Page 22 of Withered

“Olivia cheated on Aaron. Again.”

I almost scoff at the mention of the names. Honestly, it’s more Aaron’s loss. He had everything, and now what?

I shrug my shoulders and say, “That’s nothing new.”

She notices the change in my tone and pipes up, “I know, but she cheated on him with Jake. That is new.”

That makes me snap my head at her so fast that I’m sure I’ll get a strain in my neck. I turn my head slightly to where he is seated, and yet again he is looking at me.

Does that mean he was atherhouse last night? I wasted my time thinking about him. I gave up my sleep forhim. How could I be so stupid?

Math class just turned awkward. From the corner of my eye, I notice Jake watching me. His gaze is so strong, I feel chills. Can’t he just leave me alone? It’s already difficult to avoid him as we share the same class.

Professor Williams snaps me out as she speaks, saying, “I will now distribute your papers.”

I almost forgot about those. She goes to her table and takes them out of her bag.

She shakes her head and says, “I am disappointed. Most of you have scored less than half of your total marks. However, want to guess who topped?”

“Rose!” The whole class chimes in, looking at me.

It’s not new for me, but every time I get embarrassed, I shield my face with my hair.

Professor Williams nods with a smile on her face and adds, “This time we have someone else too.”

That gets my attention.

I meet her eyes with confusion, intrigued to know who that person is. It’s not every day I get competition.

“You’ve got a competition, Rose.” She voices my thoughts. “Any guesses who?” She asks the class

No one responds. No one knows. Everyone is as confused as I am.

When no one responds, the professor says, “Well, it’s Jake Henderson.”

To say I’m shocked would be an understatement. When I turn to look at him, he’s still looking at me, this time with a smirk on his face. Everyone in the room is staring at me and him.

The girl sitting beside me mutters, “How is this possible?”Hell if I know.

“I have no idea,” I say in a monotonous tone.

As the bell rings, I make my way to Physics, and for the first time, I’m grateful that my friends don’t share that class with me. I need silence and time to process everything.

So, Jake practically sneaked out of his house, then the next day he shows up all dressed in school, and I, being the fool I am, thought he left, while all this time he might have been doing that with Olivia. The cherry on top is that he is now a topper.

Wow! How did my life turn this way? Just a few days ago, I was with Kristy, discussing all the fun things we would do this year and not letting anyone bother us. And where is she now?

Physics is crap. I watch the teacher writing and speaking, but I pay attention to nothing and blankly stare at him. With the last bell of the day, we rush out of the class, and the first thing I do is call Kristy. It goes straight to voicemail.

“Kristy, call me when you get this. I need to talk to you.”

I’m quite an old-school person. People write important dates and things in their notes on their phones, whereas I prefer to keep a diary. I barely check my phone, which is a problem at times.

As I arrange my stuff in the locker, I hear a group of girls talking nearby.

“He was great, a little rough, but yeah, I was on the edge.” Someone speaks.

I know I should probably leave and not eavesdrop, but they’re so loud, and I can’t help it; they’re only two feet away.

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