Good Friends

Driving to the final location.

"Eric, you've been amazing", Olivia praised him.

"I don't think so," Eric replied calmly, underestimating himself.

"Yes, you have. You answered four of the riddles, found the key, and quickly got the code", Olivia said, listing what he had done. Eric offered a weak smile in response, not knowing what to reply.

"I was worried about you", Isaac said. "You were quiet and looked like you didn't care, but you were the most important person on our team", Isaac, who was driving, further praised him. Isaac is in class 1-E.

"It's a shame we're not first, but I'm glad we came second", Eve said, who was sitting in the passenger seat. Eve was a redhead in class 1-A.

"You're still in the top ten, right?" Sarena asked Eve.

"Just about, I'm tenth right now", Even scoffed. "I doubt I'll be there after this challenge", she continued, with her head resting on her palm, looking out the window.

"Being in the top ten must be stressful", Olivia said, joining in.

"Surprisingly, it is. I thought I wouldn't care, but now realising I might not be there, it stings a little," Eve replied, sounding slightly deflated.

"Imagine being first", Olivia got shivers thinking about it, "I don't want that kind of pressure".

"Malakai and his team got first place yesterday, so he's staying up there", Eve said. "Sarena, he's in your class, right? Are you friends?" Eve questioned, turning her body around to look at Sarena.

"I haven't talked to him, so no. We sit far away, but I hear him and his friends always laughing and talking", Sarena answered. Sarena is in Class 1-C; she isn't friends with Malakai or any of his friends. She's talked with Maria and Tanisha a little but hasn't considered them friends yet.

"Is he a class clown and annoys everyone?" Isaac asked; it seemed that everyone who didn't know Malakai had a bad impression of him.

"Not really, he keeps to himself and his friends", Sarena replied.

"Really?" Olivia replied, not expecting that.

"Yeah, he's not that outgoing. He doesn't randomly go to strangers and talk to them," Sarena said. "What I noticed about him is that if there's an opportunity to cause a scene, he will do it, but he wouldn't cause one for the sake of it."

Eve thought about it briefly, "If he won't go to you, why don't you go to him?" She asked.

"Most of the time, other people surround him; it would be weird if I approached him with all his friends with him. The boy I sit next to in class told me he talked to him once in a club, and now they're friends".

While those two talked about Malakai, Olivia turned to Eric to talk to him, "How are you feeling?" she asked Eric as he looked out the window.

"I'm fine," he replied. Eric, as we all know, has gone through a lot. He's slowly making progress in getting over his breakup. He has yet to make any new friends; his only friends are Olivia and Daniel. Other than that, Eric hasn't made the effort to go and talk to other people.

"You look better, but how are you?" Olivia asked sounding concerned, hoping for a more detailed answer.

"Olivia, believe me, I'm fine", Eric replied calmly with a smile, finally turning away from the window to look at her with his same stoic face.

"Oh, okay", Olivia softly said, thinking she was being pushy and annoying.

Eric noticed. "Thanks for asking. I appreciate it," he said with a fake smile to make it seem like he was good. "Look, we're here," he said, shifting the attention from him and trying to cheer her up.

The group reached the final location. They all got out of the car and went to the safes. They saw another team sitting to the side when they reached the safes. They didn't get first place, which they knew, but at least they got second. Eve went to the safe, labelled two, and opened it with the code they had. Eve collected what was inside, and the rest of her team joined her—Eve walked towards the team that got first place.

"Alejandro, I didn't think you would get first place", she said, looking at him sitting comfortably on the steps.

"I had a great team. I barely did anything", Alejandro humbly replied with a smug look on his face. Eve looked at his team and recognised Maria sitting next to him straight away. She didn't say anything as she was nervous and didn't want to appear too casual with her. She also recognised,

"Wait, I know you", she said, pointing at Lorenzo, who was playing offline games on his phone.

Alejandro looked to where she was pointing. "You know Lorenzo?" he asked, looking towards Lorenzo.

"Yeah, let me think. Where do I remember him from?" Eve rhetorically asked, trying to recall. "Oh, I remember. From the minigames, he was with that good-looking guy with the glasses," she remembered.

"good-looking guy with the glasses?" Alejandro questioned, not knowing who she was talking about.

"Don't you remember?" Eve questioned back.

"I left the minigames after I got eliminated in the second round", Alejandro answered.

"Why?"

"Why would I stay? I got eliminated, and I'm not watching someone else win," Alejandro replied with sas.

"You got a point", Eve said. "Anyway, what was your friend's name?" Eve asked Lorenzo.

Lorenzo looked up from his phone. "Why'd you want to know?" he asked, glaring at her.

"Jeez, it was just a question", Eve replied, unhappy with Lorenzo's attitude. "No need to be rude", she said, glaring at him too. Alejandro and Maria glanced at each other awkwardly. The situation turned awkward quickly.

Lorenzo sighed, "His name is Ryan", he said, not wanting to escalate this into an argument.

"Thanks," Eve replied, uninterested, rolling her eyes. She didn't care about Ryan; she just wanted to start a conversation, but Lorenzo didn't see it that way. He thought she just wanted Ryan and that he was an easy way to contact him. Lorenzo used to deal with these types of interactions often, so now he shuts them down before they start.

