Not my responsibility

Chapter 7.

Camryn.

I woke up in a panic.

The sun was high, light pouring through the curtains like it had no mercy. I scrambled to sit up, my heart pounding. I reached for my phone.

10:03 AM.

My class started at 9.

“Shit.”

I jumped out of bed, yanking on a hoodie over my tank top and slipping into my skirt in record time. I spun around, expecting Heather to be there, maybe studying or maybe looking smug.

But her bed was made.

She was gone

“Seriously?” I muttered, grabbing my bag and rushing out of the dorm like it was on fire.

By the time I made it to the classroom, I was sweating and flustered. The class was nearly half over. Everyone looked up when I pushed open the door.

The teacher, a grumpy old werewolf with a graying beard and a permanent frown, paused mid-sentence.

“Miss Hart,” he said coldly. “So glad you could join us.”

“I’m....I overslept,” I said breathlessly.

“That’s no excuse. You’ve missed an hour of this lesson.” Before I could process it, he walked up to me and smacked my cheek.

It wasn’t hard enough to bruise but the sting was real and the shame hit even harder.

The room went silent. Everyone just stared.

Especially Heather.

She was in the third row, arms folded, smirking like she’d just won something.

Rage simmered inside me.

“Take a seat,” the teacher snapped.

I clenched my fists and moved, choosing the seat right next to Heather. The only one empty.

I sat down, ignoring the heat in my face.

“You couldn’t wake me up?” I hissed under my breath.

Heather gave a lazy shrug. “Didn’t know I was your alarm clock.”

“You saw I wasn’t up.”

She smiled sweetly. “Again, not my responsibility.”

I stared at her in disbelief. “You’re unbelievable.”

“No, just not your maid.”

“Or a decent human being,” I shot back.

“Maybe you should sleep earlier and stop drooling over my boyfriend.”

That did it.

Heather was unbelievable, ever since the sparring session with Jax, she has had this mentality that I'm out to steal her boyfriend and that's crazy because I haven't even spoken to him since that day.

We started snapping at each other in whispers that weren’t really whispers. I don’t even remember half of what I said but the tension was boiling over and apparently loud enough to get the teacher’s attention again.

“That’s enough!” he barked. “Both of you, detention this evening.”

I could’ve screamed.

Heather rolled her eyes dramatically. “Thanks a lot, Camryn.”

After class, I stormed out, already sick of the day. But of course, Heather followed. She was fuming too.

“I hope you're happy” she snapped.

“You seriously want to do this right now?” I turned to face her in the hallway.

“You just had to get me in trouble with you, didn't you?”

“Oh please, neither of us would have been in this mess, if you had done the right thing and woke me up.”

We were close, too close. It was about to get physical but before either of us could throw a punch, a strong arm shoved between us.

“Enough!”

Jax.

He stood between us, hands pushing us apart, eyes flashing with anger. “What the hell is going on?”

“She started it!” Heather barked, pointing at me.

“I did not!” I snapped. “She’s been on my case since day one and I've done absolutely nothing to her.”

“Both of you, shut up!” Jax barked.

But Heather wasn’t done. “Are you seriously defending her?”

“I'm not defending anyone” he growled. “ I'm trying to be fair here so please let her speak.”

Heather’s face twisted, like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Wow. So now she’s your priority?”

“I didn’t say that,” he muttered, exasperated.

She shook her head, voice rising. “Forget it. I should’ve known.” And just like that, Heather spun on her heel and stormed off.

I stood there, heart pounding, fists still clenched. Jax turned to me.

“You okay?” he asked, more gentle now.

I glared at him. “Maybe you should control your girlfriend.”

His brows furrowed. “Camryn...”

“Seriously. Put her on a leash or something.” I knew it was harsh but I didn’t care. My blood was boiling and I needed someone to take it out on.

He flinched like I’d slapped him. “That’s not fair.”

I stepped back. “Neither is getting slapped by a teacher or getting punished because of her drama.”

And with that, I walked off, leaving him standing alone in the hallway, just as stunned as I was.

----

Later that evening, I walked into the empty classroom. It was quiet. Too quiet. I dropped into a seat and started absently spinning my pencil between my fingers.

A few minutes passed before Heather walked in.

She shot me a glare as she walked by, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Typical.

Neither of us said a word. The silence stretched thick between us, awkward and heavy. I could practically hear the clock ticking.

Then, the door creaked open again. Jax strolled in, casual like he owned the place.

Heather’s eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here?”

“I spoke to Mr. Grimsby,” he said with a smirk. “Convinced him to let me handle your detention. It wasn’t that hard because you know, I amhis favorite, after all.”

Ugh. Subtle brag. I rolled my eyes.

“Well, he’s clearly not coming. So I’m out,” Heather said, already standing.

“Sit, Heather,” Jax said firmly.

Even I blinked at his tone. He didn’t raise his voice but there was something final about the way he said it.

Heather slowly sat back down, eyes flashing.

“You two,” Jax said, pointing at both of us, “are going to sit here and figure out whatever your problem is. Talk. Fight. Hug it out. I don’t care. But it ends tonight.”

And with that, he turned around, walked out… and locked the door behind him.

I stared at the door, then at Heather. Great. Just great.

She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, staring at the opposite wall like I didn’t exist.

Fine. Two could play that game.

Minutes passed. I rested my head on the desk. I wasn’t even tired, just bored out of my mind… and then I must have drifted off, because the next time I opened my eyes, the classroom lights were dim, and Jax was back.

“Wow,” he said, surveying the room, “thank God everything’s still in one piece.”

Heather stood, grabbing her bag. “Clearly your little bonding session failed. Can I go now?”

Jax stepped toward her. “Heather...”

“No. Don’t you dare touch me,” she snapped, pushing past him and storming out without another word.

He looked at her, then turned to me and sighed. “What am I going to do with her?”

I stood and stretched. “I don’t know and I most certainly do not care.”

I walked toward the door, brushing past him.

“Cam…” he called softly.

I paused, hand on the door. “She’s not my responsibility.”

I stepped out, letting the door shut behind me.