Pulled in Two

"Angie," Cynthia said, stepping in line beside her, voice lowered slightly.

"Have you noticed Jen is acting weird lately?"

Angela's eyes stayed ahead, but her brow furrowed.

"Yeah. She's not the Jen we knew from the last two years ago. She's...quieter."

"Quieter? She's like a whole different person." Cynthia sighed.

She's always distracted, like something's eating her up inside."

Angela took a moment before replying.

"Maybe something happened. I just think we shouldn't push her. She'll talk when she's ready-when she's comfortable."

Cynthia looked unconvinced.

"I hate not knowing. It's like we're losing her, slowly."

Angela gave a quite nod, her tone soft but firm.

...

By the time Angela and Cynthia reached the steps of the dining hall, the noise of students already inside spilled out around them-trays clattering, bursts of laughter bouncing off the walls, and the familiar breaktime rush vibrating in the air.

Although both Cynthia and Jennifer held prefect badges, it was Angela who always seemed to take charge when it came to the dining hall. Jennifer, as the school president and co-dining prefect, only offered a hand when needed, and Cynthia-being trusted aide-often stepped in to support Angela during the hectic breaks.

Cynthia clapped her hands sharply.

"Form a line! Not like wild goats, please!"

A wave of giggles followed as some girls shuffled obediently into line, grinning as they did.

Angela raised a brow and leaned in.

"You're actually good at this. I swear, this post suits you more than class prefect."

Cynthia chuckled.

"I can't do both, Angie. I'd collapse."

She gave Angela a light nudge.

"Go ahead and guard our spot before the hyena girls take everything."

Angela gave her a mock salute and slipped into the dining crowd, weaving through the chatter and trays to claim their usual table.

...

The lines had thinned. Most students were already seated, chewing through mandazi and sipping tea between soft chatter. Cynthia walked carefully with two covered mugs and a small tray of mandazi, one arm balancing Angela's cup like a loyal server on duty.

She spotted their usual table-and paused.

Angela was already there- laughing quietly.

Across from her, relaxed and comfortably leaned back, sat Christine.

Cynthia blinked. Her steps slowed as she approached the table, standing still for a moment with both mugs in hand. Angela hadn't noticed her yet. She was focused-too focused-on whatever Christine had just said to make her smile like that.

Cynthia cleared her throat and forced her voice to sound light, though it wavered.

"Angela," she said. "What is she doing here? She's sitting in my spot."

Christine turned her head, arching a brow with deliberate slowness. Her tone came low and flat.

"Spot?"

She gave a short laugh, loud enough for the nearest table to hear.

"Did you carry this table and chair from your home and locate them here in the dining hall?"

She sat up straighter, her voice rising now so the entire row could hear.

"Everything in here is for everyone. If you want a spot, come early. That's how it works. Isn't it?"

There was a small stir.

A few students looked over, some murmuring. Others nodded faintly, quietly agreeing but not daring to say a word.

Angela still hadn't spoken.

She sat stiff, blinking slowly, her eyes flicking between Cynthia and Christine as if trying to decide whether or not to open her mouth. She parted her lips once-but no sound came out.

Silence stretched.

Cynthia lowered her gaze, not at Angela anymore-but to the side, where the glass panels of the dining hall reflected just enough of her figure to remind her she still has power in her feet.

She turned to the girls seated by the window, lifted her chin, and said calmly but firmly:

"Excuse me. If you've finished, please let us have that table."

They didn't question her.

Chairs scraped against the floor as they stood, quietly collecting their mugs and trays.

Cynthia moved to the table, placed tray and mugs down without looking back, then turned on her heel and returned to where Angela still sat beside Christine.

Without a word, she reached for Angela's arm.

"Come with me," Cynthia said quietly.

Angela didn't move but she didn't pull away either.

Cynthia stepped forward and gently but firmly took Angela's arm, her fingers curling with quiet insistence.

But before Angela could take a single step, Christine stood and grabbed Angela's other wrist, her grip tight, sudden.

"Why should she go?" Christine snapped, her voice loud and biting.

"She already has her spot right here. Just give her the tray. Let her eat here."

Cynthia blinked once, then squared her shoulders, still holding Angela.

"She came with me," she said, her voice low but clear.

"We always stick together."

Christine let out a cold, short laugh.

"Stick together?"

She turned, scanning the table as if looking for backup.

"Like during physics club? When you left her with St. Peter's dude?

Her eyes narrowed, her tone becoming taunting.

"Or on the wildlife, hike...Remember that one? Did you stick together then?"

A few nearby girls stopped chewing. The hum of the dining hall dipped.

Angela stood between the two girls-frozen. Her arms held, not by force, but by two different kinds of loyalty.

Cynthia was the first to break the silence.

"You know, Christine, it seems like you stick your nose in other people's business way too much. Did she tell you she was not okay?"

Christine's voice was cold and unbothered. "Maybe she didn't. But not everything needs to be spoken out loud. Some things... you don't need to hear. You see them."

The tension rippled now, eyes turning their way.

Angela closed her eyes for a half a second. Her voice, when it came, was tight-controlled.

Enough. Both of you."

She gently pulled her wrists free from both girls.

"You're fighting over a chair like I'm made of glass."

She looked at Cynthia, then Christine."

I'll have my tea alone."

Without another word, she turned and picked up the tray and then closed mug that Cynthia had set down.

Then, quietly, as if nothing had happened, Angela walked off-leaving Cynthia and Christine frozen behind her.

Then, Christine spoke sharply looking at Cynthia directly in her eyes- a warning simmering behind her stare.

"The forest does not wait. If you let go of the wild, others will chase it down-hungry to take what you couldn't tame."

Without waiting, she reached for the tray and empty mug resting where she had been seated earlier, and walked away.

Cynthia stood still, caught between two silences.