44Chapter One
The customer is always right.
I continued to chant the motto internally as I gave the woman before me a forced smile. She was complaining about her daughter's soup being too hot. I mean, obviously it's going to be hot, it's boiled soup. Sometimes I really hated my job.
With my teeth clenched together, I replied slowly, "Ma'am … it's boiled soup. You have to let it cool down before eating it or else you'll burn yourself."
"Well we don't have time to just wait for her to eat." I wanted to point out that this discussion was pointless, especially since the soup was turning lukewarm as we argued. But obviously I couldn't do that or I'd lose my job.
"Why don't you try it now? I'm sure it's cool enough to eat," I said keeping my cool, "If not I'll be more than happy to retrieve a few ice cubes."
The lady looked skeptical for a second before nodding at her daughter who timidly sipped the soup under her mother's gaze, and quickly flashed me an apologetic glance, "Its fine, Mom."
The woman huffed before sighing begrudgingly, "Sorry for the inconvenience."
I nodded with a tight smile before I turned away and walked towards the kitchen, I caught the eye of my co-worker, Jules, who was grinning widely at me.
I glared at her.
It was half past nine o'clock at night and my six hour shift was almost over … just thirty more minutes. I prayed for the family I'd just serviced to hurry up and leave so I could go home and finish an essay before going to bed. But alas another customer came in and sat in my area.
Grumbling under my breath, I put on a perky smile and walked briskly to the table, menu in hand. The businessman was typing away on his phone and just barely glanced up when I set the menu down, pulling out my pad and pen.
"Black coffee. Thanks," He grunted and I nodded before I turned towards the kitchen. Ah, the fun life of being a waitress.
After the family departed, leaving me a nice ten dollar tip, I leaned against the bar's counter farthest from my last customer and resisted the urge to rip his head off his shoulders. How long can it take to eat a damn burger? Seriously.
Luckily, the man stood five minutes later and I was finally relieved to go collect his dishes and put them into the sink in the kitchen.
"Hey Alexa?" I turn with a raised eyebrow after having picked up my last tip of my shift and put it with the rest of my money.
"What's up?" I questioned, after giving Jules my full attention as I pocketed the seventy dollars.
"Mind giving me a ride? My car is still in the shop and my parents are out on date night." I'd begun nodding before she'd even finished. After all the times she'd given me a ride whenever I didn't have the car and my brother forgot to pick me up, it was ridiculous she thought she even had to ask.
"Sure, you ready?" We set off after collecting our belongings. Luckily her house wasn't far from my own so when I hopped into the backseat after her, I immediately caught Christian's eye in the rearview mirror.
"Her house is on the way," I mentioned, eyes narrowing as he gazed at her interestedly.
"Hey have you started that project for Ms. Spruill?" She asks a few minutes later. Said project immediately popped into my mind for the European History assignment that we'd been given a week ago … it was also due this Friday which was in two days.
"Yeah … I decided to do it on the Hundred Years War," I replied before smirking humorously at her, "Have you even started?"
Her cheeks burned in the moonlight which caused me to laugh, but Christian spoke up sounding curious, "You're in our class?"
Jules raised an eyebrow before she nodded and gave him a look that said that should've been obvious, "Yes…? I sit beside Alexa."
"Oh, don't feel bad Jules … he's too busy staring at Mallory's ass that spills out of her skirts…" I rolled my eyes at Christian who shrugged with a cocky smirk.
"That is very true." I rolled my eyes before recapping the project that I was nearly through with. Not before long Christian has pulled up in front of her house, and dropped her off. I climbed into the passenger seat as we headed home.
"She's pretty," Christian commented as we pulled up to our house.
"Don't even think about it," I warned, flashing him a glare, "She isn't like your weekly conquests. She's nice and down to earth. She doesn't need you breaking her heart."
Christian rolled his eyes, "Relax. She's not really my type anyway."
"Right, smart and beautiful. I forgot your type is ditzy and gullible." He smirked at me, nodding.
"You know me so well." I rolled my eyes as I turned to get out of the car, eyes sweeping over my childhood home.
