It soon became known in Maja's group of close friends that she "had a crush" on Robert from the year below.

Mostly, they laughed. The boys asked why the hell she would have a crush on someone like that, also, how could she like someone younger than her?

The girls snuck looks at him, nodding approvingly to Maja as they did.

Maja felt jealous. She didn't want other people, no matter who, to be looking at her... Her property. She didn't want to think of him as property, but she wanted to think of him as... Protected. She wanted to protect him from other people potentially interested.

/

He didn't seem to notice anything.

There was no real way of him finding out: apart from the conversations Maja and her friends held at lunchtime they didn't talk about it much.

Maja watched him.

She didn't say anything.

She didn't even think about approaching him.

She just watched.