I'm Not Daria
Mario's gone

When we arrived at the amusement park, I immediately told Bella to call Luna and ask where they are now.

He called Luna and walked a few steps to talk to her. I couldn't really hear what they were talking about so I just waited for him to hang up. I should have brought the phone so I could call him myself.

"They're in the labyrinth." Bella said after calling.

I intend to wait at the exit of the labyrinth so that when the girls come out, we can talk about what is going on, but my plan was broken when Bella showed enthusiasm inside the labyrinth and dragged me into it.

I could have stopped him but Bella was very fast and even I didn't realize when she dragged us into the deep labyrinth.it couldn't even trace which turn she took

"Bella! How do we get out?!" my peek.

Not only did I not like the labyrinth, I even felt a little claustrophobic in it.

He giggled nervously. "I'm sorry I was so excited to get into the labyrinth, but don't worry we'll find a way out"

We kept changing and coming back. We just wandered aimlessly inside. At one point we found the boundary of the labyrinth and were tempted to break through the two-meter-high thicket barrier

"Let's split up" said Bella from behind me. "And look who got out of here first".

"No, that's not a good idea. We have to stay" I looked back to see him go together.

"Bella". I called but no one answered:

There were some people inside the labyrinth who were as lost as the ones inside

I had no choice but to find my own way out. It was like being in there for hours. The labyrinth that was big enough made me feel like I was part of the Triwizard tournament without any magic-smelling stuff.

When I finally made it out of the labyrinth on the same day, I saw Bella sitting under a tree with her phone in her hand, typing with a huff.

I rushed to him. "Bella, we have to talk" I said firmly.

She was surprised by my voice, "Oh, you're out. It only takes twenty minutes of the time you leave"

I grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the crowd and towards a quiet corner.

"What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" He looked very confused, I would have been almost fooled if it wasn't for him avoiding my gaze.

"Listen, I'm not that stupid.I know something's going on. I know you're stopping me from meeting Luna and Anna. You can tell me what it is. Where are the two of them?"

He's got my shoulder. "Darla, everything's fine, don't know why you think I'm doing something, but it's not like that".

"But why don't we go see the two girls?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. They left after finishing the labyrinth. I'm also really confused as to what they're actually doing. Don't worry, I'm sure they're just playing hide-and-seek with us."

"Are you telling the truth?"

"Yes." Yeah."

I searched in her eyes for any signs of her lying, but she stared straight at me without blinking.

"Why don't we ruin their fun and not pursue them? Yea? We should go watch a movie."

I still feel a little uneasy but agree to his invitation. We found a nearby mall and in disguise we went and sat down to watch the action movie we decided

By the time the movie ended, it was almost dinner time, Bella and I stopped for a snack at a burger restaurant and then we went to the mansion.

During the trip, Bella started asking me about how things were at home. I told her about the college plan my dad made for me and Bella told me she was going to talk about it with Luna.

I wondered if I should tell Devan about it, but I immediately undo my intentions. I don't know how Bella reacted. I'm sure he'll tell Luna without listening to me properly.

I can't even tell Anna about it. If anything, he would just rebuke me for being a hypocrite, even though I knew that I had told him to keep his distance from Gio. I didn't want anything to happen between the two of them, but I did what I couldn't.

"Is Anna here yet?" ask me when I get into the driveway.

"I don't know. Just look at yourself."

I'm nodding.

"Ride safely. Send me an SMS when you get home"

"Yes, see you"

I said goodbye and went inside. I first checked on Anna and added to my anxiety because she wasn't there.

I came in time for dinner. The dining table was ready to be laid out, so I went to my room to take a shower. Dinner without Anna is no less awkward. The only thing that felt a little strange was that Devan kept glancing at me occasionally. It was not that he had never done that before, but this time was much more frequent than usual.

I don't see Mario in the kitchen. I haven't seen him in two days. Today I spent time with Bella and I got sick yesterday so I couldn't see her.

After dinner when everyone was doing their own thing, I sneaked into the kitchen to chat with Mario, I found Amara doing the dishes.

I peeked around but still didn't see Mario. It's ridiculous that I expect him to always be in the kitchen. He had a life out there, but I was used to seeing him in the kitchen so I started to believe that he lived there.

I decided to check his room but when I got there, his room was locked.

I went back to the kitchen and Amara was still there. "Mara, hey, have you seen Mario?"

"I know and the room is locked. Where's she?

"I mean he doesn't work here anymore." He answers.

"What?" I screamed so loud that I was sure the whole house heard it.

Amara blinked at me with wide eyes. "Yes, he left last night. We're having a little farewell for him."

"What are you talking about? Why'd he leave? He didn't say he was leaving. He was here two days ago." I said in a panic, not believing that he had just left.

