As I entered the kitchen, I couldn't help but admire its beauty. But what caught my attention was the sight of a swimming pool in the backyard, which was visible through the kitchen's back door. I stepped outside to take a closer look, and the sight of the water reflecting the blue sky was simply mesmerizing.

 

As I watched from afar, I suddenly felt the urge to touch the water. I leaned forward and dipped my hand into the pool, and that's when I noticed something moving beneath the surface. Gradually, it emerged closer to the surface, and before I knew it, it shot out of the water in a sudden and swift motion, scaring me to death.

 

My heart nearly leapt out of my chest, and I instinctively clutched my chest in a protective stance, falling backward in the process and letting out a scream of terror. Moments later, the sound of laughter and giggles filled the air, and I realized that Marian was enjoying my frightened expression.

 

After staring at her angrily for a full minute, she noticed me and stopped laughing, approaching me with a smile. "Did I scare you?" she asked playfully.

I remained silent and stood up again. She added, 'Why all this seriousness? Relax a bit.

"Is this your idea of relaxation?" I asked, frustrated. "When are we going to get to work on that speech?"

"It's still early," she replied nonchalantly. "Why don't we have a little fun first?"

She then stepped out of the pool, clad in revealing swimwear, and I couldn't help but feel embarrassed, averting my gaze away from her.

 

She placed a towel on herself and said, "I have swimwear that suits you if you want to swim a little."

I replied, "No, I'm fine."

Meanwhile, Melo reappeared holding a tray with cups of drinks in different colors. Marian was surprised and asked, "Why did you bring all these drinks?"

He replied, "I didn't know what she preferred, so I poured a glass of each type I found."

I looked at them standing together, looking at me with their innocent faces and mocking smiles. I wondered why they were treating me as if I were their little acquaintance's daughter.

I approached and took a glass of water from among the drinks.

I saw Marian nudging Melo and whispering, "I told you to bring drinks. What does a glass of water do among them?" He, looking embarrassed, replied, "It was for you. I remember you saying you were thirsty when we entered the house."

Marian directed her words to me again, ignoring him: "Nermin, why don't you change out of your uniform? I've prepared some comfortable clothes for you while you're here."

I responded, "No, I'm okay."

"Don't be like that. No need to be shy. If you want anything to feel at ease, just ask."

"Who said I'm shy? All I want is to finish as quickly as possible so I can go back home."

The smile disappeared from her face when I said that. She approached me slowly until her face met mine, looked into my eyes, and asked, "Nermin, have you ever tried swimming in your regular clothes?"

Something in my reaction was enough for her to know the answer. and without wasting any time, she pushed me forcefully into the pool.
I was caught aback and couldn't stop myself from acting proudly; I didn't even move my hands or feet to try to float or alert them that I was drowning.

I didn't know how to swim; my family hadn't been to the sea since I was ten; and I didn't attend swimming classes at school to avoid wearing swimsuits around others.

All these thoughts passed through my head in a second, then fear and the idea of death took over. It's not strange for her to kill me here, given her numerous connections; she could easily erase the evidence and make my death look like an accident.

I continued to descend deeply, closed my eyes, and let myself go since I had no incentive to try to survive.

Suddenly, someone grabbed me and pulled me towards him. I opened my eyes in surprise to know who it was, and it was Melo. He wasn't looking at me; he was focused on getting me back to the surface quickly, not paying attention to where he was placing his hand.

When we reached the surface and took our first breaths, we realized our situation. I found myself sitting on his arms, holding onto his broad shoulders. Just at that moment, he looked at me with his beautiful ocean eyes.

Water droplets fell from his golden hair and long lashes. He breathed deeply from his mouth to the point that his warm breath reached my neck. I was very scared at that moment. I was scared of myself.

He shifted his gaze away from me and headed towards the pool's edge, where Marian stood holding a large towel. He lifted me to sit while she helped me stand. She wrapped the towel around me because I was shivering. Then she asked with concern, "Are you okay? I'm sorry, Nermin. I didn't know you couldn't swim. I just wanted to get you out of your serious face, nothing more."

Melo stood beside her and added, "Don't worry, Marian; nothing happened. She's fine now."

I felt disappointed. How could he speak on my behalf? Was he trying to console her or me? I couldn't understand him.

She said, "Let's go to my room to change your wet clothes."

The three of us climbed the stairs; she was on my right, and he was on my left, holding onto me so I wouldn't fall. I was in the middle, wrapped in a towel that hindered my movement and vision.

As soon as we entered the room, Marian asked Melo to bring her mother's hairdryer. She gave me dry clothes and asked me to go to the bathroom to change.

She had her own bathroom attached to her room, which looked like a suite in a five-star hotel. I forgot myself and looked around. Her bathroom was very clean and well organized.

I already felt jealous of the number of cosmetics and personal care items she owned. Even if I combined mine and my parents', it wouldn't be half of what she had. I opened the drawers and found the hairdryer. I couldn't think of a reason for her to send him other than wanting to give me some space to feel more comfortable.

I woke up from those thoughts and tried to put on her clothes quickly so she wouldn't notice that I took too long. When I came out of the bathroom, I found them standing in the same awkward pose.

 

Marian said, "Wow, my clothes fit you well, don't they, Melo?"

 

When she asked him for his opinion, I looked towards him, unsure of what I was expecting. Did I wish for him to compliment me? I felt embarrassed by my thoughts and looked down, hoping they couldn't read my mind.

 

She added, "You'll stay for dinner, right? Why don't you call your mom and let her know?"

 

At that moment, I felt intense anger. I felt like she was manipulating me like a chess piece following a plan.

 

I spoke firmly, "Marian, I want to talk to you privately."

