NEXT STEP 2
JASMINE'S POV
I woke up from my nightmare panting heavily and holding my chest tightly
"This is the first time this month I'm waking up before my stupid alarm rings" I said to myself
I just had a nightmare in which Jayden was trying to kill me through strangulation. I woke up immediately because I was out of breath. I don't think I'll be able to sleep again and it's just 4:am
I decided to just read a book until my alarm rings
2 HOURS 30 MINUTES LATER
"Beep beep, beep beep, buzz beep beep, beep beep, buzz" came the annoying sound of the alarm clock
I can't believe I fell asleep after having such a nightmare. I guess nature can't be defeated
"I should get ready before mom comes yelling" I said and headed to the bathroom to have my bath
I headed downstairs when I was ready for school and I my mum was not in the dining area as i expected
"That's strange. She's always preparing breakfast by this time. What happened?" I asked myself
"Mum" I said knocking on the door to her room before going in
"Mum, are you here" I called out seeing the empty room
"Where could she be? We only have 2 rooms in this house so where could she be?" I said
I checked her bathroom and she wasn't there. I decided to check outside and I still couldn't find her
I started to get worried and scared. I picked up my phone and gave her a call but I heard her phone ringing in the sitting room
I found her phone on the centre table and there was a note beneath it
"Hey honey. I went out to get something quickly. Take out something from the freezer and heat it for breakfast okay" I read the note out loud
"Mum can be so annoying sometimes. Why didn't she take her phone with her? She didn't even say when she'll be back" I said and headed to the kitchen to heat some of the leftover pudding
I finished eating, washed my plate and was about to leave when my phone suddenly rang
It was Tiffany
"Oh no. I forgot she offered to pick me up today" i said hitting my forehead lightly
"Good morning Jazzy" I heard Tiffany's cheerful voice immediately I picked her call
"Good morning Tiffany" I replied
"Are you ready for school?" She asked
"Yes I am" I said
"Okay I'll be there in the next two minutes" she said
"Okay" I said and she hung up
I decided to lock the house and wait for her outside
She came 2 minutes later as she had said
"Hey girl" she said waving
"Hi" I said getting into the car
"So, did you sleep well?" She asked and I didn't know what to say
I couldn't tell her about the nightmare and I also couldn't tell lie to her
"Not really" I said after much contemplation
"Why?" She asked with her eyes fixed on the road
"Well I had a bad dream that's all" I said as I remembered how short of breath I was when I was strangled
"Hey you okay? You're sweating even though the AC is turned on" she said
I didn't realise I was sweating until she pointed it out
"I'm fine" I said and wiped the sweat of my forehead with my handkerchief
"Okay, if you say so" Tiffany said and smiled at me
The journey to the academy afterwards was quiet. I was still thinking of what Jayden would do to me today while Tiffany grooved to the music playing in the car
"We're here" Tiffany said bringing me out of my thoughts
"Ooh okay" I said and smiled at her
"Thank you" I added after getting out of the car
"You don't have to thank me. I'll be picking you up everyday so will you tell me thank you everyday too?" She asked
"Thank you but you don't have to Tiffany" I said trying to reason with her her
"I've madey decision Jazzy so no more arguments" Tiffany said and pulled me into the building
Our lockers are closed to each other so we headed there together
I was taking out the books I'll be needing for the first class when someone suddenly snatched my books from me
"Hey" I said and looked up to see who snatched my books
"You want these back?" Jayden said
I remembered the nightmare I had and I began to breath heavily out of fear of running out of breath again
I mustered up courage and decided to take my books from him
"Give them back please" I said to him shaking slightly
"What if I don't give them back?" He asked taking small steps towards me
I also took small steps backwards until my back came in contact with the cold iron locker behind me
By now, the hallway was already filled with students.
