Chapter 8

Aurora’s P.O.V

The bell rang once again, signaling the near-end of another torturous day at school. My body felt heavy with exhaustion like I was dragging a boulder with every step. I had always been set apart from my other classmates due to my circumstances. I was always the odd one out. But at this point at school, I often agreed with them on one thing: mathematics should never be set as the last class in the time table.

Everyone hated biology, but no one hated it more than me. I wasn’t bad at the subject; in fact, I usually did pretty well, but somehow, it felt like I was always playing catch-up in a class full of kids who didn't care.

I bit back a groan as I settled into my chair at the back of the room. This class was one of the few that I shared with Caleb and his gang, and I watched as they entered the room a couple of minutes after me, their presence loud and imposing even though they didn’t make any noise.

Almost all heads turned in their direction as they entered, but they simply went on to their seats right at the front row, talking and laughing to themselves as they did.

At exactly 2.15PM, our biology teacher, Mr. Hemming, punctual as always, entered the room without so much as a greeting. He silently pulled out a stack of papers and began handing them out one by one—it was the test that he gave us earlier in the week.

When he called my name, I quickly got up to the front to see the result of my test. I wasn’t the best nor the most motivated when it came to academics, but despite all that, I still was fairly confident about the exam. But this time, I thought I had aced the test.

I had studied for hours, staying up late the night before, memorizing every cell type, every part of the ecosystem, every equation. But as I got up to get my paper, my stomach twisted. There was that gut feeling—that sense of impending doom.

When Mr. Hemming handed me my paper, I froze. The bright red "F" at the top of the page stared back at me like a slap across the face. My heart dropped into my stomach. How? I couldn't understand it. My exam had gone fine. I remembered everything—didn’t I? Hadn’t I?

I stood there for a moment, stunned, my mind racing. The weight of failure pressed down on me harder than it should have. I tried to shake it off, to rationalize it, but it was hard to ignore the fact that everyone was watching.

I turned quickly to head back to my seat, hoping to just disappear, to slide into the shadows and pretend it hadn’t happened. But before I could get far, someone’s foot shot out, and I felt my legs give way beneath me.

The next thing I knew, I was on the floor. Pain shot up my elbows and knees, and I winced as I tried to push myself up. “Ouch!” I yelped, causing everyone to laugh as they enjoyed my pain, while I tried my best to get myself together despite the pain.

Forcing my shame down, I scrambled to my feet, trying to quickly get back to my seat, but another hand came to snatch my paper away from me.

I looked up—Shane Matthews, Mia’s rumored boyfriend held the paper between his fingers, an amused expression on his face.

Great—just great. Because I had made his girlfriend angry earlier, he probably decided that it was the best time for a payback. And unlike Mia, Shane wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.

“Hey! Give it back!” I started to say, but his loud laugh overpowered my voice.

“An F!” he exclaimed, holding out the paper for everyone to see. “Are you serious? How the hell are you still in this school with grades like this one?” That earned him an eruption of laughter from the class. I stared at the floor, not wanting to look anyone in the eye, or watch their mocking stares.

It was bad enough that I hadn’t gotten the score I thought I deserved; even worse now that I’m being publicly humiliated. I blinked back the tears that threatened to form. No; I would not give him or the class the satisfaction of seeing me cry. Once had been too much!

“How did you even graduate to this grade, freak?” he goaded. “Not only are you a charity case, but it seems that you’re also hella stupid. Aren’t you on a scholarship? Blue Hill High is wasting it on such a useless student like you! Do they just give scholarships to anyone these days?”

That earned him another bout of laughter, and I could tell that he was satisfied by this, because he let his guard down slightly, and lowered his arm just enough that I was able to snatch my paper away from him.

However, he was quick to react and tried to pull it away as I grabbed it, and the tug of war that proceeded between us finally made the paper rip down the middle, causing another bout of laughter as if I had just performed some clownish trick.

Finally, Shane let the paper go and I quickly picked it up from the floor, cradling it against my chest.

“That’s enough!” Mr. Hemming snapped at everyone, before his venomous gaze turned to me. “Miss. Valentine, you should be ashamed considering your poor performance in the exam. Behave yourself!”

“But I—!” I tried to protest, but was cut off once again.

“Get back to your seat, Miss. Valentine! And stay back after class,” Mr. Hemming continued. “You and I need to talk.”

I couldn’t help but notice that even though Mr. Hemming interrupted our little fight, he still put the entire blame on me and let Shane off without even a warning.

And I knew it was because of Shane’s reputation. I was a nobody, and so I was the easier target. Shane and his group were the school’s elite, whose parents funded most of the school’s activities. So they were basically royalty.

The unfairness of it all left a gash on my chest. Still…there was nothing I could do about it. I had no power to go against the rich and famous people in my school, especially when I had no one to back me up.

“Is this understood?” he pressed, waiting for an answer.

I nodded before I slumped my shoulders in defeat, nodding, “Yes, sir.”

“Alright,” he said with a shrug. As I stumbled back to my seat at the far end of the room, I heard some sniggers from the other students, causing me to sigh at their behavior.

Wasn’t it fun to be the spectator while others get bullied? No one wanted to mess with Caleb and his gang.

Finally, after a grueling forty five minutes of photosynthesis, the bell finally rang, signaling the end of the day.

The entire class immediately packed up and started to clear out of the room one after the other. I stayed back as Mr. Hemming asked me, sitting quietly and drumming my fingers on the desk to alleviate some of my anxiety.

Waiting for the rest of the class to pour out, Mr. Hemming began to clear his table, putting away stacks of papers and markers.

I watched as Caleb and his friends were the last to leave the room. And I couldn’t help but notice how he had his arm around Caroline again, gently escorting her out the room.

And as much as I hated to acknowledge it, I felt a tightening sensation in my chest, like my heart was being squeezed by invisible fingers as I watched them leave together.

But why was I feeling this way… this twinge of jealousy? It was ridiculous! I had nothing to be jealous of; after all, they were a couple…weren’t they?

But why did this weird sense of hope in my chest refuse to die? Why did I feel drawn towards Caleb like a moth to aflame?

And most of all…why did I feel this sense of foreboding in my gut that there was more that meets the eyes?