 

When I said that, they looked at each other as if it was a signale. Melo said, as if remembered something, "Oh yes, I should get back now. I have something to take care of."

 

Marian asked him, "Won't you stay for dinner?"

 

"No problem, next time."

 

"Okay, thank you for today. Take care and drive safely."

 

"don't worry, give my greetings  to your parents."

 

"yeah.. you too"

 

"Goodbye Nermin. It was nice meeting you ."

 

"Thanks, you too."

 

When he left the room, she sat on her bed,  patting it as if inviting me to join her. But my rage worsened.

 

"Listen, I'll speak frankly because I don't like these hint games," I said. For God's sake, what are you trying to accomplish?"

 

"What do you mean? Isn't it obvious?"

 

"No, it's not obvious."

 

Then, with a sarcastic chuckle, she remarked, as if speaking to herself but wanting me to hear, "It seems you're not intelligent to that extent, then."

" not intelligent? Do you want me to guess or what? What exactly are you—?  I mean, are you trying to be my friend?"

"Yes, can't I?"

I answered without thinking "No, you can't."

She eventually stopped smiling, realizing I was offending her yet again. She stepped up and addressed me again, this time staring down on me and said, "Who do you think you are?" It seems what the girls said about you was true. You're extremely arrogant, and you look down on everyone. Did you think I needed you to win this ridiculous competition?  For your knowledge, I can employ better writers to produce a better speech than you can.  But I asked the teacher to approach you for assistance because I thought it would be a good opportunity to invite you to my place and get to know you better. I wanted to know how your mind works. However, I was really disappointed. I was hoping to learn why you are so well-liked by others, but I was left with no understanding. Rather, I grew increasingly furious.”

 

"What kind of admiration are you talking about?" I don't have a single friend in our class, yet you are well-known across the school. Don't attempt to make me look bad in this scenario. You have your psychological problems; deal with them away from me. Don't bring me into it again."

 

I couldn't take being embarrassed any longer, so I went to the door and exited the room. I hurried downstairs, quickly put on my shoes, and left without considering how I would return home.

I looked around and was surprised to find him here. Why is he still here, I wondered to myself. After giving his phone a quick check as though he was receiving a message, Melo turned to face me and said, "Come on, let me give you a ride."

 

She thought about calling him even after our fight and asking him to take me home. I felt a slight sense of guilt, but not enough to go back and apologize to her.

 

He opened the car door for me, so I sat next to the driver's seat.

 

Rich kids do have some manners, indeed. They're not as spoiled as rumored at school.

 

During the ride, I felt extreme shyness around him, so I kept my gaze fixed on the window. Every time I stole a glance at him, thoughts like how handsome he looked from every angle invaded my mind.

 

I didn't know if he noticed, but the silence between us was indeed strange. So, he took the initiative and started a conversation: "I know this is none of my business, but can I ask why you left early? I thought you were going to stay for dinner."

 

I replied briefly, "We finished early."

 

"Really? Wow, you're very clever. You managed to finish the speech in this short time."

 

I felt embarrassed by his praise and didn't know how to respond.

 

He continued, "You know, Marian told me that you're the smartest in the whole school and that you've been ranking first for years. That's impressive. You're truly amazing."

 

I wanted to change the subject desperately because if he kept praising me, I would faint from embarrassment.

 

I asked him, "Can I ask about the nature of your relationship with Marian? Are you two dating or something?"

 

He looked at me and laughed, although he seemed happy with the question. "Marian and I have known each other since childhood. You could say we grew up together. Our parents have been close friends since high school, especially our mothers."

"I understood."

"Do you have any other questions?"

"Well, it's a somewhat silly question, but do you two have friends from a different social class?"

"What do you mean by a different social class?"

"I mean regular friends, not wealthy like both of you."

"Well, Marian might seem very popular, but she's actually alone most of the time. I mean, she used to have one friend in the past, as far as I remember, but now she only has me."

It's strange. Why make up stories if he doesn't know how many friends she has? Is he afraid of embarrassing me? Of course, she doesn't have middle class friends like me.

"But when you came today, I was glad that she finally started to make some friends again."

"I came here just to fulfill the teacher's request, nothing more."

"Oh, really? That's okay; let this visit be the beginning of your friendship then."

I felt bad about his continuous talk about her. Couldn't we talk about something else?

Trying to escape from this situation I put myself in, I said, "Could you drop me off at the nearest bus station? I can continue from there."

"I can take you home. I'm not that busy."

"That's very kind of you, but our street is a bit narrow, and there are many kids playing there. One of them might scratch your expensive car, and I don't want to bear the cost."

"Don't worry about it; it's not that fragile. It has been through many races, and it came out unharmed from all of them."

I jokingly asked him, "Really? Is making yourself vulnerable to danger a hobby of yours or something?"

"Yes, you're right. I think I've become addicted to the rush of adrenaline in my veins."

"I don't have enough knowledge about cars, but I watch a little with my dad when there's an important race. He's obsessed with it."

"Really? Does he have a favorite type of car?"

"Yes, it's  Ferrari 488 Spider.”

"Your dad has good taste; it's my favorite car too."

I smiled at his compliment. He's very good at making others feel comfortable in conversation. He's truly sociable, and that's probably why I admired him in the first place. But he's genuinely perfect; he has no reason to be insecure, just like Marian.

When we reached the bus station, I insisted that he let me off, thanked him for the ride, and quickly got off without bidding him a proper farewell. This might be the last time, so I wanted the goodbye to be dry, not wanting to be affected by him any more than I already was.

A day with him made me forget who I am and where I come from. He posed a danger to me, so I had to distance myself quickly. I waited a little until the bus arrived, and when I boarded, I felt like I had returned to my boring world once again.