Aurora reluctantly sat down beside the infuriating Julian, her irritation palpable. He seemed utterly oblivious to her discomfort, instead reveling in her unease.
"So, how's tonight going to be?" Julian asked, his gaze fixed on Shirley, a girl Aurora had grown to find irritating.
Since the moment they sat down, Shirley had been shamelessly flirting with Julian, who was lapping up the attention.
Aurora's disgust boiled over, and she let out a low, exasperated growl. "Urrrggh." She had never felt such intense irritation in her life.
I'm
As she carefully gathered her belongings, Aurora turned to Shirley's friend, who was sitting beside her. "Please, be careful with my book," she requested, her tone polite but firm.
The girl shot her a disdainful look before turning away, clearly uninterested in acknowledging Aurora's request. Aurora chose to ignore the girl's hostility, instead focusing on packing her books with precision.
Aurora scanned the room, wondering when the lecturer would arrive. The students were all engrossed in their own activities. Some were glued to their phones, while others chatted animatedly.
While others like Julian, were shamelessly flirting with a group of girls.
"Good morning, class," a female teacher announced, striding into the room.
Aurora expected the class to settle down, but instead, they ignored the teacher and continued with their antics. The teacher, seemingly unfazed, began lecturing without bothering to restore order.
Aurora's eyes widened in surprise. "So, this is how it's done here," she muttered to herself, incredulous.
As the teacher droned on, Aurora struggled to focus. Julian and his entourage, however, were making it impossible. Their raucous laughter and whispers were a constant distraction.
Aurora's patience finally wore thin. "Please, can you guys lower your voices?" she requested, her tone calm but firm, despite her intense desire to scream at them.
"Sowie," Julian muttered, his apology sounding insincere to Aurora's ears. She wondered if he was genuinely remorseful or just trying to get under her skin, as was his usual modus operandi. Aurora chose to ignore him, refocusing her attention on the female teacher.
Statistics was a subject that had always eluded her. After her parents' passing, she and her sister had relied on the wealth they had left behind.
However, when their funds eventually dwindled, they were forced to drop out of school. Despite this setback, Aurora's thirst for knowledge had not been quenched. She continued to study on her own, but Statistics remained a challenging subject for her to grasp.
Aurora glanced around the room, searching for someone who might be paying attention to the teacher. Her eyes landed on a young boy, who appeared to be a studious nerd, busily jotting down notes.
"Don't even bother approaching him to explain the topic," Julian whispered in her ear, his breath sending shivers down her spine. "He's so dull, he can't even spell his own name properly."
Aurora shot Julian a withering glare, but he simply smirked at her, his eyes glinting with amusement. What a jerk, she thought, her lips curling into a silent snarl.
Julian's smirk never wavered. "You can meet me instead. I don't charge too much for extra classes," he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Aurora's response was immediate and venomous. "To hell with you," she spat, earning her a chorus of glares from Julian's entourage. But she didn't care; she was beyond fed up with Julian's antics.
"Ma'am, can I meet you after class?" Aurora asked the teacher as she was about to exit.
The teacher's response was swift and brutal. "Don't even think about it!" she barked, prompting the entire class to erupt into laughter.
Shirley's voice rose above the din. "What a nerd!" she exclaimed, her words dripping with mockery.
Aurora exhaled deeply, feeling her frustration mount. "What a school. What a day," she muttered to herself.
She heard Julian chuckle, but she refused to acknowledge him. The school was proving to be even more challenging than she had anticipated.
As soon as the lunch bell rang, Aurora gathered her belongings and made her way to a secluded corner she had spotted earlier. She sat down, feeling exhausted and demoralized. It was only her first day, and already she felt like throwing in the towel.
Her thoughts drifted to Laura, and the painful silence that had hung between them since their argument. Aurora had attempted to talk to her sister that morning, but Laura's hateful glare had shut her down before she could even utter a word.
Aurora pulled out her Statistics notebook, trying to make sense of the complex concepts. But the words blurred together on the page, and she felt her frustration boil over.
Just then, Julian appeared, his eyes scanning the area as if searching for someone. "What are you doing here?" he asked, his tone tinged with surprise.
Aurora's eyes narrowed. "I should be asking you that," she retorted, her voice firm. "Were you following me?" She asked, her left eyebrow quirking upward.
Julian's response was swift. "And what are you?"
