PEARL
My boots crunched through the fallen snow as I paddled my way through. If it hasn't been packed in the early hours of the morning by the delightful Mr. Ferry, it'll be as tall as reaching my weight.
I folded my hands in my long jacket as the scarf my mom wrapped around my neck began losing fold after fold. I long to remove my hands and fix the scarf but I was also scared my hands might freeze from the cold.
Winters wind has stripped the trees of their leaves and left them naked and brooding in this lonely world.
"I want to go home," My twin sister, Aurora groaned from behind me.
We had to walk to school because of the snow that had decorated the roads. My mom had insisted on not driving us because she didn't want to get stuck on the road. "We're almost there, Aurora," I encouraged her as we could truly see the school at a considerable distance from us."Wait," She touched my arm and I stopped walking. She adjusted my scarf around my neck properly.
"Thank you,""You're welcome sister," She grinned at me and I smiled back.
She's probably the only person who could do anything for me. Even if it's to get frostbite so I would be warm.
"My legs are wobble," She complained again and I laughed.
"It's probably the cold, come on, we're at the gates already,"She wrapped her arms around mine and we walked into the school premises together. We could see Lyla waving at us at the entrance of the senior classes building and we ran towards her, colliding with her in the process.
We all giggled.
"Why am I still friends with you girls?" Jerry nagged.
"Because we're amazing, beautiful, and intelligent, and guess what, you can't survive without us," Lyla replied and he glared at us."I can't believe I have to do this again this year. I know it's still January but can winter please take a break?"
Aurora whined."I love winter," I shrugged my shoulders and the three of them stared at me with so much anger.Wait! I didn't say I killed my mother.
"What?" I half screamed.
"Whatever," They all responded in unison.We three ladies locked arms as we walked towards our locker while Jerry walked after us.
"Who's excited for a new school year? I mean we're a class away from senior year. Aren’t you all excited?" Lyla asked and Aurora groaned.
"My twin sis just wants to go back home and cuddle under her fluffy blanket,""You know I don't use fluffy stuff. That's you, missus,"
"What? I love them. They're cuddly and warm," I explained."You're so girly," Jerry pulled my hair.
"And you're so girly too. Oh, news flash, you're not even a girl. You're a boy," I reminded him."You're so evil, Pearl Adams,"
Lyla grinned.I stuck my tongue out at Jerry and he charged at me.Lyla threw herself in the middle and threw her hands open to stop us.
"Enough guys. I don't want any cat and rat fight this morning. It's the first day of school. Control your poise. You both are amazing people,"
Jerry and I both muttered some words under our breath at the same time and I'm so sure it was the same thing I'd said.
"We're supposed to talk about what we want this year, guys. Not fight,"
I walked towards my locker and opened it. I dusted the snow off my bag, removed some books from the locker."What do you want this year, Aurora?" Lyla's asked my twin sister as she leaned against her locker.
"I don't know. Should I want something different this year?" Aurora asked."Maybe you should want a boy," Jerry winked at her.
"I'm not interested in anyone," She answered."You?" Jerry asked Lyla.
"Maybe a boyfriend, someone who wears cute glasses, not too short but on the cute size. With those cute jackets and all,""Maybe you should create such a boy by yourself,"
Jerry replied before turning to face his locker."What about you, Pearl?"
"Me?" I asked, pointing to myself.Lyla nodded. Jerry suddenly turned his attention to someone about a few feet from his locker and pointed at him.
"How about him? You've been crushing on him since forever and this is his last year in school. You might not see him ever again, so, why don't you try your luck and ask him out?"
What?!
"That's Lucas Anderson, dumbhead. I can't ask him out. He'll disgrace the hell out of me," I cried out.
Lucas Anderson is not the favorite student in school. He's not the teacher's favorite student as well. Lucas Anderson is their nightmare."What's so attractive about this guy? His ability to still be in school despite pranking the whole student body and causing trouble every single day," Lyla asked as Jerry walked to my side and passed a bottle of coke to me.
"This is warm, thanks," I opened the cover and took a sip.
I was about to take another sip before replying to Lyla when I was suddenly pushed towards something.My body crashed into another body and when I looked up, it was Lucas Anderson with half of his jacket drenched in coke.
"Shit! Shit! I'm so sorry, I'm sorry," His stare was indifferent. He didn't look at me murderously, neither did he glare at him.
He had his signature cold glare.
"Get away from me," His voice was low yet chilling and scary.
I moved away and he dropped his school bag on the floor before unbuttoning his jacket and throwing it angrily at the locker behind me. I had thought he was throwing it at me at first and I’d closed my eyes, ready for the hit but I was forced to open them when I didn’t feel anything as a shiver ran down my spine.
Lucas began walking towards me and I moved back until my back made contact with a locker. A reasonable number of students had gathered to watch us.
"Return that in its original state before five in the evening and I'll think about not burying you alive," He whispered and I'm so sure I'm the only person who heard his threat.
Lucas picked up his bag and walked away instantly. I had a panic attack immediately. It took me a few minutes and continues back-patting from Aurora before I could recover from the shock.
I turned to glare at Jerry who just shrugged his shoulder.
It might not have mattered to him but that was the start of Lucas's hatred for me and my hatred for him. It was the origin of our story and of course, the end of it.
