Wrongly Labeled [On Hold]

Chapter 5

"Shit," Scarlett mumbled over the stream of conversations. The crowd—mostly containing girls—moved in sync. As if their thoughts shared one brain, they copied each other's' moves and dashed forward, circling us. A blood-chilling sound came from the girl closest to us, as her scream grew louder and louder until it became a sullen, muffled cry.

      "Please tell me that was a sick, twisted joke," she spoke directly at Scarlett. The other girls nodded their heads, yelling out their own thoughts on the matter. Their eyes were wide, as they waited for her to answer them.

       Seeing Scarlett in a frozen mess, I decided to answer for her, and let out a cough. They turned their attention to me at the sound.

      "It was just a joke. Scarlett was just messing around." I cranked my neck to her. "Right, Scar?"

      "Ah." She swallowed hard, nodding quickly. "Yeah, it was a joke."

       The girl in front of us pursed out her lips, and crossed her arms across her chest. "I don't believe you."

       "Well, it's true." Seeing the blue pin on the sleeve of her shirt, I could tell she was a first year. Here, at Elite, the first years were required to wear their pins, even if they weren't wearing their uniforms. Apparently, it wasn't because they were first years that they had to wear it, it was because they were new to the school, and didn't know any better. The dean wanted the upperclassmen to be able to tell who their underclassmen were, so they could help them whenever they're lost or whatnot. But, to be honest, the day I got to throw my pin away was probably one of the happiest days of my life. Being a second year finally felt free.

      "Aubrey's right," Dennis piped in. "We just wanted to see how people would react if they knew Aaiden liked someone. Clearly." He paused, chuckling. "We were right."

      The girl dropped her arms to her sides, her cheeks clearly red. "Sorry, it's just that . . . Aaiden was the first guy that truly made me see the value in money. He taught me that status wasn't everything, and when he was assigned to show me around . . . he barely cared about my last name. Before coming to this school, being on top meant everything to me, so when I found out how the rankings worked on campus, you could imagine how upset I was. But, Aaiden was the first person who didn't treat me like nothing compared to him, nor did he act any different when he knew I was a Clark."

      "Clark as in the top entertainment law firm in Los Angeles?" I asked, recognizing her last name. "Your family is ranked eighth on campus, isn't it?"

      She smiled. "Yup, that's my family for you."

      "And, Aaiden actually did that?" For someone who's ranked number one in both the business world and on campus, I thought for sure that would go towards his ego. But then again . . . he could be just pretending.

      "Believe it, and that's why I need to win this auction. It's the only way I can get him to like me."

      "Listen here, you—"

      I pulled Scarlett back, and quickly covered her mouth with my hand. "Sorry. Just ignore her."

      "Um . . ." her voice drifted off as she stared at Scarlett trying to claw her way out of my hold. I cleared my throat, bringing her attention back to me. "Oh, yeah." She nodded, smiling. "Will do."

      "Great!" Ryann stepped forward, and clapped his hands together. "Now that we have that misunderstanding out of the way, if you'll excuse us ladies, we're going to enjoy our food." He pointed to the triangle-shaped box in his hand.