THE ASHFORD HEIR
1140 Words
CECELIA’S POV
The noise in the corridor didn’t just increase.
It changed.
At first, it was just murmuring.
Then it became movement.
Then silence in motion.
People weren’t just talking anymore—they were looking in the same direction.
I followed their gaze slowly.
And then I saw him.
No one had to tell me who it was.
I just knew.
And honestly…
No one needed to tell me he was the reason for all this.
He wasn’t extremely tall in an intimidating way, but tall enough to naturally stand out in a crowd.
His build was neat and structured perfectly beneath his uniform, like everything about him had been carefully put together.
His face though…
That was the real problem.
Sharp jawline.
Clean skin.
Perfectly styled dark hair.
And eyes that looked green one second and brown the next depending on how the light hit them.
He was easily the most attractive person I had ever seen in real life.
Not in an exaggerated way.
He looked less like a student and more like a sculpture.
And the strangest part was the atmosphere around him.
He walked calmly through the hallway while students literally stepped aside for him to pass.
Girls whispered excitedly.
Some smiled nervously.
Others openly stared.
He moved through the chaos with a terrifying, vacant ease.
Like this level of attention was normal to him.
Audrey grabbed my arm dramatically.
“Okay wait,” she whispered loudly. “Why does he actually look like that?”
I almost laughed.
Because honestly… she wasn’t wrong.
“He looks too polished to be real,” Audrey continued. “Like he was manufactured in some billionaire laboratory.”
This time I laughed quietly.
Even Brianna looked mildly impressed, though she tried not to show it.
Then suddenly—
Maddy stepped forward confidently.
Of course she did.
Katness and Catherine remained behind her watching proudly like backup dancers.
“Hi,” Maddy said smoothly, stopping directly in front of him.
A brittle silence snapped across the hallway.
“I’m Maddy Laurent.”
He stopped walking.
His gaze moved to her briefly.
“Jedidiah,” he responded politely.
His response was a smooth, level hum.
Deep enough to make the girls behind me react all over again.
Maddy smiled immediately.
“Well, welcome to Everfield Academy.”
“Thank you.”
And that was it.
No lingering conversation.
He simply continued walking.
Maddy slowly turned to watch him leave, looking almost dreamy.
Audrey leaned toward me again.
“She’s already gone,” she whispered.
I bit back a laugh.
A staff member continued leading him through the hallway before the principal himself suddenly stepped out of his office.
That alone made students react again.
The principal greeted him personally before leading him inside the office.
The hallway slowly returned to normal afterwards.
Well…
As normal as it could after whatever that was.
A few seconds later, the bell rang.
Students immediately began moving toward their classrooms.
Shaniel finally looked at me.
“You’re supposed to report to the principal’s office so they can sort out your schedule, locker and books,” she said.
“Oh.”
Before I could say anything else—
“I’ll take her!” Audrey announced immediately.
Brianna rolled her eyes.
“Of course you will.”
Audrey ignored her dramatically and hooked her arm around mine.
“Come on, new girl. I’m basically Everfield’s unofficial tour guide.”
The principal’s office area was quieter than the rest of the school.
Much quieter.
Audrey pushed the door open slightly after knocking before speaking.
“Sir? I brought Cecelia, a new student.”
“Come in,” the principal responded.
We stepped inside.
And there he was again.
Jedidiah sat calmly across from the principal’s desk while a few documents rested in front of him .
I smoothed a nonexistent wrinkle in my skirt, my pulse jumping.
Which was ridiculous.
The principal smiled warmly at me.
“Ah yes, Cecelia. Welcome to Everfield Academy.”
“Thank you, sir.”
He began explaining things immediately.
My locker number.
My schedule.
School handbooks.
Rules.
Textbooks.
Everything.
Audrey stayed beside me the entire time surprisingly quietly for once.
“Well,” the principal said eventually, adjusting his glasses, “Audrey since you seem determined to escort everyone today, you can help both Cecelia and Jedidiah locate their lockers and classrooms.”
Audrey straightened proudly.
“With pleasure, sir.”
Her voice vibrated with a suppressed, high-pitched energy.
Jedidiah stood quietly.
Up close, he stood with a stillness that made the room feel smaller.
Not cold exactly.
Just reserved.
Like someone who had spent most of his life in serious rooms.
We stepped out of the office together.
The walk through the hallway felt strangely awkward.
Mostly because Audrey was fighting for her life trying not to ask him fifty questions.
“This is the senior lockers area,” she explained instead, pointing ahead.
Jedidiah gave a small nod.
“Thanks.”
That single word somehow made Audrey look victorious.
After showing us around briefly, we finally headed toward class.
“Well,” Audrey whispered dramatically to me the moment Jedidiah walked ahead slightly, “I’m never washing this hand again after touching the same office door as him.”
I burst out laughing.
SHANIEL’S POV
I sat beside Brianna in class while students continued talking loudly about Jedidiah Ashford.
Honestly, the noise was becoming exhausting already.
Brianna glanced at me.
“So,” she said quietly, “are we finally going to talk about Jared?”
I stared ahead for a moment before sighing.
“There’s nothing much to say.”
“That’s a lie.”
I looked down at my desk.
“He said he only stayed because it was convenient.”
Brianna’s jaw set into a hard, sharp line.
“That idiot.”
I laughed softly without humor.
“I genuinely didn’t even know what to say after that.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Brianna looked at me again carefully.
“Are you okay?"
“No,” I answered honestly.
And strangely enough…....admitting it out loud made my chest feel lighter.
Before Brianna could respond, the classroom door suddenly opened .
Audrey swept in, the door hitting the wall with a sharp c***k.
“You people will not believe what just happened in that office—”
Her sentence was immediately interrupted by the speaker system crackling above us.
“All students are to proceed immediately to the assembly hall.”
The class groaned collectively.
Audrey blinked.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Brianna stood up calmly.
“Save your gossip for later.”
Audrey gasped dramatically.
“This is not gossip. This is history.”
Despite myself, I smiled slightly as we all started making our way toward the assembly hall.
- Writer
