High School Survival Theory

Chapter 33

But who's gonna make them understand that.

Our school's no student privacy violation rule has become a perk to the people who're doing this. Because they can sneak in anytime they want to implant the poster posters without the fear of getting caught.

I close my locker and lean my head on it. I knew from the first day this year's going to be the worst, but who knew it was going to be this bad?

Someone walking in my direction. I don't turn around to face the person.

"Kiara," nose-picking Jack says. "Are you busy?"

I open one eye. "Do I seem so?"

"Oh, yeah, right," he clears his throat. "I just have one question."

"Not now Jack," I try to politely brush him. "I don't wanna talk about anything right now."

But of course, he doesn't get the clue. "It's just everyone's talking about it," he says. "They're saying you're cheating behind Derek's back with Ashton."

I sigh. I heard of this one before. I wonder how come they still haven't made a flyer of that one.

"You probably heard a false rumor," I tell him. "We haven't  talked in weeks."

Ever since our conversation in Mrs. Roth's class, we've been ignoring each other. Yes, we completed our project but I can hardly call it doing it together. We finished the work at my place first. Until mom and dad came home one day yelling at each other. Starting another fight, without bothering to check if anyone else is home.

Ashton drove us to the public library and we finished our work there. But after the project was submitted, Ashton started completely avoiding me.

Sometimes I see him talking with Miles and Grace, but then when he sees me, he flees away. It's like he's avoiding me, and me only.

So I also stopped talking with him. He stopped sitting with us at lunch, and Nyako and Owen forcefully had to tag along with him. But they still come to the meetings, where Ashton and I avoid each other like plagues.

We see each other in classes (we share six of them together, so it's unavoidable) and in the hallway, where he mostly keeps himself busy with hooking up with random girls (okay, I must be exaggerating the situation, but you get the picture). Still, we are doing a good job of completely avoiding the other one. And it's been weeks since we're doing this.

Jack doesn't look convinced by my words though. "I see," he mumbles.

"Yeah, now if you excuse-"

"But they were also saying that you and Ashton are making those flyers and blackmailing-"

"I told you before I don't want to talk about it!" I yell. A little too late I realize the damage I have done.

Jack's eyes start watering. I nearly forgot how sensitive he is.

"Jack, I'm-" I don't get the opportunity to finish as he begins to sob and darts out of the hallway.

Damn.

I look around and find everyone's eye on me. Some even look at me with disapproving eyes. Even Dustin sends a nasty glare in my way. Everybody knows Jack is a sensitive case.

I let out a deep breath and lean against my locker.

'What have I done?' I mumble under my breath. I've never snapped at anyone before.

When I open my eyes again, I find a certain pair of blue eyes on me. Ashton is standing not too far away. His current item is attached to his hips. Seriously, those girls should've learned their lessons by now.