Knowing Asher

Chapter|65|

"Yo girl"Amanda greeted and pulled me into a hug. She held me tightly like she didn't just see me few minutes ago because I excused myself to the bathroom.
'I don't think she is okay because she is touchy today"Angela mouthed to me and I chuckled in my head.
"I so badly wanted to rip her head off because how could she show up at our slumber party after what she did to you"she mumbled and I pulled her away slightly. "I know. And she was giving me smug look all night" I added.
"She had to bring her stupid friends and they were so hell bent on controlling what happened at our party"Rose grumbled rubbing her temples.
"Do you guys remember the time they said we shouldn't play board games because it was childish. Also the time everyone wanted to watch thriller movie but they argued to watch stupid romcom"Angela chimed and we nodded reminded of every single thing they did.
"We didn't listen to them at all so that counted for something"Lily said and we smiled agreeing with her.
We are talking about Katrina and her dumb friends who showed up at our girls' party in Rose's house. After avoiding me for a while, she finally decided to show up at our party. She didn't talk to me but kept smirking at me all through the night. She even tried to spill the chocolate pudding trying to regard it as an accident. We both know it isn't an 'accident'.
"It was funny when Amanda planted a spider in her hair and Giana freaked out seeing it crawling down her face. Well they both freaked out and ran round the living room. Then somebody removed the spider to stop their screams"Angela said and we laughed. That was super hilarious and Amanda managed to get it on video. We watched it a lot after everyone left. It was planned to be a sleepover but I guess everyone was tired of Katrina's nonsense. We threw them out after almost everyone left. "I hated it when they threw painful jabs at random girls. They even called Olivia out on her sponge-bob pajama"Amanda scowled and I sighed remembering Olivia didn't take it well. She packed her things and left even though I defended her.
"We must agree we gave them hell. I wished we had put laxatives in their drinks to get rid of them quickly"Angela frowned making us giggle.
It would have been fun to see them constantly running to toilet and leave eventually.
"Can't believe we came to school early today to say this. The other good part was when Stephanie told us about her date when everyone left"Angela squealed and I smiled reviewing it all again.
"I think you guys got up early just to go to my house to see the painting" I scoffed and they laughed. "It was a masterpiece. I will Mike can paint half like that"Lily pouted and I giggled. "And you learnt how to drive"Rose added and we nodded sharing a smile.
"School doesn't start in about thirty minutes, what should we do?"Angela asked looking at us for suggestions.
"I have no idea"Lily replied and Rose second that.
"Let's explore the secret passage because school starts"I said and they squealed.
"Never done this before"Angela said with a nervous smile and I squeezed her shoulders for comfort. "None Of us have set foot in a secret passage before"Amanda commented.
"Let's go?"I didn't mean it to be a question but they nodded in agreement anyways.
I led the way going to the familiar route. I have been here once but the route is etched in my memory.
We got into the room and I pushed the door lightly as Asher did. It gave out to reveal the door and I heard gasps behind me. "Is the fucking real?"Angela said staring at the door as if expecting the wall to close back. I opened the door and turned on my phone torch and gestured for the girls to do the same.
We walked down and reached the door after what seemed like ages.
"Do you wanna go out there or we should just head back?"I asked scanning their faces. "Let's just see what is out there"Amanda said and the others agreed.
I opened the door and we appeared in the changing room. "This is so not real"Angela gasped and pushed open the door. Lily got busy on her phone while the others looked around. "Damn! We are thirty minutes away from school even though the walk down here was just ten minutes"Lily announced and pocketed her phone. I stared at her in shock because I didn't even think of calculating anything the last time I was here.
"Wow"Rose gasped.
"Now I can leave school anytime I feel like"Amanda grinned.
"Mike and I can escape through here"Lily squealed and touches the walls.
"Rob and I"Angela added and Amanda snorted. "Yeah we get it, you couples can escape school using this place to go and spend alone time together"Amanda grumbled and Rose pouted.
"I think we should head back now because school starts in ten"Lily announced and we entered the changing room again.
We started the walk through the dark passage using our phone flashlight as our only source of light.
"That was one hell of an adventure"Amanda said as we got out of the passage. "I bet there are more places like this scattered around"Lily mused and I hummed as we headed to the door.
"I am going to start pushing every wall in this school"Rose whispered and we all started laughing at that.
"People will think you are going crazy because they wouldn't understand your plight" I said amidst chuckles.
We walked out and froze when a guard approached us. I fiddled with my fingers as the guard narrowed his eyes at us. "What are you guys doing here?"he scowled and I was nervous. We would be in so much trouble if he gets to find out. I am not even sure if he knows about the secret passage.
Oh God!
"We came to school early and decided to explore this wing of the school to read for our tests. We would have stayed in the library but it wasn't opened yet"Amanda replied with a hint of fear and I glanced at the man hoping he bought it.
