3 Days Earlier.
Oliver had kissed her under the moonlight. It wasn't a sexual kiss but something more intimate, more passionate. It was slow and gentle. Enchanting and magical if she wanted to be a romantic about it.
The kiss made her heart flutter tremendously. This was not how she wanted to feel but things were different between them now. They were dating. She was dating her professor. Shit!
Then, when he dropped her at home, at her door, she didn't know what to do or say to him.
"Um… you know…. Thank you for the erm… date… it was a nice date."
Oliver chuckled, "Sure, Hastings. Don't be late for work tomorrow."
"Or what? You'll give me the night shift. And here I was thinking that being your girlfriend meant something special," she blurted out and her eyes widened.
Oliver raised a brow, amusement dancing in his eyes as he pinned her down with his gaze.
"Girlfriend? You've just made my entire year." He crossed the space between them, pulling her in before crashing his lips into hers. "I can never get enough of you." He breathed before pulling away.
"Go." She weakly hit his chest. "I wouldn't want to keep you from all the murders you want to commit."
"That's not something a Gryffindor should say. But who knows maybe you're a Slytherin at heart." He teased and she rolled her eyes.
"Get your ass off my porch before I call the police."
"Now, now, Hastings, what did we say about your bluffs?"
"My bluffs?" she spluttered. "I do not Bluff you asshole!"
"Sure…" he drawled and Kayla huffed flipping her middle finger at him before slamming the door in her face. Like always, his laughter trailed behind her.
The date was everything she expected and more. She couldn't wait for the next one.
Jumping into her bed, she squealed into her pillow. "Ahhhh!" Her legs kicked the air, as she rolled on her bed, unable to contain her excitement.
They had kissed and they were dating! "Oh my fucking God! What if people find out!?" She sat up, and her heart leaped to her throat when she heard a 'ding' from her phone.
[Ollie]: Dream of me tonight like you do every night.
[Kaylaluv]: in ur wildest dreams professor
[Ollie]: I think you skipped any class on punctuation, Hastings.
[kaylaluv]: as long as d ppl i send d messages 2 understand what's d probs
Kayla wanted to strangle him.
[Ollie]: Get some sleep, that's if you can.
She could hear his low chuckle in her ears when she saw the message. That asshole! She threw her phone on the other side of her bed.
'Dream of me.' That she could do.
After a much-needed shower, she went into the living room and saw Loui coming out of her room. The girl's eyes were puffy. She had been crying.
"When did you come home, Loui?" Did she see her and Oliver? How long has she been home?
"Just got on an hour ago. I went to the cemetery after visiting my grandma." Loui explained and Kayla nodded.
"How… how are you?" Visiting Cole must have been hard for her.
"I talked to him about everything I've been up to and I talked about you too. I think he's still angry that you never baked him the cake he wanted for your birthday." The blue-haired girl almost choked on her words.
"Oh come here." Kayla opened her arms and Loui ran to her.
"I miss…" (hiccup) "miss him so much. So much that sometimes it hurts too much. Like my…(hiccup) my heart is going to explode."
Kayla stroked her hair, letting her speak. "I'm here for you. Always. Anytime you feel like it's too much, come to me. I make a mean lasagna on my good day."
Louisa sniffed, breaking the hug. She used her sleeve to wipe her tears. Kay went to the kitchen and brought a glass of water for her best friend.
"Here,"
"Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Feelings mutual, my little blue minx." She dropped down beside Louisa and the latter laughed. "Wanna watch a movie?"
"It's almost like 1 am, and you have to go to work tomorrow, can we watch a movie?" Kayla mumbled pursing her lips. "Speaking of work, how is working with Oliver like? Any deaths I should be aware of?"
A shy smile tugged on her lips. The only death she saw was hers because of that damn asshole. She cleared her throat when she saw Loui eyeing her suspiciously. "No deaths… yet."
"You've been working there for about three weeks and no one has managed to offend Kayla Hastings," Louisa gasped dramatically, hand on her chest.
Kayla frowned, "Well there's this witch. Remember that girl we saw at the game? Reigna?"
"Yeah. I do. Her face is painted in my head. It's like I've met her somewhere."
"Me too! That aside, she called me a slut!"
"And you slapped her?" Louisa deadpanned.
"Don't look at me like that!" Her nostrils flared.
"Like what?"
"All judgey and righteous. I did what I had to!"
"I have a bad feeling about that girl. She doesn't seem right in the head from what Jack tells me." Louisa furrowed her brows, in deep thought.
"Jack told you about her!? When!?"
"Stop yelling. I swear one of these days we're going to get a noise notice from our neighbors." Louisa muttered.
"But she's so annoying. It's like I offended her in a past life or something."
"That's what you said about the ten thousand people that don't like you. No offense, but being polite doesn't come naturally to you." She said pointedly and Kayla glared at her.
"For fucks sake, you sound like Jack!"
"Reasonable people do tend to have many things in common." The other friend shrugged, averting her gaze.