A wraparound porch disappeared around the right side of the white house, brown shingles on the roof and a simple oak wood front door with a square window. Both of my parents' cars were already in the driveway, and I didn't miss the familiar electric blue 1969 Camaro parked in front of our yard.
I suppressed a groan. I just hoped I could get past the living room without any commentary. Unlikely, but a girl can dream right?
After grabbing my things and walking into the house, I was met with the sight of Christian already sitting on the edge of the couch while his hands flew across the PS3 controller. His concentration barely wavered besides a flicker of his eyes in my direction.
"Mom made you a plate … it's on the island counter," he said distractedly, his finger slamming down on a button as gunshots rang from the sound system. An abandoned controller sat beside him and I briefly wandered where he'd be. Kitchen most likely, definitely not going there then.
I left the living room and crossed back through the foyer to the den which unlike the living room, was more of a lounge area with a record player in the left corner near the archway. One wall was dedicated to floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with books, small trinkets, and family photos. Along the other wall, across from me sat a stone fireplace that had a fire lit.
My parents sat cuddling on one of the couches as Frank Sinatra played from the classic record player. I smiled softly as my father softly crooned the lyrics into my mother's ear. Their love made me wistfully yearn for that when I got older, to be able to have two children who could be difficult, but still be very much in love. God knew it was highly uncommon nowadays.
My father spotted me and grinned, winking before his attention was diverted back to my mother who had her eyes closed with a peaceful expression on her lips.
I smiled contentedly and turned, only to run into a muscular chest. I groaned aloud, scolding myself because I should've known he'd find me before I could lock up in my room.
Mason Coleman, the bane of my existence, and unfortunately my brother's best friend. He smirked down at me, "Evening Alexa. Trying to avoid me?"
"Obviously," I muttered and skirted around him to quickly ascend the stairs. He, of course, followed me till we got to the doorway of my bedroom and I turned sharply on my heel, "Leave."
"No. You're the only one against my blissful presence." I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt.
"Stay away from me." With that last statement I slammed and locked the door in his face, his soft laughter mocking me as it faded down the stairs once more. Not long after was I set up at my laptop, typing as fast as possible so as to get to sleep by midnight, at the latest.
"Alexa! Let's go, we're going to be late!" Christian yelled from the hallway.
I groaned in annoyance, trying not to stab myself in the eye with the mascara stick in my hand. My last semester in high school, nothing would be able to ruin my elated feelings.
"Yeah, Alexa, hurry up – not like you could make yourself look any prettier." I clenched my jaw.
Spoke too soon. Mason knew how to get under my skin in any situation. It just sucked how he was here all the time. Wherever Christian was, Mason was sure to not be far away and vice versa.
"Well, some of us actually want to look good … unlike you, Coleman," I retorted as I started down the stairs. He smirked, flinging his arm over my shoulder which I immediately shrugged off.
"Now baby. Why do you do that? Why lie? We both know it's not true… Just ask the female population when we get to school." I glared at him, feeling my face redden with irritation. It sucked because I knew he was right. No matter how much I hated him, I had to admit that Mason was attractive.
He had thick, dark brown hair that was spiked forward to loom over his forehead. High cheek bones, a sharp nose paired with a square jaw and plump lips. And he was really tall. More than half a foot taller than my 5'7" and his body was built with lean muscle from years of soccer. His eyes though, were my favorite feature. Rich brown with flecks of gold and when the sun hit them just right, they went ablaze as brilliant amber. I would never tell him any of that of course.
"Well half of Mill Brooke's population has questionable mindsets … after all 95% of the girls slept with you," I retorted stomping down the rest of the stairs before he could reply. I grabbed my book bag so as to rush to the car. No way was he getting shotgun today.
"Well some of us actually like having sex, unlike you," he said yanking me from the passenger doorway and sliding in. Christian was already in the car, and rolled his eyes at us.
Welcome to my life, ladies and gentleman.
Groaning in irritation, I climbed into the backseat begrudgingly and glared at Mason's head. I offhandedly returned any insults he threw my way while we drove to school, but for the most part I ignored him.
"Alexa!" I grinned immediately upon stepping out of the Jeep when I spotted my best friend amongst the jocks of our social group.
