Stacey's Pov.
I gave a lasting drag then whirled over to place my head on the pillow beside me. That's when it hit me, I was still in bed!
I stood up with my knees on the bed to get a grip on the alarm clock next to my bed. And guess what the time was? 8:00 pm! 'Fuck!' I managed to let out. I quickly yanked my clothes outta my body, then dashed to the bathroom.
In no seconds, I was done with showering. I decided to leave my hair in a messy bun then redo it in one of the girl's lavatory in school.
My towel was stranding loosely on my breast as I hauled out clothes from my wardrobe. I couldn't find the clothes I set out for today, normally as someone who was freakishly late for school, I could have selected another outfit, but I felt that the other clothes I selected were more preferably from the others.
I ran downstairs screaming my stepmom's name "Chelsey! Chelsey! Mom?! Mommmm?!!!!!"
She hurried down from her room "What's the matter sweetie?!", She questioned, pulling me into a tight embrace.
I sniffed "Mom!, I can't find the clothes I set out for today", I said.
"Oh honey, is that why you're crying?", She asked.
I just nodded positively going all Poppy eyes.
"I ironed them for you, I saw they were a little rumpled so I had to do so. They're in my room, so quit wailing", she said while she poked my nose making me smile.
"Thanks mom!", I said, giving her a Peck on her cheeks. Then, I dashed to her room, wore my clothes and shoes, prepared my bag, then left to take my breakfast which Chelsey prepared for me.
At the dining table.
"Mom?", I called out.
"Hmm", Chelsey whiffed.
"Why didn't you wake me up on time, like the way you always do?", I asked.
She kept the pancake 🥞 she was nibbling, on the saucers. "I wanted to, but you seemed so tired so I decided to let you be for some minutes before coming to wake you up. I was on my way to your room before you started screaming out my name", She said with a fake frown.
"Haha, okay I promise not to scream your name out like the way I did earlier ever again!", I said.
"Apology accepted", she said.
"But I never apologized, did I?", I asked in laughter.
"Of course you did NOT!", she said.
"Oh, now I see where this is going, okay, I'm sorry!", I said.
"Apology declined!", She replied in a chuckle.
"Why?! But I just apologized", I wailed.
"You should've done that earlier on", She said with a smile on her face.
"Ugh!", I wheezed out.
"This isn't Saturday when we can seat all day arguing. C'mon now, munch faster! You're very late for school.
She's right though, I know I at times come late but I just set up a new record! Woo-hoo!
----------------
Wednesday 20th of September.
Just arriving at the school entrance. 8:31 am.
I'm currently running down the hallway to Principal Ellison's office, I didn't have to wait for any teacher to tell me before I do so. Lateness was just an understatement compared to what I was facing now.
Well, I didn't have much problem facing principal Ellison cos mom promised she'll get everything under control.
Enough with the talking and just get to classes already!, my subconscious mind stated.
I was too busy settling things with my mind that I didn't know when I accidentally bumped into someone, making me crash to the ground with my buttocks!
"Oops! I'm so sorry!", I barely mumbled, still trying to gain myself from the tumble.
"That's alright!", a voice spoke up, sounding more like that of a dude. I'm guessing he must be the person I crashed into.
He reached out his hand for me to grab, but I was still feeling a bit dizzy, I kept my head down, trying to ensure that my eyes haven't yet plunged from their sockets, so clearly I haven't yet seen him.
He clasped my hands into his then hauled me up. And Oh my God! Was this guy not freakishly hot and intense in a kinda tasty way!
Slow down Stacey, you might just go hyper!
Not now! Can't you see I'm currently in the middle of a hot mess!
"Umm... Th-th-thanks?!", I said, removing myself slightly from his. To be honest, if my body stays one more minute next to his, my blood may just start boiling cos I can't stand the hotness!
I'm guessing he just newly got transferred to R.W.H cos his face was definitely a new one! and just at the right time to clear my eagerness...
"I recently got transferred to this school, can you please be my tutor, I was supposed to be in class B-10 but I honestly can't find my way around here", he said.
Can you stop talking now?!, there's no need to tell me twice!
