Chapter 3

  I chewed on the chips in front of me, as eyes bored into me from every corner of the cafeteria. I could hear silent whispers and gossip and the jealous eyes of girls stared at me as I sat in front of one of the hottest student in school, who was still very much a stranger to me until now.

  I could feel Aiden's stare on my back and it was getting me really nervous. He hasn't stopped looking at me since I entered the cafeteria and to be honest, someone had to tell him that he had a staring problem.

  Meanwhile, the stranger in front of me was grinning wider every moment and I wondered if I have really met him before. He was one of the transfer students, could there really be a way that I've seen that face and it did not register?

  I looked up to see him grinning almost too happily and I just knew something was not right.

  "You don't know me, do you?"

  I asked, with my eyes fixed on him and when his lips cracked into something like a smile, I rolled my eyes.

  "Then... H..ow c..ould y..ou act out.."

  My lips pursed, the flashback of what transpired coming back to my memories and I frowned, mentally warning myself to be wary of him.

  He must be a flirt.

  He caught my expression and he defended himself almost the exact instant. "You really did look like someone I knew, but when I came closer I realized that we haven't actually met before"

  "Would you have preferred me to have walked away right after the discovery", he muttered, looking at me as innocently as possible and I rolled my eyes.

  He really knew how to play the victim.

  "Whereas, you benefited from it. Didn't you?"

  He uttered, and my gaze fell on him sharply as I gritted my teeth. "Says the person who has been grinning for two hours now"

  I sighed within, my eyes falling on him for a while, before uttering what I knew I didn't want to hear. "You used me. You and Aiden are in a sort of fight, right?"

  I muttered and now he was silent, his eyes looking everywhere else but not at me. "What do you want?"

  He asked almost to my surprise and I frowned, thinking everything through. To work with someone like Aiden would be too difficult for me. Even if, I was planning to kill myself I still had about four days to go.

  "Be my project partner"

  I asked and he stared at me for a while, before nodding his head. "I'll see Mr.Clark tomorrow"

  ***

  The moonlight flooded the night, and the breeze warmed my skin from underneath my clothes. The house was empty as my parents were out on some business proposal and betty was partying away as usual, so I decided to go out for a walk.

  I crossed the streets going into a bookstore near my house. This was usually where I kept myself busy on days like this. I walked forward to an old granny who was surprisingly running the whole shop all on her own.

  She smiled when she saw me, as I was one of her regular customers and like a daughter to her.

  "Granny Kim", I grinned, engulfing her in a hug and she laughed.

  "you are here again, is everyone out as usual"

  I nodded, fiddling with a key on her table and she sighed, looking at me in somewhat worry.

  "You should go out more, you know. Hiding in a bookstore all day isn't the best"

  There was a gleam of something in her eyes as she looked at me. "You know, I was a bit like you when I was younger"

  She muttered and that caught my attention. I rose my eyes to her, and she sighed.

  "And now I run a bookstore and alone"

  My eyes fell at that. She looked old and alone indeed and I wondered why life was just cruel to some people.

  "I'm sorry"

  I muttered and she grinned, as she walked down into her store and I followed after her.

  "Don't be"

  Her old voice rang into the emptiness, as she pulled out a book from a secret box, hidden in-between the shelves and locked with a huge padlock.

  She grinned, passing it to me. "Try this book. It is one of my best collections"

  She muttered and I slowly collected it. Dusting the sand off the cover and my eyes fell back on her.

  "Okay, I'll try it out"

  I muttered, hugging her again before dashing towards the door. I waved at her once more before turning my gaze back to the road.

  I held the book tightly in my arms as I walked slowly back to my house. When I got to the door, I met it opened and I assumed that betty has returned from her party.

  I entered, instantly walking towards my room. I climbed the stairs, walking some distance and I got to the front of her room. I could hear groans and moans evaporating from inside her room.

  "Luke... Ah... Stop", she screamed into the empty silence and my face fell, a sudden tug of pain escaping into my heart.

  I used my teeth to trap my bottom lip from trembling as little tears began to flow down my cheeks. I wrapped my arms around myself and turned towards the opposite door, next to betty's, and jerked it open.

  I lay on the bed, as I tried to read the novel granny kim has given me as a tool to distract myself from whatever was happening opposite my room.