Hayden shook his head to discard the thoughts that were streaming in his mind. He had come to teach them, Ayla, that girl, being in his class was something to be expected, she had sat for the exams, after all.
"Good morning." The students answered in unison.
Ayla saw Hayden looking at her, but she didn't think too much of it. She just thought it was a casual glance teachers make to make sure the student is paying attention in class.
The class went smoothly, and Ayla enjoyed it. However, when it ended, her spirits dampened again. She was once again going to go through hell once in her room. She even wished the lesson would go on and on just to avoid getting back to her room.
"Our class ends here today." Hayden closed his laptop and announced while gauging everyone's reactions. He could tell that students were excited to hear it. However, why did he spot a trace of regret and hesitation on her face? It was truly puzzling.
He decided not to dwell on it and left the class after packing his things.
Ayla called the office that was to hire her to ask about the day she would start working. The secretary was apologetic as she explained that the person in charge of her had gone on a business trip and could only be back after a week. Ayla was advised to visit the office the following week. She looked at sun shining brightly in the sky and sighed.
As she walked back to her room, she could feel a headache pounding. It wasn't very severe, but she still felt it.
She decided to go to bed the moment she arrived in her room. She was praying that she wouldn't find her two roommates who happened to be her bullies, too. Fortunately for her, they weren't in sight. She took that as an advantage and climbed onto her bed before she slept.
The moment Charlotte and Ayrelia entered the room and saw her sleeping, they were enraged. Aurelia instructed Charlotte to fetch a basin full of cold water from the bathroom. Charlotte did as she was told. The moment Aurelia took the basin, she instantly splashed the cold water on Ayla's sleeping figure, which immediately startled her awake.
"Glad you are finally awake. Where is our lunch?" Aurelia smirked when he took in her drenched figure and asked coldly. They had made it clear to her that she would always buy lunch for them .
"I was not feeling well, i- "
"Shut up!" Charlotte was enraged when she saw her trying to explain herself and slapped her hard across the face. Her head hit the headrest, making her wince in pain. Instantly, the pain doubled, Ayla could see stars at that moment.
"In 15 minutes, I want to see my lunch here, otherwise.." Aurelia dragged on the last statement, but she could tell what she meant.
With much difficulty, she changed into a different outfit and left the room. She slowly dragged her feet outside, the headache was weighing down on her, her face was deathly pale, like a sheet of paper.
"Student, are you okay?" A male student saw her situation and asked with concern.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Thanks for your concern."Ayla faked a smile and answered. Since that was the case, the male student left .
Hayden had just gotten into his car and was about to drive home when he spotted Ayla's figure again. Even though he didn't know her name, he knew her face and figure so well. She was very skinny and looked emaciated, who wouldn't know her figure. He watched as she staggered in the direction of the cafeteria and wondered; was she sick? Also, why was it that almost all the times he stumbled upon her, she would always be in some kind of trouble? He didn't know why, but he had the sudden urge to go and ask her what the problem was. He was still contemplating that when she heard shrieks from the cafeteria;
"Someone's fainted!"
The moment he turned to look at the cafeteria door, his heart sank.