Chapter Text
~Prologue~
Eyes forward. No looking back. Maya chanted this mantra over and over to herself during every meet to the point where it was practically ingrained into her mind. Her father made sure of that. And 16 year old Maya Bishop knew better than to do anything that would go against that and risk upsetting her father.
The race finished out with Maya, naturally, coming in first. Cheers erupted from the stands and she turned to catch a glimpse of her father. She often did this in hopes of seeing any sort of sign of pride or approval from Lane Bishop towards his daughter, but like always, there was nothing of the sort. Completely stoic. However, there seemed to be something slightly off that particular night. He seemed more agitated than usual, and Maya knew that look better than anyone.
Instantly, her mind began to race in an attempt to piece together what it was she could have done to possibly set him off. She was aware it didn’t take much. Did she leave an inch of the duvet untucked when she made her bed this morning? Did she hesitate for too long in between push ups during their daily morning workout routine? Did she dare smile or make small talk with another teammate during tonight’s meet when her one and only focus should be on winning? It could have been a number of things, but Maya knew she would soon find out.
The car ride home from the meet was eerily quiet. It wasn’t as if her father was typically a chatter box. He rarely spoke with her about things that didn’t have to do with running, working out, or her grades. In his eyes, nothing else mattered. There was something different about this particular silence and she could tell that he was upset about something. Her heart sank to her stomach.
Once they arrived at the house, not a word was spoken as the two exited the car and walked into the house. Maya made a beeline up the stairs to her bedroom and closed the door. She showered and put on her pajamas, and just as she was starting to settle in for the night, her door suddenly flung open.
Her father stood in the doorway with a small stack of papers in his hand, eyes filled with rage. He went up to her and roughly shoved the papers into her face.
“When the hell did you plan on telling me about this?” He shouted.
Shaking, Maya picked up the papers and quickly scanned them. It was a progress report indicating that she currently held a 68% in her AP Chemistry class, along with a few assignments and tests with less than stellar averages.
“I - I was-“ Maya stammered nervously before she was quickly cut off by her father.
He raised his hand up, causing Maya to flinch. “No! I don’t want to hear it. This is completely unacceptable and you know it! How do you expect to stay on the track team with grades like this? Laziness is what this is. Pure laziness and stupidity!”
Maya simply sat there in silence. Eyes forward. Nothing more and nothing less. Of course, she could explain that the class was difficult and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t seem to get it. She knew better. She knew that any protests or counter arguments would only make him angrier.
Her bedroom door was open and she watched as her brother Mason walked passed to get to his room, barely even acknowledging his father or sister’s existence. As if his father wasn’t currently screaming at the top of his lungs. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just a typical Thursday in the Bishop household.
A part of Maya envied her younger brother. The way he always seemed to fly completely under the radar. Their dad barely gave him the time of day. He could bring home a bad grade and no one would bat an eyelid. Not Maya though. As far as she was concerned, the weight of the world rested entirely on her shoulders alone.
“I’m going to bring the grade up, dad. I’ll..I’ll get a tutor.” Maya finally stated. Hoping that would be a satisfying enough answer for him.
“You’re damn right you’re bringing that grade up. As if you have a choice. I don’t care what you have to do.” He said.
And with that, he left the room, slamming the door behind him. Once he was gone, Maya turned off her lamp and began sobbing quietly into her pillow.
The next day at lunch, Maya was sitting in the quad with one of her teammates, Victoria Hughes, or Vic for short. The two met during tryouts their Freshman year and instantly hit it off. Maya knew that she would consider Vic a close friend, despite the fact that her dad always told her she had no time for friends or anything the typical teenager would concern themselves with. Track always came first. Vic was well aware of how strict Maya’s father was. Of course she wasn’t privy to every excruciating detail but she knew enough to never question why the two could never hang out at each other’s houses, or spend time at the mall or movies on the weekends. It was hard, but Vic genuinely cared for Maya and chose to look past these things.
“So, I talked to the guidance counselor and she said there’s this girl who can tutor me..” Maya said as she looked down at the slip in front of her “Some senior girl named Carina DeLuca? I don’t know. I’ve never heard of her.”
Vic laughed a bit, shaking her head. “Really? How have you never heard of Carina DeLuca? She’s like the “it girl” around here I guess you could say. Super popular. Cheer captain. Her dad’s like a world famous surgeon or something so her family’s loaded.”
Maya rolled her eyes. None of this impressed her in the slightest. “Great. So I have to suffer through some stuck up bimbo tutoring me for however many weeks. Just great.” She angrily picked at the salad she’d brought for lunch.
“I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” Vic assured her. Just then, a group of girls could be heard laughing nearby. “Oh, speak of the devil.” She said, gesturing towards them.
There was a group of cheerleaders in uniform all standing around and laughing with one another, along with a few guys, probably football players.
“That’s Carina.” Vic informed Maya, pointing her out from the crowd. “The one in the middle.”
Maya looked over and spotted her. Carina was tall and slender, with an olive tone complexion and wavy brunette hair that went past her shoulders. She had the brightest smile and laugh out of the group, which didn’t make it hard to understand why she was cheer captain.
“You should go talk to her. Maybe ask her about tutoring.” Vic suggested, pulling Maya out of her own thoughts.
“What? No. Why would I do that?” Maya scoffed.
“Because you obviously need the tutoring help and she’s literally right there.” Vic replied matter-of-factly.
“Right now though? It’s gonna be so awkward.” Maya complained. “I don’t know her and she doesn’t know me.”
“Maya, you’re always awkward. That’s not gonna change.” Vic joked. “Just go talk to her.”
Maya sighed, stabbing her fork into her salad and pushing it away from her. “Fine. I’ll do it.” She said as she stood up.
“Atta girl.” Vic said with a smile as took a bite of her french fry.
Maya got up and made her way over to where Carina stood. As she approached them, the chatter began to die down.
“Hey. Carina?” Maya said, fidgeting with a strand of her hair.
Carina raised an eyebrow, a small smile on her lips. “Yes? Can I help you?” She asked. There seemed to be a hint of annoyance in her tone, or maybe it was simply confusion as to who this random girl was that had suddenly approached her. The girls beside her all had the same look, a cross between amused and judgemental.
“The guidance counselor, uh Mrs. Weatherly, said that you do tutoring in science? She recommended you to me. I kind of need to bring my grade up in AP Chem.” Maya explained, now fidgeting with a loose button on the sleeve of her flannel.
“Yes. I do tutoring. Tuesdays and Thursdays in the library. Bring your own textbook and the materials you are working on in class.” Carina replied astutely.
Maya stood there for a moment.
“Was there something else I could help you with..?” Carina questioned.
“Uh, no, that was all. Thanks.” Maya mumbled before turning on her heel and making her way back over to Vic.
She could hear the cheerleaders laughing as she walked away and she just knew they were talking about her.
Immediately, she had regrets, but there was no backing out of this one. She needed to get that grade up - fast. And Carina DeLuca was her only hope.