In the supermarket.
Diana followed Maxim who was pushing the trolley, making sure to keep a little distance from him.
Her earlier stint had left her a little embarrassed. They were not as close as before and for her to cry her heart out because of the absolute trashy life she was living, it was just downright shameful.
But luckily, Maxim did not seem to mind. He just consoled her by patting her shoulder while she cried sitting on the floor then eventually when she stopped crying, she realized what she did and her stomach churned with a hint of discomfort.
Maxim did not ask her anything about her current life status nor about her sudden outburst on their way to the supermarket.
"Here… the formula," he showed her a few packs and her mouth formed an 'O'.
"Still can't I fed her cow milk. Do you think it will harm her?" Diana looked at the baby sleeping in her arms. Maybe because she was just 6 months old, she kept sleeping most of the time.
And as bad as it sounded, Diana was relieved about it because she did not know how to handle the baby when she was awake.
It did not take them long to take the necessities and Maxim grabbed some veggies and other stuff on his way.
He wanted to pay for the whole but Diana insisted on paying half of the bill.
"_" Even on the verge of being broke, I need to keep my self-respect. Eh, only if my self-respect paid the bills.
And after a long moment of staring at each other kind of glare, he backed off and let her pay half of the bill. She concluded that it would not have been that easy if he knew that she was no more the rich heiress he thought she was.
…
"Not like that…" Maxim glanced at the woman who had a huge clip on her nose as she removed the baby's diapers.
On one hand, Diana looked adorable but on the other hand, his mind was filled with countless thoughts. How did she not know how to change diapers despite having a 6-month baby with her?
The baby...is she Diana's? She should be or why else would she..?
His thoughts came to a screeching halt when Diana stepped back, "Do you know how?" She looked at him with her glittering eyes going wide.
"Maybe I can help," He sat on the couch and removed the baby's diaper by tearing it off from both sides.
As expected, she had dirtied it so he picked up the baby wipes and cleaned her properly before helping her wear a new diaper.
Diana looked at him in instant admiration, one of her palms flying to cover her mouth, "Oh my!"
Maxim turned around to look at the woman with disinterest, "What?" He asked, noticing her sparkling eyes.
"I don't know. You are so great," She waved her hand.
Maxim pushed himself to his feet, "I will call you once the dinner is ready…"
"It's way past dinner time," Diana shook her head. Before they headed to the supermarket, she was hungry but now she has lost her appetite, "I am used to having my meals on time so I might feel sick if I eat now. You can have fun," she picked the baby from the couch.
Maxim opened his mouth only to close it a moment later, "Diana."
He called her name for the first time since they met and her movements paused, "Hmm?" She hugged the baby.
"If you need something, you can ask me for it," he said.
She nodded, "Sure. Thanks," As she watched him turn around to leave, Diana bit her bottom lips. After hesitating for a few seconds, she spoke up, "Warner?" It was a habit to call him by his surname even after all these years.
"Yes?" He looked at her from above his shoulder.
"We are still friends, right?" She asked after another moment of hesitation.
The way he acted when he recognized her...it was as if she was a foreign object he did not expect to stumble on and it had left her feeling uneasy.
"Maybe," he said and walked upstairs without looking back.
"Maybe?" Diana whispered, looking at the empty staircase. He did not say yes or no… But maybe? Why?
After all these years, she still considered him a friend. She...was so happy to see him.
But he… it was not her illusion earlier. He was not happy to see her at all and not only that, he was putting a 'maybe' tag on their relationship.
She picked the baby in her arms and walked in the direction of the bedroom which was around 600 sqft in size, fully furnished. There was a dingy kitchen and much to her relief, the bathroom was clean and of a decent size with a bathtub in it.
It was just as much as she could expect from a garage apartment which she got at such a cheap rate. If it was someone else then they would have found this place luxurious but having been raised in a Castle like mansion, Diana found it kind of…small and new but not bad.
At least, she had a roof over her head.
Even if the house owner was a friend who did not consider her as a friend anymore, it would not cause trouble, right?
''Right, baby?" she placed the baby on the bed and climbed onto the spot next on to her before she fed her the formula milk with a bottle.
Her mind drifted to the events that led her to end up like this and she forced the thoughts out of her head.
Crying once in front of a man who acted familiar was enough of a pathetic move. She was not going to cry again in front of this little life drinking milk innocently.
That's right.
She had a baby to raise.
A friend to make.
A life to reconstruct.
And lots of money to earn.
It was not time for a mental breakdown or hell, this hotshot neurosurgeon of a friend of hers might recommend her to some psychiatrist.
