Faith in his Faults

Chapter Four

Throughout all of History class I could feel Ash's gaze on my back. I could barley pay attention to what we were supposed to be learning, and my anxiety began to creep up into my chest. I had no idea why I felt this way. Ash was nothing to me except an annoying asshole who, apparently was having fun trying to annoy me every chance he got. I wasn't sure if it was due to all of the negative attention I had been getting at school lately, but I really wished it would stop. I didn't need the added stress or the added attention.

I stared at the clock, counting down the seconds until the bell rang. With five minutes left, I began to pack up my books, wanting to be the first one out of the class.

"Miss Anderson, we still have five minutes of class. Please do not be disruptive by packing away your things too soon." I looked up to see Mr. Gally, our history teacher, eyeing me with disapproval. I sighed, placing my books back on the desk.

"Sorry My. Gally" I said. The last thing I wanted to do was draw more attention to myself and, of course, that's exactly what I did.

The second the bell rang, signaling the end of class, I was up and out of my seat. I didn't bother putting my books away, instead piling them into my arms and making my way for the door. Once in the hallway, I started walking towards second period Geometry. I didn't want to spend any of our free time in between classes lingering in the hallways. As I felt someone brush passed me, almost knocking my pile of books out of my hands, I looked up to see Ash.

"See you later beautiful," he said, winking, before walking off down the hall.

I sighed, regaining my balance and adjusting the grip on my books to keep them from falling over. I prayed the rest of my day would turn out to be much better than first period. I only had one other class with Ash and that was Biology, which was the last period of the day, and the last time I would have to see Ash before the end of school.

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By the time my lunch period came around, I had basically forgotten about Ash's existence. I was able to focus on my actual teachers and assignments and I felt as though I was even getting stared at less in the hallways. My anxiety remained at bay as it should and I was excited to see Haley at lunch.

As I made my way into the cafeteria, I immediately searched for Haley. I found her sitting at one of our usual spots, with her phone in hand, concentrating on a message she was typing out. As I walked over to the table, Haley looked up from her phone and smiled.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "How has your day been?" She asked as though she was insinuating something.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I sat down in my normal seat next to her.

Some days, Haley and I sat alone at lunch. Just the two of us, talking about whatever was new in her life and what assignments we had to do that night. Sometimes, Haley's friends from her cheerleading squad would join us, and I would stay quiet most of lunch. I didn't have much in common with any of them. I felt a rush of relief when I noticed two of the girls from her squad sit at another table with some guys from the football team. One less lunch period to feel invisible in.

"I hear rumors Faith," she said, as though I should realize what it is she was referring to.

"Haley I honestly have no idea what you are talking about," I said, taking my history book out and opening it to todays chapter, to look over the assignment I had for that night. I wasn't really hungry enough to eat the less than pleasant cafeteria food.