ASHLEY
Jasmine, the disciplinary prefect was standing by the gate, and from the wicked grin she flashed me, I knew there was no escaping this for me.“You know at this point, I think you should just drop out with how much of a serial latecomer you’ve become.”She knew the reason why I was always coming back but because she’s Jasmine, she never failed to worsen an already worse situation.Once upon a time, Jasmine and I were best of friends. We were literally soul sisters. Then my mom married the Alpha King, Jasmine started coming over and immediately she caught the eyes of Axel, she changed and joined them in bullying me.I thought that when she started dating Axel, she’d talk to him so they’d leave me alone but instead, my best friend abandoned me and she joined them in making my life a living hell.My status as the stepdaughter of the alpha king gave her a rise on the social ladder because she was my best friend but she made sure to drop me to the lowest level when she became Axel’s girlfriend.Now she was something I didn’t recognize. The Jasmine I knew was an angel but this one was a devil’s incarnate whose main joy is to show my hell.“This is almost 9 am,” she continued, “you should be ashamed that this is the time you are coming to school.”“You know why, Jasmine,” I pleaded, “you know Axel and…”“Ohh, shut your trap, you tramp, and remove my boyfriend’s name from your mouth,” she snapped at me and she leveled me with a look so chilly I felt myself shiver.Then a sly smile touched the corners of her lips before she turned to the other late students. They were kneeling down and they were mostly junior students.“You know what? You guys can go to your classes. You senior here who can’t tell what’s right or what’s wrong will do all the work.”What?The juniors were as equally surprised as I was because they remained on their knees, with questioning looks on their faces.“Are you guys deaf?” She thundered, “Or do you want me to take back my words?”There were choruses of no before they all scrambled to their feet and they dispersed immediately.“Jasmine, what’s the meaning of…”“Watch how you address your disciplinary prefect, you serial latecomer,” she moved even closer to me, hands crossed over her chest in a typical mean girl posture while blowing her gum like an idiot.“Now, as for your punishment, you’re to clean the main auditorium.”“What?” I yelled, “You can’t possibly be serious.”She smiled triumphantly at me, “Well, I am and you know what happens if you dare to defy me.”She winked at me before she walked away, shaking her nonexistent ass.This was it! It was hell at home and hell in school because Jasmine and the triplets would not leave me alone.I spent almost the whole school hours cleaning the auditorium. I was supposed to clean it after school hours but that’d mean getting home late and incurring the wrath of the boys.That’d also mean that I’d have to sleep late because there’d be a lot of work for me to do. So missing classes was my best bet. I could always copy the notes and since I was a fast learner, I should be able to catch him quickly.“I really can’t believe that Jasmine is making you do this,” Anita’s voice and its echo in the big and quiet hall nearly made me tumble down from the ladder I had climbed to clean the walls.I didn’t hear her come in.“You know what? You should report her or something. She can’t continue to do this to you and get away with it.”“And you know what happened the last time I reported her,” I replied as I climbed down from the ladder.The last time I reported her, she was lambasted by the teachers and she reported me to Axel. I was severely punished. They made me stool down while they binge-watched a series. My whole body ached for days and that’s an experience I don’t want a repeat of.“And I’ve told you that anytime your parents are out of town, you can always come to my house so the spawns of the devil you call stepbrothers won’t be able to bully you.”“That’s not a solution, Anita. You know them. They can always hurt me in school too and I really don’t want you to be on their radar.”“Those babies? You know I’m not scared of them at all. And they know better than to hurt me.”She was right. They wouldn’t hurt her. She was the daughter of the beta of a powerful pack and she’s really up there on the social ladder too.I was really grateful for Anita’s friendship. She has always been a loner by choice but then, she was suddenly being nice to me just when Axel and his brothers started bullying me.Initially, I thought she was part of an elaborate prank by the triplets but she has proven to be the best thing that has ever happened to me.Anita could easily be described as the most popular female student in Empire High even though she doesn’t care about frivolities like that. But it was still baffling why she decided to be friends with me when people like Jasmine have been trying to become her friend forever.“And besides, I’m almost 18. My birthday is in less than a month. I’m sure I’ll find my mate then and I won’t have to worry about the triplets again when I become an adult.“Yeah, I really wish you’re mated to the kindest and purest soul because that’s who you deserve.”“Yeah, thank you so much, Anita. You’re an Angel.”“And you’re an Angel’s friend. Now, let’s eat. I brought you lunch.”She brought out some dish packs and I squealed in happiness. I hardly ate anything this morning because I was already late and I was already so hungry.