Chapter Fifteen

Amaryllis Lexington

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"I can't believe I have to go shopping again! I keep having to get bigger and bigger clothes everyday." Kayla sighed as we walked into school on a beautiful Tuesday morning, cradling her big bump. Kayla made pregnancy so freakishly beautiful. Sometimes I wonder how any sane person could pass up the opportunity to be with her. I was itching to ask what the story was, but since she hasn't told me yet, I decided to shut my mouth.

"Perks of having another human being in za belly." Olive said and I chuckled. Maya had been silent all morning and I was starting to get worried.

"Maya, what's going on? You've been silent since the very start of today. You didn't even sing in the car on our way here." She chuckled when I mentioned her singing habit.

"Nothing. Nothing. I'm just worried about this project thing. You know we'll get our grades by the end of today. Also, Mr. Young will play some videos and I'm hoping mine won't be part." At the mention of the project, thoughts of what happened on Saturday flooded my mind and a small smile made its way to my face.

Unfortunately, I didn't see much of Carlson yesterday. He was in school for like a second and he was out before he could even annoy me. For some strange reason, my day felt incomplete without his usual bants and irritating comments.

"Everything will be fine. Don't stress too much about it." I placed my hand on her shoulder in a reassuring manner and she shot me a grateful smile.

"Alright girls. We wish you guys all the best in your project." Kayla said once they reached the entrance of their class.  We bade them good luck too and advanced to our own class.

My gaze met with Carlson's and he smirked at me. I didn't want to smile, I honestly didn't want to, but the fact that I saw him today and he was his usual annoying self without any form of awkwardness between us made me glad.

I had just taken my seat when the principle entered the class, looking every bit of elegant. Her grey pant trousers and black chiffon blouse suited her perfectly, and the pearl  necklace that adorned her neck only added to the glamorous touch.

"Good morning, students."

"Good morning, ma'am." We all chorused and she nodded, walking towards the podium meant for the teachers.

"Actually, I have great news for you all. A new travelling agency named Grayson travels and tours have decided to sponsor all senior year students to a free camping trip to a small town called Horebs." A lot of people squealed excitedly. I was excited too!

"They'll oversee your feeding and accommodation in the best campsite at Horebs. Now, an email has been sent to your parents and they'll respond with their approvals. Once your parents approve, you'll be sent a list of things you'll need for the camping." Dear God, please let my parents give their approval.

"The camping starts on Friday and spans till Sunday. You're to arrive here by 5am on Friday. Are we good?" We all screamed YES and she smiled. After a few instructions and guidelines, she walked out.

"So, let's get back to the order of the day. I have all your submissions on this flash, and I will be randomly picking three or four videos to watch with you guys, then I'll watch the rest personally for a movie night with my wife... Just kidding, I don't have a wife. But yeah, I'll watch it and get your grades to you before you leave for camp." Mr. Young said and my stomach tightened. I could only pray they wouldn't pick our video because it would be mega awkward to watch such a sappy thing in front of all these students.

My gaze went to Carlson and I was expecting him to be experiencing the same uneasiness I was, but the dude looked so calm and peaceful. How come he was so unbothered?

"Let's get started." Mr. Young clapped, looking very excited.

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I was almost doubling over with laughter when the third, and hopefully, last video of the class ended. The brownies were more like charcoalnies. James Brian and Lilian Joe made sure they burnt every single batch of brownies they made, and that wasn't even the funny part. The funny part was the apology speech they rendered at the end and the acknowledgement of the fact that they didn't deserve anything more than a D.

"James and Lilian, you guys should never enter a kitchen again." Mr. Young chuckled and the whole class erupted in laughter. The objects of the insults were even laughing at themselves. My Goodness!

"So, we have time for one more before class ends." He said and I swallowed. God, please don't let it be mine. He clicked on one video and when it started to play, I felt like the ground should open up and swallow me.

"Damn, that's yours." Maya stated the obvious and I nodded, feeling my heart thumping in my chest.

"Good day, ladies and gentlemen.. I guess? Today, we'll be making chicken nuggets and fries. My partner is an id..." I heard myself say and the class erupted in laughter. My gaze slid to Carlson and he raised his brow, probably because of the fact that I almost called him an idiot.

We kept watching the video and I was cringing at myself. People kept laughing at my attempt to make a decent chicken nugget and when the results came out, the whole class started to howl. I facepalmed and slowly allowed myself to slide under the table. Never in a million years would I want to face the mocking faces people would throw my way.

Are you sure that's why? Or you're simply not ready for the scenes that will come after?

"What are you doing under the table? Come on, it's not that bad. The previous one was much worse." Maya tried to make me feel better about myself but I just smiled politely. If only you knew.

I heard myself shout when the knife cut my hand and everyone in the class made an ouch sound. Oh, no. The weird part is coming soon. I slowly peeked from under the table and there it was. I watched Carlson walk into the kitchen and my heart still twisted when I saw that brokenness.

Get a grip! Your life is about to spiral down and you're being concerned about Carlson?

"Oh my God." Someone screamed when Carlson hugged me, and soon enough the whole class turned upside down. Every brought their phones and started to record everything. I could hear every single conversation and I shut my eyes in absolute embarrassment.

I stared at Maya and she had frozen. The look in her eyes was murderous and it almost scared me. Gone was the Maya who looked so at peace with the world and everything in it. I shifted my gaze from her and sought Carlson's. He was staring at the screen with a blank look. I would have expected his friends to have started bombarding him with questions and teasing comments, but instead they were all silent, taking in every scene.

