His persistence infuriated Ashley.
Burning up with rage, she scanned the area and spotted a stick, which she picked up and used as a weapon to hit the boy with the assurance that he would adhere and open the phone.
"Everyone, look!" the boy screamed out, hoping to get more attention.
"This is exactly how rich kids behave! They are such spoiled brats, raised without manners. I mean, look at her! She is trying to beat me up with a stick. You all tell me, Is being poor a crime now?"
A crowd gathered, and they all seemed to be in favor of the boy.
They looked at him with pity after hearing his story that he was a victim of a rich brat's intimidation.
Ashley tried explaining herself, but she couldn't care less about other people's opinions.
All she wanted was to delete the pictures from the phone and walk away calmly, but the boy continually disagreed.
At first, she intended to only scare him, but he made her angrier when he started laughing like a maniac and still refused to open the phone after so many threats, irritating Ashley.
Hannah tried to hold her back, but she was already engrossed in the glee of teaching him a lesson.
"Smack…" The wood hit the boy just above his right shoulder, and he fell to the floor.
Ashley was evidently furious, it seemed like she was driving all her pent-up emotions into the stick.
She almost hit his head when a tall, masculine figure took the wood from her hand and dragged her to a corner.
"What happened, Mr. Andy? Why did you stop me? I would have taught him a lesson," Ashley said.
Mr. Andy replied in a pitched voice, "You seem to have forgotten whose daughter you are. Those boys were only trying to make a story from you, and you have definitely given them one. In fact, you have given this entire state a reason to talk."
Ashley began to calm down slowly after Mr. Andy's confrontation, trying to decipher what he was talking about.
She discovered most of the people around her had recognized her and started recording the whole fight.
She hung her head in shame, realizing so much attention was on her at the moment.
Some tried to get closer, hoping to capture her face close up for publication.
Ashley felt a surge of tension flaring up at the scene, with questions, camera flashes, and phones from different angles on her.
The pressure from the crowd pressed harder, making her feel congested.
She immediately hid behind Mr. Andy to get away from the invasive attention being thrown at her, while he did his possible best to block out the uproar.
They finally managed to abscond the volatile racket, proceeding back to the school.
Reaching there, they found Miss Lily smiling from ear to ear while staring at her phone.
She welcomed them with what seemed to be a sinister glare, smiling like she had just won the lottery, and it made Ashley very uncomfortable.
"Ashley, where have you been?" she asked with a sly look.
"Why are you suddenly keen on knowing where I was? Tell me, what do you want from me?" Ashley replied, returning her obnoxiousness.
Lily's facial expression showed that she was aggravated by how Ashley replied to her questions, but she put on a perfunctory smile either way.
She turned to Mr. Andy, who stood cluelessly watching their rattle.
Trying not to look suspicious, she continued smiling and said, "Henry was looking for you and Hannah.
He searched the whole school but couldn't find you. So, he asked me to tell you he was going home, and you girls should try to get home yourselves."
Both Ashley and Hannah were penniless at the time.
They turned to each other with a despondent look. Mr. Andy had noticed and understood their eye communication, so he offered to give them a lift.
Surprisingly, for someone who could do anything to spend time with Mr. Andy a few hours ago, Ashley turned down the gesture and said they'd manage on their own.
Hearing Ashley's objection seemed to please Lily.
To her, Ashley's presence in Mr. Andy's life was toxic.
The constant drama between the two and the rate at which their relationship grew was a brewing storm that would end up making her plans of being with him futile.
The last thing she wanted was having them spend more time together.
So, she asked Andy to drop her off at home, hoping to avoid his persistence over helping Ashley and Hannah.
"Lily, you're an adult. You can just take a cab. They are just kids and girls at that. It's not safe to let them go home alone," Mr. Andy said.
"Sir, it's fine. We can manage on our own," Ashley said, while Hannah stood behind her and pinched her arm as a way of asking her to let him help them.
"Ashley, I can't let what happened with those goons happen again, or else I won't be able to forgive myself for it. Please let me just drop you off. I won't talk to you on our way there if it will make you feel better, but please don't go out alone," Mr. Andy said.
"Yes, Ashley," Hannah said, hoping to convince Ashley as well. "After all, those paparazzi might still be there. What if they come after us again?"
Ashley's decision was rather driven by her ego, but she couldn't deny how dangerous it would be going home on her own, especially now that people recognized her as Mr. Whitmore's daughter.
She finally agreed to it, and Lily was about to explode.
It seemed like no matter how many times she hoped to separate the two, it ended up backfiring.
"Don't you worry," she said to herself in a smirk.
Mr. Andy drove out to where the girls were waiting, and they both got in, with Ashley in the front seat and Hannah in the back.
***
Under the scorching sun, turquoise blue sky filled with plump pillow-like clouds, Mr. Andy's car could be found driving down a lonely street.