Jayden suddenly gave the books to Ronnie. He then took one from Ronnie and started tearing out the pages
I felt like he was tearing my heart apart. Mum worked so hard to buy those books for me and now he's busy ripping them apart
I didn't know when I started shedding tears
"No, no, please stop" I pleaded with him but he turned deaf ears to my cry
He took the books one after the other and tore out the pages
I fell on the ground crying uncontrollably and trying my best to keep my anger in check. All I could see was mum's hard work, sweat and money being torn into pieces
I didn't even realise when Tiffany was wincing in pain due to the impact caused when she was pushed hard by Jayden when she tried to stop him
I felt someone lift me up from the ground but I didn't care to look at the person's face. I was still staring at the pieces of paper on the floor when I heard his cold voice whisper into my ear
"Get on your knees now" he whispered making me shiver
I was still staring at the floor when someone forcefully made me kneel
I knelt down shedding uncontrollably tears
"Put those pieces of paper in your mouth now" Jayden commanded
"What?" I said surprised by what he just asked me to do
"I said put those pieces of paper in your mouth now" he yelled this time around
I still didn't move
"You won't do it uhn. Hey you, give me your makeup" he said to a girl standing nearby
"Here" she said after rummaging through her bag to fund the makeup
Jayden suddenly emptied the powder can on my head making me look like a ghost from a horror movie. He went on to apply cherry red lipstick on my cheeks and on my lips, then he applied a lot of eye shadow on my eyes
Now I'm certain that I look like a ghost. The tears that kept pouring from my eyes made the already ugly makeup even more uglier
"Come on, smile for the camera" Jayden said taking a video of me
I tried to hide my face but he raised my chin up with his hands and made me look directly into the phone
"This video is gonna get millions of likes. You're gonna become a celebrity in just a few hours. Lucky you"Ronnie said laughing
"This is just the beginning my dear prey" Jayden whispered in my ears
He pushed me with his legs and I hit my waist on the floor. He then walked away with Ronnie and Ryan following closely behind him. The other students also left in groups after taking pictures and videos of me
I've never been so humiliated in my whole life
"Jasmine come on get up" Tiffany said struggling to get to me
"Let's get out of here" she said helping me up
Tiffany took me to the girls restroom. She locked the door and pulled me into a tight hug. I wept bitterly thinking about all that happened earlier
"Sshh sshh, it's okay" Tiffany said patting my back
I finally stopped crying after an hour in the restroom. Tiffany helped me get rid of all the makeup on my face and my hair
"Jasmine, I know this really isn't a good time to ask this question but it's really urgent and I hope you can answer me"
"What is it?" I asked sniffing
"Did you offend Jayden in any way? I mean, there's no way he would do all this to you for no reason right" Tiffany explained
"I did offend him but I had no idea he was the one" I said as my eyes started to fill up with tears again
I explained all that happened that day to Tiffany
"He was the one who started it. Why does he have to punish you so much? I mean I don't think it's your fault at all. He's just a bully and a jerk" Tiffany said
"Ouch" I cried as I felt a sharp pain in my waist
"Oh no, let's get you to the nurse's office" Tiffany said helping me walk to the nurse's office
"What happened to you girls?" The nurse asked immediately we came limping in
Tiffany and I kept quiet and the nurse helped us to the bed
"Your waist seems to be sprained young lady. I'll prescribe some medicine to you. You have to use 2 tablets from this one in the morning and 2 tablets from this one in the night" the nurse said to me
"You on the other hand are fine" the nurse said to Tiffany
"Thank you nurse" we replied
"You must not walk around too much, don't do any work for the next 3 days and remember to use your medication on time" the nurse adviced me
"Okay ma'am" I said and Tiffany helped me out of the infirmary
"You should go home and rest" Tiffany said to me
"No no, I can manage. I can't skip school" I said thinking about how much effort I put into getting this admission
"Okay, I'll listen to you this time. I know how hard it must have been for you to get admitted into this school" Tiffany said
"I put so much effort to get the scholarship and it'll be revoked if I fail to adhere to the conditions attached to the scholarship" I explained to her
"Your health should come first Jasmine" Tiffany said trying to persuade me
"I'm not in that much pain. I can handle it" I lied
"Okay, let's go to class" Tiffany said after the bell for the next class went off
JAYDEN'S POV
"Don't you think that was a bit too much" Ryan asked
"It's just the beginning Ryan. I haven't really dealt with her yet" Jayden said
"Look guys, the video already has one million views" Ronnie said
"That was fast" Ryan said
"I know right" Ronnie replied and they all left to attend their private class