Page 6

I am so screwed.

How did I overlook that he has a job here?

I neglected to consider that he works here because I was concentrating on how to retrieve some money from my wallet.

"Language Jack!" Lily reams of him.

How could you consider hiring her? He complains.

"Well, suck it up, son, she's hired." Lily counters Calmly.

"Hah!" I laughed in his face. "I'm hired." I boast.

His frown becomes more pronounced while I struggle to suppress my laughter. It seems neither can Felix. I hope you will make them team up for work! He pitches the idea.

After this comment my laughter fades and we both look at him. I notice Lily's smirking expression as my eyes land on her.

"Lily, you can't be serious about that." I begged because Felix knew exactly what to say.

"You both work on Fridays," she says.

My elbows rest against the counter as my hands shield my face while Jaxon lets out a groan of displeasure.

This cannot be happening.

Jaxon questions why he and his colleague both work shifts on Fridays. Jaxon asks.

You guys must work together now because you need to stop fighting. Both of you need to grow up.

You're almost adults. "If you stop fighting like this, I could change your workdays," she states while standing with crossed arms.

Felix starts laughing after a brief pause. He walks over to Lily and pulls her into an embrace. "I love this woman." He gets out between laughs.

I rolled my eyes at the sight of her returning his hug. Jaxon directs his attention to me while she stays occupied for now. "I'm not working with you." he sneers, glaring at me.

This only makes me more irritated. "Well, I'm not quitting." I fire back.

"Why couldn't you just work somewhere else?" he asks, walking toward me. Do you think you're so obsessed with me that you wouldn't apply for other positions?

"You wish dickhead." My mom insisted on giving me this job so don't assume I wanted to work near you.

"Whatever." He throws his head back in annoyance and moves behind the counter while brushing my shoulder as he passes me.

I silently call him an "asshole" while I start walking toward where he had come from.

Hazel grabbed her stuff and stood up. She confidently promised to organize everyone's attendance for Friday to experience this historic event.

Her joke makes Felix laugh even harder. "I'll help you with that," he says.

She gives me a nod before she walks out the door together with me. As I step outdoors, I notice that her cheeks show a shade of red.

"Aww. You made him laugh." I punched her on the shoulder.

She retreated into her car while telling me to stop talking. As I walked to my car, I prayed that I would survive this situation.

Specifically, he survives. The weekend ended as fast as it had started. I left my bed on Monday with the same slow start as usual and made my way to school.

The classes went on non-stop while I heard the teacher's voice fading into my ear. I struggled to keep my eyes open for any of the classes.

The only aspect that felt positive about this was the lack of stress. Jaxon's condition meant that he was not present where he could have been. He wasn't present during any of my morning classes which made me thankful to God because I believed I couldn't manage him.

Lunchtime arrived and I felt three years older. I got up from my desk and made my way to the cafeteria. I removed my bag from my shoulder and placed it on the bench while I started shopping for lunch online. As I waited there, I noticed a flyer posted on the board.

Prom Tickets Now Available!

Shit. The date for Prom came back to me now that I saw it was only a few weeks away. It became necessary for me to choose my attire and determine my date for the event.

The idea of attending Prom had faded from my mind ever since my breakup with Alec.

He's such a dick. Because everyone else doesn't interest me enough I'll either attend by myself or bring Hazel along.

She won't have the option if she chooses to let her "balls" drop and asks the guy she has loved since middle school. I took a deep breath and stepped forward to purchase a cookie and fries before exiting. I wasn't that hungry. After paying for my food, I went back to my seat to view everyone sitting at the table.

Although I must sit next to him for forty minutes, I take my seat and sigh.

I rest my elbows on the table while I eat a fry. Jaxon moves his hand swiftly towards my food tray to snatch some items for himself.

I pushed his hand away while letting out a groan. "Buy your fat ass."

Felix and Hazel across from me shared a laugh about this situation which I found amusing.

They enjoy our bickering. Scratch that—I'm pretty sure they all do.

"What's got you all grumpy?" Hazel asks.

