Chapter 7

Chloe

Chloe and Sophia walked along the sidewalk that surrounded the Elites building. The sun shone down on them and the birds chirped and soared across the bright blue sky. It was peaceful other than the few people that littered the field around their building, but Chloe ignored them. She just wanted to soak in the moment with Sophia.

"Nash wasn't so bad at the arcade," Sophia blurted out.

Chloe glanced at Sophia, curious. "Yeah, he seemed happier. Less cranky."

"Yeah, I like him like that. Sometimes I used to worry that he hated us, but maybe he doesn't."

Chloe bit her lip. Nash had smiled at her a few times that day, his eyes softening when they landed on her. It had caught her off guard repeatedly because for the past year he seemed annoyed by her. Chloe had never taken it personally, but with him expressing almost a gentleness for the first time, Chloe couldn't get over it. She found herself reliving the moment over and over again.

"Do you ever get annoyed with him?" Sophia asked. Her eyes rose to the blue sky where a robin soared past them. "I feel like you put up with a lot of his antics and sometimes you give him too much credit."

"No, I don't mind..." Chloe bit her lip. "Nash has always been like this. I think it stems from him being competitive and I understand that. Some people want to be the best at what they do and I think Nash is one of those people."

"But we're nineteen. We're in university. He's a bit immature with all these competitions, don't you think?"

Chloe shrugged. She already told Sophia she didn't mind, but Sophia seemed bothered by the way Nash treated her. Chloe couldn't fault her for that; Sophia had always been protective.

"Don't worry, I can handle it." Chloe smiled. "If he ever crosses a line, I'll be sure to tell him."

"Good. Even if I'm starting to think Nash isn't so bad, I still don't want you getting hurt okay?"

"Of course."

Chloe smiled. They continued to walk along the sidewalk, lost in thought. More people seemed to be coming around their building and Chloe glanced at them, wondering what they were doing there. It wasn't that she was bothered that they were in her territory or anything like that, but the year before it was known that this was the Elites building – which was also farther off from all the other campus buildings, so why were they coming out of their way to go to their building?

Suddenly, two boys and two girls marched towards them. The boy, who Chloe realized was Thomas Heaton – one of the other higher ranked students who hadn't become an Elite - led them. His buzzed black hair was cropped short and his glasses reflected light as he approached them, his dark skin glowing beneath the sun. His brown eyes locked on Chloe's and she stopped walking. Sophia stepped forward, looking more annoyed than confused.

"Hello, is there a problem?" Sophia asked when they all stopped in front of them.

"Yes, we want to state how we feel about you Elites," Thomas said. "You guys don't deserve this. You guys are not special and it's unfair to the other students you get all these perks. I know none of you worked for it."

"And who told you we don't work for it?"

"Oh, we know. In class you guys are always talking. Barely studying. Barely trying. You guys should step down from your spots and let people who really deserve it take it."

Chloe blinked. Was he being serious? How could he come here and accuse them of not deserving their spots when he didn't know any of them. She'd never spoken to Thomas and she didn't know who the girls or the other guy were. Where had this come from?

"You guys don't know us," Chloe whispered, trying her best to stand up for herself and Sophia. "We do work hard. We-"

"Shut it, Chloe," the girl snapped. "We all know you bat those pretty green eyes and get your way with the teachers. Some say you-"

"Jealousy reeks over here."

Chloe froze. Nash stalked over to them, his hands shoved into his pockets and Caiden followed him. His eyes were blazing on the girl and she shrunk back, seeming both stunned and in awe of Nash, whose eyes glowed under the brilliant sun.

"What are you guys doing here talking to our Elites?" Nash asked. He faced Thomas who glowered at Nash, and Nash smirked. "Go back to where you really belong. Your buildings are over there."

Nash pointed to the other campus building and the other girl scoffed. The girl who had tried to insult Chloe remained speechless, and Nash's eyes fell on her.

"Chloe works harder than anyone I know. Apologize to her right now."

"But!"

"Enough. Envy is an ugly beast. Don't unleash it now."

The girl shut her mouth, glaring at Chloe now. Chloe herself was speechless. She never thought Nash would have swooped in and stood up for her.

"Let's go," Thomas said, turning around. "These Elites are too narcissistic. They won't listen to us."

"And you guys are idiots. Please leave."

Thomas scoffed before turning around and the rest of them followed. And to Chloe's relief, they wandered off towards their own campus buildings, never looking back again once.

"What's wrong with them?" Caiden asked. "Why were they going off on you guys?"