If he thought otherwise, he didn't show it. "This place is out of use so use an empty class next time"he said and I breathed a sigh of relief. "We will remember that next time sir"Amanda replied in a polite voice and the man's lip twitched up. She knows how to lift a man's mood.
"The bell has already rang so off you go"the man said and with that we hurried to the hallway. "Nice save girl"Angela whispered and put a hand over her chest.
"I was scared to wit"I mumbled and Amanda chuckled. "I would have loved to hear you guys compliment me more but we have gotta get to class"Amanda said and our eyes widened.
"Oh shit"Rose said and hurried out. I followed not bothering saying my goodbyes. I have got my AP literature right now.
I took a deep breath and pushed open the door knob quietly. Some people glanced my way but I was glad the teacher was nowhere in sight. I headed to my perfect seat and settled down.
The door opened minutes later revealing the teacher who looked like he ran a marathon coming here. "I am sorry for coming late but I had some last minute work to attend to"he explained and wiped the bead of sweat forming on his forehead. "I will just talk about some of your works on Hamlet by William Shakespeare before handing them back to you. Some of you really made me proud as usual"the teacher said and I smiled lightly knowing he was referring to people like me.
You are too confident.
I am a good student. Duh!
"Some of you really disappointed me and I had to crosscheck the names again. I just hope you would do better next time because I didn't expect such work from those people"he added and I sighed. I feel sad for the people that disappointed him.
"Enough of the boring talks. I will give you another project to work on which will be 20percent of your whole grade. I was going to use this for that but now it will just be 10percent of your grade. So you have to work hard for the remaining seventy in your final exam"he ended and headed to his table. He took out our books and started distributing it. I wasn't really surprised when I didn't receive my own. He likes to talk to me about it after the class on how he felt about it. The bell rang and I waited for everyone to leave before heading to his locker. "Good morning Mr Charles" I greeted and he gave me a smile that looked forced.
Strange but I brushed it off. He handed me my book and I collected it. I smiled before checking my grade and my eyes widened at the score.
A D?!
"I think you made a mistake sir, the bottom line isn't suppose to be there. I am sure you meant to write an A but did this unintentionally" I said with a small smile even though my insides was twisting with pain. "Are you telling me I don't know what I am doing?"he asked narrowing his eyes at me and I fiddled with my fingers.
"N-no-nope. I..just think..you..made a mistake" I replied stuttering.
"Sorry to burst your bubble girl but you got a D. I couldn't believe it and I had to crosscheck the name to be sure you wrote this rubbish. Did you even read the book at all? This is a big disgrace to writing. What is wrong with you? All teachers have been complaining about you lately that you are not behaving like the bright student you used to be. I think you need to get yourself checked. You just recently got admitted to Stanford University so make sure you don't destroy that for yourself"he said and walked out. I fell to the ground not able to stand up straight. I stared at my work and watched a tear fall from my face onto the book.
All teachers have been complaining about you lately that you are not behaving like the bright student you used to be.
What is wrong with me? Nothing is wrong with me. I am absolutely alright.
I still read my book. I am still Starlight's brightest student. The medals I won from competition proved that to be true.
I personally don't understand myself lately. From A to C to D. That should be classified as falling from grace to grass. This is really bad because how do I explain to my parents about this. They do so much for me but I can't just do this one thing right.
Chill, it is just two subjects you failed.
Two you say, two would become five then before I know it, I am at the bottom of the brilliant chain.
I gathered myself up noting I am extremely late for my next class.
Great! I am even missing class now.
I wiped my eyes and headed for the library. I need to read and feel like myself again. I entered the library and didn't even bother greeting anyone. I headed to the back and plopped myself down on the couch. I brought out my books and wiped my eyes. I took deep breaths and stared down at my note.
Let's do this!
——————————————————————————————————————————
A hand shook me and I snapped out of my trance. I raised my head up to look at the person but winced at the pain I felt by that action. I was sitting with my legs tucked beneath me and my head down facing my note on my laps. I untangled my legs slowly wincing at the pain.
I finally noticed Asher crouching down in front of me. "Hey"he said and leaned forward. "Did you just stop me from kissing you?"he asked raising an eyebrow and I was confused. He gestured to my hands on his shoulders and I quickly retracted them. "That was unconsciously" I replied and my voice sounded croaky.
"How long have you been here?"he asked but I replied with a question instead.
"What time is it?" I asked stretching my hands in front of me.
"It's past closing"he answered and my eyes widened. "I missed all my classes" I grumbled and rubbed my temples. "You mean you have been here all morning?"he asked or more like stated but I nodded in response. "Are you okay?"he asked and I nodded faking a smile.