"Sure, no prob! I'm sta-", I got interrupted.
"Stacey Dubert?, yeah, I know", He replied in an I-know-all kinda way.
How did he get my name right? Including my surname???
"Sorry to ask but, have we met before?", I asked in an utterance.
"You haven't, but, I have!", He said, sounding intense.
My face couldn't hide the display of confusion.
"I'm Xavier by the way, nice to meet you", he said with a grin, bringing out his hands for a handshake.
I was about to reach out my hand for a shake but I immediately took notice of my mom's pendant given to me by my dad. It was blazing hysterically as if it was trying to pass a message to me.
I soon took notice of the ring on Xavier's finger, which was on the same hand he was bringing forward to shake me, I guess maybe the pendant was reacting bitterly to it.
So, I held my pendant tightly then reclined from shaking his hand. He then started smirking.
"Nice to meet you too, Xavier is a cool name though", I said, trying to act calmly.
There was this sentiment in me, that I couldn't just place my finger on. I had to make an excuse to get away from this guy.
"It's good you know it's a cool name, cos you would soon get a hang of it", he said, still snickering. For the kind of person he is, he should know that smirking a lot while talking to a girl can honestly land her in a hospital. I couldn't, however, get what he was saying.
"I don't get what you're saying honestly", I said.
"Just be patient, you will, as time moves on", he replied.
Think stace, make up a good excuse!
Can't you see I'm trying my very best here!, why don't we do a switch, I come over there and YOU come here, so we can see how you get along standing in front of this dude without getting mouthwatering.
"Umm, I'm so sorry, I can't be your tutor, cos I just remembered I'm very late for classes, I also need to see the principal", I said, well, I wasn't actually telling a lie cos that's the truth.
Seriously? That's the best you can come up with? my subconsciousness stated flatly.
At least I tried, you were the one who got us into this mess!, so keep shut!
"I don't have a problem with that, don't worry I can assure you, we'll meet again hun!", he smirked.
I just gave him a confused smile then dashed to miss. Elison's office.
Hold on, isn't class B-10 your class?!
I halted my steps.
Goodness Lord! That's true! *Shrugs* whatever!
Xavier's POV
Oh, Stacey! It's such a pity, you don't even know me, she doesn't even have any idea of what's going on. Well, the better it is for me. And is all thanks to Logan!
What has he been doing here all this while? *Rolls eyes dishearteningly*
I think I'll go pay him a surprise visit. *Grins evilly*
----------------
Later, at principal Ellison's Office, 11:30 am.
"It's okay Stacey, your mom had already spoken to me about it", Miss. Ellison said.
"Oh. I hope you aren't upset with me about my regular lateness?", I asked her, feeling guilty.
"To be honest with you stace, Your lateness to school has kept me worrying! How can such a devoted student who has no flaws when it comes to academic achievements allow unpunctuality to just deter your good record?", She said, sounding really upset with me.
"I'm very sorry Miss. Ellison, I promise to be punctual from now on", I said.
"I believe you'll keep to that promise of yours", she says.
"I made a promise, so I will fulfill it", I say.
"Okay. You do know that you're one of my favorites, and I don't want you to be caught doing the wrong things, okay? Don't ever think I hate you, is that clear?", She said.
"Yes, ma! Thank you!", I replied.
"Okay, you may go have lunch now!", she says.
Well, since I'm still in her office, while don't I use this opportunity, So I thought.
"Umm, if you don't mind Miss. Ellison, could you tell me who Xavier is?", I mumbled.
She chuckles "Isn't it too early to start crushing on him?", She says.
"What? Nooo... I'm not crushing on him, I just want to know what it is to know about him, that's all", I said.
You make up the most stupidest lies!, my subconscious stated.
"Umm, there's no much to say, but he got transferred from West Hamilton high school, along with other students", she says.
So he isn't only the transferred student.
"Oh, okay, thanks!", I said, as I made my way out of her office.
-•••-•••-•••-•••-•••-•••-•••-
On my way to the school's cafeteria, 11:45 am.
