The Silver Lining

Chapter - 12

"Are you okay, Ashley?” Aunt Jenna’s concerned voice stopped her hand in mid air with a half-eaten sandwich in her grasp.

“Yeah, why?” Ashley chewed slowly, avoiding her gaze.

“Well, it doesn't seem like you want to go to school, which is quite surprising as I thought you were getting along.”

It was true.

After studying till midnight, Ashley was too tired to put with the school and the idiots who went there. Maybe Ashton had stopped bullying her, but there were still a few students who never missed a chance to make fun of her. She was also scared to face Ashton, knowing he was taking part in today's test, and the fact that he was interested in her friendship. If it wasn't for Melissa, she wouldn't have escaped Ashton’s trap of becoming friends.

She mentally scoffed, 'To hell with friendship'.

She wanted to stay at home, but she needed to go. She couldn't miss the test. Not at any cost.

“I'm just tired. Nothing else,” she reassured her aunt with a wide smile and quickly finished her breakfast.

After that, she went to her room and quickly changed Into a V-neck T-shirt with sweatpants and a black hoodie. She was brushing her hair when she heard the honk of her aunt's car.

“Coming,” she yelled and ran downstairs, making a messy bun of her hair, and forgetting the cap on her bed.

**

As she walked down the hall to her last class, Ashley noticed Melissa walking towards her. “You look different without your old-fashioned cap. I'm glad you took it off, finally,” she pointing out, rolling her eyes.

Her breath hitched in her throat as she ran her fingers through her hair.

Shit.

Her dad did everything he could to control the damage she caused but the news leaked to the press, making him more angry. Although it happened in New York, she didn't want to take any risk. She went with the idea of 'hiding her true identity’.

“You okay?” Melissa’s concerned voice snapped her out of it and she merely nodded in response, fixing her glasses.

Melissa bit her lip, clearly not believing her lie, but as always dropped the topic. “Anyways, good luck with the test,” she smiled, wrapping her arms around her.

“Thanks, I really needed that.” Ashley mumbled, holding her books tightly.

“Don't worry. You will surely make it.”

“I hope so,” she said as the bell immediately rang, interrupting their conversation. “I'll see you tomorrow,” she smiled at Melissa and rushed off to the class with a nervous feeling in her stomach.

Ashley clumsily walked into Mr.Sinha class with buckets of anxiety crawling in her stomach. She noticed that there were only ten other students who were busy laughing and chatting. She gulped, wishing she could do the same.

She kept her head down as she sped into the class, sliding into the front desk and putting down her backpack.

Mr. Sinha sauntered into the room with a big grin on his face and set himself on his chair. “Alright. Let's begin the test because I need to finish it quickly.”

With that, he distributed a set of papers to every student before announcing that they had an hour to complete it.

Ashley flipped through the pages in a panic, realizing a countdown clock had appeared on the screen at the front of the room. She began on the first page, but her mind was completely blank.

She couldn't understand what was happening. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her nerves. She needed to finish this test.

Someone cleared their throat beside her and she snapped her head in the direction. His eyes caught her attention. They were big, hazel eyes, doe looking and innocent. She noticed it was Leo Hasington, the the big shot basketball player of the school. Extremely popular, extremely rich, and extremely good looking, which made her wonder what he was doing there. He didn't seem like the one who studied hard, but after finding Ashton there, she couldn't expect her instinct to be true.

“You okay?” Leo asked in a soft voice, and she took a moment to check out his appearance. He had a killer jawline, Ashley had to admit, and nice hair, the kind that shone in the sun and swished while walking. She had heard that he was a nice guy, unlike Ashton. But she doubted it. Because it was unheard of for someone popular to be nice.

Ugh. She groaned. Why did she keep comparing him with Ashton. “Hey, are you fine?” She heard his voice again and opened her eyes after taking several deep breaths.

“I think,” she mumbled, staring right at his eyes.

“Don't freak out. If you're here, it means you're capable of solving this test,” he smiled softly at her, making her realise why he was extremely popular with the girls.

“Any problems, Ashley and Leo?” Mr. Sinha asked in a sharp tone, eyeing both of them.

“No. Everything is fine.” She quickly shook her head and glanced at Leo, sending him an apologetic smile before lifting her paper again.

This time, her mind was clear as she started writing.

As soon as the timer went off, she took a breath of relief, marking the last question and handing it to the teacher. She quickly stumbled out of the room, not wanting more than a cup of coffee and ended up in a cafe near the school.

*

“A hot chocolate with whipped cream, please?” She ordered instead of coffee.

The tall guy with golden brown hair nodded at her with a smile and told her the price. Ashley placed the amount on the counter while he made the hot chocolate for her.

“A black coffee, please.”

It was a familiar voice which caused her to turn around, only realising that she was staring right into the familiar, captivating blue eyes, making herself catch her breath.

“Sure. One minute, please,” the guy replied, making her turn to face him as he placed her hot chocolate in a tray.

Scooting over to a two-seater table, she busied herself in sipping the delicious hot chocolate, ignoring the presence of Ashton.

His gaze was on her. She could feel it. When she finished half of her drink, Ashton made an appearance and sat opposite her. She didn't want to lift her face to acknowledge him, but his burning stare was making it difficult. Finally, she piped up.

“Stop staring.” Her tone was teasing instead of snapping, which made Ashton laugh a little as he ran a hand through his hair.

It shocked her. She wanted to snap at him but she hadn't expected him to laugh so carefree, with a shadow of dimple on his cheek.

“I know it sounds cheesy,” he started and leaned forward as if he was going to tell her a secret, “but you're really something else. And it makes me want to spend more time with you.”

Her eyes narrowed at his cheesy line but instead of responding she finished her drink quickly, hot chocolate burning her inside.

“Anyways, how was your test?” He tried again, noticing her lack of response.

She shrugged her shoulders. “Why do you care?”

A silence creeped over them. It was finally, after what felt like years, that Ashton spoke up, “You don't seem nervous about the results.”

Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. “A little bit. But I'm fine.”

He frowned but nodded anyways. “Good luck,” he mumbled, a mischievous smile on his lips.

“You need more luck than me, Mr. Ashton. We don't want to damage your reputation, right?” She smirked, getting up from the chair. She didn't wait for his answer and walked away.

She smirked, feeling his gaze on her as she stepped out of the cafe, walking home.