"Okay first stop, food. I'm starving." Milo said, pulling up the GPS on his phone. He was in the passenger seat while Ethan drove, and I sat in the back looking out the window.
"What do you wanna eat, sunshine?" Ethan asked, looking back at me through the mirror. I shrugged softly and looked down at my phone.
"Can we go to a steak house? I'm in the mood for steak." I ask softly, he grinned and nodded as Milo put the location into the GPS.
I smiled and looked out the window again, watching the cars fly past, the building going by in a blur. The traffic in Los Angeles was insane. But today it was somewhat calm. I felt my phone vibrate in my lap. I checked the message to see it was my landlord telling me that if I didn't have my payment by the end of today, I'd have to find another place to live.
I sighed and scratched my head in frustration, trying to figure out what to do.
"Milo, Mr. Ernest gave me an eviction notice. I need to have almost 15 hundred paid to him by the end of today- How am I going to do that? " I ranted to him, completely ignoring that there was another person with us.
"Shit, Brooke. I thought you said you had everything paid off." Milo said, looking back at me. I gave him a guilty smile, making him sigh. "You should've told me. I could've helped you pay it."
"And have you in debt? No way." I huffed and looked back out the window. I could feel Milo roll his eyes.
"Brooke, I don't give a shit. I'm helping you pay that." He said firmly. This time it was my turn to roll my eyes.
"I can help-" Ethan spoke up, only for me to shut him down.
"No. None of you are doing it. It's my responsibility. I just need suggestions. He won't accept another excuse." I sigh. Milo groaned and rested his head on the headrest.
"Ask the boss for a pay raise. I mean, you're the perfect employee." Milo suggested. I groaned softly, realizing I had to tell him.
"He suspended me.." I whisper. The car nearly swerved into another car, both of the men looking back at me.
"What??" They said in unison. "Since when?" "For how long?" "Why the hell?"
Question after question flew my way, making me zone out the window. I wanted to cry but I didn't. I wanted to scream but I couldn't. Only now did the realization dawn on me. Mr. Archer had the nerve to suspend me without pay and then act all devilish the next night?? And I let him?
"Brooke!" Milo called out, making me snap my attention to him. He looked at me with soft eyes. We were now parked in the parking lot of the steakhouse. "Why did he suspend you?"
"He thought you and I were a thing and had sex while working." I say casually. He snorted and shook his head.
"I thought it was obvious that I was gayer than a maypole." He chuckled, Ethan smiled and shook his head.
"Apparently not. But it's fine, on Wednesday I get to go back though." I shrug, opening the car door, the boys following behind. "Now no more depressing talk. Let's go eat." I grin, walking into the restaurant.
We ate and talked, making jokes and genuinely having fun. Ethan was a lot funnier than I thought he was. He was an innocent flirt and loved making both Milo and I blush.
After we ate, we blasted old 2000s music while screaming along to the lyrics. Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, etc; were the main artists in the playlist.
We went to a mall and started shopping. Albeit my protest, Ethan and Milo bought me a ton load of clothes and shoes. They also took me for a haircut and manicure.
Walking out of the mall, I felt like a new person. My once waist-length hair was now cut shorter, to the middle of my back.
I checked the time to see it was almost 3, making me panic a little.
"Guys, I can't go home to change, I need you to drop me off by the school." I tell them. They looked at each other before telling me okay.
After a 15-minute drive, they dropped me off by the school. I quickly walked in, stopping by the lockers to grab a spare notebook. I walked into the lecture hall, seeing that it was empty. I checked the time again, seeing I was on time. I walked to his desk, set my book down, and looked around.
He wasn't in here yet. I looked at my phone to see if there was an email he had left that I didn't see. Nothing. I sit on the desk and look down at my phone, mindlessly scrolling through social media. Smiling at the little puppy videos.
Checking the time again, I sighed. It had been 10 minutes and he wasn't here yet. Cutting my phone off, I hop off the desk and grab my book to leave. When I looked towards the doors, I basically jumped out of my skin.