Is it possible that the rest transferred students are also with Xavier? Ugh! For some odd reason, I really have this weird feeling of Xavier being around, I believe he has met me before, if not, how will he know much-...
"Aargh!", that's me shrieking, I just felt a hand on my eyes, and it's still there!
"Hey, who's this?! Speak up or I'm going to scream!", I threatened while struggling to pull the stranger's hands from my face.
"You just screamed a minute ago", a familiar voice spoke up, removing its hands from my eyes.
I turned to face the person, who wanted to scare me to death "Logan?", awkward right?
"Where you expecting someone?", he asked in a concerned tone.
"No, it's j-j-just th-that I wasn't actually expecting you, since you were absent yesterday", I mumbled.
"So, did you miss me?", he asked with a smirk.
Really? I thought he was the only one I had to deal with, now Xavier just came into the scene. Gosh!
I rolled my eyes "In your dreams, did I!"
He laughed "Okay, in that case, did I miss anything important when I was absent?", he asked.
"Umm, ME, of course!", I said, sounding all certain.
"You're really funny", he said.
"I know, well, you didn't miss much, only missing an entire day of school without learning!", I said.
"Are you trying to say that, you guys didn't come to school?", He asked.
"No, dummy!, We all came to school but we didn't learn a thing cos we were busy solving all sorts of riddles striving to escape from a godamn room! That was completely locked up in an underground secret underpass, right here, within the school's district!", I yelled out in annoyance.
"Calm down stace, what's up with the rage? Let me guess, cos you did the main job while trying to manage Zoey's madness and the fear of you dealing with her if you got stuck?", he asked, creasing his eyebrows at me.
I didn't answer but the look displaying on my face already shows that my silence is saying that he's telling the truth.
"I need to take my leave now", I said.
"Yeah, you always have to go when you know you've lost an issue against someone", he said in a really annoying tone.
"First of all, I never do that, secondly, I need to go to the cafeteria, if you haven't noticed, lunch's almost over! I also need to do some investigation on Xav-", I paused for a minute, knowing what I was about to say.
"On who?", Logan inquired.
"No one", I said mellowly
"Are you talking about Zoey's bro?", he asked.
"Xavier is Zoey's brother?!!!", I asked in shock.
"I never said Xavier is", he smirked.
"Shit!", he just pranked me into saying his name.
I saw that he was looking worried "Is there any problem?", I asked.
"No, umm, this Xavier, is he around?", he asked.
"Yeah, he got transferred from another school along with other students", I said.
"So, he's not alone?", he asked further.
"Umm, yeah, I think so", I replied.
I studied his mood for a while, it was as if something was eating him up.
"Logan?", I called out.
No response.
"Logan!!!!!!", I yelled.
"Y-yh?", he mumbled.
"What's going on?", I asked.
"Nothing really", he said with a mild smile.
Does he really think I'm going to buy that? Maybe he has forgotten that he's talking to a simple girl who hides a million feelings under a gentle smile, pretending that all is well, not knowing that hell itself has broken loose.
"Can you just tell me what the matter is?", I said, getting a little bit frustrated cos I was missing out on lunch.
"Did he te-", he got interrupted.
The school bell chimes for lunchtime over!
"I need to go!", I said, then took off.
"But-", he yelled.
"Yeah, later!", I shouted from a distance.
——~•~——~•~——~•~——~•~—-
Wendy's house.
At 15:30.
"So you're saying that a handsome dude approached you today, and for some weird reason, he already knew you by name and now, you come here wailing about the whole situation. Quick question, are you okay?! Which girl in her right mind will be shrieking all because a guy knew her by her name?", Wendy yelled.
"No, you're totally missing the whole point here Wendell!", I assured.
"Then can you please tell me what the problem is?!!!!", she asked rudely.
I started narrating the whole story to her. "So you see, I don't have a problem with him being a transferred student or him being breathtaking and the rest... I just have this weird feeling about him, like think of it, I never introduced myself to him and he miraculously knew my name!", I said.
She started laughing so hard "Oh Stacey, your life is so complicated. Well, Xavier could have waited for Logan to be out of your life before he came. You know what I mean?...", she grinned.