"Don't you fucking lie to me! I know something is wrong with you"he replied and I sighed. I reached into my bag and handed him the script. His eyes widened for a bit but he quickly recovered. "The teacher definitely made a mistake"he replied frowning.
"I already confronted him and he confirmed that as mine"I snapped and he gave me a look I couldn't decipher. He got up and settled next to me. He pull me to his chest and I wrapped my hands around his torso. "What is happening to me Ash? The teacher said I wasn't behaving like myself. Do you think I am changing?" I asked not able to stop the tears that come out afterwards.
"No baby, you are still the same. I don't really know how to respond to this but I will just refer to it as a phase"
"A phase?" I mumbled into his chest focusing on the words of his hoodie.
1507
"Yeah and it's going to pass soon. There is no way you can stop being the best student. You are obviously going to win that Valedictorian and write that boring speech of yours"he said and I couldn't help the giggles that escaped my mouth.
He is my safe haven. He managed to cheer me up in just few minutes. I smiled genuinely not taking my head off his chest. It was to comfy and soothing to leave. "Shoot! If you have been here since morning, that means you haven't had anything to eat"he said pulling me from his chest to meet my gaze. I pouted at that but nodded confirming his suspicion.
"I don't feel hungry" I replied and laid my head back on his chest.
"You have got to eat something. Wendy's or MacDonalds?"he asked running a hand through my hair.
"Second option"I mumbled.
"Good so let's leave"he said proceeding to stand up but I held his hands.
"Few more minutes here"I said pressing my head on his chest.
A laughter rumbled out of his chest but he didn't say anything. I could easily take a wild guess on what he was thinking.
"Okay for now" I said and moved away from him. I packed my books and felt his stare on me. "What?!"I pouted and watched his hands reach for my books.
"Nothing"he shrugged out even though he had an amused look on. I rolled my eyes and put my books in my bag collecting the ones in his hands.
He intertwined our fingers and led us out. I kept swinging our laced fingers as we walked to the carpark. We got to his spot and he unlocked the door. I entered the car and he did the same. "I was hoping you were up for some test drive today"he said as he started the car. "Really?"I asked and he nodded.
"I know an open field around here used for that purpose"he replied and I smiled.
That will help me loosen up more before I get back to my books immediately I get home. "Let's do it" I said smiling and he flashed me his signature smile.
"Now that's the smile I love seeing on you"he said and I blushed.
"Quit flattering me" I grumbled turning my face to the side to hide my blush.
"I am merely saying the truth. Besides, you don't need to hide your blush from me"he said and I didn't need to glance at him to know he was smirking.
"I hate you" I mumbled and scoffed as his chuckles filled the car.
Idiot!
He pulled the car over in MacDonalds driveway. We got out at the same time and I interlaced our fingers again before he did. To avoid desperate people!
I can't deal with anyone's bullshit right now. We walked in and headed for the counter. "What are you having?"he asked.
"I trust your opinion" I replied and watched him smile before looking around.
I heard him converse with the girl behind the counter. We moved to stay at the side and waited for our names to be called.
He collected our foods when we heard our name. We settled in a small booth and I glanced down at my food. He got me a double cheeseburger, fries and strawberry milkshake. He stared at me and I grinned making him do the same. It's funny how we understand each other without saying a word. I sipped the milkshake and almost gulped it all at once realizing I have been hungry all along.
"No matter what, never skip food ever again"he said and I gave him a thumbs up. I finished up the food quickly while he still had some in his plate. He glanced at his fries and raised an eyebrow at me which I nodded in response. He slid his plate over to me and I smiled in thanks. He just shook his head and sipped his smoothie. I munched on the fries and finished it in few minutes. "Let's go"he said standing up and I followed. We settled back in the car and he drove us to the field.
——————————————————————————————————————————
"Thanks for today" I said turning to face him. "Anytime"he replied. I leaned forward and kissed him briefly.
I got down and he rolled down the window. "Don't work yourself hard too much in there"he said giving me a knowing look and I smiled sheepishly at him. "I mean it"he said and I nodded.
"Goodnight" he said and I stepped back a bit allowing him to drive out.
I entered my house and headed straight for my room. Test driving was wonderful and I feel ecstatic learning it.
I took out my phone from my bag having forgotten all about it. I have a lot of unread messages from my friends asking me a lot of questions.
Why I didn't come to lunch?
To chemistry class.
They even suggested that I went out of school through the secret passage with Asher since he was also missing. Concluding we were making more babies.
I assured them of all such things and walked to my wardrobe taking out some comfy clothes. I knew what I have to do.
Shower!
Dress!
Room!
Sit!
Books!
Study!
Revise!
I am definitely not working myself to hard  or am I?

Ding!
The book has less than ten chapters to go estimated. There are a lot of things to be unfolded at the end but I am keeping my lips sealed for now.
Have you decided on your best character so far?
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Xoxo
~Aridah.