Chapter 5 Guts

My jaw slackened. He was his usual self, cold and business-like. But I couldn't shake the thought, the possibility, or maybe just my imagination, that he was hiding a flicker of anxiety. 

The thought entertained me more than I’d like it to be. And that almost made me nod and agree to his proposition. 

I smiled and tilted my head to the side, “No.” 

His eyelids fluttered faster than usual, and his lips opened, but no words came out.

“Well, if that’s all. I’ll see you when I see you, Mr. Vaughn.”

I left him by that old tree, feeling light and victorious. It was fun and exciting to see a man like him, who had always carried his expressions in his pocket and masked his emotions, look dumbfounded.

“I didn’t know he could look like that,” I whispered to myself.

“Look like what?” 

I shrieked and jumped away from Lyra, who appeared out of nowhere. I grasped my heart to calm it down, glaring at her.

“So? Who could look like what?” She flashed that same teasing smile.

“No one!” I fetched my things from the locker. 

“Oh come on! Tell me! No, actually! Give me the deets about what happened earlier first!”She hopped, eyes bright with excitement. 

“They just warned me not to do it again.”

“And?”

“That’s it.” I shrugged.

“No. That can’t be it! I heard that the bastard's uncle was in there with you! Did he go crazy on you for soiling their reputation?” 

“He didn’t. He was pretty chill about—”

“Hey, Zhavira!” 

Someone waved a sheet of paper from across the hallway, trying to catch my attention. She succeeded in getting mine… and so did half of the hallway around her.

Whispers exploded in the hallway; the lively bunch buzzed with a different topic. I was sure it was none other than the spectacle I made back in the morning.

“Isn’t that the hockey team’s manager?” Lyra asked.

Curses slipped out of my mouth. Right, I had applied to be the hockey team’s manager last semester after seeing the flyer! 

Back when I was still madly in love with Jamiel, I did my best to create more time for both of us. He was always busy with either his studies, his sport, or preparing to take over their dynasty. Finding time and space to squeeze myself into his busy schedule had always been my job. 

It was a task I did constantly, just to keep our relationship moving. He had never once made time for me. Never had he taken the initiative to propose a date and be the one to put it in action. It was always me who was chasing; I was always the one to put in the effort. He grew comfortable with it.

And I was only realizing how cruel I had been to myself. I had gone far too deep, loved him far too much, without ever realizing how one-sided it all was. 

I locked my locker and walked to Ariane. She flashed her pearly whites and grabbed my empty hand. 

“Guess what?” She squealed.

“I got the position.” 

“Yes!” She pulled on my arm, shaking it with excitement. 

But I couldn’t reciprocate her joy. It made me wonder if she hadn’t heard the news yet, or if she genuinely wanted to cheer me up. After all, we became close after spending a lot of time back when I was Jamiel’s shadow. 

“Aren’t you happy? You were begging me to help you get the role."

Lyra stepped in and placed a hand on Ariane’s shoulder. “She broke up with Jamiel.”

Her smile vanished; dread soon took its place. I couldn’t blame her, after all my desperate attempts to stay by Jamiel’s side, and all the embarrassment I swallowed just to announce I still held the title of his girlfriend.

“Oh my god! What? Since when? I didn’t know!” She let go of my hand and covered her mouth. 

“Since winter break. Didn’t you hear her broadcast earlier?” Lyra raised her eyebrow.

“What broadcast? I just arrived a few minutes ago.” Ariane furrowed her brows.

“Ugh! You should have been here! It was wild! Zhavi broadcast a short clip of Angela and Jamiel having sex—”

“That’s enough. Everyone’s looking.”

“What do you plan to do now? You can’t just take your application back. Coach will bring you hell.” Ariane asked, concern crossed her face, though curiosity flickered underneath it too. 

“I don’t plan to back out. I’ll be their manager until I find a replacement.” I said, resolve steady in my voice. And they both gave me a proud smirk.

The afternoon classes were nothing but a pain in the ass. I prepared myself for the attention I knew I’d get once my plan was set in action. But being the neglected girlfriend of the hockey team’s star player to becoming the girl who broadcast her ex’s cheating to the entire academy garnered far too much attention than I’d thought it would give.

“Ariane took all of her things out of her locker in the hockey room. She told me she left everything you needed to learn to manage the team at her table. So you do you. I’ll be checking on your work by the end of the week so there is no pressure.” Coach Denzel of the hockey team showed me the designated room for the sport.

He didn't bother briefing me on every detail. He knew as much about my relationship with his team’s star player as Ariane did.

“I hope the recent issue will pose no problems to your cooperation with the team.” He added.

I smiled and touched the mountain of files I needed to get through before the week could end. “There won’t be any problems on my side, Coach. I’m not so sure about others.”

“I’ll handle them.” He announced and made his way to the door. “I’m looking forward to how you’ll influence the team, Zhavira.” He said and left.

I stared at the door for a few seconds before finally settling in, filling the empty spaces Ariane left for me. I organized her previous notes with my own preference and busied myself with learning how she scheduled their everyday routines when the door opened with a bang.

Angela stood at the door; her hand rested on her waist and the other held onto her bag.

“Angela.”

“You and Jamiel are over. Now you’re crawling back into his life, and this is your excuse?” She started.

“Why don’t you take on the managerial role, then?”

She flinched, her eyes drifted to the stacks of papers I was going through before she came.

“You have the guts to talk back to me when you have no idea what’s happening.” 

“And you do?”

Her face contorted at my sarcasm. She crossed the room towards me and slammed her hands on the desk, toppling the papers I’d sorted through.

“How funny. That same guts was what killed your father.”