“You can start eating, I’m going to continue cleaning them you can join me when you’re done eating.”“What? You want to help me in cleaning?”I asked but it was a stupid question because she was already changing into a cleaning overall.“Of course, I can’t leave you to clean this big place all by yourself.”“Thank you so much, Anita. I can’t thank you enough.”“You’re already my friend do I guess that’s enough thanks.”She got to work and I practically wobbled down the food.I was going to be 18 soon. I have Anita so maybe my life wasn’t so bad.SCARLETTI held my breath as I walked down the hallway. I was conscious of the eyes on me, on the pointed fingers, taunting whispers, and sneering peals of laughter. That was my everyday life here in school. Walking in the hallway was always a dreadful experience for me. I could feel my heart beating fast, could feel perspiration on my entire body, could feel my palms growing sweaty. I hated walking alone. Nobody likes me in Empire High. The boys already gave everyone a green pass to bully me and they were always so eager to do that as if it’d score them some point with the triplets. I knew the number of steps I needed to take before reaching my class and I was almost done counting when I tripped on something and I landed on the floor with a thud. The hallway erupted in laughter. I felt a sharp pain in my knees and I looked at them to see that the right one was already bleeding. “Oh, my bad,” the voice that I recognized to be Jasmine’s mocked, “maybe you should get glasses becau
SCARLETTDerrick asked me to be his assignment partner.I still couldn't believe it and even though I walked home under a scorching sun, I couldn't wipe the shit-eating grin off my face. I was ecstatic. But it took getting home and entering the house for my mood to sour completely. “Why are you just getting home?” Axel fired at me immediately I entered, the venom in his eyes terrifying my soul. “I... I... I had to walk and...”“Save your useless stuttering,” Brody cut me off by throwing a pillow at me. It hit me square in the face and the force behind me nearly split my head into two. “Make us dinner,” Axel commanded and I instinctively looked at the wall clock. It was just 5 pm and we didn't eat dinner until 7:30. But I knew better not to argue. “Okay, let me just change from my school uniforms,” I started to make my way to the stairs, momentarily forgetting that I'd been locked out of my room when another pillow hit me square in the face and this time, the pain was enough to m
ASHLEYMy heart dropped to the pit of my stomach when my mom and my stepfather, the Alpha King of Crescent Valley announced that they were going on yet another vacation when they just returned from one less than a week ago.“Don’t worry, Ashley, I'm going to get you lots of gifts, you can just text me if there is any new thing that you need,” she told me as she entered the car with Alpha Hendrix. I wanted to tell her that I did not need anything, that the multitudes of gifts she got me from their last vacation were still untouched. That the only thing I needed from her was for her to stay at home and protect me from my stepbrothers, and my bullies. They were the best brothers when our parents were at home and they were the worst bullies whenever they weren't at home. The latter was the most constant because our parents were hardly ever home. They were always on one vacation or attending a public event in the other town or a fundraiser in the other country. And my stepbrothers, Axe
ASHLEY“What the fuck?” Axel yelled and I felt my heart drop to the pit of my stomach.“Are you trying to kill us?” It was Brody who spoke next and his voice was just as angry as Axel’s. I just finished preparing dinner and I was serving it to them. I was tired and drained from working nonstop for over five hours. I just wanted to rest. “It’s not… I don’t understand what… ouch,” my words trailed off into a yelp when Axel angrily threw his bowl of soup at me.It landed on my chest and it was hot and scalding. It was so painful that I felt tears pool in my eyes and I could feel my skin peeling. I bit my lower lip to keep myself from screaming out loud because if I did, they’d know how much pain it was causing me and they’d throw more at me.“God! You’re such a dunce,” Axel continued angrily, “you can’t even prepare proper food! Your whore of a mother didn’t teach you how to, right?” His voice was laced with so much venom and he looked really murderous that it seemed like it was takin
ASHLEYI woke up the next morning on my bed. Which was strange because the last thing I remembered was collapsing on the bathroom floor. And not only was I on the bed, I wasn’t in those drenched clothes, I was now in a very comfortable piece of pajamas and the duvet was covering my body. It almost seemed like someone had ticked me in.But I knew better than to think or believe that someone had really tucked me in. The three people in this house with me would rather give me off to the lion to devour than to lift a finger to help me. I must have done that myself but I had no recollection of it whatsoever. Was I starting to space out and forget things now?My eyes fell on my bedside clock and a short scream left my mouth. It was 6:45 am. I should have woken up a long time ago to prepare breakfast for the triplets. Heck! My heart dropped drastically when I realized that I didn’t remember to iron their school uniforms before I slept off. They were going to kill me. I was sure of that.