High Life | ✔️

14

JAXON HAD THE audacity to look confused.

"I'm sorry, I'm not qualified to entertain emotional outbursts that don't make sense," he said as he unplugged his laptop from the power socket. It was just the two of us in the classroom now.

"You damn well knew the entire front portion of today's sorry ass meeting was directed at me."

"Neither do I entertain baseless accusations." Jaxon shrugged.

"I fucking hate you and that fucking stick you shoved up your ass. Guys like you are the worst, you know why?"

Jaxon sighed and placed his wires down. "Because I was directing my speech towards the whole room in hopes that it would bring about the betterment of every member present? If I wanted to slander wouldn't I have pasted your face on the slides? Newsflash, whatever-your-name-is, people in this room have better things to worry about than the identity of the wench of Faction Five."

That hurt. But it made me stronger.

"No, it's because manchildren like you think it's okay to 'do whatever the fuck you wanna do as long as people don't find out'. And curse that mouth of yours, you're a talker - a manipulator. I hate people like you. Also," I had to pause because I was so angry. "Your verbiage about newcomers who want to get to know other faction members in a sexual way; that was hands down. Fucking. Unnecessary."

I had his full attention now. His jaws were clenched.

"You know, I could've left you on your own this morning. But I went the mile to protect your identity, insofar as to ruining my own relationship with Cassie."

"Oh," I broke into a wide, mirthless smile. "That's such a nice guy thing to say, Jaxon Ortega. You know what, I think that's bullshit. You did it for your own benefit. You wanted out of your whatever relationship you had with Cassie and you saw me as a convenient tool."

Jaxon smiled. And then he nodded. "You're smarter than you let on. Just out of curiosity, who'd you bang last night?"

My jaws dropped. "That's such a neckbeard thing to ask. It's none of your shit ass mother fucking business. I hate you, don't ever speak to me again, don't ever say your meetings are compulsory for me. They god damn do nothing other than piss me off."

"Why do you assume I want to speak to you?"

All I could manage was an inaudible expletive and some foot stomping that, in hindsight, I should not have executed. Jaxon was raising his eyebrows in perplexity when I decided to stomp out of the classroom and out of his life forever.

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Unfortunately, God did not will what I wanted.

When I stepped into Calculus the next morning, some girl fervently begged me to take the seat beside her. When I agreed to take the seat beside her, I was just glad that I would no longer have to be alone. I did not take into account the fact that my new seat was... directly behind Jaxon's.

"So, uh, why the urgency?" I asked the girl beside me.

"My seat mate dropped Calc, and I hate sitting alone," she pulled a face. "I'm Emily, by the way."