After school
Ayla got home. The house was empty, quiet. Her dad had started picking up extra hours at his accounting firm for them to pull through. She barely saw him lately, he always came back late and tired and left early in the morning. She really missed him
"Five months before you graduate, just five more months, then you'll get into a good university on scholarship and dad doesn't have to work hard again" she told herself
With that thought, she went to her room and took a long relaxing bath, soaking up her troubles and worries.
She finished her bath and changed into a pink short and a black shirt, slid her long dark hair into a ponytail she then went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee and got some chocolate to go with it, turned off her phone so she won't get distracted she settled down and got straight to reading. She burned through the pages of her chemistry textbook munching on her chocolate and sipping her coffee every now and then. The sound of her pen scribbling every now and then, her light breathing and the occasional roughing of pages were the only sounds you could hear.
After what felt like an eternity, she laid back tired, exhausted but fulfilled. She had covered a lot of work and assignments and felt proud of herself. She grabbed her phone to check the time but something else caught her attention. Missed calls, 52 missed calls, all from an unknown number and had been trying to call her for over three hours. Panic then fear set in, what if it was her dad calling what if something had happened to him. She hurriedly pressed the redial button as worry burned through her, she called but no rest then she tried again and finally the caller picked.
"Hello, who's this?" she said, trying to mask the concern in her voice as she paced about her room.
No response
"Hellloooo, whoever this is you got the wrong number" calming down a little, perhaps it wasn't her dad.
"Miss me?" A deep husky voice came out
"Huh?" She asked very confused right now
"I'm very heartbroken, Al." He made a crying sound that made Ayla question the sanity of this person.
"Alex?"
"Hmm"
"Wait, first of all how did you get my number?"
"Not very hard to find"
"Second what's your problem, you are always over my business and so annoying "
"Because I like you"
She paused , she hadn't expected his answer to be so straightforward
"You're joking right?"
"No babe, I want you to be my girlfriend "
"No thanks and don't call this number again " she told him before hanging up. She sat there speechless. She knew he was trouble, they all are" she told herself .
Memories one's she wanted to bury deep inside her came resurfacing. All the things she bore in the hands of Kyle's numerous girlfriends, the insults, the bullying, the snide comments, the not-so-funny jokes, subtle jokes that always seemed to stop when Kyle was around and Cathy was by far the worst offender.
She laughed bitterly as she remembered a bitter incident.
Kyle had bought her a diamond necklace with her initials and a heart shape in the middle. It was for their friendverssary, a stupid thing she and Kyle did to mark the day of their friendship. And Cathy who was dating Kyle during this time was mad because Kyle didn't get her anything. She remembered being so happy and practically jumping only to be met with Cathy cold stare from afar, she didn't think much of it at the time. Later that day when she went to the bathroom Cathy and her gang cornered her
"Hey bitch, think you can steal my boyfriend think again" before Ayla could react, Cathy dumped her head in the toilet.
"Hmmmmmm" she made mullified screams
Cathy removed her head from the toilet
"I didn't steal your boyfriend, he said you're not even dating" Ayla said in between chocks, grasping for what little air the bathroom offered.
"Oooo girls, this one's feisty, I think she wouldn't mind more.
"No no please ahhhhh" Ayla screamed before her head was dumped back into the toilet.
"How long should we continue, Cathy?" One of the girls holding down Ayla asked laughing hysterically.
Ayla turned to her, with a pleading look in her eye, trying to gasp some air, her clothes wet and her breathing ragged, but Cathy had a cold smirk on her face "For as long as possible and who told you guys to enjoy this? The smile on their faces immediately vanished. "Better"
"Noooo, please!" Ayla screamed before getting dumped back.
"What do you want for dinner, hon "
She jolted up, her dad's voice brought her back to the present.
"Whatever you make dad, I'll eat"
"Then don't blame me for whatever you see"
A light chuckle escaped her lips before she could stop herself. She stood up and walked to her mirror.
She started back at her reflection, a defeated looking girl, she hated it, hated the way she felt so weak, always being the joke of others, always the damsel in distress needing a Knight to save her. She wiped a tear falling from her cheek and stood there for a full minute, the silence of her room cutting in, outside the business of the city, the
She went downstairs to join her dad for dinner.
....
The next morning
Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and was greeted by the soft, warm light of the sun peeking through the curtains, casting a cozy glow on your face. The not so sweet shouts from the neighbors brought her awake. She stretches, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, ready to take on whatever the day brings her. She took a quick glance on her phone and ..
"Oh shit"
She got up in a rush and headed for the bathroom
"I'm going to be late" Ayla makes a mad dash for the bathroom. The water turns on, she's fully wide awake, frantically scrubbing away any trace of sleep. The shower is a blur, and racing against time to get dressed. Uniform snatched from the wardrobe, hopping into her uniform outfit, zipping up, and buckling up on the go. She raced down stairs, her dad was already gone expectedly. She ran out of the house to the bus stop hoping to catch the last bus of the morning. She got there just as the bus was about to move.
The driver ready to start the bus when
"Wait !" He turned around and saw a panting Ayla running towards him. He didn't care and started the bus, but at the last moment she grabbed the handle of the bus, hitting the glass making him stop.
"I said wait" Ayla panting managed to speak out.
"Yeah whatever, the rich kid can run." He let out a hard laugh
She looked at him hard, with a menacing glare"You'll be more surprised with what this rich kid can do if you mess with her" she moved closer to the driver, each step more deliberate than the last. The driver slowly backed down as she got closer, beads of sweat forming in his forehead. At the last minute she stopped, put her coin in the machine and walked off. The driver let out a sigh of relief, angry that a girl less than twice his size just threatened him.
She walked inside calmly but dangerously, some people looked at her with scorn while others just looked away. She found an empty seat with a middle aged man in the middle of the bus. She sat down quietly, plugged in her earphones to play some music and got to her work.
"Excuse me, Miss" the middle aged man beside her tapped her after some time.
She unplugged her earphones "Pardon?"
"This is my stop, if you would excuse me and give room for me to pass"
"Oooo, I'm sorry" she said
"Not a problem at all, this is also the last bus stop you do know right?"
"Then I guess, it's also my stop too."
"Alright miss, good luck" the middle aged man waved at her with a kind smile and walked off. The smile fading as he left her view. Just then he got a call
"Ah, yes boss, she's the one. Let's move to phase 1 of the plan" a sly smile on his face
"Oh dear, you have no idea what's coming"