Pearl Dressed in a black kimono sleeve top and a nude asymmetric pencil skirt with a black stiletto heel that morning, a few days after my encounter with Lucas Anderson at the school reunion, I was a woman on a mission. I had to select that simple outfit so as not to gain too much attention from my father. I wanted it to appear as if I was going on a casual event and not a job interview as I had planned to. I'd told my father I won't be going to work because I was meeting with a friend and he believed me. Whereas, I was on my way to get a job. Something that'll give me freedom from home. I've always wanted to get a job and stand on my own rather than rely on my father's job. I've been searching for a job for over two months now and each time I ended up getting one, I won't be able to go for my interview because of dad's work and as a result of that, I ended up still working at h
PEARL"What? That's absolutely insane, impossible, and ridiculous. $200 for just to clean a jean jacket," I shrieked, almost dying from the price the laundry man gave me."That's the regular price young lady, I'm afraid,"My mouth was wide open as I stared at him in surprise, confusion, and curiosity about how Lucas Anderson was going to successfully bury me alive. I didn't wait for the last bell to ring before I left school to sort out the laundry. I could practically feel his eyes at my back every second throughout the school period and I swear, that every time I looked back, he either wasn't looking at me or he wasn't even in the vicinity at all.I swear to God that I'll kill Jerry before he turns 18 for putting me in such a dilemma."Can't you do it for me at $50? It's just one jacket, not a truckload full of jackets," I insisted, almost crying in the process.The man sighed. "No, that's because the cloth has to be han
PEARL“I quit,” I announced as soon as Luke walked into the receptionist’s office on the second floor.“Are you playing with words?” He asked, changing his direction and stopping right in front of me. He was close, too close that I could smell his after-shaving cream.“No, Lucas. I quit,”Lucas placed his hand below my chin.“It’s Mr. Anderson for you, you work under me now. Have some respect,”I gritted my teeth. “Are you deaf? Because if you’re not, you would’ve heard what I just said. I quit, I don’t want to work here or anywhere that have you attached to it,”Lucas nodded, staring into my eyes. “Very well, Miss Pearl Augustus. You can leave as you want,”I picked up my bag from the chair behind me and began walking away. I wouldn’t make the mistake of getting involved
PearlIf my father ever finds out that I’m outside of school waiting for the school’s bad boy, I might get killed or sent to an asylum. Maybe if I tell him he was Anderson’s only son, I would be punished and grounded till my grandchildren graduate college, right?“Right?” I asked Lyla who was beside me. I knew I was thinking out loud with the dreadful look on her face.“You need to calm down Pearl. I can’t calm down if you don’t calm down and the way you’ve been imagining all sort of horrible things is scaring me, alright?” Lyla asked, her voice shaking already.I nodded, swallowing hard.&ldquo
PEARL “You didn’t pick up your phone when I called you last night, Pearl,” Lyla complained as she sat opposite me in the cafeteria. It was lunchtime and I arrived earlier than any of us. I wanted to avoid meeting Lucas in the hallways. “I was too tired to do anything, I practically slept like a log of wood after I got home last night,” I yawned, placed my head on the desk, and groaned, “I still feel sleepy,” I told her. “Why? What happened with Lucas?” At the mention of Lucas’s name by Lyla, I lifted up my head, brought out my phone, and show her the text I received from the unknown number yesterday. “Do you know this number? Can you check on your phone if it’s for Lucas?” I requested. I had that on my mind throughout this morning and I made the conclusion that it was Lucas because of the initial he used. Lyla wiggled her eyebrow. “Why are you acting surprised? You know I know you both know someone mutual called Henry and from the way you both acted yesterday, it is crystal clear
Author's Note: I'll be giving little reminders at every switch in time and period so you readers won't get confused. Please, ask questions if this book gets confusing at any point. Reminder: This chapter picks up from the last scene where Pearl had her first day at work. Pearl's POV My day was not only dramatic but also hectic. I had to do all Charlotte wanted because the boss wanted it as well, which were all according to her. I feel she has something deep against me and the best part was, I didn’t see Lucas again for the rest of the day. I was a few feet away from my father’s mansion, staring at it as I sat on the road’s placement, my bag in between my legs. The lights were still on, meaning the workers were still up and so were my parents. When I was able to finally pick up my phone and check the time was when I discovered how dead I might actually be. My phone suddenly began ringing once more, I removed it from my bag and panicked as I realized it was my father. Quickly, I pi
Pearl's POV “Good morning, Mother,” I greeted as I walked past her into the kitchen, the walk was at a quick pace as I was getting late for work. I needed to get to work by seven-thirty instead of eight which was the normal resumption time because bitchy charlotte said so. I picked up an apple from the bowl of fruits sitting on the kitchen table, I took a bite as I saw my mother glaring at me. I swear, I almost choked. “Good morning, Miss” She quoted and I rolled my eyes. I dropped the apple back into the bowl and that earned me a smack on the back of my head. “What the heck, mother? Why did you do that?” I yelled. Instead of responding she ignored me, removed the apple from the bowl, and tossed it into the dustbin. She turned to look at me while a hand was against her waist. “Why are you up so early? Is your work related to slavery?” I shook my head, not as a response to her answer but as a way of saying I was tired of listening to her constant sarcastic way of speaking. “Not
Pearl's POV “Do you want me to repeat myself, Pearl?” He demanded. I was still standing fixated at a spot. I tried finding words to say but I couldn’t. All I could think of was how he laid claim on me just as he did years back. “Yes,” I swallowed hard. He stood close to his desk, leaning a little bit against it for support as he stared at me. We both kept on looking at each other for what appeared to be a few seconds. “We have a meeting to attend, get ready,” He finally repeated and I heaved a deep sign of relief. I stood my ground and I won this time. “Yes sir,” I answered. “Meet me outside in five minutes,”“Okay, sir,” He suddenly glared at me and instead of wondering about what I’d done wrong, I walked out of the office, closing the door firmly. As I walked into my office, bitchy Charlotte was sitting on my desk, hands folded against her chest. “How was your little charade of disgrace?” She grinned widely. I cocked an eyebrow, trying to understand what she mean, and then