"Well, then, I'll leave," She said, her tone tinged with annoyance.
Julian hesitated, his eyes locking onto hers for a moment before he turned to leave.
Julian trudged away, his exhaustion evident in every step. He had sought out his usual sanctuary to clear his mind, but instead, he found Aurora, whose presence seemed to be a constant source of frustration for him.
He couldn't help but wonder why she harbored such intense animosity towards him. In his opinion, he had done nothing to warrant her hateful attitude.
"I'm starting to think she enjoys making my life miserable," he muttered to himself.
He walked into an empty classroom, the silence a welcome respite from his turbulent thoughts. Ever since his father became the Don, Julian's life had become increasingly complicated.
His father's strict and demanding nature had intensified, with every decision revolving around the family's interests, regardless of Julian's feelings or well-being.
"Why did it have to be me?" he thought, his mind drifting back to the previous day's events. He had almost lost his life during a botched mission to retrieve guns from a client.
The plan had been to eliminate the client, Damon, but the man had secretly been working against them, leaving Julian to fight for his life.
"What was Dad thinking, sending me on that job?" Julian's frustration boiled over as he thought about the events that had unfolded.
He had been so close to death, and for what? To further his father's empire? The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Are you okay?" a soft voice asked, breaking the silence.
Julian looked up, startled, and met the concerned gaze of the nerdy boy. It had been a long time since someone had shown him such genuine concern.
"I'm good," Julian replied gruffly, hastily wiping away a tear that had escaped down his cheek.
The boy's eyes narrowed. "You're crying," he stated, his voice tinged with empathy.
Julian felt a flush rise to his cheeks as he struggled to respond. The boy's words had caught him off guard, exposing a vulnerability he had tried to keep hidden.
"You don't look good," the boy continued, his expression sincere. "I always come here during lunch breaks, and sometimes I see you here, looking... distressed. I didn't know how to approach you, so I kept my distance."
Julian's eyes narrowed, a mixture of surprise and curiosity. "So, why are you asking me now?"
The boy's gaze held his. "Because it's becoming a regular thing. You're either here or in that corner by the library. I've noticed you... struggling."
Julian's face burned with shame. How had this stranger seen through his façade when even his closest friends had no idea about his inner turmoil?
He quickly regained his composure, his mask of indifference slipping back into place. "I'm good, you don't have to worry about me," he said brusquely, turning to leave.
The boy's words followed him out of the room. "If you ever need someone to talk to... I'm here."
Julian looked one more time at the nerd, his heart melted. "Thank you." He mouthed and turned to leave.
He passed by the Staffs room and saw the Aurora girl seating comfortably on Miss Kate's chair, the statistics teacher. "So she did come for extra lessons." He said to himself amused and walked away.
Class was over for Julian. He had unfinished business to handle.
He got out of the class with his bag hung on his shoulder.
Aurora came in and saw him getting on his powerbike. They locked eyes. She didn't see the usual smirk on his face, she saw something else - pain.
She looked away and entered the classroom.
As the teacher droned on, Aurora's mind began to wander. She couldn't shake off the image of Julian's pained expression. What could be bothering him? She pushed the thought aside, focusing on her notes.
The rest of the afternoon flew by in a blur. As the final bell rang, Aurora gathered her belongings and filed out of the classroom with the rest of the students. She was relieved to have made it through the day without any more encounters with Julian.
As she walked down the hallway, she noticed a group of students huddled near the lockers, whispering among themselves.
They fell silent as she approached, their eyes darting towards her before quickly looking away.
Aurora didn't give a damn about the whispers and stares that followed her. She quickened her pace, eager to escape the crowded hallway.
As she emerged into the bright sunlight, she felt a sense of relief wash over her. Today hadn't been as terrible as she'd anticipated. She'd even managed to grasp the Statistics topic to some extent.
As she walked out of the school gates, her eyes scanned the ground, and she spotted a piece of paper fluttering in the breeze. She picked it up, expecting it to be a discarded note or a crumpled test paper. But instead, her heart skipped a beat as she read the cryptic message scrawled on the page:
"Welcome to hell, Aurora Philips."
A shiver ran down her spine as she felt a chill run down her spine. Who could have written this? And what did they mean by "welcome to hell"? She looked around, but the streets were empty, and the only sound was the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Suddenly, a faint whisper seemed to caress her ear: "You have no idea what's coming for you…"