TASHA
My mum's car pulls into the senior parking lot. She turns off the car's engine and adjusts her hair and makeup while looking at the side mirror.I know she wants to look all posh and serious in front of Principal Salazar, and I can't even complain, because obviously, I am the reason why she is here in my school today."Alright Tasha, let us go." She says, climbing down from the car. I exit my side of the car too and shut the door behind me.As we walk towards the massive school building at the center of the entire large premises, tons of students glance our way. But what catches my attention more is the fact that they keep on switching their eyes between their phones and me. Something is definitely not right here. And I have this huge feeling that their reactions are tied to that monstrosity of a blog called Ville Secrets.Anyway, my mum flips her long hair over her shoulders as we walk into the building. She looks poised and elegant, her eyes focused straight ahead. Mine is almost stuck to the ground, avoiding the faces of the whispering students loitering in the hallway. My head keeps wavering around the fact that something shitty about me might have been posted to Ville Secrets.Fuck Jason! Fuck Diane!I am still cursing those assholes in my head when I ram into someone's chest, knocking their phone and Maths textbook to the floor.Holy shit! My knees fall to the floor. My hands get busy. "Fuck I am so sor—""It is cool."That voice. . . . .Wait a minute.I slowly lift my face up.And our eyes collide.Holy shit! I am super fucked! For a few seconds, it feels like all the air in my lungs just evaporated.I am staring at the face of Nate Adams, the single infamous hottest guy in Westville High. His dad is insanely rich, Westville girls are dying to have a taste of him, and it is surprising to say that despite the reputation that precedes him, he is actually cool, not nasty, and only moves with Marco and Jennie, Marco's girlfriend.I wonder why he doesn't have a girlfriend though."Hey," his voice snaps me out of my trance. "Are you alright?"I gulp in a breath. "Yeah. . . .Ugh, I am fine."I pick up his phone and textbook from the floor and get to my feet. I hand his properties over to him. "I am so sorry for bumping into you like that. I wasn't looking. I hope nothing happened to your phone."Shit. Looking at that phone right now, I can tell that it is an iPhone 13 pro max. I am still stuck with my 11 pro max, and I really hope nothing bad happened to his phone, because unlike him, I don't fucking have any tons of dollars tucked away somewhere that can be digged out and used to repair his phone.I watch him run his long fingers along the sides and screen of the phone."My phone is fine." He nods after checking his phone, smiling as he looks up at me. "You are lucky."I exhale. "I guess I am. Thank God.""Tasha." I hear my mom's voice calling me, and then it hits!Fuck. I am still on my wretched journey to Principal Salazar's office."Sorry." I apologize once more to Nate before turning around on my heels and racing towards my mum, who is standing hands akimbo at the end of the corridor waiting for me.I can't believe I just bumped into Nate Adams few minutes ago. For the record, I have never even spoken to the guy for once in my entire high school life until today. We attend the same art classes, belong to the same photography club, and even shared a table at the cafeteria once last semester, but we never talked to each other during that lunch, probably because he was chatting away happily with his friend Marco while I was too busy cuddling up to that fucked up asshole Jason.Speaking about that devil. . . . .Jason smirks up at me when my mum and I arrive in front of Principal Salazar's office. He is seated with his dad on the faded brown bench outside the office.I doubt if he will ever feel apologetic for what he did to me. From the one year, three months and six days of my dating experience with Jason, the one sure thing I have known about him is the fact that Jason isn't the 'sorry type.'Thinking about that aspect of him now, I feel really shitty and stupid for all the times that I tolerated and even apologized to him for mistakes that were clearly his fault. My love for him and the desperation to keep our relationship going really made me do some crazy things that I never knew I could do.I was so blind. So fucking blind. This asshole used me and my feelings and crashed them to the dirt like they were nothing. He had the fucking guts to cheat on me with my best friend.Well, he doesn't get to call the final shot. I do. And I will get my pound of flesh in whatever way possible."Good morning Mr Richard." I mumble a greeting to Jason's dad, keeping my head down. He doesn't respond to my greeting, and when I look up, he is staring at me like he wants to bash my head or something.I wonder if Jason had the balls to tell his dad the truth why he has claw marks on his neck and cheek. Anyway, even if he didn't, I might be forced to expose him today in front of everyone that will be present in Principal Salazar's office. I wonder how his dad will react if he gets to know that his son is a two time bastard who was shamelessly slamming his dick into a girl's cunt in school.Jason should better get ready, because things are about to get really dirty and shitty. I know I will definitely be punished for what I did yesterday, but Jason and Diane don't get to hurt me and dump me like some fucking piece of trash and think that they can get away with what they have done to me.Never.TASHALike the supposed goody girl I am, I knock a couple times on the door of Principal Salazar's office before I open it. The moment I enter the office, I jam Diane's blazing eyes staring daggers at me.Like I give a fuck.I resist the urge to roll my eyes, not wanting to worsen the tensed situation in the room. Mrs Kate Brandon, Diane's mom, sits elegantly beside her daughter, looking rich and posh, her white round fluffy hat donning her raven black hair cascading down her back. Her neat red manicured fingers adorned with multiple silver and gold rings are clutched around a Chanel designer bag resting on her bosom. Her lips shine with a red matte lipstick, a colour in sharp contract to the spotless sparkling sleek two piece white suit she is wearing on her multimillion dollar celebrity body.Diane's parents are fucking rich. Her mum is a celebrity fashion designer. Her dad is an international renowned sailor, so he is not around much. I still wonder where and why Diane got the heart
