Lightweight. | ✔

Chapter Three

My stomach felt like it was twisting in knots at his ridiculous smile and I cursed myself for smiling with him. I wasn't pulled out of his trance until he finally turned down the other hallway. I groaned aloud and inclined against my locker frustrated.

This was not good.

I managed to distract myself from Kyle's stunt in my first class. However, by the time the second one began, I began to feel mentally challenged. The teacher- Mr. Webbly- was assigning students into pairs for an assignment.

Vector Academy was never big on group projects and I was always thankful because no one would pick me. But now, he was actually assigning students together. My heart raced in fear. Kyle wasn't in this class, but Selena was and I dreaded the thought of being paired up with her. Then again, she would probably pull some strings with her father to get her reassigned.

To make it worse, my ex was also in this class. He sat at the back with some of the other basketball players. I dated him in my first year here before I was discarded socially. He was the first relationship I've ever had, and he left me the moment he found out about my financial status.

It was extremely heartbreaking. He even admitted to cheating a few times. I cried for weeks. My father wanted to rip his throat out when he found out. I think that is when I fully understood that there was no way to recover from what happened. I knew then, I had to accept my fate and be strong for myself until I could get out of this hell hole.

Jared changed quite a bit over the years though. Observing him now, I realized he cut his dark hair low and certainly gained some more muscles from basketball training. But he still remained a dick.

"Pasilee Foster, your partner is Jared Douglas," Mr. Webbly called out and I sighed in relief. I didn't have the emotional capacity to handle it.

"Which means, that leaves Lyla Denvers, and Jackson Beckham," Mr. Webbly announced, and I squeezed my eyes shut, mentally cursing him.

I hated this.

Of all the people in the entire class, I just had to be paired with Jackson Beckham- the captain of the basketball team. A few mumblings and snickering sounded from the back and I slowly peeked over my shoulder. They were laughing at Jackson who was sending a scowl at me. It felt like a knife sliced my pride and I quickly dropped my head onto my desk in shame.

Can this day get any worse?

Minutes later, Mr. Webbly instructed us to rearrange ourselves and sit in pairs. I reluctantly did so and turned my desk to face the empty one beside me. Jackson took his sweet time, dragging his feet towards me and when he sat, Jared and his other friends began snickering between themselves again.

"Do you boys ever shut up?" Mr. Webbly shouted and they quieted down.

I bit my lip nervously, not meeting Jackson's icy blue orbs. He wasn't bad-looking, but he had the impression of being a badass. His blonde hair was short and brushed neatly on his head. His eyes were small and held orbs so blue, they reminded me of the ocean. He also had a chiseled jawline. His body was incredibly built like the star player making him seem really bulky for his age.

I continued to squirm in my chair uncomfortably and glanced at the strip of paper Mr. Webbly placed on my desk. There was only one word written on it: LIGHTWEIGHT.

I knitted my brows. "Our word is 'lightweight'...how do we make a story with that?" I asked softly, slowly looking at Jackson. His scowl changed into a smirk and he leaned forward. It intimidated me.

"Easy. We just talk about you," He said, smirking at me.

"What?" I was puzzled.

"You know what it actually means right?" he inquired and when I didn't answer he rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "A person of little influence. So, to put things simply, someone like you who doesn't really serve any real purpose here. You're the Lightweight."

I felt my entire dignity crashed to the floor.

That was really mean.

Filled with embarrassment, I cast my eyes onto the blank paper before me, unable to speak. His words sliced through me like a knife and I pulled my bottom lip between my lips to stop it from wobbling.

I always knew that I was a social reject but being actually told that in public, and with such conviction, really crushed my spirit. I couldn't even bring myself to look up at him.

He grabbed the paper from my desk muttering something along the lines of "do it myself," but I still didn't bother to assist. I couldn't wait to leave this class.

My mind began to run over Kyle's words today and my chest heaved slightly. So many emotions were conflicting against each other in me right now. He wants to be my friend. For whatever reason, he didn't mind talking to me. And yet I feel an urge to keep him away in fear of embarrassing my dad again.

My chest heaved again, and I instantly threw a hand in the air. "Mr. Webbly, c-can I be excused please?" I blurted.

Jackson scoffed. "Gonna go cry in the bathroom?"

I didn't bother to look at him as I fled the class with my eyes filled with tears. I have to give him credit though, that's exactly what I did.