CHAPTER 3

Chapter 3:Standing Before the Lion

The big glass doors of the cafeteria creaked as I pushed them open. The noise inside was super loud like hundreds of kids laughing, shouting and clinking their fancy metal silverware.

But the second my old sneakers stepped onto the floor a sharp hush began to spread through the room. Heads turned, fingers pointed. The mean whispers spread fast like a flame catching grass. By the time I reached the middle of the room the entire cafeteria went dead silent. Hundreds of eyes locked onto me watching the scholarship girl who had been called a thief.

I didn't look back at them. I kept my eyes fixed on the round table in the center of the room. The elite table.

Julian Vance sat there leaning back in his chair like a king on a throne. His black leather jacket hung loosely over his shoulders. He was casually spinning an expensive silver pen between his long fingers. Around him sat his friends. Boys in perfect designer school blazers and girls with hair and sparkling diamond jewelry. They were all eating their lunches completely untouched by the rest of the world.

My heart was hammering wildly against my ribs making my chest ache. My palms were sweaty and the raw blisters from nights of scrubbing burned under my skin. I thought of Chloe. I thought of the automated text message from the pharmacy sitting in my pocket. I had five hours left before her breathing medicine was gone forever. I had no choice. I had to walk into the lion's den. I had to swallow every bit of my pride.

I stopped at the edge of their table. My hands clutched the bottom of my sweater so tightly that my knuckles felt hurt.

Julian didn't even look up. He kept spinning the silver pen watching it flip over his knuckles as if I were nothing but air.

"Julian " I choked out. My voice was too quiet cracking under the weight of the panic in my throat.

A handsome boy sitting next to Julian wearing a gold watch that probably cost more than my apartment rent let out a snort. "Hey, Vance look. Your little school maid came to visit you. Did she bring her mop? Did she come to ask for a tip?"

The whole table burst into laughter. A girl with lipstick leaned forward looking at my old scuffed shoes with total disgust. "Oh my god what is she wearing? Is that a sweater or a gray trash bag? Someone tell her the dumpster is behind the kitchen, not in the middle of our cafeteria."

Tears of shame stung the backs of my eyes. I forced my feet to stay glued to the floor. I didn't look at any of them. I kept my eyes locked on Julian.

"Julian please " I said, my voice rising enough to cut through their mocking words. "I need to talk to you. Please. It's an emergency."

Julian still didn't look at me. He picked up his glass of water, took a deliberate sip and set it back down on the table with a soft click. His face was completely blank. He was totally unbothered by the fact that a girl was practically breaking down in front of him.

"Vance doesn't talk to thieves, street rat " the lipped girl sneered, snapping a photo of me with her phone. The camera flash made me flinch. "Didn't you see your locker this morning? Everyone knows what you did in the chemistry lab at night. You're lucky the principal hasn't called the cops to drag you out of here yet."

"I'm talking to Julian " I said, my voice shaking violently as I took one step closer to the table. I gripped the edge of the wood leaning toward him because the desperation was tearing my stomach into shreds. "Julian, I'm begging you. Two minutes. In private. Please."

Finally the silver pen stopped spinning. Julian slowly raised his head. His pitch-black eyes locked onto mine. They were completely cold. Looking into his eyes felt like looking into a tunnel. A cold dangerous smirk touched the corner of his lips. The smirk he had while standing near the pillar this morning letting the crowd ruin my life.

"I don't remember giving you permission to speak my name, Maya, " Julian said. His voice was a purr that made the hairs on my arms stand straight up. The entire cafeteria seemed to grow, everyone was straining to hear his words.

"Please " I whispered, my knees literally trembling beneath my skirt. I didn't care that the whole school was watching me fail. I didn't care about my dignity anymore. "I need an arrangement. An advance. I will work it off. I will clean every room in this school. I will do whatever you want for as long as it takes. Just... I need six hundred dollars. Right now. Today."

"Six hundred dollars?" The boy with the gold watch laughed loudly, slapping his hand against the table. "That is literally the price of my socks, girl. Go get a job."

Julian held up his hand making his friend stop talking. The absolute power he had over these people was terrifying. Julian leaned forward resting his elbows on the table bringing his face closer to mine. The smell of his woodsy cologne hit my nose.

