Chapter Ten

Amaryllis Lexington

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"So, you guys should catch up with your partners and draw up a plan on how to make the food assigned to you. Remember, you have to make a live video and upload straight to the account I'm giving you. No cutting out of the videos, in case you smuggle some chef in to help you. I know your parents can afford it, but I won't tolerate that. See you on Monday! Good day." The teacher, whose name I heard was Mr. Young, said and walked out.

"Let's go quickly. I don't want to talk to my partner. At least, not yet. I need to wrap my head around the fact that I'll be around one of those people." She said and I shrugged. The plan was very fine by me, seeing as I definitely didn't want to talk to my partner either. I looked over to his direction and he was on a call, not even looking in my direction. Apparently,  he didn't want to come talk to me first. Well,  two can play the game.

Together, Maya and I rushed out of class and headed towards the direction of the next class. One of the classes I despised terribly, Maths. How numbers and figures come together to make perfect sense to some people is just crazy, and don't even get me started on those symbols. I was choosing my college major based on my probability of doing maths. Any course that would require maths, I would definitely run far away from. If things don't go well in the future, I could always sign up for an acting job. At least, the Lexingtons could pull some strings to get me a nice gig.

While I was thinking about my future prospects, my bag vibrated. I paused, wondering what was happening to me. The vibration happened again and then it clicked. My phone.

I fetched it from the bag and saw two texts from an unknown number. With a weary look, I opened the message and my eyes doubled the side of saucers when I saw it. Oh. My. Heart!

Unknown: Hey, Amari.

Unknown: It's Jordan. Sorry I texted you without asking for your contact. The circumstances surrounding your departure didn't give me a room to ask for your number. After hours of deleting what to do, I finally asked Jade for it. I hope you're not mad?

Mad?

Mad?

More like madly in love!

I quickly saved his number and debated whether to add the padlock and love emoji or just adding a smiley emoji, after a while, I settled for the latter. As we progress in the relationship, I would definitely add the padlock!

Me: Mad? Nope! I'm glad you texted. How are you?

JORDAN😋🍎: I'm alright. How are you holding up? Is that place fun?

Me: Well, I can't seem to stay out of trouble. Lol

Me: I miss you.

Me: *You guys at Halloway. Hahaha

I slapped my head harshly at my stupid slip. Maya raised her brow and I smiled awkwardly. I noticed a text had come in and it made me jumpy  on the inside. I waited till I took my seat, because we had already reached class, before I replied.

JORDAN😋🍎: lol. Yeah, sure. 🌚

JORDAN😋🍎: We miss you too. Carmel definitely doesn't anyway. She's having a field day now that you're gone. Lol. Halloway feels like Holloway. 😣

Me: 😂😂😁 She better be glad I'm gone. Else, she would have had a nose transplant by now. You should just break some of her bones already and pretend it was an accident. The community loves you, they won't send you to jail.

JORDAN😋🍎: Not everyone can be like you, Amaryllis. You're one of a kind.

My breath hitched and I could swear I heard wedding bells. Where would I want to spend my honeymoon with Jordan? Hmm. The Bahamas? Seychelles? Prague? PRAGUE!

Me: Aww. Why, thank you, Mister Anderson. (Bows).

JORDAN😋🍎: lol. You're crazy, Amari.

JORDAN😋🍎: Sometimes I beat myself up about the fact that I started talking to you late. You are crazy in a way I find really amusing. My life feels too organized and sane, and your crazy...... It was something I've been looking for.

"Lub.

Dub.

Lub.

Dub.

LubbityDubbityDumDumDummityBuppittyHumptyDumpty." My heart went through a series of transitioning and dived straight into overdrive! Jordan has been looking for meeeeee! Operation Prague in motion!

I was about to reply when the teacher entered the class. I would have been a good student and I would have told Jordan that I had to go, but yuck. I would never pass up this golden moment just to pay attention to maths. I put my phone under the table and positioned my book in a way that covered me slightly.

"Hmm. Bad bad girl." Maya muttered and I shot her a wide grin. Someone has to be bad once in a while, dearest Maya.

Me: I bet everyone in Halloway knew I had a thing for you, except you. Lol. You were just too focused on trying to set school straight and doing your own thing.