"Congratulations on coming first", Eve congratulated Alejandro, turning her body away from Lorenzo and cutting him from the conversation.

"Thanks, hopefully I break into the top ten now", Alejandro wishfully said.

"I doubt it, but I know I'm kicked out of the top ten," Eve said, sitting beside him.

"Yeah. Kicked out by me", Alejandro playfully smiled.

"Yeah, right", they both laughed.

Maria looked at the two, laughing with each other. "Both of you look like good friends", Maria said, interfering with their conversation.

"I wouldn't say good friends", Alejandro replied, shaking his head.

"That's mean", Eve pouted, knowing he was joking. "He sits next to me in class, so we talk sometimes".

"If she didn't constantly brag about being in the top ten, then I would maayybe call her a good friend", Alejandro said, trying to get a reaction.

"Well, now neither of us are in the top ten", Eve replied with a smile, not giving Alejandro the reaction he wanted.

"Speak for yourself", Alejandro joked, believing he could make the top ten.

"You're not making it", Eve laughed, trying to humble him. Maria also laughed at their play argument.

"How is your class? Is everyone friendly?" Maria asked, changing the topic.

Alejandro and Eve looked at each other, seeing who would answer first.

"Friendly, I'm not sure. Antisocial, yeah", Eve answered.

"Antisocial? But you two talk to each other", Maria said, not picturing class 1-A yet.

"Our classes are quiet. People talk to the people they sit next to, but you wouldn't hear a conversation during lessons. There are a few whispers here and there, but that's it," Alejandro replied, looking at the ground. "There are friend groups in the class, but it doesn't really look like friend groups".

"Yeah, before the first challenge, everyone was on edge, but after the minigames, people started talking to each other", Eve added. "I'm sure after this challenge our class will gel even more", she continued.

"Your class sounds ... tense", Maria said, trying to find a suitable word to describe their class.

"I expected it, but your class seems fun. Sarena told me about it", Eve replied, wanting to hear what Maria thought of her class.

"It's so much fun; I sit next to my best friend, which makes it a hundred times better", Maria said, sounding more excited.

Hearing Maria say best friend made Alejandro jump a little inside. He could only link Malakai to that word despite Maria referring to Tanisha. Flashbacks of his childhood moments with Maria flashed in his head; he wished there were more. More personal moments, not just brief 'hellos' and 'how are you doing'. More conversations about each other's interests and not about work. He missed chances. Chances he wouldn't get again. Absent-minded, Alejandro became absent-minded. Next thing you know, he exited memory lane and was sitting on the bus next to Maria.

"How did I get here?" Alejandro thought, looking around the bus and seeing tired faces. He looked to his right and saw Maria looking out of the window. "Is she awake?"

"Maria?" he quietly called out in case she was asleep.

Maria turned around. "Hm?" She looked at him and saw that he looked confused. "Are you okay?" she asked, leaning forward to examine him closer.

Alejandro blinked and shook his head to snap out of it, "Yeah, I'm fine".

Maria wasn't convinced, "Are you sure? You've barely said anything since you talked to Eve. Are you tired?" she worriedly asked. In Alejandro's mind, it was like he woke up from a dream and teleported to the bus. He doesn't remember what happened after Maria said she sat next to her best friend. Was he on autopilot the whole time?

"A little", Alejandro replied, rubbing the back of his head. He leaned back in his seat. "Maria, when you said you would introduce me to your friends. Did you mean Malakai?" He asked, looking up at the ceiling.

"Yes, but not only him. I meant all my friends", Maria replied, still worried about Alejandro.

"Is Malakai a good friend?" Alejandro asked out of the blue.

"Huh?" Maria was caught off guard by that question. She tried to answer but couldn't think of what to say. She wanted to say yes straight away, but she didn't. Why was that? That question was a good question. Yes, she loved Malakai, but they weren't close or anything. A one-sided love that the other didn't know about. They didn't hang out or talk every day, and she only knew him for two months. They didn't talk much either. But if she asked Malakai for something, she was sure Malakai would pull through. Did that make him a good friend? Was that quality alone enough to make someone a good friend? She trusted Malakai, but did Malakai trust her? Can someone be a good friend if you don't talk or hang out regularly? Alejandro noticed Maria's prolonged response.

"Yes, I guess", Maria finally responded. "I'm not that close to him yet, so I can't answer that confidently", she continued. After saying that, she realised that what she had said made no sense. She knew he was a good friend; they weren't close, but she still considered him a good friend. If the question was, is he a close friend, then that response would've made sense. Plus, it's not a fact he's a good friend; it's her opinion. She loved Malakai; why wouldn't he be a good friend? Then why did she say that? Was she embarrassed? Or was she scared she might accidentally show how she felt about Malakai?

Alejandro smiled after hearing she wasn't close to him. He heard the 'yet' added at the end, but that didn't matter. It wasn't over; he still had a chance. The door was still open.

"Meet Malakai, huh. I'd love to meet him. He sounds like an interesting guy".