Chapter 5 My Bully

The next morning came quickly.

I stood near the front of the penthouse, awaiting their chauffeur so I could follow him to school for the first time. My mum was struggling with money, and there wasn’t much with me as well, so I had no choice but …

The sleek black car door in front of me opened, and Kayden showed from nowhere in a blue hoodie- the word QUARTERBACK printed boldly on the back. I noticed briefly that he was the one who opened the car door with a small control remote in his hand.

I was actually expecting their driver. 

Without overthinking it, I stepped forward.

“I hope you don’t think of coming with me.” His words rang off rudely but controlled. 

I turned to him. “Your dad told my mum that I can always go with your chauffeur.” I said in a calm voice, while I secretly access how great he looked in blue and white sneakers, white track pants, and blue hoodie.

In contrast, he was eyeing me like I was a piece of discomfort blocking his way.

“I’m sure I don’t look like a chauffeur, do I?” He held the door handle, motioning to enter. 

“The thing is…” I was saying, but he interrupted- his head towering past the other side of the car to regard me.

“Listen, this is my car. And you can’t follow the chauffeur either. You will have no assistance from anyone in this house, because you don’t belong here.” His eyes ran through my physical frame with disgust, and I suddenly felt low in the three-quarter length green dress I had on.

When I thought he was done, he added coldly, “No one at school can know you live here. They can only know you work here as my maid, but since you dreaded that idea so much because you’re ashamed of your family lifestyle, you’ll take the bus.”

His words hit me unexpectedly. My throat began to close up, but I forced myself to not take offense. I couldn’t give him that power over me. I wouldn’t crumble because of Kayden.  

I forced my expression to neutrality, and said. “Fine, I love taking the bus.”

He looked taken aback for a moment then he scoffed dismissively, “Sure, you do.”

Just when I was about to turn around and leave him there, he rounded the car and approached me. He held out his phone. “Put in your account number.” 

I blinked, “For what?” 

“For the month payment,” he said calmly. “You’re starting work as my maid today. I pay.” 

I hesitated only a second before typing it in. Pride doesn’t pay bills. My father just took all my mother’s money. We needed this.

He walked back to the driver seat without a word.

And I exited the compound, not able to stand him anymore. 

I caught the bus alone, my thoughts filled with the harsh encounter with him this morning. I couldn’t stand Kayden. He was bad for my health, but my reality demanded otherwise. We would be seeing each other often, because I now work for him.

God.

I had to go back to YouTube and resume taking self-control classes, because I knew- this was just the beginning. Kayden would get on my nerves often. And that? Bothered me a lot.

Inside the English classroom, I scanned the rows, searching for a seat that wouldn’t draw attention. I found one near the middle-empty and safe. I was just about to settle when I heard my name being called.

“Alyssa” the voice whispered with amusement. I looked up to see Louisa waving from two rows ahead, her grin wide. 

A smile naturally formed on my face at the sight of her. She patted the seat beside her. “Come sit here.”

I hesitated, because her part of the classroom was a bit crowded, but I packed my books, bags, and moved anyway.

As soon as I sat, she leaned closer. “You okay? Your eyes are dull.” She had no idea.

Before I could respond, a boy from the row behind leaned forward. “Hey, you are the new student who-” 

He was quickly interrupted by Louisa. “She’s not open to friendship with you, James. Leave her alone.” The boy raised his hands defensively, “Come on, Louisa, she’s even mid.” He retreated to his seat, but not after Louisa replied with, “Get your sorry ass off here, James. Your sister is no match with her. You’re just a bully.”

As much as the boy’s comments set me off, Louisa having my back warmed me. She definitely wasn’t joking when she promised to stand for me here. 

“Thank you,” I murmured.

She winked. “Spineless bullies hate confidence. They don’t matter.”

A low chuckle escaped my lips. 

