CHAPTER2
1124 Words
ARIELLA
“Miss Monroe, would you like to briefly explain your answer to the class?”
I hear my name being called by Professor Vale in the deathly silent hall. I dropped my pen on my book and exhaled slowly before I lifted my head.
“Yes sir.”
Professor Vale adjusted his glasses, watching me with a familiar expression that doesn’t permit any sort of mistakes.
“Go ahead”
I sat up in my seat, trying to push down the distractions in my head earlier- the cafe, the embarrassment....him- so as to focus more on the task at hand.
“The theory assumes that things will stay calm if you control everything, but real life is unpredictable and can get messy, and things you can’t control always pop up and sometimes change things up, so nothing stays calm forever.”
A long silence followed after I finished speaking.
“Correct, although I didn’t expect your choice of diction to be informal,” he said, giving me a pointed look.
“I only explained it in a way that most people will… understand “
He nods and stares at the class. A faint murmur begins to build up in the hall.
“And that is why it is important to always stay disciplined at all times, focus.”
Here we go again.
During this time, I always bring my eyes low and pretend I am writing something because I know what always comes next.
“If half of you even approached your work with just the same discipline as Ariella, we won’t be having the same conversation every week,” he said, practically glaring at the crowd in front of him.
Someone behind me scoffed under their breath. Another on the far front groaned in annoyance.
I heard a chair scrape loudly against the floor.
Despite this, I kept my gaze forward. I was used to this anyway.
“Ariella represents consistency,” Professor Vale continued. “Focus, structure, and qualities that cannot be bought.” His eyes kept darting between everyone like he was looking for someone.
“Ahhh, Amy. Nice of you to join us today,” the professor said as he strolled towards her. “You should learn from Ariella. Her standard is gold, compared to any other,” he glanced at her briefly before walking back to the front.
The murmuring grew even louder than before, and I heard someone shift out of their seat, followed by a loud bang of the door.
The lecture resumed as if nothing had happened, but I felt something was wrong.
How can Professor Vale compare me with Amy of all people? She rules the social scene in this school, and I am nothing but a girl just lucky enough to be here on scholarship.
If word gets out of what happened here in class, my remaining school days will be nothing but trouble.
As soon as the lecture ended, I shoved my notebooks and laptop into my bag and was ready to leave.
“Ariella”
My jaw dropped instantly, and i felt my face turn tomato red. I knew that voice even from miles away.
The most popular and hottest guy in school remembered my name and even approached me?
How on earth do i react to this?
I turned slowly, and there he was. Kayden Dom.
Thoughts of how he stood behind me with that hot breath on my neck flood my mind again.
He leaned casually on 3 desks behind me.
“You are leaving already? He asks
“I... I have another class,” I lied. As much as i would have loved to salvor this moment to speak with the, Kayden Dom, i had to leave immediately before things got worse.
He tilted his head a little with those same hard, grey eyes in a knowing way. Like he could see through the lie. But oddly enough, he didn’t call me out.
“You owe me.”
I frowned slightly and adjusted my bag so it sat on my shoulder better. I couldn’t even meet his gaze like before.
“i know..i will pay you back soon. Please gi...”
“I don’t want your money.”
That completely threw me off. Curiosity made me look up at him.
“Then...what do you want?”
There was a small pause before he spoke again. His eyes never leave mine.
“Your time”
I squeezed my bag strap, my hands shaking a bit.
“i...I don’t think that is necessary. “
“It is to me.”
The way he said it didn’t feel like pressure; it was more like a refusal was not an option.
“I doubt if it’s... You know...appropriate."
“Why?” He asked almost immediately
“Because…” I hesitated, trying to choose my words carefully. “We don’t know each other.”
The corner of his mouth lifted just a bit.
“That can change.”
I could feel my heart speed up. This was certainly… strange and unexpected. Why this all of a sudden?
“I am sorry, but I just don't think...i can do this now. How about uhmm...some other time? I said, trying to move over beside him a little. But before I could even move past him…
“Coffee”
I stopped in my tracks
“Buy me coffee,” he continued, “And that settles it.”
“But... honestly, it’s not necessary, “I repeated, using my eyes to plead with him.
“It is”
The silence that followed lasted longer than normal. For some very weird reason, I found myself considering it. After all, it was just coffee, right?
Just one small repayment and that’s it.
I sighed, already feeling exhausted from this discussion
“Okay then,” I said reluctantly, looking down at my brown shoes. “Just coffee, okay?”
His gaze lingered on me for a moment before giving a small nod.
“Good”
Walking beside him out of the lecture hall felt all shades of wrong.
As we walked through, I felt eyes following us. I tried my best to keep my focus forward and acting not to notice anything around us.
But even with the sheer strength I put in every step i took, it was impossible not to feel the pressure pressing from all directions.
That’s when I saw her, Amy Dunne.
She stood across the hallway, watching me with a deadly focus. Then, almost immediately, a small smile spread across her face.
I won’t lie, that smile gave me goose bumps, and for the first time, I realized that something was about to begin, and I wouldn’t be able to escape or walk away from.
- Writer
