Chapter 14

Ariana stayed home the next day. Although she delivered milk, she had a fever and couldn't work at the coffee shop. She spent her day with Mike and her mother, which was really good. She couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun.

In the evening, she made dinner before leaving for her night shift at the gas station. Although her mom was against it, she persisted in going.

After a day or two, her fever subsided, and she resumed work at the coffee shop. She continued her study with Jeff that day. He invited her home, and they ended up studying the whole night. Luckily, Ariana made up an excuse at the gas station and ended up spending the night at his place. The next morning, she woke up confused. This didn't look like her room.

The door opened, and Jeffrey walked in, holding a cup of coffee. "Good morning," he smiled and took a sip. Her eyes widened. What the hell is she doing here? And Jeffery looked so cute with his messy hair.

"What am I doing at your place?"

"You slept here..."

"I what?!" Did she sleep at his place? Wait, did they sleep in the same bed?

"We slept together?"

"What? No, I slept in the guest room, and you slept in mine," Jeffery explained.

"Thank God." She sighed and ran her hands through her head.

"Want some coffee?"

She took a shower and changed into Jeff's shirt. It looked very big on her, like she was a mouse trapped in his shirt. She had to wear it while her clothes were in the washing machine. Jeffery offered her a cup of coffee; she accepted it and sat down on a couch. She noticed that they were the only ones in the house.

"Where's your family?" She asked.

"I live alone," Jeff answered. "So, the presentation is tomorrow, and we still have to finish our project." He added. They worked on the project, adding the finishing touches, and they were done in no time. Ariana got dressed and left for home.

Monday came quickly, and Ariana's alarm woke her up. She groaned; she hated waking up this early in the morning. But she had a good feeling about today. She made breakfast, did her morning routine, and headed to school. She didn't feel like going, but since she's Jeffery's partner, she had to be there, and she was surprised she hadn't been expelled.

As she walked down the hallway, she noticed that people weren't gossiping or giggling as they used to. Casey must have found someone else to pick on when Ariana wasn't at school. For the first time, she felt like she belonged here, like she fit in.

During literature class, Jeff and she were called to the front of the class to give their presentation on the history of Jazz music. There was applause, but as she stood up from her seat, there was a ripping sound heard in the classroom, followed by laughter from teenagers.

Her skirt had ripped in half. She felt angry, hurt, and frustrated. She knew Casey did it. Why wouldn't Casey leave her alone for even a second? The good feeling she had when she woke up disappeared like dust.

She turned to Casey and saw her holding her phone, taking pictures of Ariana. Ariana wanted to slap Casey and pull her hair, but that would land her in more trouble.

She hated it here. She hated that she couldn't speak up and defend herself. She hated that she just had to keep quiet and pretend it was nothing. She hated that she had to bottle up all her emotions inside her. She wished she could cut Casey's ears off. Attending this school was the worst mistake of her life. Feeling hurt, she picked up her bag and ran out of the classroom, with Jeff chasing after her. Ariana ran as fast as she could; she wanted to be alone.

She heard a familiar voice call out to her. She raised her head and saw Jack.

"Honey, what happened to your skirt?" Jack asked as he walked closer to her. Ariana couldn't hold the tears back any longer; she just let them roll down her cheeks.

"Come here." Jack hugged her, and they sat down on a bench. Jack covered Ariana with his jacket. He handed Ariana her favorite ice cream, and Ariana told him everything. It felt good talking to someone about the problems she was facing at school.

"She did that to you?" Jack asked, with a gaping mouth and a shocked expression on his face.

"Mhmm."

"I didn't know she's that awful..."

"She is a monster," Ariana interrupted. She wasn't surprised to see Jack's shocked expression. Everyone knew who Casey was and adored her. She was a model and also the mayor's daughter, and on top of that, she was Zach's girlfriend. Everyone expected her to be perfect in every aspect of life, but she was the opposite of perfect.

"I'm so sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. What are you doing here?"

"I dropped by to wish you good luck on your presentation, but I guess you won't be needing it."

"Haha, very funny. Thanks for coming to check up on me; I appreciate it," Ariana smiled.

"You're welcome. Feeling better?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Great, now kid, get back to class. I'm leaving," Jack stated, and he stood up from the bench.

"Uh-uh, I ain't going back there; I'd rather go to work," Ariana stood up. She wasn't returning to this school no matter what.

"You really wanna quit school?"

"I don't belong here anyway. Attending this school is the worst mistake I made," Ariana sighed.

"Okay, then let's go. I'm heading to your workplace," Jack smiled.

"Ah, we should go together," Ariana had a wide smile on her face and hooked arms with Jack. She heard Jeff shouting her name, and she stopped in her tracks.

"Keep going; I'll catch up with you," she smiled.

"I've been looking everywhere for you. Are you okay?" Jeffery held his knees as he panted.

"I'm fine. Are you okay? You looked like you ran a marathon," Ariana chuckled. Jeffery was suspicious about Ariana's behavior; he expected her to be crying or something, but she seemed cool, and she even smiled.

"Cool, then let's head back to class," he stated.

"I'm not going back there; good luck doing the presentation," Ariana stated before running up to Jack.

"Ariana, wait! Damnit!" Jeffery said, and he sat down on the bench to catch his breath and maybe think about why Ariana was so cool all of a sudden.