Quinn Jacobs was undoubtedly beautiful. She had straight, platinum blonde hair and ice blue eyes that were pronounced by her unbelievably pale skin. She was also on the soccer team with me which packed her 5'8" body with slim muscles and womanly curves. She was also my best friend and had been since kindergarten.
"Quinny!" I grinned before I jogged towards her and engulfed her into a tight embrace. She laughed, returning my hug with equal enthusiasm before we pulled back and turned to the rest of our friends.
We had a pretty big group of friends; though some of them I didn't care for … Specifically Mallory, Katie, and Cara who I didn't even consider friends. They were all cheerleaders (more like groupies) who slept with the football team.
Sluts … every school had them.
"Hey Alexa," Cassie and Faith greeted, two other girls on the soccer team. I grinned at them, returning their greetings.
Landon Stone was our football team's quarterback and one of the few who hadn't slept with the three clones, but I suspected that had more to do with his infatuation with Faith who was completely unaware.
Tyler Powell was next, and unlike the rest of us – aside from Aiden – he didn't play any sports, he was just the resident bad boy who was disrespectful to all the teachers and skipped class like it was going out of style. He was also the love interest of Cassie, and like a cliché she was the good girl with straight A's, and never said a bad word about anyone.
Aiden Hart was our group's genius, a total computer mastermind who was taking all AP classes and had been since last year. But unlike most computer geeks, he was unbelievably attractive. He had flawless skin and piercing green eyes. He was downright beautiful.
Tristan Oakley was the last of our group and the captain of the lacrosse team. He was particularly interesting to me because of his nice guy attitude. Unlike his cocky friends, he was a sweetheart who blushed easily and was adored by all the girls for how much of a gentleman he was. He was also very attractive with gelled blonde hair, sapphire blue eyes, and a lanky frame with broad shoulders.
"Alexa!" I jumped in surprise before I turned to glare at a smirking Quinn, "You may want to stop staring at Tristan … stalker behavior isn't considered a turn on nowadays."
I smacked her shoulder and rolled my eyes, "I wasn't staring at him. I was staring at the … car behind him."
She glanced at said car and I winced when she spotted the muddy truck with too big tires that was surrounded by rednecks.
"Such an attractive car…" She trailed off, smirking at me.
"Alright, alright. Shut up," I groaned.
She rolled her eyes at me before sighing, "Why don't you just ask him out? It's not like he'd say no."
"How would you know?" I questioned, crossing my arms.
"Because you're not the only one that stares." I turned to glance at Tristan and was surprised to find him already looking at me. He blushed but didn't remove his gaze; he just flashed me a heart stopping smile before he turned back to Aiden.
I grinned to myself at the possibility of actually dating Tristan. He was the perfect boyfriend material. I nibbled on my lip, deep in thought before being jolted back into reality when the bell rang.
"See you at lunch?" I nodded an affirmative towards Quinn before I departed from the group and wiggled my way through the crowded hallways. I bit my tongue when the urge to cuss out slow walking kids became overwhelmingly tempting.
Finally I made my way into AP Psych. I smiled at my teacher who grinned back at me before she turned back to the board, and continued to write down our lesson plans for the day.
"Alexa, you did a great job on that test on Monday. You got a ninety-four." I grinned immediately upon hearing that news. I loved psychology. I didn't know why, but the human mind and the reasons behind our actions had always fascinated me.
"Thanks Mrs. Norris," I replied, feeling elated by the good news.
"Good job." The velvety smooth voice came from my left and I turned to meet Tristan's crystal colored eyes. My mouth dropped open in surprise before I realized he had spoken and I felt heat crawl up my neck.
"Thanks," I murmured, timidly passing him a smile. I cursed myself for being so shy and straightened, "I didn't realize you were in this class."
That was such a lie. I found myself examining his profile if one of the lessons lost my interest.
Tristan smiled, not at all looking offended which he should've since we'd been in this class since September. "It's fine. I keep mostly to myself anyways."
This, I knew, was very true. It was very uncommon for jocks to be so shy and reserved, but something told me that Tristan would've preferred to not be on the lacrosse team.
