Love And Games

CHAPTER TWO

IRIS’S POV

“What the hell!” I groaned in pain as I hit the cold floor, my knees stinging so hard from the impact. Slowly lifting my face up, I hoped to see a concerned face but instead my eyes was met with the smirking face of Trent, my enemy with his messy dark hair and green eyes.

His tall and muscular frame towered over me, making me feel even smaller and insignificant.

“f*****g watch where you are going, loser!” Trent scoffed, blowing his hair out of his face.” Or are you busy daydreaming about your next s*x with your pathetic little boyfriend.” I shot him a death glare and rose to my feet, brushing off the dirts off my jeans.

He always know how to push my buttons. Just because I’m dating the all popular Damien doesn’t mean I’m f*****g him. He can’t just assume things in my relationship.

“For your information, my personal life is none of your business. Maybe you should focus on your failures instead of trying to pry into my sweet life. A life you will never have.” I blurted out, the word “failure” slipping out of my mouth before l could stop it. He stared at me, his green eyes narrowed through me.

I immediately regretted my outburst realizing I crossed a line. But it was too late to take back my words.

“You think you’ve figured it all out, don’t you?” His voice grew cold as he responded. “Well, let me tell you something. No matter how hard you try, you will always be a fool, you are just a f*****g nobody.” Nobody? Damn, that hit me so hard. It took me all the strength not to burst out crying. I took a deep breath trying to keep my composure

“And you will always be a coward, Trent.” I shot back, my voice breaking. “Too afraid to face your own shortcomings, so you resort to belittling others. It’s pathetic really.” His face immediately turned red with fury, as he opened his mouth to respond, I cut him off sharply.

“Save it!” I said firmly. “I’ve wasted enough time and energy on you already. And you are not worth it, now if you will excuse me.” With that, I brushed past his shoulders and walked away. I could feel his gaze bore holes at my back. It was as if he wanted to continue, to have his last word, but I won’t give him that satisfaction.

Trent and I have a history that goes way back to our childhood. We were once best of friends and inseparable. I even had a crush on him, but everything swept away during sophomore year. We were assigned a project that could earn me a scholarship, a turning point for me. I had put in countless hours of research and he constantly belittled them, dismissing them as insignificant. The breakpoint came during the crucial presentation. He decided to present the project as solely his creation, leaving out my contributions. The project received accolades at the science Fair. I was expecting shared recognition but was shocked to see him take all the credit. I confronted him but he downplayed me and claimed the idea was his.

Ever since then we hated each other, even our parents who were close had a fallout cause of this incident. Our long friendship was all shattered, my crush for him for him turned into resentment. I couldn’t understand why someone I trusted and admired could betray me like that.

A sudden tap on my shoulder jolted me out of my thoughts.

“What again,” I snapped whirling around. But it wasn’t Trent standing there- it was my best friend, Susan. My anger immediately dissolved as I took in her wide hazel eyes and the cheek bones standing out in her oval face. Her way blonde hair which fell over her face crackled with energy, looking awesome with her warm brown skin. Basically, Susan was a masterpiece.

“Whoa, Just me,” Susan said, throwing her hands up in defense.

“Oh, Sorry Susan,” I sighed. “I thought you were…. Never mind.

“What happened?” Susan asked. “You seem upset? And don’t try to tell me ‘nothing. I can tell when something’s bothering you.” Susan could always read me like a book. Even if I tried to brush it off, she saw right through me.

“It’s Trent.” I explained. “He bumped into me without even apologizing, the useless lump.”

“Why that little…. I ought to give that meathead a piece of my mind.” Susan fumed.

“No, don’t,” I said quickly. “I ripped him a new one verbally. Pretty sure calling out his dry brain felt worse than this scrape. Let’s just forget about him.”

Susan is the best, always ready to stand up for me without hesitation. The shrill ringing of the bell signified English class. Mrs. Kings was not yet at her desk as we entered the classroom and took our usual seats by the windows. Trent’s usual seat was empty, no surprise there. Golden boy jock was always traipsing in late, drawing all eyes to his so called “dramatic entrance” as he put it.

About 10 minutes after the bell, Mrs. Kings bustled in stacking a pile of papers on her desk. I liked Mrs. Kings. She was tough but fair and didn’t tolerate any nonsense, which was why she couldn’t stand Trent, the cockiest guy in our grade. Speak of the devil, the classroom door banged open.

“Well nice of you to join us, Mr. Donovan.” Mrs. King said sharply, peering over her glasses. “Care to share why you are late.”

“Hey teacher, no need to get all worked up.” He replied with a trademark smirk. “I was just offering some female advice to a few cute sophomores about where to hang this weekend. Can’t rush quality time, if you know what I mean.” He threw in a wink as the girls giggled and blushed, except for Susan and me. We just groaned at his lame attempt to be a ladies Man.

Still the rest of the girls ate it up, practically fawning over Trent as he high fived his buddy, Liam on his way to his seat. But suddenly he turned and swaggered over to the empty seat right behind me. I stretched straight ahead, as he made himself comfortable. Stretching out his long legs, his legs kept brushing against mine and I can feel my skin crawling at the touch.

Why does he have to seat so close? Can’t he just leave me alone? I discreetly scooted my chair farther away but could practically feel him smirking at my back.

I tried to ignore him and focus on Mrs. King beginning his lecture.

“So today, we are going to analyze the use of metaphor in this Edgar Allan poem…. I felt something bounce off my shoulder. I glanced down to see a crumbled ball of paper on the floor. I looked back to see Trent pretending to stretch while whispering loud enough for me to hear.

“Psst…. Hey Iris, looking Sexy.” I whipped my head to the front, cheeks burning. The nerve of him! I hate the way Trent acts like nothing ever happened between us. One minute we argue, the next he’s back to his playboy ways hitting me in class.

It’s so frustrating how he can just turn his jerkish behavior on and off like a switch. A few minutes later, another paper landed on my desk. With an irritated huff, I crumbled it to see a messily scribbled note.

Don’t think you won, just be careful so you don’t trip again I glanced at the words again, confused by what he meant. Don’t trip again? Wait… was he planning another accident? No, he couldn’t be that much of a Jerk.

I whipped around to glare furiously at him. He just raised his eyebrow twice, that stupid smirk plastered on his face like always.

“Mr. Donovan” Mrs. King’s voice rang out. “Since you seem more interested in distracting Iris than paying attention. Why don’t you explain the metaphor poe used in the fifth Stanza?” I subtly glanced back to see his smirk falter for a second before he leaned back farther in his chair.

“C’mon we all know English isn’t really my subject.” He flexed his biceps as the girls tittered. “I’m more of a hands-on dude.”

I fought not to gag.

“Well perhaps when you take your education seriously, your grades will reflect that,” Mrs. Kings replied crisply. “Anyone else care to shed some light.”

My hands instantly shot up and I quoted, “He used the metaphor of the sobbing Violin to represent the sound of the grieving lost soul.”

“Exactly Iris, maybe you should tutor Trent after class seems he seems to be struggling.” Mrs. Kings said pointedly and the whole class laughed, even the girls who dawned over him were gaggling. I glanced back to see Trent scowl, reddening as he slumped lower in his seat.

Gotcha! I thought unable to keep a smug smile from my face as I turned back around. I settled into my seat with deep satisfaction, glad to see him taken down a peg.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp kick to my chair.

“Looks like you underestimated me, ‘Trent smirked, before I could react my chair legs spun wildly in midair sending me tumbling backwards towards the ground.