I snatched a pillow by my side and tossed it over her head with resentment but she dodged it before it could hit her, "Wendy would you quit fooling around!"
She slowed her laughter "Alright, alright! I'm sorry. Well, If you ask me, I'll tell you to stop bothering much about him, but you still need to be careful since you're having second thoughts about him being around and your pendant reacting badly to his umm, whatever... To be frank, you're so lucky girl! I'll like to meet this Xavier! How come I never saw him in classes?", she said.
"Well, if you weren't carried away with troubling Mr. Willson about your bio scores, even though you had an 80 outta a hundred, I'm sure you would've noticed him", I said, while rolling my eyes.
"Yeah, whatevs! Can we now, please change the subject?!", she asked in frustration.
"To what?", I asked.
"To um, maybe, I don't know, what about umm, THE CAMPING TRIP OCCURING TOMORROW?!!!!!", she screeched.
"Ouch!, talk about crazy!", I said while placing my hands on both ears.
"We haven't made any preparations yet, I bet all the students are busy with readying their things for the trip. That's the main reason why Miss. Ellison allowed us to close really early today!", she said.
"Speaking of which, where're the tickets? I hope you haven't forgotten our deal?", she continued.
"What tickets?", I replied back with a question.
"W-what ticket?! Uh, I'm talking about those tickets given to you by Miss. Ellison. Remember?, the escape room?, riddles? Anything?...", she said.
"Oh, I do remember! The seven free tickets for the trip, right?", I asked to confirm.
"Yeah, and you promised to lend me, Lucy, Isabella, Mackenzie, Amy, and Adrian"
"I didn't actually promise, you guys literally begged for it!", I said.
"Again, whatever! So where is it!", she asked.
"Oh, yeah, I kept them in my bag, I said while zipping down my bag to bring them out, but I noticed they were no longer there. And oh, yeah, I forgot two of the tickets at my locker in school, my bad!", I said, while trying to place my headphones on, so I wouldn't hear her yell at me. But she snatched it before I could even place my hands on them.
"YOU WHAT?!!!!!!", she yelled.
Is not as if she was the one awarded with the tickets, my subconscious uttered.
"I said, I'm sorry"
"You better find a way to bring back those tickets!", she said.
"Fine, fine, I will. Hold on, let me call Logan, he recently stays an hour in school before leaving, so I bet he's still there", I tried to soothe her rage.
"You better be right!", she said.
Logan.
Hello?
Me.
Hey! umm are you still at school?
Logan.
Yeah, but I'm about to leave... Any problem.
Before I could say a thing wendy yanked my phone from my hand.
Me– but wendy speaking.
Oh, there's a problem alright!
I snatched it back from her and we started quarreling.
"Give me the phone", wendy says.
"Nope, it's mine!", I say.
"And so what?!, learn to share!", she says.
"Look who's talking!", I say while rolling my eyes.
Logan.
Hello? Stace? What's going on back there?
"I can handle it, just STAY CALM!!!!", I said, while grabbing the phone back from her.
"You better fix this!", she says.
"Yeee!", I say, while sticking out my tongue.
She also does the same, but I ignored her. Took deep breath then continued the conversation, pretending nothing happened.
Logan.
Stacey, should I be bothered or something? Why am I hearing Wendy's voice?
Me.
Cos she chooses not to keep her big mouth shut!
"Hey?!!", she squirmed.
Me.
I mean, cos... I'm at her house.
Logan.
But I was hearing noises as if you guys were fighting.
Me.
Umm, no we weren't! Is nothing really! Btw, can you please go to my lockbox? I need you to check by the side of my spare notepad and you'll see two tickets for the camping trip.
Logan.
Oh, yeah, I heard of the trip, but it's too bad I can't go with you guys. Cos I don't have enough money for the tickets.
Me.
Oh! Okay, you can take one of the tickets then return the other to me.
Logan
Really?
Me.
Yeah, so hurry up!
Logan.
Thanks, but where should I give you the ticket? Should I come over to Wendy's house?
Me.
