As I began to walk toward the room, my legs trembled and I swear, I thought I was going to fall. As I approached the door to the conference room, I felt the air around me shift and a heavy tension threatened to steal my breaths.
“Hi, I’m Scarlette and I am here to tutor you,” I said, my voice shaking.
I wasn’t sure what had come over me. I had been in school with Ason Antoni since elementary school. I had walked the same halls as him and sat in classrooms with him. But this felt different. I had never been close to him—alone with him and something about this felt way too private and intimate.
Ason continued to stare at me like a predator does its prey. I gulped walking through the threshold of the doorway. I moved to a chair across from him and sat down. His eyes never left me, even when he shifted in his seat.
“I know who you are,” he seethed, his voice laced with anger.
Shock spilled through me at that statement. How did Ason Antoni know who I was? Sure, we had gone to school together practically forever, but I never thought he noticed anyone outside of the Elites and those that managed to get a spot in their inner circle.
“Oh,” was all I managed to say.
I pulled out the file that Mrs. Miller handed me and opened it. Inside, were lists of assignments that Ason was missing along with worksheets he could complete. I took a moment going through them, pausing and taking my time while I composed myself.
Leaning back, Ason ran a hand through his hair. Sighing, he grabbed the folder from my hands and grunted. I was taken aback by the action and must have looked startled because for a second, he almost looked sorry for snatching the papers from me.
“I can do this, you don’t need to stay,” he rumbled out.
Grabbing a pen lying on the table, he began to scribble something on the math sheet. He was digging into the paper and I feared he may put a hole right into the wooden table.
“That’s great, but I have to stay here with you. If you need any help...” I began, but he rudely cut me off. Shaking his head angrily, Ason’s hair fell over his eyes. Swiftly, he shoved the loose hair away from his face and something about that seemingly simple movement made my heart stutter. Ason was incredibly hot and it was almost unfair for him to be this attractive. Even simple gestures were sexy.
“I don’t need your help. I just have to sign in to prove I showed up. You can run along now,” he stated, waving his hands as though he were shooing away a dog.
Frustrated, I felt a fire ignite inside of me. I realized that there was a hierarchy at this school and I was at the bottom of the list. But that still didn’t give him a right to dismiss me and treat me as though I wasn’t good enough for him to talk to.
Before I knew what I was doing, I slammed my hand down on the table and a burning sensation filled my palm. “Look, I get that you think you are better than me, but I refuse to be talked down to like this,” I yelled.
Clamping my mouth closed, I was shocked by my reaction. Sure, over the years I had grown angry at how people here at this school idolized the Elites, but never had I been brave enough to vocalize such a thing. Especially, in front of Ason Antoni—the king of the Elites.
Ason chuckled, only sending me further into a dark rage. “Don’t get your panties twisted,” he snarled. “I’m done anyway,” he said, shoving the math papers back toward me.
I caught them before they flew off the edge of the table. Ason had, indeed, completed each of the math problems and they were all correct. I even double checked his work and the answers.
“How did you do those so fast? I mean, don’t you need help with math?” I asked, completely baffled by this.
Ason went to stand and he straightened out his uniform blazer. “Are we done here?” he asked.
All I could do was nod. As we went to leave, I finally found the courage to speak again. “Wait, we are supposed to be here for an hour,” I said, stopping him in the doorway.
Ason turned and those blazing eyes stared back at me, captivating me. “I won’t tell if you won’t. And... I know how to do the work, I just chose not to,” he stated.
“Why would you intentionally fail?” I shout out.
Shrugging, Ason seemed to look away from me, as though just the mere sight of me caused him pain.
“It doesn’t really matter,” he said softly.
“Well, it does to me. You are smart and have the entire world at your fingertips. Why would you purposely get into trouble? I’m sure you would rather be anywhere else than here right now,” I said.
He paused, seeming shocked by my outburst. I doubted if anyone had ever really called Ason out before. Especially, not someone like me. A nobody at this school.
Ason took his final step out of the door, but not before saying, “Maybe I just don’t care.”
I sat in the empty room in silence, the humming of the air conditioner the only sound. I couldn’t believe that I had spoken to an Elite that way, or that I had uncovered something about Ason that I doubted anyone else knew. That last part saddened me, but it also gave me a strange sense of happiness, too. I guess I wasn’t the only one who was lonely in a big world.