When the video finally ended, I couldn't be happier, but Mr. Young couldn't be sadder. There was absolutely nothing he could do to make the students shut up. At a point, he had to bang the table of a poor girl who got so frightened, she fell off her chair. That only calmed the people down for a second before everyone continued. What was so wrong with hugging someone? He obviously looked like he needed the hug and all I did was play the part of a good citizen.

"Hawthorne, Lexington. See me in my office immediately." Mr. Young yelled and walked out, exasperation very evident on his face. I sighed and stood up, ignoring the murmurings around me. I stared at the frozen Maya and I knew something bad was going to happen between us, if it hasn't happened already.

I rushed out of the class and sighed. Goodness! I was about to start heading to Mr. Young's office when someone joined me. The very reason for this mess I'm in.

"I told you we shouldn't have submitted the video. We should have just told Mr. Young you were too busy and we couldn't make it. But no! You always have to do things your way." I pointed an accusing finger at him. I knew I wasn't supposed to put all the blame on him, but I was just too annoyed by my impending argument with Maya and the fact that the whole school would probably have some stupid rumour about us.  Let's not even get started on what Allison would say. I managed to get her off my back for so long.

"Why do you people like blowing things out of proportion? I was having a bad day and I just needed a hug, like any other human being in the world. Not submitting the video or trying to hide it would be like we had something to hide." He shrugged. Well,  that made sense.

"Not every one would reason like you, Carlson. Everyone in that room probably thinks we have something going on between us. Heck, Maya won't even look me in the eye. Have you any idea what Allison would say to this? Aren't you even bothered?"

"Are those ears attached to your head for formality's sake? How many times am I supposed to drill it into your head that Allison means nothing to me. Who cares if Maya won't look at you? She's just a delusional girl with severe cinderella syndrome. You need to stop letting what people will think affect you, Lexington. I actually thought you were like that, but now you've just proved me wrong. You're just like the others. Spineless, gutless, and a tad bit stupid." He said with a voice laced with annoyance and walked away, leaving me to wonder what I said to deserve everything he just called me.

"Hey, you don't get to insult me and then walk out on me like some kind of boss. You might not care what people think, but I'll have you know I do not appreciate hashtag Amason." I ran after him, falling into step with him. He looked momentarily confused.

"What's hashtag Amason? Wait..." Realization dawned on him and the look on his face was so pure, undiluted horror. What a pretty sigh to behold.

"Don't tell me that's a shipname for you and I. Eww, Lexington, eww. You can do better than that." I rolled my eyes at his rudeness. That name seems perfectly fine.

"There's nothing wrong with that ship name, you know. You just lack the inherent ability to appreciate good things."

"First of all, darling, my name should come first. How do you think I feel with my name being attached to yours like I'm a tail attached to the butt of a dog." My face morphed into the most confused expression I could ever muster. What?

"A lady's name come first in every ship name. I bet you wouldn't know that because no girl has found you attractive enough to date." I stuck my tongue out at him and his next move made my eyes widen in shock.

This son of a woman pinched my tongue! He pinched my tongue! What?!

"Carlson!" I yelled in surprise and he shrugged playfully. How we moved from bring annoyed with each other to this playfulness was  strange, but in a beautiful way.

"Does it hurt?" He asked immediately we reached the entrance of Mr. Young's office.

"Obviously! What do you think?"

"I know how to make it better." He smirked, his eyes shining with mischief. I knew he was pulling my legs, alright, but it didn't stop my throat from drying up.

"Shut up." I mumbled and knocked on the door.  Mr. Young shouted 'come in' and I was about to open the door when Carlson stopped me. I was about to ask why when he pushed my hair over my shoulder and traced the tattoo on my neck.

"I've missed this."

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After the emotionally disturbing moment with Carlson and the meeting with Mr. Young, I headed straight to class. I would have walked back to class with Carlson but I just needed some time apart from him. It's bad enough to find out that we would have to cook together again.

All through class, Maya was ignoring me. She had chosen a seat with no empty seats around it which could only mean that she didn't want to sit with me. I was confused as to why she would go this far just because I hugged Carlson.

When class ended, I cornered her immediately and the stone cold look she shot at me made me wonder if she ever even liked me.

"Maya, what's going on? Why are you avoiding me? Is it about Carlson?"

"Do you care? Do you even care if I'm talking to you or not? Do you even care about me?" I was about to answer when she held up a finger to hush me.

"Let me answer that for you, Amaryllis. No, you don't. If you did, you wouldn't be all cozy with the very same person I told you to stay away from!" What is she? My mother?

"See, Maya. I like you a lot and all but you can't tell me which friends to keep or which ones not to keep. Besides, you don't even know what happened that day! I would have explained to you but you already jumped into conclusions." I sighed and held her hand. The last thing I wanted to do was fight with her.

"Maya, I get that you don't like Carlson but that doesn't mean I have to hate him too. I would be pissed too if someone decided to dislike me just because someone else does." If I thought that would calm her down, I was absolutely wrong because all it did was make the rage in her eyes even more evident.

"I am your sister! If I tell you to stay away from Carlson then you should take my word for it. I clearly told you he should be avoided but you still went ahead to get all cozy with him." Wow. This Lexington girls are wild.

"Is there more to this than just hugging Hawthorne?"

"Amaryllis, how would you feel if the guy you are in love with leaves you for your sisters?"

Uh-oh!

Important update coming tomorrow.