TASHAOh shit.The air in the room is choking right now. My mum flips her hair over her shoulder and relaxes back on the sofa, raising her chin nonchalantly and crossing her right leg over her left knee. Principal Salazar is sighing and rubbing her bent forehead, obviously stressed. Jason's father is scowling at Jason like he wants to drill out an answer from his wretched face. Diane looks like she is burning in flames with the angry puzzled glare her mum is shooting at her right now."I asked you a question Diane!" Her mum snarks, her grip on her designer bag tightening. "What the hell is going on here?! What are you not telling me?! You didn't say anything yesterday when I asked you why Tasha hurt you!"Diane jolts, startled at her mom's angry outburst.Principal Salazar bangs her hand on the table. "Mrs Brandon! Please calm down!" She snaps her attention to me. "Tasha Quinn, why did you hurt Diane and Jason yesterday? You better start talking if you want your punishment to be less
NATE"Hey man," Marco nudges me with his arm, corking me a mischievous eyebrow. "What are you thinking about?""Nothing." I deny, taking a sip of my orange juice, pretending to focus my eyes on my phone lying on our lunch table by the edge of the noisy cafeteria."You are thinking about her again, aren't you?" Jennie teases, wrapping her hand around Marco's arm.I take a bite of my burger, feigning ignorance. "What are you talking about?" "I am talking about Tasha." She throws a fried potato chip into her mouth with her free hand. "You bumped into her this morning. Marco and I saw the way you were looking at her."I swallow down the mashed burger in my mouth, trying to look unbothered. "What do you mean by the way I was looking at her?""Come on man." Marco nudges me again. "We all know you have feelings for Tasha Quinn and that she is the reason why you don't have a girlfriend. You never stopped looking at her in class today, and you do that every single day. Cut the pretense already
TASHAI dash into the female restroom and shut the door behind me, crashing helplessly to the floor. Fresh hot tears stream down my cheeks, and I silently wish the floor would just open up and sink me in. My stomach growls in hunger, but the sound is not loud enough to drown my sobs. They jerk out of me, trembling my entire body, stealing my ability to breathe properly.I know I should be in class now, but I can't bring myself to concentrate on anything at the moment. I am angry. I am sad. I am hungry. I am depressed. In fact, I am feeling all the worst emotions anyone can ever think of right now.My ears catch clinking footsteps echoing down the hallway. My ears register girly giggles from the outside. Judging from the sound of the thudding footsteps increasing and drawing nearer by the second, I can tell that they might be heading towards this restroom.I glance at the mirror from my sitting position on the floor.Fuck. My face is a total ugly mess.I quickly jerk to my feet from th
TASHASchool hours breeze fast like an invisible wind, so fast that I nearly jump out from my seat when I suddenly hear the school dismissal bell ringing so loud. So loud that it subconsciously keeps on reminding me of my punishment waiting for me at the Green Den.I swear I hate that damn place. Everyone hates that place. It is just a silent torture zone.Obviously not having any other options or routes of escaping my punishment, I grab my bag from the floor and stand up from my seat, ready and yet not ready for my journey to the Green Den. Diane looks pretty busy in her new sitting position with her latest vampire friends, chatting happily with them. I hope she rots in hell one day.Flashback: When I got back from the principal's office after receiving my punishment, I saw that Diane had switched her sitting position with someone else. She should thank her stars for not giving her the damn guts to still remain by my side after all she did to me.However, I was shocked to my bones wh
TASHA.Stepping out of the school building, I head towards the green den, my heart skyrocketing, my breaths deepening with each second I find myself getting closer to the massive building. I have never worked or had anything to do with the green den before, but Principal Salazar said some labourers will help me learn what to do there during the one month timeframe of my punishment. To be honest, I hate that I am being punished, but the bitter reminder of WHY I am being punished hits harder than the punishment itself.Reaching the entrance of the greenhouse, I suck in a breath, preparing myself before entering the building. Climbing twisting weeds, shrubs and varieties of flowers greet my presence when I enter. The greenhouse looks like a tall giant wide marquee with transparent glass roof planes that allow the bright light and heat of the sun seep into the greenhouse. The floor is like mowed grass, soft and tender to walk on. Different plants, most of them grown in giant white and bro
NATETasha rolls her eyes at my response. "Someone tell me this isn't happening to me." She groans.I chuckle. "Well, no one can tell you that, especially if it is indeed happening to you."She flares her eyes at me, obviously annoyed, the action making her look more fierce and beautiful. "You like joking a lot don't you?" She snaps.I scoff at her hot tempered attitude, my fingers pushing back my wet hair strands from my face. "Maybe."She fumes out a hot breath, folding her arms across her chest, eyes glaring at me. I resist the urge tempting me to laugh out loud at her annoyed facial expression."Let us get down to business if you both are done arguing with each other." The elderly man says, giving Tasha the flower trimming shears in his hand."I believe your name is Tasha Quinn right?" He asks, stretching the shears further to Tasha."Yes sir." Tasha replies, unfolding her arms. She collects the shears from him, throwing me a quick angry glance before looking away."And you," the m
TASHA.Nate gazes back at me in shock, not saying anything, clearly stunned by my outburst. An outburst that is the obvious startling truth everyone in Westville High fucking knows about.I try to calm my nerves down by taking in a couple of quick breaths, clutching my chest. "See Nate, I am really grateful for what you did for me back there at the cafeteria today, but right now, see the mess that action has landed you into. You are here in this place with me, because of me. You got punished because of my mess, and that is something that makes me feel even more guilty right now."Nate swallows, his jaw working. "Tasha, I defended you back there because that was the right thing to do. No one has the right to hurt you. You are amazing, and that guy Jason is a fucking asshole. I am not going to apologize for what I did, especially when it prevented that bastard from hurting you." He takes in a quick breath, exhaling. "And also, I know I am kind of popular around here, but you do not have