The next day, Hannah and Henry arrived at Ashley's house to pick her up for school, but were informed that she had already left, which was surprising because Ashley only went to school with them.
On reaching school, Hannah rushed to Ashley to find out why she went to school without them. On reaching there, she saw a tall, masculine figure in a black suit, black shades with a wireless earpiece in his ear, standing behind her.
The man looked like an FBI agent from a Hollywood movie. Ashley spotted Hannah staring from a distance; she rushed to hug her, and the man followed almost immediately.
"Ashley, who is he?"
Ashley pulled Hannah to the girls' bathroom, and the black-suited man followed them. On reaching the bathroom door, Ashley turned around to see the man was still following them.
"What, are you really going to follow us into the bathroom as well? Have some manners. This is a girl's bathroom, so please stay at least 5ft away from here," Ashley said.
"Ma'am, your father asked me to watch over you. I can't let you out of my sight," the man said.
Ashley noticed people around were starting to get drawn by the drama, so she held back her words.
She stared at him with death eyes before walking inside the bathroom and slamming the door shut on his face.
As soon as they got inside, Hannah burst into laughter, with Ashley looking pissed off at the scene created outside.
"Okay, who is he?" Hannah asked, still recovering from her laughter.
"He is a stupid bodyguard my father hired for me. I just feel like pushing him into a ditch."
"Wait, hold up. Why would your father get you a bodyguard now when he already gave you your freedom?"
Ashley narrated what happened at the mansion last night, and she immediately became gloomy.
"I'm sorry you had to endure that, Ashley," Hannah said.
"It's okay. You don't have to apologize. It's my fault. I shouldn't hit anyone with a stick, no matter what they have done," Ashley replied.
After a while, hoping that the bodyguard must have gotten bored and left, Ashley and Hannah stepped out of the bathroom but were surprised to find him standing and waiting for her.
On their way to class, they whispered to each other schemes to get rid of the bodyguard and concluded that this was going to be a tough shell to crack, unlike the other bodyguards Ashley has had.
The bodyguard followed Ashley around all day, and she got a lot of attention from it. She was in despair from the embarrassment she would face once again from having a bodyguard.
Mr. Andy was heading to a class when he bumped into Ashley and the bodyguard.
She could see he was confused about who he was and what was going on.
Ashley also pulled Mr. Andy to the side, explaining everything to him, and surprisingly, he told her it was best that way.
Ashley couldn't believe her ears, and she pulled him back and said, "What do you mean by 'it's best that way'? Can't you see how fast I'm drowning in humiliation?"
"Don't you know the damage the incident of yesterday caused your parents' reputation? For now, you need to be under close supervision, so I totally agree with them," Mr. Andy said.
He walked up to the bodyguard and got involved in a conversation with him.
The two seemed to relate very well.
After a while, Andy bid Ashley goodbye and went to his class, while she was once again left with her annoying bodyguard.
Days went on like that, and everyone except Ashley had gotten used to the bodyguard's presence in the classroom.
One afternoon, Mr. Andy was completing some work on his laptop when he received an email that had him very disturbed, and he immediately sent for Ashley.
A few minutes later, Ashley arrived at his office alongside the bodyguard. He kindly asked the bodyguard to step out so that he could talk to Ashley in private, but he refused, saying he couldn't let her out of his sight.
Ashley, as usual, was pissed at his reply, while Mr. Andy tried his best to persuade the man, but still, he insisted on staying with her.
Ashley jumped off her seat and dragged Mr. Andy into the Instruments closet in his office, locking the door from the inside.
"Ashley, are you out of your mind? Why did you do that? What if he draws attention? We would both get into so much trouble," Mr. Andy said.
"More reasons why you should hurry up with whatever you want to say. We don't have much time."
Mr. Andy showed her the email on his phone sent from "the arts of music" social platform. He gave her the phone, and she read through the email.
"So, the registration for the contest will be ending soon?" Ashley said, sounding like she had a lump in her throat.
"Yes, I had to ask you to think it through one last time," he stepped closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder, and continued, "this is an opportunity I would never want you to miss out on."
The tension of being in a locked room and so close to Mr. Andy made her stomach knot. Thoughts started running through her head as she looked into his bold, deep, intriguing eyes.
She could hear his breathing, and for a minute, it felt like the world paused when Mr. Andy was also caught by Ashley's glance.
They were interrupted by her bodyguard's constant banging on the door, and Ashley unlocked the door before he could pull in an audience.
The rest of the day, Ashley couldn't stop thinking of the amazing opportunities she could get if she participated in the competition. She also thought about the downsides, like her father finding out, and what he would do to her, especially with her upcoming senior school exams.
Mr. Andy tried so many times to approach Ashley with the intentions of convincing her, but due to the drama that happened earlier, he was stopped by the bodyguard each time he tried.
Ashley was seated at recess when the bodyguard rushed to the toilet. He spent a very long time there, which worried Ashley.
She had just concluded her recess, but yet no sign of the bodyguard. She decided to go in search of him but couldn't find him, so she decided to attend her classes until he got back.
The bodyguard finally returned, looking sick and pale. She asked him what had happened, but he could barely make a complete sentence without running to the toilet.