Tasked

Dahlia’s POV

Flashbacks of times I tried to pick on Klaus came to mind when I walked past the door which led to what used to be Killian’s room on the way to mine. Killian. I felt very ashamed of becoming like the kind of people he disliked most. I tried to stop thinking about all that is going on now and well, it worked at least, until my infirmary pass fell out of my pocket when I was changing into much comfortable clothes.

Seeing the infirmary pass knocked me back to reality. I could try to avoid him as much as possible but no matter what, I was still going to be with him working on the stupid office. I only got into this mess trying to save his butt. This is why I always said being nice gets you nowhere. I can’t stop myself from feeling how bad I felt after overhearing his conversation with the school nurse, but I can at least prepare myself mentally to work with him.

After I had my supper alone again today, I instinctively whip out my phone to text Stormie but it seems she is inactive. I take a warm shower and change into my new and little oversized pajamas. Nothing was of interest to me at this point of the day. I couldn’t sleep too. So, I tried to look up some pictures of office interior decor on the internet. Soon enough, scenarios of how working with Klaus would be like kept flooding my mind. I groaned and retired to bed as what I was doing was just making everything worse.

________

Klaus wasn’t in my first class of the day fortunately. I definitely still felt bad but much better than yesterday. I was mentally prepared, like about a forty percent but, it was definitely much better than no preparation at all, I convinced myself. Today, I planned on not having lunch at all because my mother literally stuffed me at breakfast this morning. Instead of lunch, I stayed back I class and tried to prepare a mood board for Mr. Acquah’s office since we would most probably start working today.

I guess I was kidding myself when I thought the girls I sit with at lunch will notice my absence and probably text me. Well, everyone in our school and I knew they only followed me around because of who my parents were. Because of how influential and affluent my parents were, I have been deprived of real friends my whole life. Lots of people try to befriend me because of what I had but unfortunately for them, I knew what they were in for, so it is only fair to treat them as the pawns that they are in exchange for a few designer gifts. Both can always play at being fake.

Klaus’s POV

During lunch, I stall a little bit at the threshold of the library door wondering if Dahlia would show up only because we needed to at least, discuss how we were going to go about this whole office makeover mess.

7 minutes later...

Well I guess she isn’t going to show up. It’s not as if I asked her to meet me in the first place. I went to look for her in the cafeteria. Every one of her equally rude pawns was present on their lunch table but her. The last thing I wanted to do was speak to one of her pawns so instead, I went to look for her in different classrooms in the senior block.

There she is. She is concentration on something on her screen and honestly...she would easily pass for an angelic queen. Her brown hair, and caramel skin...clothes, posture...grip on a pen in anticipation to write. Everything about her seems perfect, except her attitude. I am broken out of her trance at the thought of her attitude. She really is exquisitely beautiful, simple and classy. I have never really looked at her properly. Now I don’t blame her, such near-perfection will definitely cause her to think she’s better than others and treat them as such.

What am I doing? I better start moving before anyone catches me staring at her. I walk into the classroom gently towards her to avoid startling her. I think she is creating a mood board already for the office makeover. Wow, what an enthusiast she is.

"I’d say this is nice but I’d be settling.", I say, as if she ever asked for my opinion.

I guess I startled her when I spoke seeing how she jumped from her feet. Suddenly, her eyes looked sad again, guilty even. Is it really because of me? Then in reaction to my comment on her mood board, she shot me a deadly glare.

" Why are you here? ", she looked away and asked in a firm unwelcoming voice.

"Ummm, to discuss the whole office thing. What else?", I confusedly reply.

"Sure.", she said, passing me her tablet without even looking at me. Wow, this is new. She had changed from rude and pesky to sad and guilty and then finally to cold in less than a week.

She had accumulated some pretty good ideas, I didn't even have much to add, except that we should use more of brown in our decor. I mean, it’s a school office, not some girly teen workspace. But of course, I didn’t say this to her. Her glare could render me headless.

“I’ll go take the spare keys, we start work today after school.”, I bluntly announce and walk away to my next class.