Page 9 of Afterglow
Professor Hart is extremely anti-technology—probably because of his age—so every assessment was to be submitted as a hard copy. Jazmine clutches the piece of paper; her eyes scan the page then she flattens it against her chest.
Is she relieved? Or disappointed?
People continue to pile to the front and I lose my sight of Jazmine. I don’t think time has ticked slower than this moment. My name reverberates against the walls, I stride forward, not wanting to waste any time. The paper is placed in my shaky hands.
“Congratulations,”
The comment shakes me from my rampant mind, my gaze immediately locks on the red number on the right side of the page. Ninety-six percent. My chair is a safe haven as I coach myself into keeping my head facing forward and away from Jazmine.
I flick through the ten-page exam, reading over any comment the professor left. Eventually his voice gains everyone’s attention.
“First of all, I’m extremely happy with most of the results. I can tell many of you put in the effort, but I will put you out of your misery.” Professor Hart pauses and, in this moment, I think my heart did the same.
“Congratulations, Theodore Knight.”
I can’t help it. My first thought is to search the room for Jazmine. I catch her filing out of the lecture theatre with everyone else. Fuck. I shouldn’t feel bad about earning something for myself. I worked my ass off and deserve this opportunity.
Yet, every word that Professor Hart utters to me is a weight on my shoulders. The urge to see Jazmine before she disappears forces me to accept the paperwork and leave quickly.
I inspect every inch of the corridor after exiting the room. Jazmine has slumped onto a bench, her hands covering her face. I make my way to her, thinking of what I’m going to say. Honestly, I don’t even know. I’m not sorry, at least I shouldn’t be.
Coming to a halt, I linger beside Jazmine. She must see me because her eyes are narrowed, pulling her eyebrows closer together, while her lips curl inwards.
“What the fuck do you want Knight? Come to gloat now that you’ve won?”
“No, I just—” Fuck, what do I say?
Jazmine stares, baring her teeth. “Spit. It. Out.”
“I want to know if you’re okay. Is that a fucking crime?”
She scoffs, as if my concern is a joke.
“After what happened in there,” Jazmine points back, towards the lecture theatre. “Yeah, I don’t care what you have to say.”
“Please, just say something. Yell at me if you have to, it’s killing me to see you like this.”
Jazmine snaps her head, her stare even more piercing than before. “It’s killing you,” she says with disbelief. “Youdo not get to say that to me. I spent the last four months.Four. Fucking. Months.Running on fumes, I had nothing else to give. I would force myself to stay awake, to finish assessments, to study ahead, to give me any edge over you. But it was all for nothing.
“Do you even know what Cooper and Byrd do? They specialise in athlete’s mental health and the impact of sports on the brain. It’s my fucking dream company, but it’s fine clearly, I’m not good enough.”
“That’s—” I try to reply, Jazmine storms off and leaves me in her wake. “Not true,” I mumble to myself.
I take Jazmine’s spot on the bench, my mind on overdrive as I consider what she just said. Every word cuts deeper than the next. I thought senior year of high school was the worst, but that is no longer the case.
Freshman year was the worst year of my life.
Junior Year
Present Day
Chapter 5
Jazmine Allen
Summer break passed in a blur.
Every day was spent in Meadow Beach with my family, away from the chaotic mess of Lakewood, which gave me a chance to relax. I didn’t worry about the year ahead, I just lived in the moment.