Prof. Everest was leaning against the doorframe, watching me. He wore black pants and a button-up white shirt. The black tie was loosened a little, and his hair looked a little shaggy. He looked sinful. No, stop it.
"How long were you there??" I ask, holding my hand to my racing heart. He smiled softly before walking towards me, closing the door behind him. He looked over my outfit, making me squirm awkwardly.
"Since you sat on my desk." He hummed. My eyes widened a little as I stared at him. His eyes moved over my hair. "You cut your hair?"
"Yeah, I just cut off a little bit.." I mumble, he smiles and raises his hand, running his fingers through the now shorter hair.
"It looks nice, suits you better." He murmurs, looking lost in thought. He pulled his hand away and straightened himself up, running his hand through his hair and fixing his tie. "I'll be giving you a test today. Let's see if you've learned anything in tutoring."
I nodded and sat down at my desk. I watched as he walked around his desk and opened a drawer, pulling out a sheet of paper and handing it to me.
"You have 15 minutes to answer as best as you can. Don't leave anything blank, even if you do not know the answer, still try to put one. It's better to have a chance of a point instead of none." He said, walking back to his desk and sitting in his chair. For a second I thought he was reading out my rights to me. "You may start."
I read over all the questions before answering the easy ones. Such as 'When should an Oxford comma be applied?' and 'What should you do if a sentence is both declarative and exclamatory when writing a story?'
I answered most of them with ease, getting stumped on a few but answering them in the end. I read over the answers, making sure they were all up to my standards and correct. I stood and handed it to him, giving him a small smile as he quirked an eyebrow at me.
"Did you answer them all?" He asked, taking my paper and reading over it. I nodded and watched his eyes move over the white sheet. His eyebrow quirked every few seconds, his eyes reading over the answers again and again.
I shifted nervously, looking at him expectantly.
"Where'd you get the hickey?" He asked curiously, his eyes still on the paper. My heart tripped over its feet and plummeted to my stomach. I stared at him with wide eyes before looking at my shoulder. I hadn't noticed that my sleeves fell off my shoulders. The bruise was now more than visible.
"I burned myself with my iron." I mumble, making my hair cover it. He looked up at me and placed my paper down. Grabbing his pen, he signed the paper and added a little check mark on the page.
"Gotta get out of your little fantasy worlds." He teased, handing me the paper. I looked down at it and back at him. "You did so good. I have to admit, you proved me wrong. And that's not something that happens regularly." He stood up and walked around his desk, his chest nearly touching mine from the proximity.
"Thank you. I'm just great, aren't I?" I say jokingly, playfully flipping my hair. He chuckled and shook his head.
"You are." He whispered, staring at me with his pretty green eyes. I found myself getting lost in them for a second. The way the sunlight from the windows reflected on them was enchanting. "What's bothering you?"
I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at him confused. He moved next to me and leaned against his desk, patting the spot next to him. I take his offer and sit on the desk beside him.
"What's bothering you?" He asked again, looking at me with soft eyes. I shrugged and looked down at my lap.
"Nothing is wrong. Just a little tired, didn't sleep well last night." I murmur. He looked at me with a certain look, making me sigh. "Just my Landlord being an.. forgive the language, asshat."
"What did he do?" He asked curiously. I looked at him, debating whether or not I should answer that.
"He's evicting me if I don't pay him the rent by tonight," I murmur. He glared at me, making me freeze. "Did I.. did I say something wrong?"
"No. Sorry. How much do you have to pay him? And why is he evicting you?" He asked, standing up and moving in front of me.
"Almost 15 hundred. And he's just an idiot. I don't even have to pay him till Friday. But I think it's because I owe him money and all I do is ask for extensions." I murmur, fiddling with the hem of my dress.
"And I'm guessing you won't be able to afford that..?" He said, lost in thought. I nodded my head solemnly.
"I'm sure I'll figure something out." I say, hopping off the desk and gathering my things. I turn to him and smile, bidding him goodbye and walking to the door.
"I'm sure you will.." I heard him whisper as I left the lecture hall.