"Alec." I mutter his name with a groan which only adds to my frustration. Before they can answer my question, I blurt out "God, I haven't even seen him today, but he's annoying me."

I coated another fry with ketchup and brought it near my mouth.

A bump to my leg caused my fry to veer off track, resulting in ketchup being smeared on the edges of my lips.

I cleaned off the ketchup smear and ate the fries while Hazel and Felix continued to laugh. I immediately swung my hand to strike Jaxon on the shoulder without feeling any regret.

He keeps his focus elsewhere, yet I figure he's laughing uncontrollably when I hear Elijah chuckle.

My annoyance level couldn't possibly increase. I pay him no attention and refocus on Felix and Hazel who remain absorbed in their dialogue. After a few more minutes of discussion the topic came to an end.

The conversation continued with Felix asking me a question. "Alright, what's going on up there, Ms. Grump?"

"Hmm?" I came back to the moment and understood that I had been daydreaming.

That stupid boy who ended things with me over nothing caused all of it. He's such a–

"You're scowling pretty hard right now, Em. What's up?" Hazel's concern was evident.

"What do you think?" My hands dropped onto the table as my reply revealed my underlying anger. "Sorry," I was quick to apologize. "Whatever happened between you guys?" she asked me. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

Fuck it.

To begin with he failed to be present either by talking to me or generally spending time with me. I went on describing everything he did. My rant would have lasted longer for him if someone hadn't interrupted me by bumping my leg. I instructed him to stop his behavior, yet he never paid any attention.

He took a few fries before my eyes but I chose not to interfere. My momentary lack of concern didn't stop it from annoying me completely.

Despite this, I continued.

Breaking up with someone for not engaging in sex demands a proficiency in ending relationships. And he's fucking terrible." I complained again, without much filter.

I knew my words were a bit harsh and showed too much information, but I had already spoken to them. After Hazel choked on her water Felix's eyes opened wide before he started laughing. After coughing a couple of times Hazel regained her composure.

You could not have said anything like that about him. she laughed.

I shrugged my shoulders and lifted my eyebrows without feeling any guilt.

"So let me get this straight." Felix asked with disbelief "She ended things with him because she rejected sex, but he isn't skilled at it?" he guessed. "The worst." I rolled my eyes.

Hazel burst into laughter again but could hardly catch her breath as she said, "Em stop." The poor kid's ego will shatter because of your words.

"Does it look like I care?" With a slight turn of my head, I manage to make eye contact with Jaxon. "Boy's egos should be crushed more often." I sneered. He turned to face me showing that he understood what I said. After rolling my eyes I turned my head back to face the others.

The constant bumping of his leg against mine became unbearable for me. The sound of my groan caused both to look at Jaxon.

I took his hat since he shouldn't be wearing it and then hit him with it because he ignored the teachers. "Ow." He raised his hands above his head to protect himself. I shoved his shoulder and muttered under my breath, "Stop kicking me." My grip on his hat led him to reach for it while I quickly moved it beyond his reach. For my own amusement I struck him with the hat again until he caught my wrist firmly but didn't try to get the hat back.

I moved my gaze from his strong grip on my wrist to his eyes which pointed at something entirely different.

I tracked his gaze which ended up on two kids walking across the cafeteria's center.

Those two kids are Savannah and Alec.

Ugh, what the fuck now?

The cafeteria transitioned from its normal loud state to quietness. The crowd of bystanders watched the two children who walked down the corridor while their hands remained intertwined.

As soon as they saw the two kids walking together some students pulled their phones out while others looked amazed. I, however, looked on with a scowl.

These two put me in the mood. More so now because they were together.

The pressure of Jaxon's fingers on my wrist diminished and my arm fell back down onto the table. I stared at them with such intensity it took several seconds for me to notice everyone else looking at me. I understood why. The fact that we had broken up was news to everyone until this moment. The crowd directed their phones at me while cameras captured the moment.

Passing by me triggered an immediate impulse to embarrass him. I stood up and grabbed my bag instantly while everyone watched me.

Directly across the aisle from me sat a girl at my table. While her smile appeared behind the camera she held her phone straight at me.