I debated between pressing the send button or deleting my confession, then I decided to send it. Luckily, it was a text and it's not like he would be seeing me anytime soon.

JORDAN😋🍎: 🤣😅 I admit I can be a little slow sometimes. But I wasn't expecting you to actually like me.

JORDAN😋🍎: You are this cool girl that just walks into a building and just owns the place. Your level of confidence and sass is out of this world. I admit I felt you were too cool for me. Even when James told me you liked me, I flipped him off. Lol.

"JAMES DID WHAT?!" I yelled and then the whole class went silent. I clasped my hand over my mouth when I looked up from the phone to find everyone in class looking at me. Damn!

"I don't know what James did, Miss Lexington, but would you please hand that phone over?" How did he know? Then I saw it. During my process of clasping my mouth shut, I had placed the phone on the table and my notebook shield had collapsed. Double damn!

I stood up with great embarrassment and walked towards him, placing my beautiful phone in his hands, while he handed me a pink slip in return. Triple damn! I got detention on my second day?! Today was supposed to be a perfect day! This was all James' fault.

I took the embarrassing walk of shame back to my seat, but I never got there. Thanks to some idiot who put her leg in my way and I tripped over before I could even help it. I struggled to keep my balance and I swayed but I couldn't stop the fall. However, I didn't fall to the ground, thanks to my effort at keeping my balance, I fell on someone sitting quietly in a chair.

"Desperate much?" That British accent! I jerked away immediately and I landed on the floor with a thud, which caused the entire class to erupt in laughter.

"Miss Philip, why did you do that? You could have really injured her!" The teacher yelled at the girl who tripped me, and if she felt guilty, she didn't show. Studying her face properly, I recognized her as one of Allison's minions. I saw red instantly.

"This was the best you could do? Tripping people? If you so desperately need someone to actually fall for you for the very first time in your life,  you should learn to actually close your legs, not extend them further." I growled and someone yelled 'sick burn'.

She looked utterly confused and I shook my head. What was I thinking? Obviously she wouldn't get the message. She's just about as daft as an ostrich.

"Miss Lexington, you need to go to the clinic." The teacher said and I nodded. I tried to stand up, then I realized I had twisted my ankle. A sharp pain went through me and I groaned.

"Hawthorne, please help Miss Lexington to the clinic." He said and my eyes widened. Oh shit! I looked at the said boy and he was glaring at me like I was a pest.

He stood up and pulled me up gently. The smell of his cologne filled my nose and I snuggled closer unconsciously.

"Really? I'm helping you and you're trying to take advantage of me? First, you crashed into me and now, you're smelling me?" Embarrassment coloured my cheeks and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh please, don't flatter yourself. I was only taking sharp deep breathes because of the pain." I lied and the look he gave me told me he caught me in my lie.

"Can you walk?" He asked and I shrugged. I tried to take some steps but the pain that shot through me made me reconsider. I looked at him and shook my head. He sighed and before I could say Jack, he was sweeping me up bridal style. Gasps went round the class and my eyes were almost jumping out of my socket.

"Don't get any stupid ideas. Trying to drag you with me while you limp will only waste my time, and I don't want to spend more time with you than necessary, so this is the only reasonable option." He said with a frown and I made a face. He started to walk out of class, and I was more than happy about that. The stares I was getting was making me reek of smoke. A minute more in their presence and I would totally catch fire.

"Are you always this annoying? Or you're just trying extra hard because I deserve special treatment?" I decided to push his buttons and he looked down at me. The movement caused our faces to move closer and all my senses came to life. I thought that when you finally see someone up close, you would notice their imperfections and find them less attractive, but that was not the case for Carlson. He had the tiniest of freckles in the bridge of his nose and it only added to his perfection.

"Keep talking and I would throw you away." He said and I shut my mouth. My hand was still wrapped around his neck and I needed to distract myself from the stupid things running through my mind.

"So, partners huh? Today is just a very bad day." I said and a low chuckle escaped him. I wasn't expecting that and nothing prepared me for the warmth that hit me when I felt his chest vibrate against me, due to his chuckling.

"You really suck at making small talk. Actually, you look like you suck at everything, so I won't hold this against you. I mean, you couldn't even walk properly." He shrugged, turning a corner.

