7

Chapter 7

Adele

I stepped into the arena once it was 3:55 P.M. Jason was not here yet, so I decided to wait for him.

What does he want to show me though?

‘Relax, Adele. You'll find out soon'.

Soon, Jason walked in elegantly, hands tucked in his pockets, his face straight as always, but still, he looked hot.

“Hi!” I stood up as he approached me.

“Have you been waiting?” he stood before me, eyes locked on me.

I shook my head. “No. I just came in.”

He sat on one of the chairs, gesturing to the one right beside him as he said, “Sit.”

My eyes widened. "Huh?"

"Sit."

I sat beside him, curiosity eating at me.

"You said you wanted to show me something." My voice almost cracked... Almost.

He brought a mini notebook from his jacket and gave it to me, saying, "Read that."

I looked at him, confused for a moment, then ran my thumb across the cover, my grip tightening on it.

The first thing that caught my attention the moment I opened it were the words scribbled on the first page of the notebook.

‘Project help Adele’.

Then followed by a timetable.

A smile stretched around my lips.

This is beautiful.

“Project help Adele.”

“We are starting your journey tomorrow…”

I lifted my gaze to him.

“First, we need to work on your confidence. That is what matters for now.”

“Okay…”

“You need to accept yourself for who you are. Don't let anyone bully you. Talk and think positively about yourself… And if anyone ever talks badly about your body, you strike back.”

He looked into my eyes and said.

“Huh?”

How could I do that when I've never had the courage to?

“Do you understand?”

“Uhm… including Henry and Chloe?”

He scoffed. “I just said ‘anyone that talks badly about your body’, Adele. Anyone can be Henry and Chloe too.”

Heat crept up my chest as I bit into my lip.

Can I ever do this?

“I will try.” I whispered, maybe loud enough to his hearing.

He continued. “Good.”

His eyes roamed my body, and he grimaced.

“What? Is anything wrong with me?” I batted my eyelashes.

“Not you, but everything is wrong with your dress, Adele.”

I bit my lip, looking down at my dress as if for confirmation.

He was right. Even I was never pleased with my fashion styles, but still, I never bothered to change it. Perhaps I would've given it a thought if changing it would make them stop bullying me.

“We need to change your wardrobe."

My eyes widened. With which money? I'm fucking broke! I can barely feed.

I let out a frustrated sigh. “I am broke.”

He scoffed. "It's easy to make money."

"Huh?"

Did he just say that? Well, it might be easy for other people, but not me. It had never been easy getting a job for someone my size.

"You can make some money by working for me."

My lips parted in shock.

He sighed, crossing his arms in front of him while reclining on the chair. "I've been wanting to hire a maid. Maybe you can give it a shot."

My face brightened with a smile. "Really? I can work as your maid, and you'll pay me?"

He nodded. "But on one condition though."

At this point, I was ready to do anything.

"What's the condition?"

"You move in to stay with me at the packhouse."

I froze, my jaw dropping.

I knew then that this was not possible. My father would never allow it. He'd never allowed me assist him in the packhouse even when I offered to. Working there now won't be possible.

I let out a sigh. "No... I'll pass."

This would've been my only chance at making money, but I didn't want to hurt my dad's feelings.

"Okay...."

My heart sank disappointedly. For some reason, I was hoping he would think of something else, but I guess not.

“Then, we will work on your diet.” He proceeded.

Oh, no please! Don't touch my diets! It's the only thing I'm surviving on. But I just nodded, wearing a smile.

“We'll exercise together to help regulate your weight, and maybe lose a few pounds… And I will practice your line with you."

I resisted the urge to jump in excitement, so I just smiled.

By the time Jason was done talking, I could feel my heart fluttering with joy. The imagination of my transformation made me all over the moon.

‘It’s too early to rejoice, Adele. Relax’.

“So, you are going to keep the book. I wrote all the diet plans there, and our exercising routine too.”

He said casually, and I quickly flipped through the pages, glancing through them.

“Thanks for this. I will study it when I get home.” I said, pushing it inside my backpack.

My eyes scanned around for nothing, my grip tightening on my backpack, heart thumping hard as silence thickened around us awkwardly.

Then Jason spoke again. “Can you move into the dorm for a few weeks?”

I tilted my head to look at him.

“That way, this will be easier. I mean, the workout, and everything.”

Move into the dorm? Is that a good idea?

Would that mean staying close to him? With other students? Or alone?

But still, I agreed.

“Alright. I'll tell my father about this and get back to you.”

“Hmm.” He stood, tucking his hands in his jacket. “See you around tomorrow.”

He had turned to leave when I recalled I hadn't thanked him for earlier.

“Jason…”

He paused, turning to face me.

“Thank you for today. I mean, at the canteen.”

He stared blankly for seconds, then a smile crept up his face and disappeared almost immediately.

“Hmm.” And without a word, he turned and walked away.

I sat back on the chair and brought out the notebook again, holding on tightly to it as if my life depended on it… Oh… apparently, my entire existence really depended on it now.

“I hope this will really change my life.” I whispered, dragging in a deep breath…