It seemed like everyone kept their breath suspended as they waited to see what I would do next.

I acted without thinking to comment humorously on what I had said before.

I stared at the girl's phone while I brought my pointer finger and thumb together closely.

I mouthed the words, "His dick's small." I proceeded to head towards the cafeteria entrance.

I glared at the two as I exited the room while laughter filled the space. I lacked direction but still had twenty minutes remaining for lunch.

I could find something to do.

The commotion I had created during lunchtime news spread rapidly so that by my last class period all students knew what I had said.

The video went live on the school account which prompted almost the entire student body to watch it. Science was my final class which turned out to be a free period.

Mrs. Lawson paid no attention to our class as she remained glued to her phone throughout the period.

I made my way to the back of the class as usual before falling into my seat. Student after student settled into their seats while my gaze fixed on one individual who chose his spot ahead of me.

God, it's cold in here.

I need to start by bringing a sweatshirt. The air conditioner stays on during all class periods because Mrs. Lawson never turns it off.

The sound of Mrs. Lawson speaking interrupted me because I hadn't heard her voice in more than a week while I was about to insert my earbuds.

I turned my gaze to her desk when she rose to her feet. She announced that we all need to complete an end-of-year project.

The entire class groaned.

You should complete this task to my satisfaction because you have an entire week to prepare. she points out. Select any subject you've studied throughout the years and design a poster around it. She walked through each student while distributing papers which included rubrics on their backs.

She gave permission for students to select a partner if they wished before moving to the front of the room. The entire group showed remarkable enthusiasm as they stood and moved around to find their partners.

While most girls joined Jaxon's group Jaxon still had two brainy girls who didn't follow the crowd. The only girls who didn't beg Jaxon to be their partner were Neha and her friend Sabrina who I believe was her name.

As I observed his simultaneous entertainment of everyone I rolled my eyes. As I moved halfway through the direction I noticed someone staring at me.

I apologize ladies but I'm already partnered up. Jaxon told a lie that made me laugh inwardly.My gaze lifted to reveal his direct stare upon me. My expression falls as I declare, "We are not partners."

"Says who?" he presses.

"Says me. Being stuck with you is something I would prefer to die than endure. I fire back.

"Well, too bad," he smiles. My scowl intensifies when I notice Mrs. Lawson approaching us. Jaxon immediately announces, "Emerson and I are partners!"

"No, we're not!" I position the paper on the desk before sitting upright.

"You and Emerson?" Mrs. Lawson asks for clarification while holding her pen firmly in her hand. "Yes," he says.

I respond with "No" at the same time he speaks but his answer seemed louder than intended. Who would like to share information about their partner with me? Mrs. Lawson rotates to address the entire class.

A groan escaped my lips as I buried my face in my hands.

This cannot be happening.

"Can I switch my partner?" I raised my voice so Mrs. Lawson could hear my request this time.

"Sorry. She informed us firmly that switching partners was impossible once their names were written together.

Oh c'mon.

His laughter stood before me, and it increased my irritation. Students may begin working now if they wish but they also have the option to delay until the deadline. The project needs completion before Friday's class. Mrs. Lawson gave her announcement before returning to her desk for the day.

You know you're a pain in the ass? I mutter to him. He shrugs after standing from his chair and declares his willingness to watch me suffer. When will you make this poster? He asks, sitting beside me.

"You mean when are we?" I correct him. Since you decided to join me as my partner you have work responsibilities to fulfill.

"Yeah, we'll see about that." he laughs. "I'm a very busy person."

My scowl deepens, but my irritation rises. "Fuck you." I blurt again without thinking.

Let's hope no one else heard that.

His smirk widens as he says that I repeat myself too often. "I'm starting to think you want to."

His joke hit me nerves. I would never in a million years.

"Ew. No way would I agree with it even if you stood alone at the end of the world. I'd rather kill you at that point." I roll my eyes.

He pulls his annoying smirk before he adjusts his hat to center the brim at the back of his head.

Without thinking I grabbed his hat from his head and struck him with it again today for the third time. Dealing with this person at work is utterly unbelievable to me.