"I was tripped, doofus. Why do you have a problem with me? I haven't done anything to you. I should be the one plotting your murder after you basically marinated me in chocolate."

"You didn't seem to mind. I bet if no one was in that hallway, you would go on all fours and lick it all up from the floor." The fact that he wasn't so far from the truth made me embarrassed. He stared at me for a second, then burst into laughter, dropping ME in the process. I hit the floor the second time today and I could feel my butt getting numb.

"You jerk! Why the hell did you do that?" I barked, trying to get up, but the pain was too much.

"I didn't mean to drop you. I guess I was just too shocked. I only meant that as a joke, but the look on your face. The look on your face said otherwise." He laughed even more.

"So you would have really gone on your fours to lick chocolate from the floor? Wow, that mental image is something. You're even stupider than I thought!" He howled with laughter, but I was feeling the exact opposite of what he was. If I was a cartoon character, I would have fumes coming out of my ears and nose.

"You're an idiot." was all I could come up with. I struggled to get up, despite the aching pain in my butt, and I started to stagger in no particular direction. I didn't even know where the clinic was located, but I would rather die than ask the idiot for help.

"Hey, I'm sorry I dropped you. It was totally unintentional." He followed me, but I wasn't listening. I didn't even look back.

"You do realize you're going in the wrong direction, right?" That made me halt in my tracks. I was torn between choosing my stubbornness and still going in the wrong direction, or admitting defeat and asking him for help. The Burton in me made me do the former, so I continued walking.

"Must you be so difficult? I apologized already. Why are you being so childish?" Oh really?

"Childish? Are you by any chance looking into a mirror? I am not the one who forgot I had a whole human being in my arms and dropped her because I wanted to laugh at some darned mental image." I growled without looking back, and I swear I could hear him chuckling again.

"You can't blame me. Besides, it was easy to forget I was carrying someone. You weigh next to nothing." Wow, whoever taught this guy how to apologize did a very fantastic job at failing.

"Get lost, Hawthorne. I don't want your blood on my hands, and I'm this close to losing my temper and tearing you apart with my teeth." I yelled, still not looking back.

"Why? Do I remind you of chocolate? If you must know, I wouldn't mind if you get on your fours and..."

"If you complete that sentence, I'm going to make your body parts incomplete." I growled, turning to face him.

"Hmmm. Feisty, I like." He said, falling into step beside me and that only made me very mad. How on earth could he drop me like that! I could have suffered an internal injury.

"You're really not going to forgive me?" He feigned a guilty look and paired it with a pout. I was almost smiling then I remembered that he was just a second away from murdering, so nope!

"Obviously! You almost killed me, dude. You could have taken my life in an instant, and I wouldn't be able to marry Jordan or go to Prague with him!" The both of us froze at my statement, and then he started laughing insanely while I just cursed myself over and over again.

"Wow. Your life is quite pathetic. So you have no hopes and dreams? Nothing to live for, except going to Prague with a boy? You blow my mind every single time, Amaryllis." Everything he said faded when I heard my name in a british accent. I wasn't expecting it to sound that nice!

It's not the accent, it's the boy. Olive has called your name in a British accent more times than one. My sub-conscious reminded me and I sighed at my pathetic-ness.

"I am not going to have this conversation with you. Just tell me where the stupid clinic is, so I can be rid of you. You make me want to murder someone."

"But if you murder me, you'll end up in jail and you won't be able to go to Prague with Jordan. I doubt Jordan would want to marry a murderer too." He chuckled, his eyes shining with mischief, and I found it so hard to look away from him. I might really hate him, but this whole situation seemed a tiny bit fun because of his smiles.

"Are you ever going to forget I said that?" I asked, crossing my arms. Anyone who saw us right now would be wondering what on earth was going on. I, myself, was wondering what on earth was going on!

"Not in this lifetime. Best believe I'll use this against you forever."

Forever.

"Forever? Aren't you getting ahead of yourself. There is no guarantee we will ever cross paths once high school is out. So, I only have to endure this for some months." I stuck out my tongue and he smirked, his smile had reduced in intensity, but it was still just as attractive.

"Never say never, Amaryllis." Swoon. What does this mean? Could he be....

"You might end up working for me some day." All the warmth that was pooling in my insides turned into ice.

Idiot!