She dragged him outside after recovering from her shock—and realizing they were still in a library.
"You know, the paper I gave you? When you and your dad came over," young Aria said, insistent, trying to remind him.
"I really am confused about receiving any paper," he replied slowly, which only annoyed her more. "Are you sure I was the one?"
"What is with this act?" she snapped. "You dropped a paper right here." She pointed toward the table. "Then I picked it up, put it in my bag, took it home, opened it, and saw a writing—Lumeris Codex."
She was so immersed in her explanation that she didn't notice the way he reacted when she said Lumeris Codex.
"I'm sorry, Aria, but I can't remember," he said, even though the name clearly triggered something in him.
"So you didn't come to my house?" she asked, now fully irritated.
What was this game he was playing? she wondered.
And I found myself wondering too—why was such a little girl so invested in something she knew nothing about?
"No, I didn't say that," he corrected. "I came to your house."
"Go on," she said, her tone rising. "Tell me what you do remember."
"I remember coming in with my dad," he said carefully. "Going upstairs with you. You showing me your room, introducing me to all your stuff—your teddies. And then I had a slight migraine."
"What are you talking about?" young Aria shot back. "I don't have stuffed teddies, and none of that happened." She paused, then added, "Do you remember what your father said? About you always talking about me?"
"Yes," he said.
"What do you talk about me?" she asked.
Why did she care so much about what he thought?
He didn't get the chance to answer.
"Umm… I'm sorry if I'm interrupting," Marie said, stepping between young Aria and Lewis. "I just wanted to check if everything is okay."
"Yeah, everything's fine," young Aria replied quickly.
"Did anyone take the history book?" Marie asked.
That was when young Aria remembered her lie.
"No. No, no one did," she said.
"So can we go home? Your mom would be worried, you know," Marie added.
There was something strange about it—every time young Aria got close to finding something out, Marie always seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Yes, sure," young Aria said. "Can you give me a second?"
"Sure," Marie replied and stepped away.
But it was already too late.
Lewis had checked the time and was already walking home.
"What is up with him?" young Aria thought. I'll find out soon. And I'll find out about the Lumeris Codex too.
She finally caught up to Marie, and soon enough they began walking home.
"Aria, are you keeping something from me?" Marie asked.
"No, nothing," she said rather quickly—too quickly—and defensively.
"Then what's up with you and Lewis? What were you talking about with him?" Marie asked.
"You know, we were just talking about the duet and the competition. We also just became friends. There's nothing up with us," young Aria said, finding a cover-up.
"Oh… okay," Marie said, then slowed her steps slightly. "There's something I want to tell you. I've been keeping it to myself for a while."
"Okay. I'm waiting—tell me," young Aria said as they continued walking, slowly approaching home.
Marie hesitated.
"I like Lewis," she finally said, almost too quietly. "I think I have for a long time."
Young Aria didn't know why her chest tightened at that.
"I'm not saying you did anything wrong," Marie added quickly. "I just… wanted you to know."