Under Pressure. A. C. Meyer

Ryan's face was quite boring. - "I don't give you the freedom to talk to me like that!"

      "I'm not saying anything too much, Ry. Everyone saw that you went after that skinny girl in literature class after the meeting in the hall." - Ash made an innocent expression and continued. - "You used to have a better taste for girls, dear."

      She pouted and laughed, accompanied by friends who looked more like imitation monkeys.

      "I don't understand your comment, Ashley. You have no right to talk to me like that,” - he replied. - "In addition, you need to learn to respect people in order to be respected. Mandy has a name, she's an amazing girl and doesn't deserve to be treated that way by anyone. And nothing much happened. I bumped into her in the hall and went to apologize in class. That’s it."

      Mandy? Did he say Mandy? Was Ryan referring to my Mandy ?, May wondered and looked at Sean and Yoshi, who were staring at each other with their mouths open, just like her.

      "May, is he talking about Mandy?" - Yoshi asked quietly.

      "I think so," - she replied. Something happened and Mandy didn't tell me!, May thought to herself, but was awakened from her rambling by Ashley's irritating voice.

      " I have every right to say what I want, Ryan! Besides, you know you should be with me, don't you? I am the cheerleader of the basketball team!" - She leaned against him, running a hand on his arm. Ryan took her hand and pushed it away. He laughed, but it didn't look like fun.

      "Ash, don't make me laugh. I. Have. Already. Said. I. Don't. Want. Anything. With. You - he punctuated each word, pointing a finger at her. - "Don't be ridiculous. Your insistence on these ridiculous clichés is pathetic."

      At this point, the entire cafeteria fell silent and everyone was looking at them. The silence was so deep that May could almost hear the sound of Ryan's breathing, which was accelerating. Ashley's mouth fell open at the boy's outburst, who stood up, almost knocking over the chair on the floor, and left the cafeteria, throwing the backpack on his back. Nobody dared to say a word during that moment.

      May looked away at Ashley who looked angry. She hoped she wouldn't do anything stupid.

      "Guys, I'm going after Mandy. I need to find out what's going on" - the girl spoke softly, when the cafeteria came to life. She stood up and Sean did the same.

      "I'm going with you, May" - Sean offered, but the girl refused. If something had happened, Sean's presence would be more of a hindrance than a help.

      "No, Sean. I'll go. We don't even know what's going on."

      "But, May..." he tried again, but she didn't budge.

      "She won't tell me anything if you're together, Sean. She's my best friend. Let me talk to her” - she said, needing to be tough on him.

      Sean agreed, having no other option. When May started picking up her things to get up, the trio of cheerleaders - Ashley, Hannah and Cheryl - passed by their table and she felt herself shiver. She hoped they wouldn't start picking on Mandy. She knew that type of girl very well. Spoiled preppies who thought the world revolved around their navel. The last thing they needed was to get in trouble with that kind of person.

      She waited for the three of them to leave the cafeteria. She put the backpack on her shoulder and went to the library after Mandy.

      ***

      As she passed the reception, Polly smiled at May. The librarian already knew the little redhead, who always showed up looking for her friend.

      "Is she here?" - May asked quietly.

      "Yes, in the back, with Miss Austen and Sir Shakespeare " - she replied, laughing.

      The young woman thanked her and went on to the classics of world literature class. It was no surprise that she was in that area of the library, since Pride and Prejudice was her favorite book. May went through a multitude of bookcases, until a noise caught her eye and she ran towards the sound. Finally, she found Mandy, who was sitting on the floor, with her hair messed up and several books lying around her.

      "Mandy?" - She raised her head and looked scared to her friend. Her eyes were full of tears. - "Sweetie, what happened?"

      "Ah, May..." - she murmured and the tears she was holding began to fall.

      May knelt beside her and pulled her into a hug, feeling helpless.

      "Calm down sweetie. It's okay ... don't cry" - she murmured, trying to calm her down. - "Wanna tell me what's going on?"

      "I can't explain for sure why I'm like this." - she replied, trying to wipe away the tears.

      "Talk to me, friend. You know you can trust me."

      Mandy then started talking and told everything: the bump in Ryan in the hall, the partnership in the literature project, the disturbing dream.

      "I know it sounds silly, May, but I was very nervous," - she said, wiping away her tears. - "You know I have no experience with boys. And Ryan ... well, I have to be honest ... he shakes me a lot. I never found myself in a situation like this and I didn't know how to act. Worse is that I was rude to him and we still have to do the project together."

      Mandy felt even more embarassed. Verbalizing her immature behavior made her feel even worse.

      "There's nothing silly, Mandy. I understand. It's very normal for us to feel a little ... overwhelmed, when we don't have experience. Unsafe. Even more next to a boy like him" - May spoke and smiled slightly, trying to calm her down. - "I think I would also be nervous if I had someone like Ryan as a project partner."

      May paused briefly and then asked quietly:

      "Do you think he's into you?

      Mandy opened and closed her mouth a few times, as if she couldn't get the words out. She shook her head, denying.

      "No, I think it's his way. You should treat all girls like that." - She raised her arms and gestured. - "He's Ryan McKenna, for God's sake!" - Mandy vented and the two started laughing. Suddenly, May remembered why she went looking for her: the mess in the cafeteria.

      "Um ... friend, there was some fuzz in the cafeteria."

      "Mess ?"

      "Yep. Do you know who Ashley is?" - May asked and Mandy shook his head. - "Do you know a blonde who was at the cafe earlier today with the cheerleaders? She was the only one with her hair up, blue eyes ..."

      "Um, I think so" - Mandy said, frowning. - "You know I'm not very attached to these things."

      "Yeah, but she saw your incident in the hall." - Mandy's eyes widened slightly. - "And kept asking Ryan about it."

      "Oh..."

      The girl reported the details of the argument between the two and Mandy listened to everything with her hand over her mouth, scared.

      "And now, May? If these girls catch me, I'm screwed!"

      "I think the best thing for now is to mind your own business. Have your classes, do it fine. When do you have literature class again?"

      "Only next Monday."

      "Let's hope this is the only class you will attend with him. Closer to Saturday, we rethink what happened and decide what to do."

      "Oh, my God ... I'm going to die of embarassment!" - Mandy hid her face in her hands and burst out laughing at her dramatic demeanor.

      " I know, Mandy, but in the end, everything will be fine. I'm sure it will be."

      The girls hugged each other again. May tried to be calm, despite being as nervous as her friend. She really hoped everything went well.

      "Shall we fix this mess before Polly comes over here and tells us off?" - The redhead asked and Mandy nodded, bending down to pick up some books and began to tidy up the shelves.

      Chapter Five

      Ryan left the cafeteria