Wendy's house?... Umm, I dunno... Maybe meet me... At umm, the- I looked over at Wendy to get an answer.
"The mall", she whispered.
"The mall?!", I whisper yelled.
"Yeah, the mall!!;", she replied in the same tone as mine.
"But, why the m-"
"Just SAY IT!", she yelled.
Me.
... Meet me at the mall!
Logan.
Oh, umm, okay, I guess?
Me.
Okie, bye!!!! And hold on!
Logan.
Yeah?
Me.
Don't search for any other thing, just get the ticket and close my locker, okay?
Logan.
We'll see about that! *Hangs up*
Me.
Hey?! Logan?!!!! Ugh!!!
I looked at Wendy, and she was busy chuckling.
I looked at my side and saw my bag. I yanked it and threw it to her, she wasn't lucky this time!
"Before I forget, why the mall?!", I asked.
"Cos we are about going there", she said.
"Why?"
"To get some things needed for the journey! like bags, deodorants, clothes, maybe shoes, a few snacks, and so on..."
"Ugh, fine! Let's hurry up then!", I yelled at her.
"Uh, I can't believe it, she's finally growing up", she pretends to sob.
"Yeah, don't get too excited!", I say while putting on my blazer.
She rolls her eyes and we both laugh.
————————————————
Logan's Pov.
At school, at 4:20 pm.
I was heading out of the library when I got a phone call from Stacey, She told me to collect some tickets from her locker.
"Okay, so, they'll be beside the notepad and yeah, I got it", I muttered to myself, then slammed the locker as I made my way out of the hall.
Wouldn't you at least get to see what she keeps in her locker? You can find out some of her darkest secrets written in diaries.
Yeah, I'm not doing that, besides she told me not to search for anything else. And if you think Stacey is going to leave her diary in her locker without putting any locks then you are totally wrong! That's even if she does have a diary, I said to my subconscious mind.
How will you know if you don't get to kn-
That's enough! I cautioned my inquisitive mind.
On getting to the exit of the hall, guess who I never yearned to see.
"Get. Out. Of. My. Way!!!!!!", I yelled.
"Not surprised to see me?", he said with a grin.
"Are you deaf or you simply-", he interrupted.
"That's enough! I didn't come all the way over here just to receive insults from you", He said, sounding intense.
"Then mind your business", I walked away, but just as I was about passing by, he held my sleeve.
"Don't choose to ignore me, cos you know very well why I'm here! But it's okay if you continue to avoid me, but mark my words it wouldn't be too long before you come running back to me!", he whispered fiercely to me.
"Read my lips, Xavier, DO YOUR WORST! Now, get your filthy hands off me!", I said while shooting out my claws, which made him jerk a little.
"Woah, it hasn't gotten to that", he said, smiling sheepishly.
I yanked his hands off then made my way out.
"Your days are being numbered Logan! Better watch out for your princess Stacey, and your worse enemy Asher Xavier", he yelled out, but I ignored him, I then heard the sound of broken glass, I turned back to see him flaring with rage, it was written all over his face and even his eyes couldn't hide it.
I gave one lasting glimpse of him before evacuating the school premises.
Stacey's Pov.
"Oh my Gawd!, aren't those bags too much for just a seven-day camping trip?!", I asked wendy who seemed to busy shopping for traveling bags.
"Approximately a week right?", she asked feeling quite sure she got me this time and I could not debate the fact that she was right though.
"Alright fine! But you're paying!", I said.
"I never said you were going to, did I?", she retorted with a smirk displaying on her lips which I rolled my eyes to.
"By the way, who owns all this bags? I'm completely sure that these aren't for the both of us", I said.
"You're right, I'm buying some bags for the others, some of them told me that they wouldn't be able to go shopping as they are quite busy with few things, so I had to do it for them", she replied.
"Okay, but spend wisely!", I said.
"Yeah, whatever", she responded snarkily.
"Umm, I'll be back, let me go check if Logan has arrived yet", I said.
"Sure, no problemo!", she conceded.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••°
"Hey!", Logan said, gaining my attention as he ran towards me.
