"So, she saw me sleep?" Adrian whispered to James. James played on his smirk. "You! Couldn't you wake me up?" Adrian whisper-yelled again. "It's her fault you couldn't sleep in your bed, so she should pay." James teased, his playful smirk widening even further. "I was the one who decided to spend the night in her backyard, keeping an eye on her. It was not her fault. She doesn't even know." Adrian was literally so embarrassed. Except for James, no one had seen him sleep. Not even his parents. His mother used to sing him to sleep, but that was also when he was very young. For the recent past, He hadn't slept with or in front of anybody.
"So, you spend the night in her backyard, watching over her through the window because she had a heartbreak and decided not to tell her?" James loved the face Adrian made whenever he was flustered. "Yeah! Because I felt uneasy, leaving her alone when she was hurting. Okay? Now don't tell her this." Adrian pleaded. "Have I ever let out any one of your secret?" James winked and started walking towards his first class. James and Adrian were so engrossed in their own conversation that they entirely forgot that Jennifer had walked away, without any words.
Meanwhile, Jennifer's heart was about to burst into a thousand pieces the moment she stepped inside the school. Her throat went dry. Her voice was no more found. She started trembling from head to toe just by the thought of facing Winston or Abby in the school. Jennifer tried to be really brave at home but when the situation actually faced her she wished she had listened to her father, giving herself time to heal but now, here she was, dreading the sight of every person. Dreading the sound of every footstep that walked towards her.
She was so flustered that she decided to leave without talking to Adrian or James. Jennifer hurriedly took a book, kept it close to her mouth, peering through the pages and started walking towards her first class. Adrian on the other hand, was still sleepy. Three hours of sleep wasn't enough. He had came back home early morning and had slept less. So, when he walked into the class he chose the last bench and decided to sleep. On the contrary, Jennifer took slow and cautious steps so when she finally made it to the class only a few seats were empty.
One next to the fuckboy of the school, Kurt. He looked like the lovechild of Ryan Gosling and Channing Tatum. Sandy blonde hair tied into a low messy bun, indigo eyes and the body of a male stripper. He was a walking and talking cliché of prom king. Another one next to Debbie and the third one was Adrian. Jennifer decided to sit next to Adrian.
Even though the last bench would be the last option for Jennifer usually, this time it was the best one available. So, she made her way to the seat cautiously scanning each and every bench for Winston or Abby. After a few minutes, the teacher entered the class. The entire class stood up to greet her, except Adrian. Jennifer tried to wake him up.
"Huh.." Adrian stirred in his sleep. His eyes half open. "The teacher's here." Jennifer whispered into his ear. Accidentally, her lips touched Adrian's ear sending electricity through his entire body. Within a second, Adrian was sitting up straight with no sleep on his mind. "Good morning Adrian." The teacher wished him sarcastically. Adrian stayed quiet. He was too fumbled to do or say anything. "The least you can do is wish her good morning." Jennifer said in a cold tone. She didn't want to sound mean but unexpectedly it came off as offensive.
Adrian quickly got up and wished the teacher. The class began. Adrian's mind was busy thinking about the tiniest skinship they had. "You seem distracted." Jennifer noted that Adrian spaced out after every few minutes. Adrian didn't shake his head. The class finished. Adrian got out of his seat and vanished out of the class door even before Jennifer could properly gather up all her books. Once Jennifer was already to move to her next class, the dreading feeling was back in the pit of her stomach again. She was too scared to walk out of the class but she did. She had to be strong.
While she was walking to her second class she noticed that Darius, the guy Adrian had beaten up multiple times was on the floor collecting his books, that were scattered across the corridor. His torn bag lay a few steps away from where Jennifer stood now. Jennifer walked up to him picked up his bag and started collecting his books for him. She handed it over to him. "Thanks." He muttered. "It's okay." Jennifer said. "Guess we got off the wrong foot that other day. You know being a rich girl, I thought you were the same as them." Darius said. Jennifer didn't speak anything. She simply smiled and started walking to her next class.
She came inside and sat on an empty bench. A few minutes later, Darius came and sat beside her. The class started. The teacher told the students that starting from today, they had to write a paper that had to be done in groups. The students were free to choose their partners. Of course! Everybody was happy but it was the complete opposite for Jennifer. Usually, She would have been happy like her fellow classmates but now? Without Winston or Abby the group project was something that added to her ongoing chain of miseries.