Later that afternoon...
Heartbroken Ashley sat with Hannah at the lunch table, still trying to process everything that had happened between her and Mr. Andy.
For a moment, she was over the moon in Mr. Andy's arms, and the next, she was on the floor in a fog.
Hannah, who was talking to her, noticed she wasn't paying any attention.
Rather, she looked restless and worried, like a fish out of water.
But Ashley kept on staring at the nothingness.
"Ashley." Hannah tapped her.
Ashley jumped like she had been electrocuted.
"What are you thinking about, Ashley? Is it about Mr. Andy again? What did he do?" Hannah asked.
"It's nothing, Hannah," Ashley replied as she picked up a spoon to begin her meal.
Immediately, a junior student ran up to their seat and handed Ashley an envelope.
"Who is it from?" She asked the boy.
He didn't say anything… He only shook his head and ran off.
What the…?
Ashley stared at the envelope…
There was nothing written on the body…
So she calmly opened the envelope to reveal what was inside…
Ashley's facial expression changed from surprise to pure anger as she began reading the letter.
"Who is it from?" Hannah asked, but she got no response.
Ashley quickly stood up from her seat and marched straight to Mr Andy's office.
Has he returned to his office? Ashley didn't care.
That was the only place she could think of finding him.
Immediately after she entered his office, She slammed the door, almost tearing it off its hinges.
"Miss Whitmore, what rubbish is this? Do you want to pull off my door? I expected more remorseful behavior from you," Mr. Andy said as he looked up from his laptop.
Ashley stood motionless for a minute, scanning through Mr. Andy's eyes, searching for the care she had once felt that made her fall hopelessly in love with him.
But all she could see was how irritated he was with her around.
Trying to suppress the tears that filled her eyes from rushing down, she sat down and showed him the note.
"Why are you giving me a discipline note? What exactly did I do? Is this because I kissed you?" Ashley asked rudely.
Mr. Andy had had enough of her behavior.
He hit his desk and got up from his seat, fuming with rage.
"Ashley, I have had enough of this attitude of yours. You are being disciplined for being rude to your teacher," Mr. Andy said.
"Are you really going to punish me? Will you really discipline me?" Ashley asked in a soft voice, and she walked closer to him with her lips just a few inches away from his.
"What has gotten into you, Ashley? Is this really you? Try to control yourself," Mr Andy said as he shoved her away in disgust.
Ashley fell to the ground for the second time, and she felt her heart rip and her throat tighten.
"Please leave my office now or I will have to take you to the disciplinary room."
Ashley was dumbfounded as she looked at the man she loved in pain.
Sensing that she wasn't going to leave, Andy held her hand and dragged her from his office.
They entered a room with a board on the door that had "DISCIPLINARY ROOM" boldly written on it.
He hurled her toward a desk that had a pen and paper on it.
"You are going to write 'I WILL NEVER BE RUDE TO MY TEACHER' 500 times and read it out loud," Mr. Andy said.
It came like a bolt from the blue, and Ashley couldn't believe her ears.
She paused, hoping he would take it back, but he sat down and glanced through his phone, giving her the impression that he couldn't care less.
After hopelessly waiting, she sat by the desk, struggling to pick up the pen with her trembling hands before she could finally start writing.
They were both sitting in the office for hours.
It was just a matter of time before her hands began to hurt, but what hurt her the most was the way Mr. Andy treated her.
Having had enough of Mr. Andy's pointless punishments, she flung the pencil to a corner in the room and stood up from her seat, outraged.
"I have literally had enough. My hands are hurting, and I can no longer write. I want to go home," Ashley said as her face turned red in anger.
"Do you ever learn your lesson? Why are you always so rude?" Mr. Andy asked.
"You can call it being rude, but everything I did was because I loved you. How is that a crime?" Ashley replied in a high-pitched tone.
"It is a crime, Ashley. It's an abomination. I am your teacher, a grown-up in my thirties. You are just a seventeen-year-old who shouldn't be talking about love at this age of yours," Mr. Andy said.
"The world might see it as a crime, but I don't. I will still love you anyway, and you also love me." She walked closer to him and held his face as he looked away in agitation, trying to suppress the outburst of anger that he felt.
"I know you love me, and that's why you kissed me back.
You held on to my waist; you were so absorbed in my lips, so why didn't you consider then that I was a seventeen-year-old?" Ashley said calmly as she pulled her body closer to his.
"Ashley!" Mr. Andy yelled out, grabbing Ashley by the shoulders.
Her eyes widened, and she had goosebumps all over her body from the shock.
"I've had enough of your rubbish, Ashley. What has gotten into you? Ashley, I don't love you. Do you even know what love is?" Mr. Andy said with his grip tightly on Ashley's shoulders.
He could see how terrified she was and immediately let go of her, trying not to scare her even more.
There was an awkward silence in the room.
Ashley gave Mr. Andy one last hateful look before she stormed out of the room.
As soon as Ashley left the room, Andy couldn't help but feel bad about how he treated her.
Why did he feel like running to her to tell her he was sorry and that he wanted her?
And that he loved their kiss?