Chapter 10
794 Words
Today was the first official meeting of the cultural team.
The previous week, Evy and her small team had designed a poster with all the necessary details, inviting students to sign up if they wanted to be part of the cultural committee. Of course, joining wasn’t that easy. Everyone would be interviewed first.
Evy, Hailey, and Owen had been busy the entire day. After hours of work, shortlisting names, and reviewing applications, they finally decided it was time to conduct the meeting.
“Hello, everyone,” Evy began. “Since this is our first cultural team meeting, today we’ll be discussing a few important matters about—”
She was interrupted by none other than Mr. A-class jerk, his best friend, and mad Madeline.
“You three are ten minutes late,” Evy said sharply, glaring at them.
“We were busy,” Madeline replied with a snotty tone.
“Busy doing what?” Evy shot back.
“How about I say none of your business?”
“How about I make it my business and throw you out of this team?” Evy raised an eyebrow calmly.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Madeline sneered.
“Try me,” Evy replied, her voice dangerously calm.
“Shut up, Maddy,” Edward intervened quickly. “Sorry, Evy. We lost track of time.”
“If any of you are late again,” Evy warned, “you can say goodbye to this team.”
At that moment, another member entered the room.
“Sorry, Evy, I’m late. Hope I didn’t miss much,” Kayla said apologetically.
“No, not at all,” Evy replied politely. “We just started.”
She had always liked Kayla. Unlike most people in that group, Kayla was genuinely sweet and kind. She had never held any grudge against her.
“Well, that’s not fair,” mad Maddy muttered again.
“Well, life isn’t fair, Maddy.”
“My name is Madeline,” she snapped.
“Aww, come on, mad Maddy,” Evy said innocently. “Maddy suits you just fine.” She pouted.
The room burst into laughter, including Edward and Carson.
“See,” Evy smirked, “even your boy toy and his best friend agree.”
Madeline glared daggers at her.
“Anyway,” Evy continued smoothly, “as I was saying, we need to discuss a few important matters—”
The meeting went on for nearly two hours. Tasks were divided, responsibilities assigned, and a weekly meeting day was finalized. After much discussion, Friday was decided as their weekly meeting.
Throughout the meeting, Madeline tried repeatedly to interrupt and create tension. Surprisingly, both Carson and Edward shut her down every time.
When the meeting finally dispersed, Evy, Hailey, and Owen were walking out when Carson stopped them.
“Hey, Evelyn. Hailey. Owen.”
“Hi,” all three replied together.
“Listen,” Carson said suddenly. “I owe you both an apology—especially you, Evelyn.” He hesitated. “I was a jerk. I treated you horribly, and I’ve been carrying this guilt for the past year. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay, Carson,” Evy said sincerely. “It was a long time ago.”
“You… forgive me?” he asked, stunned.
“Yes,” she smiled. “I do.”
“Thank you, Evy,” he said softly. “You’re really kind.”
He hugged all three of them.
“You love Kayla, don’t you?” Evy asked gently.
“Oh—yeah,” he admitted nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Is it that obvious?”
“No,” Evy replied. “You’ve just changed a lot.”
“I have,” Carson smiled. “She made me a better person.”
“That’s good,” Evy said quietly.
If only Eddy could change, too.
Almost as if reading her thoughts, Carson added, “Eddy will change as well. You’ll see. Anyway, it’s really good to have you back.”
Evelyn sighed softly as Carson walked away.
Eddy watched everything.
He felt a sharp stab of jealousy when he saw Carson hugging Evy and Hailey. But that jealousy turned into something far worse when he realized what had just happened.
She forgave Carson. She forgave him.
So she could forgive his best friend but not him?
‘Well, Evelyn, you owe me an explanation,’ Eddy thought bitterly.
Carson had been part of every prank. Every cruel joke. Every moment that had hurt her. And yet, she forgave him. But not her own best friend.
Eddy felt everything at once—hurt, anger, jealousy, sadness… and something close to desperation.
And for the first time, he wondered, ‘What more would it take for her to forgive him?’
- Writer
