Feeling lonely and dejected, Jennifer made her way towards the class. When she reached her class only one seat was empty, the one next to Darius. So, Jennifer took her seat and directed all her attention to the teacher that was talking something about ancient artefacts.
She couldn't help but notice that new bruises had appeared on Darius's arm and face. These wounds were still purple indicating these were fresh. Also, her mind kept wandering back to why Winston had not come to school today. He had not informed Jennifer that he would be absent.
Troubled, Jennifer made way to her next class. It was physical education. Just as she entered the gym, she saw Adrian next to the wall. Soon, the coach blowed the whistle and asked them to assemble in the center of the court. They were learning basketball.
So the coach divided them into pairs to practice how to pass the ball. Jennifer got paired with a girl. It was the same girl that had warned her about Adrian the other day, Debbie. Debbie was the popular girl in the school and everybody knew about her crush on Adrian. Debbie and Jennifer kept passing the ball to each other. Debbie deliberately made it difficult for Jennifer to catch the ball.
She hit the ball really hard and aimed it at Jennifer's head. The ball was coming at a really great speed. Jennifer was really sure that it would hit her head. In fear, she closed her eyes and time passed but the ball did not hit her. Did Debbie miss? No! Jennifer was sure it was coming in her direction .
Unsure of what had happened, she heard a few nearby students gasp. Jennifer opened her eyes. She saw Adrian standing in front of her and the ball in his hands. He was glaring at Debbie. Debbie was highly flushed. Her cheeks developed a bright shade of red and she hurriedly rushed towards Adrian. "Oh Adrian! Are you hurt? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit her, my hand just slipped." She justified her evil deed by making up a story, ending it with an innocent face.
But Adrian was smarter than this. He very well knew the kind of games such girls played and he wasn't ready to sacrifice Jennifer to such girls. His glare turned even darker and his aura felt even heavier. He spoke in a slow but heavy voice, " Debbie, I very well know what you did and if it was deliberate or accidental. I want you to stop playing such games. Hurting her is not going to make me like you." Adrian finished his speech and every word was left hanging in the air, burdening the atmosphere of the gym.
"Thank you Adrian." Jennifer called out from behind, desperately trying to fill the awkward silence in the room. To her surprise, Adrian turned towards her and said, "Your welcome Jennifer. Can you please step aside I want to talk to you." With that he walked out of the class. Jennifer excused herself from the teacher and ran behind Adrian.
When she was outside the gym Adrian grabbed her hand and pulled her into one of the empty classrooms. "Jennifer I know that we are not close but I want you to promise me one thing. Please choose your friends carefully." Jennifer couldn't understand what Adrian was trying to say. She opened her mouth but no voice came out. She was not able to form words.
As of Adrian could read her mind, he said "Don't stress yourself too much. Treat it as an advice from a friend. " He smiled and led her out of the class. The day went by in a flash. Jennifer had a lot of things on her mind today. Was Abby okay? Where was Winston? What did Adrian mean? All these questions clouded her mind. Nevertheless, she want back home. She went into her room and took her phone out.
She called Abby and asked her if she was okay. Did she need anything? Abby replied that she is getting better and would be in school on Monday. Relived that her friend will be better, Jennifer dialed Winston's number.
After a few seconds, Winston picked up the call. "Hey Winston. How are you? Why did you not come to school today ? Is everything okay?" Jennifer poured all of her worries at once. "Oh my God! Hold up babe. I'm OK. I did not come to school today because-" "Winston, Can you pass me the bag of chips please" Abby's voice interrupted his voice.
Out of mere surprise Jennifer asked "Winston, Was that Abby? Is she here?" To which Winston replied "Oh yes Abby is here. She wasn't feeling well so I brought her some snacks" Winston replied. Jennifer couldn't understand but she felt that there was a slight twinge of guilt in Winston's voice.
Just then Jennifer's mother knocked on the door "Are you ready Jennifer ?" She looked up at the clock and realized she had only 20 minutes to get ready so she grabbed her dress and ran towards the washroom. Jennifer changed into her dress applied her makeup and did her hair she was hardly straightening her hair when the straightener burned her first finger slightly. But Jennifer ignored it.
She grabbed her purse and ran outside. She met her parents near the driveway and then they headed towards the party. Since the party was hosted by her family, the venue was one of the seven star hotel owned by her family that was situated nearby. So she got into the car and reached the hotel.
She was standing at the door with her parents to welcome the guests. A large magnificent ballroom had been meticulously set up for what seemed to be a very important and high class event. The chandeliers that dangled from the ceiling provided little sparkles of light from one end of the room to the other giving the room a feeling of being under a bright starry night sky.
Many round tables were dotted around the room decorated tastefully with the red and gold motif colors which represented wealth, prosperity and good fortune. The ball certainly was a display of wealth and prosperity . From the crystal champagne glasses and silver and gold cutlery to the stunning paintings and decorations on the walls.
But that wasn't what caught ones eyes! Inside the ballroom were groups of people each wearing millions of dollars worth of clothing jewelry and other accessories. The women's jewelry - their earring, necklaces, bracelets, tiaras, rings altogether shone brighter than the lights inside the room. Many guests came, Jennifer greeted all of them courteously.
Most of the guests were unknown to her. Some, she knew distantly. Jennifer and her mother were talking to one of the guests when a car stopped. The chauffeur opened the door and a man dressed in all black came out. He was followed by a woman who adorned an elegant black gown with matching heels. The couple was followed by a familiar boy- Adrian Rains.