"I don't know much. He just told me that he got a job in a five-star restaurant as a top chef for a higher fee than he got here and he also got a contract with the restaurant that stated that he would work at some of those restaurant outlets in various countries for a period of two years." He explained, giving me a glass of water to calm me down, but that's not what I want right now.

"It doesn't make sense. Why didn't he tell me about such a big thing. Where is he now? Which restaurant is this?"

"I'm sorry, miss, but I really don't know which restaurant it is. But know, he has an afternoon flight to Tokyo today. He's gonna land in six hours, I guess"

I shook my head, unable to digest the news.

"Did he tell you how he got the contract and the job?"

"He said that Mr. Devan had scheduled an interview for him, but he got the job purely because of his talent. He sounds proud of her but I feel sick.

Devan????!!!. Sure oes.

Everything is clear to me now, Devan told Mario to leave.

I boil with anger. I closed my eyes, clenched my hair and tried to control my breathing. When she opened her eyes, Amara looked at me attentively

"Daria, are you okay?"

Without answering it, fearing that I would vent my anger at him, I rushed up the stairs with my legs making a loud thud on the hard floor. I'm sure Devan heard my arrival.

I stood outside and banged on the door hard. The door was opened.

I intended to look scary and very angry at her, but I didn't realize that my eyes were glazed over. That's very upsetting. I'm not crying. It was just tears of anger.

"Daria," he whispered softly, he stepped closer and cupped my face gently in his hand. "Why are you crying?"

And whenever I was in a situation where I was crying out of anger, I found it hard to speak.

He gently rubbed under my eyes to wipe away my tears. I wanted to push her away and say a lot of cruel things to her. I wanted to curse him but couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Mario..-why are you doing it?

"Do you know?." Said.

I wanted to reply with 'you're outrageous' but I held back because I was sure I wouldn't be able to form enough sentences .

He reached into his pocket and took out a neatly folded piece of paper. "He told me to give it to you because he couldn't do it alone because you were sick that day."

I looked at the paper, my eyes glazed with tears that could not be shed. I took it from his hand.

She was about to hug me but I pushed her back with my hand. I painstakingly swallowed the lump in my throat and angrily wiped my eyes to the point that they started to burn a little

"Who do you think you are to do that? All out of jealousy, I hate you so much for this. Do you think it will happen after you do this? Do you think I'll come to you? that's not gonna happen. You kicked Mario out just made me hate you. I'm not even sure why I liked you in the first place."

"Daria, relax, please." He put his hand on my shoulder but I brushed it off.

"Don't tell me what to do. After you took my friend away from me, how can you hope I can calm down? I don't know if I'll ever see him again. He's very important to me. And you took him away!"

"It's for his own good. Let me explain"

"No! I don't want to hear any explanation. And you think you who can decide what's good for him? Did he ask you to find another job for him? Did he say he wanted to stop and start working in a restaurant!!!!?"

"No, he didn't say it. I found a job for him myself. He didn't say that he wanted to stop working here." He looked down, avoiding my eyes.

I grabbed her by the collar and pulled her closer. "You think you can do anything and get away with it. You decide something for someone else without asking if they want it for themselves!! Just because you were born into a wealthy family doesn't mean you have the right to make decisions for others!!!."

He grabbed my hand and took it off his collar. "I would really appreciate it if you stopped yelling at me and we had a civilized conversation without trying to wake up the whole neighbor."

I knew I had been snapping at him in a loud voice the whole time, yet I couldn't stop. What he did made me very angry with him and I wanted him to know how angry I was.

"I hate you. And I want you to know that. I hate you Devan. You are a bad man. You're a fraud. I hope you and Luna break up soon because she deserves a lot better than trash like you"!!. At this point I hit my clenched hand on his chest.

"Stop." She wrapped her fingers around my wrist, I stopped the violence I was doing. "Don't tell me you hate me. Because I hate those words from you." He looks hurt, more hurt than that night when he was sick and I call him a traitor.

I have to stop. My heart says that this is enough, this is over the line. I have to take back my words. But I replied, "Why? That's right"

"Please don't say that, I know that you're just really mad at me right now and what you're saying isn't what you mean. You like me. You said it yourself." He said slowly.

"And now I say that I hate you" I said firmly

"Don't say that again. I might do something you don't like."

I pushed his shoulder which caused his back to hit the door. "What are you gonna do? Huh huh? Are you going to kick me out of my own house too? You think you have so much power and treat other people like shit. Actually you're a very annoying person. And. I'm. Hate, -"

My lips were tightly locked before I could get out the word 'you'. It happened so fast, I didn't realize when he held my face with his hands, tilted his head and put his lips on mine.