I smiled at him, "I know. You hardly talk to anyone besides Aiden."
"Well, he is my best friend. I've known him since sixth grade. I can talk to him about anything." A smile tugged at his lips. I grinned back at him before I replied.
"That's the same way it is with Quinn and me. I could tell her anything and know she'd always listen and never judge me." Well … most of the time she wouldn't judge me, unless it had something to do with my "stalker-like" tendencies towards Tristan.
"Benefit of having best friends right?" I nodded in agreement.
"Definitely."
"Alright class, settle down. Settle down!" Ms. Norris leaned against the board before the chatting students, irritation sparking in her eyes, "Alright shut up!"
I laughed at her unprofessional manner before I stopped when she shot me a glare. I grinned cheekily back at her and received an eye roll in return.
Class flew by with my attention being diverted between our psychology assignments and talking to Tristan. As I'd predicted, he was a very easy person to talk to and unbelievably polite.
"See you at lunch?" Tristan asked as we left the classroom. I nodded, flashing him a smile before starting down the hallway.
Second block was highly uneventful. Nobody I knew was in that class, but I did recognize the girl with the aggravating mother from yesterday sitting near the windows. Upon meeting my gaze, she blushed redder than a baboon's ass and practically melted into her seat. That, at least, gave me some entertainment.
Walking into biology for third period, I received some of the worst news that I'd ever gotten from a teacher.
"If you don't pull you're grade up … I'm going to have no choice, but to have the coach bench you, Alexa," Mrs. Eaton said.
I stared at my teacher in shock as the news registered in my mind. Benched? I was captain! I couldn't be benched! I would lose my title and be demoted!
"…What?" I grounded out, "But I've got an eighty! That's still a C."
What. The. Hell.
"Barely. You're grades have been slipping little by little as the year has progressed. I've seen you're class work, this isn't you," she said, staring at me through her glass lenses.
I would admit that I had been slacking and science had always been my worst subject. That one subject that I had to put more effort into because I lost interest and I didn't always understand it.
"But I've still got an eighty. That shouldn't be enough to get me benched!" I cried, curling my hands into fists. I felt my eyes beginning to sting and resisted the urge to cry. Soccer was my life. You took that away and I was just … lost.
I'd been playing since I was three years old. I couldn't lose soccer. It was a part of my soul.
"You need to put more effort into your work. Your grades need to come up or you're off the field. Period." She stepped away from me and back to the board, leaving me astounded and grappling for a solution.
It was that moment that Mason walked through the door and paused when he saw me. I didn't even register when his cocky smirk fell from his lips, and his eyebrows dipped with concern.
"Alexa?" I blinked and focused my overwhelming emotions into one emotion that I easily expressed towards Mason: anger.
"Leave me alone," I growled, whipping around and away from him, grateful for the first time that I didn't have any of my friends in this class as I dropped down into my chair.
"What's wrong?" He asked, coming to lean over my lab table.
"Why can't you just leave me alone? For once, in your miserable existence, just leave me alone! Go bother somebody who actually enjoys your presence! Who actually likes you! Because I don't! I hate you and you're conceited personality. Go away!"
Looking back, that was a tad bit harsh but I just received the worst news you could possibly give me. If I was kicked off the soccer team … my life would, essentially, be over.
Not to mention the fact that my parents would murder me.
Mason's eyes clouded over with an indecipherable emotion before the emotions in his eyes shifted, and suddenly I was just looking into cold, hard irises.
He sneered and turned on his heel to disappear through the classroom doorway, ignoring our raving teacher who followed after him.
Good riddance.
I zoned out for majority of the class period, only tuning into the teacher's droning voice when the class groaned.
"Of course we can't pick our partners."
"God, why a month long project? That's torture!"
My horror grew as I realized what was going on. We were getting a project and our partners had more likely than not, been picked out already by the teacher.
"Alexa? May I speak to you for a moment?"
I slowly and reluctantly stood, walking towards my teacher. Mrs. Eaton stood before me with a calculating expression.
"Since you're grade is so low and this project is going to be twenty-five percent of your overall grade, I'm going to pair you with the best student in the class so as to give you a better chance of raising your grade."
