Chapter Text
Akarsha was exhausted.
Anyone would be after staring at a computer screen all night. The long walk to school was seeming even longer than usual, especially in the warm July sun. She contemplates quickly ducking into the convenience store across from the school, she could probably grab an iced coffee or something…
But there was no way she was forking over five dollars for a shitty coffee. That amount for an Arizona iced tea? In this economy? They gotta be dreaming… the only cheap things that those corner stores sell are those touristy hats they keep on a rack out front to draw people in…
Akarsha freezes suddenly, her eyes wide as a realisation hits her. ‘ Shitty hats? Cheap, touristy, shitty hats?’ She runs back over to the hat rack, spinning around the spindles. ‘There’s no way they have one, there’s no way I’m that lucky…’
Apparently, she is that lucky. She giggles as she hold the misshapen hat in her hands, brushing off the dust that caked the top of it from being shoved up the back of the rack for god knows how long.
‘ Oh .’ She thinks to herself. ‘ This is going to be hilarious.’
_________________
“You go first, Diya. You need to see if she’s done anything to the doorway.”
Diya sighs, her face as blank as it usually is as she enters their homeroom. Noelle watches as she scans for threats, scowling at Diya when she just stares at her with a stony face.
“She hasn’t done anything, Noelle. She’s just sitting there, her hands are even clasped together.”
Noelle sighs, pinching her brow. As much as she loves Diya, sometimes she was just too trusting for her own good. “Don’t you see, Diya? That’s exactly what she wants me to think. Akarsha’s done something nearly everyday for years now. It’s always something with that one…”
She scowls again, this time at her transgressor, who was twiddling her thumbs. “… Fine. The coast looks clear, just stay on guard.” Diya nods, rolling her eyes once Noelle had her back to her.
She walks into the classroom, hands thrown out in front of her. It doesn’t matter what Diya says, she knows that Akarsha is up to something. She can tell, just by looking at her stupid face with her stupid, smug grin and the stupid way her nose scrunches up when she smiles…
Noelle shakes her head. ‘No, don’t think about that now. This isn’t the time.’
She tries to ignore the tiny voice yelling at her in the background of her mind. ‘ Then when? When will the time be right?’
She squashes the thought down, something that she’s been accustomed to doing lately. She has to ignore those voices, she just has to.
…
She eyes Akarsha warily as she sits down next to her. “… Morning, Akarsha.” Noelle nods curtly at her.
Akarsha only stares at her, tilting her head slightly to the side. Noelle narrows her eyes. “… I said good morning.”
Akarsha tilts her head the other way before gasping, nodding her head and holding out her finger in a ‘wait, I’m getting something’ pose. She rummages around in her bag, obviously looking for something.
Noelle sighs, tapping her foot. What could she possible be doing now. She glares across the room at Diya, who shrugs. See, this is why she should never let her guard down, because Akarsha is always up to…
Noelle can feel dread rise through her body as Akarsha raises her head.
“Ah, bonjour les Français! Enfin, je peux te comprendre.”
“… No. No, don’t do this…”
Akarsha smirks at her. She’s wearing some dusty beret in a HORRIBLE green, and a black marker moustache hastily drawn above her lip.
Noelle groans. “AkarshaaaAAA! This is ridiculous! You look ridiculous!” Diya approaches quickly, a shit eating grin plastered on her face.
“Akarsha, where did you get that hat…” She giggles.
“Un maître ne révèle jamais ses secrets...” She replies, tapping her nose.
Noelle can’t believe it. How did Akarsha do this, she didn’t know French yesterday! This is insane… she holds her head in her hands as Akarsha wiggles her eyebrows at her.
“Qu'y a-t-il, Français? Je pensais que cela vous aiderait à vous connecter avec votre patrie!” She yells. Diya giggles again, prodding at her hat.
Noelle slams her hands down on the desk. “I heard motherland!” She sticks her finger in Akarsha’s face. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but if you-“
“Est-ce que quelqu'un vous a déjà dit à quel point vos yeux étaient beaux?” She said, cutting her off. Noelle narrows her eyes, snarling.
“You know I don’t understand you…”
“... Ouais. Ils sont si sombres qu'ils sont presque noirs…”
Noelle stops, her eyes widening. She still didn’t understand what she was saying… but there was something about the way she said it… Noelle grips the table a little tighter as Diya gives her a strange look.
Noelle jumps as the teacher clears his throat. “Sorry to interrupt, but I have to make announcements.” Noelle sinks into her chair. How humiliating… even just to be seen with someone as barbaric as Akarsha. She glances over at her. She’s pretending to twiddle her marker moustache, giving her a pointed look.
“… Maths club has been moved from Tuesday to Wednesday… netball tryouts are Monday next week…”
God, she was infuriating! Just the way she was staring at her after humiliating her in front of the class! She glanced around. No one seemed to care… doesn’t matter. She’s still in the wrong, and Noelle just wanted to strangle her! Just wrap her hands around Akarsha’s neck… not too hard, though. Just hard to leave a mark…
She jolts upright when diya nudges her side “Noelle. They’re talking about our English class…”
“… And the grade eleven English class will be having a group assingment. I’ve been asked to read them out here. Diya will be with Grace…”
Diya looks a little worried. She glances over at Grace, who just waves back. She leans over to Noelle. “Don’t leave meee…” she whispers. Noelle shakes her head.
“You’ll be fine, Diya. There’s no need to overreact over a group assignment…”
“And Noelle will be with Akarsha.”
Noelle freezes, slowly turning her head towards her foe.
“Oui oui.”
Noelle drops her head into her hands
________________
The moment the bell rings, Akarsha is out of the classroom, wiping her moustache off her face as she speedruns towards the bathroom. She leans against the bathroom sink, staring at herself in the reflection of the mirror.
‘ Shit, that was risky… totally worth it though!’ She thinks to herself. ‘ Google translate, you’re my best friend!’
She takes off her ugly green beret, turning it over and over in her hands. ‘And now I’m in a group with her.’ She swallows. ‘Totally fine! Nothing I haven’t done before!’
She glances back up at the mirror, inspecting the growing blush on her face. “…let’s just see how we go…’