Life Within The Halls

Chapter 4: "Rebel Sparks"

LIFE WITHIN THE HALLS

Jayden

Tuesday, 10th February, 10:05 a.m.

With a million Instagram followers, I was a big deal at school, especially to Victoria Hill. She was fortunate that I wasn't the one who had recorded and posted the video of her collapsing in class; otherwise, she would have faced the consequences for what she put me through back in our sophomore year.

"Dude, I saw you chatting with Victoria at the backyard, what's up?" My seatmate, Henry Miller, asked, dropping into the seat beside me and casually resting his legs atop my desk. He sported the school's basketball jacket over his uniform, as usual, despite the teachers' repeated reminders not to wear it during class hours.

"What do you expect me to say? That I'm going on a date with her or something?"

"I'd be happy if it was that," he replied with a grin. He'd been jokingly trying to set me up with her since winter break when he saw her holiday pictures from Dubai. I had to admit, she looked different from her usual strict demeanor in those photos. But, Victoria Hill was Victoria Hill.

As Henry kept talking about her, she entered the room.

"Speak of the devil," I muttered under my breath.

"You can't dislike her forever," Henry said. "You know..."

Before he could say anything more, my cousin, Ella Anderson, who happened to be his girlfriend, strolled up to our desks. She was in her cheerleading uniform, likely just coming from practice.

"Babe," she kissed him. Watching them together was pretty much torture. "Could you give Jay and me a moment?" she asked in her British accent—a remnant from her childhood days spent in the Battersea area of South West London.

"Sure thing, darling," Henry replied, giving her a quick nod.

Ella hooked her arm through mine, and we went outside the classroom to the corridor.

"What is it, Ella?" I asked.

"I need you to do something for me," she replied.

"What? Tell me."

She leaned in, whispering into my ear.

"The new girl who came during the math test? Why?" I asked after she whispered.

"Please do it for me, please," she pleaded.

"Alright, I will," I agreed, and she hugged me before turning away.

I couldn't refuse her request. Our bond went beyond just cousins in the same class; she meant a lot to me. Trust to be told, if we weren't related, I would have considered
dating her and breaking up her relationship with Henry. That way, the two-year secret between us would stay safe with me. A secret I would go to great lengths to protect.

Waving my hand in the air, I called over a first-year. I gave him instructions, and he nodded in agreement. Then, I texted Henry to meet me somewhere and took the lead.

As I swaggered down the halls, the new girls who joined the new semester didn't skip a beat. They crowded around me like photographers, taking pictures and asking for autographs. I felt like a superstar, as famous as Lionel Messi or even Drake, the rapper. Getting so much attention at age seventeen felt like a major victory for me.

I arrived at the school's basement, where I had texted Henry to meet me. He was already there waiting.

"Why are we here, dude?" he asked.

I explained the task at hand—well, what his girlfriend wanted us to do—and then I found a hiding spot behind a container in the basement.

The instant the new girl in my class dashed into the basement, Henry did what I had told him to do. He flipped off the lights and slammed the door shut.

"Hello?" the new girl called out in the darkness, but received no response.

From the shadows, I spoke, sending a chill down her spine. "Hello, Sandra Wilmer."

She looked around, visibly shaken.

"Sandra!" my voice echoed again with a wicked giggle, and the light flickered back on.

I stood in front of her, my dreadlocks framing my face, with my hands in the pockets of my trousers, looking as handsome as ever.

"You?" She pointed her finger at me.

"Yes, it's me," I said. "I know you've seen me before for two reasons."

"You're in my class, right?" she asked.

"Your class?" I chuckled. "You just came to the school this semester, so there's no 'my class' for you," I quipped with a shrug.

"What's your name? What am I doing here?" she questioned. "Are you the one who told the first-year student to lead me here? What do you want from me?"

"Take your time, one question after the other," I replied. "I told you've seen me for two reasons. One, we're in the same class, and the other is, I'm super popular, so you've probably seen me on your phone."

"Wait... are you Jayden Scott?" Her eyes widened with recognition.

"Yes, you're right. Check the initials on my shoe." I withdrew my hands from my pockets and pointed to my personalized shoe, where 'JS' was designed on the sides.

"Oh, I didn't see it," she admitted, glancing at my shoe.

I gently trailed my fingers along her arm. "I would be pleased to have you in my apartment."

"Don't you dare touch me again!" she warned, pushing my hand away.

"Many girls are dying for me to touch them, so stop being stubborn," I murmured, tracing my fingers on her face, locking eyes with hers. "You and I... alone in a room."

"Stop it, please! I am not like other girls," she protested. "Jayden or whatever you call yourself, if you have a shred of decency, let me go, and I won't say a word to the school principal."

"Fuck the principal! Do you know who I am? I control the system here." My voice whispered intimately close to her neck.

She angrily pushed me away and slapped me hard. "I thought so highly of you being an influential personality, but it turns out you are nothing good to write home about. You are a disgrace to influencers!" she roared, then fled the basement.

Her fingers left visible marks on my skin, and I stood in silence, my hand cradling my cheek. Who did she think she was? Some kind of holy Mary?

"Dude, are you okay?" Henry asked.

"I'm fine, don't worry," I reassured him, still nursing my cheek.

"Sandra is wild!" He remarked. "If I'm not wrong, she's the first person to say no to you... and have the courage to slap you. Damn!"

I sighed. "She's definitely got nerve."

I was supposed to be furious with her, but I wasn't. Maybe it was because it wasn't my idea to harass her. But still, she wouldn't get away with it. Even if not now, later.