She raised her eyebrows, looking for any sign of rejection, but why would I? If it meant I got to stay on the soccer team, I'd take it.
"But since I won't be grading these for another month, I request that you seek out a tutor who can help you raise your grade for the time being. Okay?"
I nodded immediately, "Of course."
"Since your partner isn't here, you'll have to meet up with him later and explain the assignment."
Great, explain something that I myself hadn't been listening for. But if this student is the best in the class, hopefully he'll be able to catch on quickly. I returned to my seat and looked around, who was absent?
As I observed, I slowly realized that everybody was here. Everyone but Mason. I gaped in utter horror before I flipped the packet open to see what I'd feared.
Mason Coleman and Alexandra Kingsley – Blood Cells
"No," I muttered before I mumbled obscenities under my breath. Crap, of all the people … Mason was the top in our class? Somebody obviously hated me.
My enemy. The bane of my existence. The boy who lived to watch me suffer in pain and agony. Unbelievable.
"Why?" I moaned quietly as I followed my classmates towards the cafeteria, wanting to weep. Not only did I have this, but I also had to set aside time to be tutored along with my regularly busy schedule.
How the hell was I supposed to juggle school, soccer practice, my job and being tutored on top of all that? I couldn't have wanted summer to arrive more than ever in that moment.
"Alexa?" I looked up, meeting the blue eyes of Tristan who was staring at me in concern, "You alright?"
"Peachy," I muttered darkly before I shook my head.
"What's wrong?" He asked somehow maneuvering my books out of my grasp and into his as he led me the rest of the way to our group of friends.
"Well on top of being soccer captain, doing my night shifts at Barney's and regular school, I've also got to find somebody to tutor me in biology," I shook my head exasperated.
"You've got to do tutoring?!" Quinn cried from the five foot distance we were at now. I looked up and shrugged helplessly.
"Yeah, if I want to avoid being benched."
Her mouth dropped open, "Damn Alexa. What did you do?"
I glared at her.
"You know I hate science. It sucks." I snapped at her, feeling guilty when hurt flashed across her face. I sighed and shook my head, smiling apologetically at her, "I'm sorry … it's just, you know how important soccer is to me –"
"You take that away you're practically nothing." She smiled at me, accepting my pathetic apology.
"Exactly and seeing as my grades are gradually slipping, I've now got to find a tutor. Hooray for me!" I sarcastically grumbled after settling into my chair. Quinn dropped down beside me with a smirk.
"Why not get Mason to tutor you?"
I scoffed, "Yeah right … as much time as we're going to be spending together now, I don't think so."
"Why are we suddenly going to be spending time together?" Mason's voice traveled from next to my ear and his close proximity made me stiffen as his breath blew down my neck.
He had apparently gotten over his emotional tantrum from earlier.
"Because," I growled, tightly pressing my stomach into the table to put as much distance between us as possible, "We just got assigned a month-long project in which we're partners."
Mason slipped into the seat beside me, ignoring Tristan who awkwardly stood by, having been about to take that seat, "What's the project on?"
"Blood cells which of course you'd have known that had you not skipped class." I glared at him, and ripped open my bag of chips. He rolled his eyes before he snatched one of my chips and popped it into his mouth.
"Whatever, I'm passing that class with a solid ninety three … I'm not required to be there for every lesson." I slapped his hand as he went to take another chip and rolled my eyes at him.
"Well some of us don't have that privilege," I muttered, ignoring him as I turned to the rest of the table and smiled at Cassie and Faith who were animatedly chatting to each other. Mason surprisingly didn't bother me too much for the rest of the lunch period, but did end up stealing half of my sandwich and earned a hard smack on the back for it. Tristan disappeared with Aiden, but I found myself more concentrated on my personal problems than my crush.
Now I just had to break the news to my parents who were undoubtedly going to beat my ass for nearly getting a D in a class. I just couldn't wait to go home – not.
A/N: I've had this story idea in mind for such a long time, and hopefully I don't butcher the character development too much. The first few updates will be slow until about the end of April because I'm finishing up the last few chapters of my other story, but hopefully you'll stick around to see where this goes. Tell me what you think so far!
- Hannah