"Oh, hey!", I responded with a smile.
"Were you able to find em?", I asked.
"Yeah, I was. Sorry for the delay", he said, while handing me the ticket.
"Oh, it's no big deal", I responded.
"Yes, and thanks for the ticket, I'm so grateful", he said with a smile.
"No problem", I retorted.
"Umm, so do you need any help with the shopping?", he asked.
"Thanks for asking but no I don't, I got everything under control, and by control, I mean Wendy does", I replied.
"Lol, Okay then. See ya tomorrow!", he said, while taking his leave.
"Yh, bye!", I said, waving at him.
Someone tapped my shoulders rudely "If you're done drooling, can we now take our leave!", Wendy said.
"I wasn't drooling", I said.
"Okay, whatever! Can we go now!", she asked.
"Yeah, sure!", I replied.
I took a look at the load wendy was carrying "Wow, I never knew you were really into shopping"
"I know right? People do change", she said.
I rolled my eyes at her "Speaking about shopping kinda reminds me of Chloe and Zoey, thank goodness we didn't meet them here", I said.
"Oh, yeah, I kinda forgot about them, I haven't even set my eyes on them apart from yesterday, when we were in that hell hole!", she emphasized.
"If you are talking about the escape room, then you're very wrong cos that experience is one that I'll never forget", I said in revulsion.
"Okay let's be going, mom is already here", said Wendy referring to her mom. We entered into the car, then wendy started talking about the trip, and how she couldn't wait for tomorrow to come, while I was busy feigning interest in what all she said.
°°••°°••°°••°°••°°••°°••°°••°°••°°••°°••°
°°••°°••°°••°°••°°••°°••°°••°°••°°••°°••°
Xavier's Pov.
"Get prepared guys, we are about to embark on a long-awaited trip!", I said.
"So, what's the plan?"
I smiled evilly, "That's all I want to hear!"
.............••••••..........••••••.........••••••....
Blackout!
............•••••••..........••••••.........••••••...
Authors Note.
Wassup fellas?!, it's me, Stephanie 🤪... Yeah, I know it's been a while since I published a chapter, and I hope y'all forgive my omission.
Well, so how was this chapter 🤔💭, I just want to know your thoughts on it. Btw, I'm aware of this chapter being super confusing, I had problems publishing chapter 14, you guys will also be aware of that if you chose to help me out the day I made that announcement on my message board, but no one cared 😟
There was nothing I could do, cos I honestly tried my best to publish chapter 14, but it's no big deal, that chapter was kinda boring 🙄... However, I brought out some important pieces from chapter 14 to this chapter, for you guys to have a little knowledge of the last chap.
There are much more I want to say about my follower count decreasing daily and my vote count still stuck on 970, even though it's so painful there's nothing I can do about it 😔🙁
So, there's a new character on block, Xavier, I guess 🤔 and there'll be more new characters 🤗. So, get ready for the next chapter! 😇
I'll try to make updates a little bit early from now on, but here are my rules, I only make revamps when a previous update crosses 20 votes, I know it may sound stupid but I prefer it to be that way! 🙂
Gratitude Note.
I love y'all so much, don't you ever forget that! 😡😂
I really need you guys support now, 😣that's all I ask from you 🙏 please vote ✅ make comments 📃✍ 📝 and share 📲📲📲
It's there anything left to say,
Oh, yeah!
STAT TUNED!
Is there any need to keep safe?! 🤔
Whatever, be careful! 😷
ALWAYS ACT MERRY! 🎅
AND WATCH HOW THE DRAMA UNFOLDS FOR BOTH STACEY and LOGAN! 🤪
✨ Have a merry and exciting season and don't forget to always be merrier! 😜 despite how 2020 was for all of us.✨
TILL MY NEXT UPDATE! ✍
STAY TUNED!
... COMPLIMENT OF THE SEASON! ⛄
FROM YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD WRITER,
☸Stephanie Harris.☸
Word Count: 4729! 🥳
Mwah 💋 💕💕💕👋👋👋
And oh, this chapter isn't edited😬 so read at ur own risk! 🙄