Chapter 5

Katherine hated Monday mornings. She hated getting herself out of her room and go anywhere for that matter. Ann had texted her saying that she would meet her in the cafeteria at eight, sharp.  

Katherine reached the school canteen, ordering a chicken sandwich and potato wedges along with fresh orange juice. Laura, who was sitting with her friends, waved at her. Noah and Judy where sitting next to her.  

Katherine waved back at her with her lips pressed into a thin line. She was still pissed at her for sharing her number with Ashton without asking her, at the first place. She noticed that Noah waved at her too whereas, that little bitch Judy rolled her eyes turning her face away from Katherine. Kathy was least bothered by her childish behavior and kept on eating. 

She had been waiting more than ten minutes now but there was no sign of Ann. She was about to leave the place, when her mobile vibrated indicating a message. 

She opened it and rolled her eyes seeing the sender’s name.  

Ashton: Hey! Smile. You are too beautiful to frown. Is there something I could do to remove that frown from your face? XX 

She scanned the place for Ashton. Her eyes fell on the handsome fellow entering into the Cafeteria. He threw his backpack on the table where his friends were sitting and took a chair nearby. As always, Callie sat next to him. Now, that really irritated Katherine not because Callie was with him, but because he was flirting with her when he had a girlfriend of his own. He had placed both his hands under the table and was happily chatting with his friends. There was no sign of him messaging her. For a minute Katherine doubted if the unknown sender was really Ashton. She was unknowingly staring at him  when her mobile vibrated again. 

Ashton: Baby are you staring at me? Not that I've a problem with that.  

With a annoyed expression, Katherine lifted her gaze from her mobile with a raised brow, looking at Ashton. He was still talking to his friends. The moment she was about to move her eyes away, Ashton's grey orbs pierced through her blue ones. He placed his hand on the table, holding the mobile and started typing something on it, smiling, without looking at it. He continued talking to his friends and also looked at Katherine's beautiful face. Pressing the send button, he smirked and winked at Katherine. At that very instance, she was damn sure that he was the one texting her. Confirming it, she received a text message. She unlocked her phone with her thumb, still looking at him. 

Ashton: I'm  sending this text just to clear your doubt... See you later. XX 

‘He must be a real multi tasker and a mind reader’ shaking her head she thought to herself and walked out of the cafeteria. 

                      *************** 

“Where were you? What took you so long? I was waiting for you like forever.” Complained Katherine, walking to her next class with Ann. It was after three classes that Ann had reached school looking tired and sweaty.  

“My car broke down so, had to leave it there and walk all the way to school.” 

“Oh gosh! I'm sorry.” Said Katherine looking at her friend worriedly. 

“That's okay. I had asked my dad to take it to a nearby workshop. So I had to wait till he arrived at the spot. I suppose I will have to walk back home today.” Said Ann holding Katherine at the crook of her arms. “What time is it and what class do we have now?” 

“It is eleven and we should be heading to our Art class.” Katherine informed Ann pulling her towards their class, when they heard Laura calling them from the end of the hallway.  

“Hey girls! Heading to your next class?” squealed Laura. 

Ann nodded her head slightly whereas Katherine just kept staring at her. She really wanted to confront her for giving Ashton her number without her knowledge but did not know where to start. 

“Is something wrong Katherine?” Asked Laura cutting the thickness surrounding them. She could sense that something was wrong and probably knew the reason as well.

Ann was about to shake her head in denial when Katherine snapped at Laura “Yes, there is something I want to ask you”. Ann had no idea what she was talking about and both the girls kept waiting for Katherine to continue. 

“Did you by any chance give my contact number to your friend, Laura?” Laura just opened her mouth to say something but instead stopped midway and just stared at her foot. 

“That gives the answer to my question.” Muttered Katherine and started walking away from them. 

“Wait Katherine. Please, listen. What I did was wrong, okay. I’m sorry. But believe me, I have known Ashton for my entire life and he is such a great guy. I'm sure he will never misuse or do harm any to you. I think he really, really likes you. You should give him a chance and I’m sure you will like him.” She tried justifiying her self, guilt written all over her face. 

“And you deduced that all by yourself? Didn’t you want to ask me before giving him my number? Is this why you are being friends with me, Laura?” Katherine just starred at Laura for a few seconds and then just turned her face away angrily. Ann just stood there staring silently at the two girls, with little idea of what must have happened for Katherine to become so angry. 

“Of course not.” Denied Laura, clearly hurt from Katherine’s accusations but she knew that Katherine was straightforward and was ready to face the consequences for sharing her number with her friend. 

“See, I know you are angry right now and I’m terribly sorry for breaking your trust but please give it a thought. And also, I’m not your friend just for Ashton. I really like being in your company, Katherine. I will continue to be your friend even if you decide to ignore Ashton. Believe me.” She said gentle pulling Katherine's palms. “He is a great guy you will ever come across in your life, Katherine.”  

Katherine sighed “You don’t understand, Laura. You do not know anything about me. You cannot decide on things like this for me. I’m not comfortable around rich people and dating one would be the last thing I would ever do.” Katherine mumbled the last few words more to herself. 

“Okay I will not force you into this but let me tell you something. I do not know why you feel such hatred towards "rich" people but Katherine, there are also some of them, who are good and humble to everyone around them, Ashton being the first on that list. He is not like any rich guys you have ever met. So, please give it a thought for me, alright? I’m sorry again and do not be angry on me for too long, please.” Pleaded Laura with puppy eyes to which Katherine just nodded her head. 

“I’ll see you both later then.” Said Laura before disappearing into a nearby classroom. 

“Phew! She is really something...” Ann released her breath that she did not know she was holding. “When did you know that she gave him your number?” Inquired Ann. 

“Since he started texting me two days back .” Said Katherine in a low voice. 

“Two days back? And you did not speak a word about it to me yesterday when we met at the cafe.” Whined Ann. 

“I did not want to make a big deal out of it.” confessed Katherine. 

“What did he say?”  

Katherine just took out her phone and handed it to Ann unlocking the screen. 

“He asked you out and you said no? Girl, you got to be kidding me!” She exclaimed. 

“You know me, Ann. I haven’t dated anyone before and I wish to be like that for some more time.” 

“But there should be a start to everything, Kathy. I think you should give it a try. He seems really interested in you. Any other girl in your situation would be on cloud nine right now.” She said politely trying to make Katherine understand.  

Katherine, who had a very thick skull denied to agree with her friend. She was more that paranoid to date rich boys right from a very young age. She never wanted a fate similar to her mom’s. Moreover, she felt that dating would divert her from her studies and was not worth her valuable time. 

She just nodded. “I’ll think about it. Let’s go now. We are already late by ten minutes.”