"An arrangement?" Julian asked softly, his eyes scanning my face and my trembling lips. "You break into my space. You destroy a deal. You ruin my property... Now you come to my table and ask me for money?"

"It was an accident " I sobbed, a single tear breaking free and running down my cheek. "I swear it was an accident... My sister... My sister needs her medicine by four o'clock. If I don't pay they will cancel the order. She won't be able to breathe, Julian. Please. I am begging you on my knees if I have to. Just help me."

The table went completely silent. Even his cruel friends looked a little surprised by how broken I was. Julian's face did not change at all. He did not show a drop of pity. He just stared at me watching me fall apart as if it were a movie.

"You say you will do anything?" Julian asked after a silence.

"Yes " I nodded quickly, wiping the tears from my face with my sleeve. "Anything. I swear."

Julian reached down to the floor picked up his black backpack and unzipped it slowly making every movement stretch out to torture me. He reached inside. Pulled out a massive thick stack of white papers bound together by a heavy black clip. He slammed it down on the table in front of me with a thud.

I looked down at the page. My eyes scanned the title: Advanced Quantum Dynamics and Molecular Energy Fields: A Comprehensive Thesis. It was a high-level university physics thesis, filled with formulas, dense scientific graphs and complex theories that regular college students couldn't even understand.

"What... What is this?" I whispered, my mind spinning as I stared at the pages.

"That is my brother's university thesis, " Julian said, his voice completely flat and business-like. "He needs it done flawlessly. Every equation solved, every graph analyzed and every conclusion perfectly written. It is due by midnight tonight."

"But... Julian I am a high school student " I pleaded, my chest heaving as panic took over my brain again. "This is university physics. It takes weeks and months to write something like this. I don't even know these formulas!"

"You said you were a scholarship genius right?" Julian sneered, leaning back in his chair again and crossing his arms. "You told the principal you were the best girl in your old district. Prove it."

"I can't do this by midnight " I sobbed, shaking my head as I looked at the size of the stack. "It is physically impossible. Please Julian give me something. Let me work it off with labor. I can't solve this!"

"Then the deal is off " Julian said simply. He reached his hand out toward the papers, his fingers brushing the edge as if he were about to slide them into his bag. "Go find your six hundred dollars Maya. Let's see how long your sister lasts without her air."

"No! Wait!" I screamed, my hand shooting forward to press down on the papers before he could pull them away. My breath came in gasps. "Don't take it back. Please. If... If I do this, if I finish it flawlessly by midnight... Will you give me the six hundred dollars now? Will you advance me the money for the pharmacy?"

Julian looked at my hand on his papers then looked up at my face. A dark predatory smile spread across his lips.

"An advance?" Julian laughed quietly, a sound that made my skin feel uneasy. "No Maya. You don't get the money upfront. You bring me the completed thesis by midnight tonight. If its perfect I will transfer the cash to the pharmacy myself. If there's a mistake. If you're one minute late... You get nothing... You will still belong to me."

"The pharmacy closes at four!" I exclaimed, my voice shaking. I looked at the clock on the cafeteria wall. It was already past eleven in the morning. "I only have five hours to save the prescription! Please, I'm begging you to call the pharmacy. Tell them you will pay! Just give me a chance!"

"Those are my terms " Julian said. "Take the paperwork. Start working or get out of my sight."

I stood there feeling trapped. My mind was racing. If I took the papers I had to work hard on tough university math. My sister's time was running out. I had to find a way to make the pharmacy wait or find another way to survive.. This stack of paper was my only chance to save Chloe. It was my hope.

I slowly reached out my shaking hands toward the paperwork. My fingers barely touched the white edges of the top page.

"Look at that " a sharp mean voice said from Julian's side.

Victoria, Julian's girlfriend, stood up from her chair. She had been watching the scene with a mean look on her face. She picked up her ceramic school mug, which was filled with black coffee.

Before I could even pull the paperwork toward me Victoria took a step forward. She smiled into my eyes. Flipped her wrist on purpose.

A huge wave of coffee flew through the air and then it hit me. The coffee soaked into the front of my sweater and directly into my skin.