes on Maya. There was no one who did not stand by her.

"May I choose another seat?"

"Of course. Pick an empty seat."

Unfortunately, there was no free seat next to Kira, because otherwise Maya would have sat there. However, she came quite close with the free seat next to Laurey. This meant that there was only one person between Maya and Kira, who also belonged to Kira's circle of friends.

During the second lesson and the other lessons, Maite did not show her face again. No one in the class knew where she had gone. The rest of the school day was uneventful for Maya. For a few hours, she had enjoyed the attention of her classmates. But now it was time to return home.