"Like pestering me. Seems like a hobby at this point!" Kayla hissed. "But other than Belliatrix's reincarnation, things have been super amazing!" She beamed.
"On the spirit of good news, I have something excellent to share!" Louisa exclaimed. "Drum roll please!"
Kayla mimicked the drum rolls with her hands and lips. " I've finished the first draft of my sports romance book!"
"Oh, my fucking! Fuck! You're serious!? You finished the book!?" Her brows shot up.
"The first draft. It still has a long way to go before it's ready for publication and I have to find an editor and a publisher unless I become an indie or I might…" Louisa rambled biting her nails.
"Oh shut up! You finished it so quickly! Like it's been like three months!"
"Yes. After the fight Andrew and Wyatt had I became inspired and Wyatt helped me secure those interviews, just like he promised so it was a walk in the park from there."
"This is so amazing! Like crazy! Very soon you'll be the next best-selling author! My friend is a master-class author!" Kayla started daydreaming making Louisa blush.
"I still have a long way to go before that but thanks for the vote of confidence but I need a favor."
"What do you need?"
"Would you mind reading my book and giving me feedback? I know you don't like reading but I need you to help me. I've revised the first draft do I think I can start giving it to beta readers and I want you to be my first."
"Awww. Loui, of course, I'll be the first." She wrapped her arms around her. "I'm so fucking proud of you so would he." She meant Cole.
"I love you, Kay. Me and you always and forever."
"Yeah. Forever." The last part was a whisper. "I love you, Loui, and don't forget it."
Kayla had a test on Wednesday so she would get a day off from work. She didn't have to classes since she had enough credits to graduate because of all the plays she had directed and been in.
But this test was a calculus test that would impact her grade and she might graduate with honors if she passed, which she would.
However, she had to study hard because she wasn't naturally smart like Rory and Terrence. It had been a while since she had seen or heard from the boys that were in her high school. They were probably doing their thing.
Luckily she managed to get half-days on Monday and Tuesday which she suspected was because of Oliver. He had given her a bracelet with the four-leaf clover drooping down from it.
On Tuesday, as she was going out of the office, she ran into Reigna.
"Good luck with your exam, Kayla!" The witch smiled so brightly at her that Kay thought she was hallucinating.
"Ew! Please don't wish me anything thing, who knows what curse you've cast, so kindly stay away from me!" Kayla bumped into her shoulder, harshly and walked away.
***
The Present.
"Sir, I'm telling you, I didn't cheat! The paper is not mine!" Kayla protested.
"Then whose is it? This is your handwriting on the paper, is it not? Please leave the class and follow me to the Dean's office!"
"Like I explained before, I did nothing wrong! So I'll be more than happy to follow you there!" The professor didn't even allow her to gather her things as they were 'evidence.'
When they arrived at the Dean's office, she saw a man in his late sixties, his hair was completely white and his office contained personal certificates, the school's certificates, trophies, and laurels.
On his desk was a family photo and a name badge. 'Dean Sinclair John.'
"Professor Maynor, how may I be of help to you?" Dean Sinclair greeted, politely but there was an edge of authority to his voice.
Maynor was fuming. He hated students who cheated the most. How dare she!?
"This girl," the disdain seeped into the word, "Was caught cheating in my exam! I want her expelled from the school this instant! She's the same girl that caused us to lose the soccer championship!"
Kayla understood it now. He was upset about the game not entirely the cheating.
The Dean scanned Kayla from head to toe. The girl dressed like she was going to a fashion event or a high-end gala. He was old but he could recognize high-end brands when he saw one.
"What's the evidence?"
"I saw a paper fall when I asked her to stand up. Here, I took a picture of her paper and the cheat and the answers were identical! I told you we should have expelled her that day! What kind of student behaves like this!?"
"And I told you that I am innocent! I didn't put that there!"
"Do you have any evidence to back your claim?" the Dean asked, calmly.
"No." she wanted to suggest the footage but it wouldn't prove anything, would it? The paper was found between her legs so anytime she bent her head people would presume she was looking at the paper. She didn't even see the paper when looking down.
That meant someone had put it there when the professor was coming towards her. Her face became worse thinking about this. She was furious.
"I did not cheat! Someone is trying to frame me!"
"You still have the gall to lie?"
"Lie? I am not lying! Why would you just accuse me because you don't like me, sir!? It's because of the game, isn't it!?" Her heart pounded in her ears which was a sign that she should take a breather but this was too much.
"Wow! Something about you being shameless is right. After causing over fifty students to be suspended and souring the relationship we have with another school, you had the face to show up to the college. You are truly something!" The man said, scrunching up his nose in disgust,
"I already told you that I didn't cheat!" she wanted to slap his bald head maybe that would give him some sense because he didn't have any.
"Dean I say we expel her and blacklist her!"
"That's going too far. Why don't we seize her papers and fail her for this exam and call her parents." The Dean checked the evidence and thought this was the best course of action.
Kayla couldn't think straight. Her breathing became labored. "Don't call my parents! They don't need to know!"
"But they do. It's part of the rules."
Fuck. This was bad. Terribly so.