His Hired Lady

Episode 2: What am I going to do?

I sighed as I walked towards the end of the long, winding hallway until I finally reached the door that had “Ms. Evelyn Towers” on a silver plaque that was glued to the door.

I raised my hand to knock on her door, but she was already opening the door before I could.

“You must be Alaura?” She asked in a professional but sweet way with a friendly smile on her face.

I nodded and stared up at her.

She was tall, just like the other ladies in this office, and just as gorgeous as them too. The only difference was, she actually seemed pleasant to be around.

“Come on in and have a seat.” She said as she moved to the side to let me in.

I sat down in front of her rich mahogany desk and waited for her to tell me why I was summoned here.

She finally sat down and began typing on her computer.

“So, Alaura, I am sure that you are quite curious about why I have asked you to come down here today and, since I’m not one to beat around the bush, let’s just get right to it, shall we?”

“Yes, that’d be great. I’ve never had to come down here before, so I’m very anxious to know what’s going on. I thought that my scholarship was paid in full for this term.”

“Well, that’s the thing. Your scholarship has been revoked.” She stated solemnly.

My eyes almost bulged out of my head from her statement.

“What do you mean “revoked”? I don’t understand. What did I do? My grades are still up.” I asked as my eyes began to tear up.

Ms. Towers stood up and walked over to me and placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Your GPA needed to be at or above 3.99 to keep your scholarship, as well as, perfect daily attendance. It was a detail in your scholarship agreement that we must follow. Due to recent auditing of your courses, we have discovered that you have been notoriously late for some of your classes and your GPA has fallen to a 3.95 overall average. From our records, Biology has been your main issue this semester.” She stated as she grabbed a file off of her desk.

That b***h, Professor Norwood, did this.

I tried to remain calm, but I felt the tears slide down my face, unwillingly.

“Ms. Towers, I swear to you I have done my very best to get here on time. I have been here everyday although I admit that I have been a little late every day, but no more than 5 minutes, I swear.” I said truthfully.

I heard Ms. Towers sigh as she averted her eyes from mine.

“Alaura, you have to understand that these are the rules that were stipulated in the scholarship agreement that you signed.” She gently reminded me. “I am not sure why you are always late, but from my understanding, college girls like yourself, may enjoy nights out on the town and long drunken, carefree nights, but your schooling should have been your top priority.”

I furrowed my brows and stared up at her in dismay.

“You think I’m out partying all night?” I asked incredulously. “You think I’ve been out drinking and shaking my ass instead of doing what I have to do to survive?” I asked in disbelief as my voice began to rise.

“Well, I know that girls like you do like to enjoy yourselves…All I mean is that you’re young and pretty and things come easy to you all since you’re still your parent’s responsibility. I didn’t mean to….”

“THAT’S WHAT YOU THINK?!” I screamed as my anger was starting to boil over. How f*****g dare she insinuate what kind of person I am. These people did not know me!

“Let me explain something to you, Ms. Towers. Do not ever judge a book by its cover, because you could definitely get the details wrong. I’m not in my parents' pockets since that would be impossible because my parents are dead and have been for almost six years…car crash.” I stated bitterly.

Ms. Towers showed true surprise, but I didn’t give a damn. I needed to let her know who the hell I was not.

“And as far as why I’m late to school, I work two different jobs to try and make ends meet every month. I can hardly afford to feed myself or put clothes on my back, especially since my rent has more than doubled in the past year. I’m not the partying type, nor have I ever been drunk.” I said with distaste in my mouth. “I work hard to barely make it. I have done nothing wrong, and yet you’ve judged me so carelessly.”

I stood up and grabbed my things as I made my way to the door.

I turned around and looked at the shocked expression on her pitiful face.

“With all due respect…fuck you and every snobby b***h at this coldhearted ass school. I’ll make sure that my withdrawal papers are done by the morning.”  I said as I walked out of our office and towards the parking lot.

I was beyond livid as I hit the unlock button on my car and threw my things inside.

“ALAURA, WAIT UP!”

I turned around with tears still brimming in my eyes as Ashton pulled me to him.

“What’s wrong babygirl? What happened? Where are you going?” He asked with concern laced in every word.

“I’m withdrawing from school tomorrow.” I said simply.

“The f**k are you talking about?” He asked as he pulled my chin up so that I had to look him in his almost golden, honey-brown eyes.

“Long story short…my scholarship is gone and there is no way for me to afford this obnoxiously prestigious school, so I’m withdrawing. Especially since I’m seen as some drunk ass party girl here.” I scoffed.

Ashton looked at me with pure confusion etched on his face.

“You’re not going anywhere. I’ll give you the money. It’s nothing.” He said without a moment’s hesitation.

Did I fail to mention that Ashton is f*****g rich, just like 96% of this damn school?

“Ashton, as sweet as that is, I would never ask you to do something like that.”

“You don’t have to ask. It’ll be paid by the end of the day.” He said as he embraced me in a tight hug.

“No.” I said as my head was buried in his warm chest. “I will not allow you to do that. You can’t. Even if you do, I will tell them to send it back to you. This was my responsibility, not yours. So please, don’t.” I pleaded.

I pulled away from the hug and looked up at him as his jaw clenched tightly.

“You are so stubborn,” he murmured.

I smiled and tilted my head at him. Nothing has ever come to me so easily, and I wouldn’t dare take his family’s money that was never intended for me. Money could be the very thing that drives a wedge between us, and I wouldn’t ruin our friendship because of something like that.

“I got to go. Hopefully, the diner needs some help early, and I can go make a little money before my shift at the store tonight.” I said as I got in my car.

“You work too hard, you know that?”

“It’s my life. I don’t know no other way to live.” I said as I started to drive out of the parking lot.

It wasn’t until I couldn’t see the school in my rear-view mirror anymore that I started to cry. I need that damn nursing degree to get out of this hellhole that I’m in and make my parents proud. But what am I going to do now?