A question that had been fixed on my mind since Louisa told me about Kayden and his friend finally surged forward. “Yesterday, you seem to know a lot about Kayden. How did you, when you’re only a first year student?”

“Oh…we went to same high school. With Killian also.” 

“Oh,” I muttered.

“Yeah. And you resumed college late I guess. Most of us freshman students here have managed to group ourselves. But lord knows I wasn’t satisfied with mine. I might have been waiting for you all along without knowing.” She whispered dramatically. I couldn’t help but laugh.

Before I could say anything, the lecturer walked in. The noises in class suddenly reduced. 

Lecture began, and I gave it my complete attention. That way, I could temporarily get my mind off my impending humiliating duty.

Like thirty minutes into the class, someone walked in, and the lecturer paused. I was wondering which student could be careless enough to walk in mid-class when I turned my head and saw him. My throat thickened, and I swallowed impulsively. Kayden.

His presence somehow shifted the entire room, like oxygen being redistributed. He didn’t look shaken at all. Instead, his gaze swept the room once, and I could swear that it stopped briefly on me before he looked away. I finally released a breath I had no idea I was holding.

But the question was, why was he attending a year one class when he was in his second year already?

“Mr Jackman,” the lecturer acknowledged dryly. “Care to tell us why you’re late again?”

“Traffic.” Kayden simply said, and a ripple of laughter followed.

“That’s my boy,” the girl he was now settling beside said proudly. How could anyone be proud of someone’s rudeness? My chest tightened a bit as I recognized her to be the blonde on his legs yesterday when I tried returning his jacket.

I looked back at the lecturer whose eyes were now narrowing at the whole class. “Enough.” He said to them, then back at Kayden he cautioned, “You should take your lectures more seriously. If you had been serious enough in your first year, you wouldn’t have carried this simple course,”

Oh, that explained it. This course was a carry over for him.

I didn’t look at Kayden to see his expression, but he also didn’t say more. 

As the lecture eventually continued, Louisa leaned closer, whispering in my ears, “You’ve been staring at him since he walked in.”

I blinked, caught offguard. “Who?”

She raised a highly curved brow, making it higher. “You know who. Kayden.”

“I have not,” I whispered back quickly. 

“You sure? Because it looks like you’ve been trying to memorize his body structure. I was almost sure that you have a crush on him.”

This was the part where I would choke if I had water in my mouth.

I snickered, faint disgust lining my tone easily. “I would rather jump into a ocean. Please.”

Louisa smiled. “Better, cos I definitely don’t want to start giving one thousand reasons why someone like him is unhealthy for you. Firstly, you will have to compete with one thousand others who are obsessed with him on campus.”

I rolled my eyes. “He’s not worth it. I don’t even see him.”

We returned our attention to class, but my focus slipped. Every sound amplified. The scratch of Kayden’s pen against others. The way he leaned back, unbothered. Or when he smiled whenever the girl beside him whispered to him.

I was eventually able to snatch my eyes away.

Mid-Lecture, a sharp corporate-dressed woman showed up and told our lecturer that she wanted to address the class.

“Please go ahead, Mrs Rodriguez.”

The woman turned to face us. “Calderon university is opening applications for freshman student volunteers this semester. If you’re open to activities like- athletic assistant, library support, or event coordination, you can sign up on your portal today.”

That strangely piqued my interest even though the class was now thrown into murmurs of disinterest.

I wanted to be part of something in school. I needed every distraction I could get to help keep my mind busy and grounded.

So before fear could talk me out of it, my hand went up. I mentally ignored the weight of eyes on me. 

“Yes?” the woman asked.

“I’d like to volunteer,” I forced confidence into my voice even though my hands were damp already.

There was a soft snort from somewhere around me, before I heard his voice.

“Well, you seem too clumsy for that. The school surely doesn’t need someone who trip and fall for a living to handle important activities.” Kayden spat, his voice casual like he hadn’t just humiliated me in front of the whole class.