"No idea. We were just on a walk and they approached us," Sophia said. "It's weird... There's a lot of them around here giving us looks, but I didn't expect them to approach us. They didn't treat us like this last year."

Chloe frowned. Last year everyone had accepted that they were Elites and let them enjoy their perks, but something had changed this year. Maybe people were mad they had become Elites again, not giving up any of their spots to others, but it wasn't their fault. They had worked hard to be where they were and she couldn't believe they accused them of not only not working hard, but getting their spots through advances on teachers.

"Just ignore them, they just want attention." Nash rolled his shoulders back, the tension radiating off him. "We know who we are, we don't need to prove it to anyone."

"I hate to say this, but thanks Nash," Sophia said. "The way they were talking to Chloe... I was ready to knock some sense into them."

Nash's eyes finally met Chloe's and she stilled. Chloe works harder than anyone I know. She still couldn't believe Nash had said those very words, admitting he did think she deserved her spot and her heart fluttered. Nash swooping in to help them was the last thing she expected and she couldn't help but be in awe.

"Thank you," Chloe said. "It meant a lot."

Nash tensed before letting his eyes drift away, avoiding her gaze. "Don't worry about it, I was just speaking the truth. We all know you don't go around batting those pretty eyes of yours."

He froze as Chloe took in his words. Pretty eyes. Next to her, Sophia giggled. Chloe waited for him to take back his words, to deny, deny, deny, but instead he kept his mouth shut, leaving Chloe blushing in the wake of his words.

"Come on, Caiden, let's go work out," Nash said.

"Again?"

Nash didn't reply. He stormed off and Caiden shook his head. "See you later guys. Nash is in another mood."

Chloe smiled and shook her head, and they waved goodbye as the boys wandered off. The more days that passed, the more Chloe realized maybe Nash didn't hate or even dislike her. Maybe he really wasn't that bad.

*****

Chloe sat in her room, pouring over her notebook. Wash the dishes. Cook dinner. Mop the floor. Clean the washrooms. Those were the last few chores she had left. The arcade made her miss a day of cleaning and now even on a Tuesday, Chloe was left with the last remaining chores to complete.

Chloe got up, shutting the door to her tiny room, where all she had left was her bed. She had sold all her other furniture when her dad's illness began. She thought they wouldn't be able to survive, but her part time job at the cafe gave her a steady income. It was enough to pay all the bills and groceries with her dad's disability checks covering the other half of the costs.

She wandered over to the kitchen and went to the sink. She began to wash the plates in silence, her mind processing what happened at school. Did everyone really think she flirted with teachers to get her spot as an Elite? She frowned, washing the dishes more feverishly. She didn't flirt. She didn't even know how to flirt, so how could anyone think that. It didn't seem fair.

Chloe sighed. There was no point in worrying about what other people thought, but she hated that people really thought she went around hitting on teachers to get her way. She hated that people truly didn't think she worked hard and that everything came easy to her.

Chloe finished washing the last plate and she ran to the fridge, yanking out slices of chicken she cut the other day. She began to marinate them, her eyes on the clock that read six o'clock. She still had a few more hours before she had to also remind her dad to take his medicine. Usually after that, Chloe would call it quits for cleaning and then study until midnight, and then begin the next day.

Chloe finished marination and she threw the chicken into the oven, setting it to cook for twenty minutes. She sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter, her eyes falling on the clock. She needed to mop the floor while the chicken cooked, but for a moment, Chloe really couldn't. She was just so tired and yesterday had been extremely busy at the cafe. She had run around all day and she wanted nothing more than to take a day off, but life was never that forgiving. It never paused, forcing you to go through the motions day after day, no matter how tired you were.

Chloe's eyes rose and they landed on the portrait of her mom, her dad and her. Her mother had the same blonde hair as her, but blue eyes; a striking beauty her dad would always say. Her mother had passed away from cancer when Chloe was fourteen and Chloe thought that had to be the end of her tragedies. Losing your mom at fourteen had to be the one bad thing that happened in ones life that they moved on from to grow, but she learned at nineteen that life was unfair. For some people, tragedy follows them everywhere, forcing them to be in a constant state of misery.

Chloe shook her head. Positive. She had to be positive for her dad, who was the real person facing hardship. He had a stroke at fifty five - way too young of an age and he lost all his independence with it. For him, Chloe would be strong. For him, she wouldn't complain.

But some days, it was all just too much. Some days, she wanted to give up. She wanted to be weak. She wanted to lean on someone else for once, but she couldn't. So she pushed herself off the counter and went to mop the floor, going through the motions of this never ending life.