It was a relief to see that Rhys was coming to class after all. Doing this on her own was a snail's pace, so hopefully, two heads really would be better than one. Mao stretched her arms in front of her as he settled in, preparing to dive into the assignment. Now that he was here the real work could begin. Well, it probably could have even without him, but she wasn't very studious and she didn't realize she would have to write about her vacations when she went on them so she didn't really pay much attention to the intricacies of being a tourist. Figures that now I'm going to get graded on it I can't remember it that well... This is not the time for my brain to play tricks like this!
"Hey Nozomi-san. Sorry I'm late."
Acknowledging that she didn't even make it to class at all the day before, Mao couldn't really judge him for showing up late, "It's no big deal, Captain." Mao responded with a casual shrug of her shoulders. Going to school didn't actually score very high on her priorities list, but she was just doing her best to appease her parents. She couldn't have them monitoring her so it was beneficial to give in to their wishes every now and then, even if it proved to be a total pain in the ass on days like this. Mao continued to rack her brain for ideas. She was a tourist each summer in Africa, but the countries were very different. There would always be basic similarities, but she didn't have a lot to go on despite her personal experiences with traveling. Her parents typically handled all of the technical details of their vacations, she never had to put any thought into it before. When Rhys got closer, Mao blinked a bit with a faint blush, but she didn't shrink away. He had a lot of physical similarities to Chase now that she got a good look, but there were differences as well that were noticeable in close proximity. First and foremost, his eye color couldn't have been further from that increasingly familiar and prominent blue, eyes that she was completely unaware were focused on her. Aside from that, there was a sharp contrast in their demeanors as well. Though their mutual proclivity for invading personal space is uncanny... Comparing the smile on his face as he read her list to the expressions she saw during swim practice, Mao couldn't help smiling as well. It suited his face much better, but she'd keep that opinion to herself.
"Do you guys need a moment?"
"Huh?" Mao was baffled by what he meant until she looked around the room, surprise washing over her when she caught Chase looking at her. Her blood ran cold upon realizing that is who Rhys meant. Gesturing with her finger for Chase to flip his book right side up, Mao nudged Rhys' shoulder with her own discreetly, "No way." She quietly but firmly rejected the idea. They spent quite a bit of time together already. She needed to focus on her classes and more importantly, she needed to get him out of her head, I'm not going to get sidetracked because of a boy. Mao assured herself. Letting him become friends with her would be a bad idea. Getting caught up with a guy like him would only prove to distract her, and it would reflect poorly on not only herself but also those around her if she ended up caught because she wasn't centered on her goal. If was publicly outed as Zen it wouldn't really bother her friends outside of school. They had the same hobbies as she did, so they'd survive being associated with a rather infamous graffiti artist. She could feel warmth rising to her cheeks, but she concentrated on reading what Rhys had to add to the homework, "Boys who are late to class should focus on words to add. If you laugh I'll shove you out of your chair, Captain or not." She made a lighthearted point despite the slight mumble of her voice as she added the word 'beach' to paper. She didn't hold the question against him, but bringing it to her attention led to her embarrassment and she didn't handle getting embarrassed in the typical 'cute' way that other girls did. It was uncomfortable and she always panicked, it didn't happen enough for her to get used to it. Mao didn't like being the center of attention and knowing that Chase was staring at her for an unperceived amount of time rattled her.
Putting her game face back on, Mao began to twirl strands of black hair around her finger, "Jeez, we are behind on this..." She noted as she looked up to see that a majority of the class seemed to have their pens and pencils to the paper consistently. There was also the fact that she was now efficiently blocked on ideas. Not only did she struggle to write words in English, phrases were nearly impossible for the habitual slacker. She was beginning to regret spending so much time goofing off the years before, it was kind of embarrassing how inept she was. She felt like she would, unfortunately, end up being deadweight. Tapping her pencil against the desk Mao decided to spend their time at least productively, "I'm not good at writing in English and I don't really know a lot about being a tourist. My parents always handled everything, so I'm apologizing in advance." Mao divulged, figuring it would be better to be honest than to come across as lazy. It would help to avoid misunderstanding later on, especially if they ended up racing the clock to get this finished. She wanted to help as much as she could, but it was struggling to filter through her brain for anything relevant. Most of her time in Africa was spent goofing off with her cousin.
Looking at her phone to check the time, Mao felt a bit discouraged, "Should we trade contact information in case we have to finish this after school?" She asked curiously, not recognizing that it was considered a bold move to ask a boy for their email or phone number. She spent a majority of her time hanging out with guys outside of school and none of them ever bothered to flirt with her, and Mao really didn't have a solid grasp on the concept of it either. She never tried it before so she was unaware that her question could be perceived as such by those around them. If she knew it could be misunderstood, she might have made an attempt to stifle her tone a little.
Intellect: +1 to Mao
Charm: +1 to Rhys, Chase
Popularity: +1 to Rhys, Chase
Charm: +1 to Rhys, Chase
Popularity: +1 to Rhys, Chase