With her little inward joke about the stony-faced Maxim, she laughed, feeling her chest getting lighter.
As long as she did not think about the bad memories, they won't chase her down.
…
'We are friends, right?'
'Maybe'
Maxim turned off the lights and glanced out of the huge floor-to-ceiling glass window as he sat on the couch with a glass of wine in his hand.
He leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes.
*Flashback*
A 12-year-old Maxim glanced at the classroom in front of him. 7th Standard.
Letting out a soft sigh, he pushed the closed door but before he could step inside, something crashed on his head.
A bucketful of water.
He winced as the plastic bucket cracked.
The entire class erupted in laughter and a bunch of guys and girls strode towards him, some had arms crossed in front of their chests and the others had smug smiles.
"Hey you, transfer student,'' one of the boys looked down at him arrogantly.
He stood there, his body drenched and shivering. He had been running a fever for two days so the water did no good to him.
''Ah, may I add, bloody pathetic scholarship student,'' one of the girls stepped forward and gripped his hair.
Maxim looked at her, his dark eyes partially closed because of the pain.
'Darling, don't cause trouble. That's all I ask you for. Humiliation is not what I want. Atleast not anymore.'
His mother's words crushed the hint of rebelliousness rising in his heart.
''Told you to not act smart a few days ago, did you forget it?''
Maxim could not understand what they meant but it started clicking once he thought about it.
He was initially studying in a small government school but he was transferred to the elite school once he was qualified for the scholarship.
But since the semester was over, he only attended the exams for the 6th standard, topping them, and then a week ago, the school reopened. It did not take him long to realize that there were no friends for him in this so-called Elite school.
Not that he wanted one but it felt weird to be alienated by everyone.
Most of them came from families of billionaires, millionaires, heirs, and heiresses, then there were the rich ones. That was the whole strata in this school. Who came in minority were kids from middle class families.
And he was an exception…being a child to his single mother with no decent background.
Him topping the exams got him countless enemies all by itself because the rich parents must have reprimanded their rich kids that they let a human like him overstep them. At least, that he understood because one of these people said it when they snapped at him.
A few teachers praised him in the class and that earned him the students' ire.
3 days ago, everyone was supposed to hand in their summer assignment and many of these students had trouble with it because they did not do it. The ones below them in status did not dare to hand in their assignments, afraid of offending them.
Unaware of their unspoken rule, Maxim handed in the assignment and the class teacher was enraged when the only assignment lying on the desk was his while the whole class was silent.
The class teacher was a strict old man. Rich or poor, he did not give a shit and that led him to call an emergency parents teachers meeting.
The rich parents, having to compromise with their work schedule to come to their kids' high school took it out on their kids and these kids… turned to him.
This event transpired 3 days ago but he had been on a 2 days leave because of his fever and now that he was standing in front of then, every piece started falling in place.
''Is he mute?" Someone smacked the back of his head.
''Or maybe dumb?" His mouth was slapped.
Maxim staggered a bit by the impact. His body was weak after the fever and it felt like a truck had run over his limbs.
A kick landed on his stomach and he landed on the ground with a 'thud' on his back. He curled up in fetal position and glanced at the clock on the wall.
9 more minutes to go before the teacher came.
'Son, you are going to a place where you might come to face many problems. Know where to stop. Never mess with the people there. If things go wrong, just endure. We can't afford to offend them…'
His mother's words rang crisply in his mind as another kick landed on his back.
"You will hand in your assignment, you bastard?"
''Be the topper?"
''A good apple? And the ideal student?"
''Know where you stand, you piece of shit. The kinds of you don't dare to look at the people like us, let alone competing…''
Another kick and Maxim closed his eyes.
There were gasps and whispers in the classroom. A few students wanted to step up to help but they were scared of offending these higher strata people.
It was obvious they were all a group.
Maxim had never come across something like this in his ordinary previous school and this only proved to him that the rest of his time in this Elite High School of California was not going to be easy.
''Ah…'' He gasped when someone hit the back of his head.
He opened his eyes slowly only to watch as one of the guys grabbed the duster and aimed it at his forehead.
It was too late to dodge and he could only watch as the object enlarged in front of his eyes.
But it did not hit him. It was hanging in the air, against the rules of gravity. He sure as hell did not study any such concepts in Physics.
Was he some sort of superman or spiderman with hidden powers that were activated once his human self reached its limits?
''You guys are having fun, aren't you?"
Maxim snapped out of his superhero moment when he heard the clear voice and that's when he raised his head, only to notice a fair hand a few inches above him. The duster wad not hanging in the air by itself after all.