Chapter~3

ELI: 

And that was when my worst nightmare began. 

If I had known, I would have exchanged my number when Zayn offered. I hadn't listened to him and that was why I was now stuck with her. What was even her name again? 

"Mr. Rhodes, there has to be a misunderstanding here. I can't be seat or study partners with this guy," She sounded desperate. "I can't even stand him." She pleaded her case. But I guess she was right. I couldn't stand her either. 

Always smiling, always ready to help someone whenever they were in need, and not to mention how she studies so hard, just to impress her classmates. She didn't even need the scholarship for anything aside from proving to everyone that she was the best. She even tried to impress me when I first got here. She was desperate to make us work as friends but I wasn't ready to be in a friendship or any ship with a fake person. 

It was disgusting and I didn't want to spend the rest of my high school year being stuck by her side. 

"Isn't there any way we can switch?" I suggested to the teacher. While he was thinking about it, Chloe stood up. 

"I can switch with Eli,  Mr. Rhodes. Rie and I are friends, and he and Zayn are in the same sports group. It only makes sense." She threw in her two cents. But from what I deduced, she wasn't doing it because she wanted to be with her friend.

It was probably because she didn't like Zayn or didn't want anyone to sit beside me. Or maybe I was just overthinking it. 

"Yes, he and Chloe can switch. Or he and Zayn. Anyone but him, please." 

I turned to look at my supposed 'seat partner'. The way she sounded made me look like a plague that should be avoided by all means. 

"I'm sorry, but it has been decided. Allowing you both to switch partners wouldn't seem fair to others who want to switch. Instead of trying to push each other away, why not try to work together?" 

Easier said than done. 

I gave zero fucks about working together with someone, especially when the person was my rival. We were both aiming for the same thing and he expects us to work together? What an inside joke. 

I scoffed and took the window seat. Leaving —what's her name again?— to stand there, sulking like a kid whose candy was taken away. Since she had no choice, she took a seat beside me, not without glaring at me. If looks could kill, I would have been dead. 

When she was tired, she looked away. She brought out a book and started reading. 

I recognized the book. It was her study guide, or whatever she called it. 

We've been in class for a while now and I don't even know her full name. All they called her was Rie. 

I would have found out if I checked the notice board but I never really bothered about checking my mock scores or test scores because someone always told me. So, I never got to see her full name. 

Given our hate history together, it would be rude to ask her for her name, especially when she knew mine. 

Better still, I'd just pretend like I don't know her name, which I don't actually, because something in me wanted to pay her back for outrightly rejecting me in front of the whole class. 

I'd just stick to calling her Frosty. 

"Now, that's settled," Rhodes clasped his hands together like an excited teenager. "Let's get down to Geometry." He walked to the board and picked up the black coloured marker and started scribbling on the white board. 

His fingers moved eloquently, almost mesmerizing. I wondered how he became a teacher at such a young age. Everything about him screamed excellence, from the way he wrote to the smoothness of his clothes. If any crime were to be committed, he'd be the last person to be suspected. Always smiling and ready to help his students. 

It disgusted me. 

***

I always had the urge to run away from people. I didn't know when it started. Maybe after my mom died or maybe after my father started comparing me to my older brother. 

I looked sideways —unintentionally— and saw that my seat partner was nowhere to be found. This had been her routine, leave after morning classes, and return after break. I had never seen her in the cafeteria or the stadium. It was as though she disappeared into thin air every day. 

I wasn't worried. I was just curious as to where she goes and what she does. She was way more mysterious than I thought. 

"Are we meeting after school?" I asked Zayn, who quietly nodded. 

"The coach has an important announcement to pass." He replied. 

I nodded and went away. Just like my seat partner, I hid myself too. 

That was the only thing we had in common. And the fact that we were fighting for the same scholarship. 

Just as I was walking out, Chloe approached me. 

"I know Rie can be a lot, especially when she's mad but you just have to bear with her. She's not used to being around guys or situations like this. Don't let it get to you." 

Was she kidding me? Whatever her name was, she was all over me when I first arrived. She so badly wanted to be my friend. So that alone countered Chloe's last statement. 

"Noted." I simply said and walked out. 

I went to my usual hideout, the storage room, the one place everybody in the school avoided. I made sure nobody was around before entering. I sighed and sat on the ground. I rested my head on the wall, my fingers combing through them in frustration. 

My father never saw me. He was only looking forward to reproducing another 'Asher' in me. But I wasn't interested in medicine or scalpels, or those years of residency shit. I had told him countless times that ice hockey was my dream but he never listened. He bluntly told me that he wasn't going to sponsor 'child games'. 

Because I have no money, I have to get that scholarship and fulfill my dreams. But she was standing in my way. I've had to put in extra hours of study just so I could beat her in the last mock. If only she weren't— 

A rattle interrupted my endless train of thoughts. Wasn't I alone in here? 

Or maybe it was a rat or a cockroach. 

I decided not to pay attention to it. I was about to bring out my book when I heard the noise again. 

"Fucking pissing rodents..." I growled tossing my book aside. I got up from where I sat and headed toward the source of the noise. I just needed to chase the rat away so I could study in peace. I hated distractions. 

I walked, stealthily, further into the storage compartment, my heart pounding a bit. What if it was more than just a rodent? 

As expected, a rat ran out toward the area I was going to. A huge one at that. 

"Damn," I hissed. "I've gotta tell the janitor." I was about to turn back when something else caught my attention. It was a pair of pink shoes. 

Now, where had I seen those? I tried to recall but nothing flashed through my memory. 

Curiosity got the best of me and I went further to investigate. 

I heard light snores and in seconds, I saw a body on the floor. The person was sound asleep. 

"It's a girl," I made my assumption after seeing the long trail of hair. I placed my hands on my waist. "What's a girl doing in a place like this? What if there was a scorpion or a snake? How would she defend herself?" 

I looked around. There was a school bag, some geometry textbooks, a study guide...

Wait, these pink shoes... 

Frosty?