𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑| 𝐋.𝐂.

18: Preparing

"It just doesn't make sense, Valerie. She changed too quickly. She couldn't stand Daniel, and now suddenly she's all over him." Carter says.

"Be glad you found out now before you really fell for her." I say.

"No, I know you think it's like you and Leo, but it's not the same." He says.

"Brooke doesn't care about anyone except herself. So what if she apologized and complimented me for the night? She hasn't even bothered to talk since. That's why her and Daniel are so perfect for each other. They probably had a fight and she's just using you to get back with him." I say.

"But...Daniel didn't even see us. Brooke went off to Eric's and then came back a completely different person." He says.

I let out a huff as I grab my Louie from my pocket and put it behind my ear.

"What are you doing?" Carter says.

"Hi, Eric. It's Valerie." I say as the ringing stops.

"Hey, Valerie." He greets.

"I'm here with my brother. We wanted to find out what happened with Brooke." I say.

"Brooke...uh, yeah. I took her to my office. Yeah, we looked for the surveillance footage of the accident. We saw that nobody tampered with the car and then we called Judy." Eric says.

"Really?" Carter says.

"Yeah. Turns out she lost an earring while walking on that cliff and was looking all over for it. Anyway, she was in a real hurry to get back to make up with her boyfriend or something. So I drove her back." Eric says and Carter's face drops as he stares down at the bench.

"Okay. Thanks, Eric." I say, frowning at Carter.

"You're welcome." He says, then hanging up and I close my Louie.

"Sorry, bro. Brooke doesn't know what she lost." I say, hugging him.

||

"The hell are you looking at?" I tell Aspen as I close the bathroom stall behind me.

She just stares at me, looking up and down as her hands are still on Leo's shirt.

I scoff as I wipe my hands with a power towel. I then open up my Louie to respond back to Alex's text and I let out a little chuckle on accident.

Once I respond back, I slip my Louie in my back pocket and walk past Leo and Aspen, ignoring Leo's gaze on me.

"She's so bloody uptight." I hear Aspen say and I roll my eyes.

"And you're a bloody thirsty bitch." I say, mimicking her accent.

||

"Alright, guys. Louis wants us to meet him the lobby. Let's go." Leo announces, reading off his Louie.

"No, why?" I groan, leaning my head back.

"C'mon, let's do this shit." Hayley says and I roll my eyes as I take my book with me and stand up.

I walk beside Jackie and Hayley, following everyone else.

We make it down to the lobby and no one else is to be seen.

"Hello? We're only a point and a half ahead of the Eagles? What is this? We must do something." Aspen says and I scoff as Jackie, Hayley and I take our seats on the steps.

As on cue, the Eagles come walking down the stairs and Alex immediately smiles at me.

"Let's just switch her over to the Eagles." Jackie mutters to Hayley and I.

"Good idea." I say and Hayley chuckles.

"As you know, we don't usually accept students in the middle of the year, but Aspen was originally accepted into the Greenhouse last year, so welcome." Louis says.

"Thank you." Aspen grins, holding onto Leo's arm.

"So I know we've all had a rough time recently. I think it's time we get back to our normal Greenhouse routine. We've decided to have a pop quiz to see how much you've all really learned so far this year." Louis continues.

"Uh, I'm awful at those." Jackie says.

"Don't worry. There's probably a twist." I say back to her.

"But there's a twist. Each student will be asked one question. The goal is to put together a streak of corrects answers and the team with the longest steak, wins the challenge." Louis nods.

"See?" I say to Jackie.

"No, this is worse. Not only will I fail but I'll bring everybody down with me." She responds back.

"I doubt it." I tell her and she shrugs.

"The prize. Yes, there will be one, Parker." Louis jokes as Parker puts his hand down.

"Aye." Sophie says and everyone else laughs.

"The winning team gets a day off at the beach tomorrow with an all you can eat barbecue!" Louis exclaims.

"I love California!" Aspen beams and I sigh as I take out my book and continue to the page where I left off.

"I'm going to kill myself." Hayley says and I chuckle.

"Aspen will be testing material you may not have learned yet, so you won't have to participate. Okay, so...uh, Valerie?" Louis says and I look up at him.

"Yeah?" I say.

"What are you reading?" He asks.

"A book." I say, holding it up.

"I know that. What book?" Louis chuckles.

"The Catcher in the Rye." I nod at him.

"Why read in the middle of my announcements?" He questions me.

"I can multitask, sir. Been doing it as long as I can remember." I nod up at him.

"See, that right there. Multitasking is one of the best qualities a leader should have. It's all about composure and time managing. And I saw your video." He says.

"What video?" I ask.

"The video of you singing at the party last night. Very impressive, Ms. Ramirez." Louis nods at me.

"Thank you. But how did it get recorded?" I ask him.

"Uh, Valerie? It got more than just recorded. It just got three million views." Alex says.

"What?!" I exclaim.

"What?" Everyone else says, even the Eagles.

I jump off the steps and run over to Alex, taking his phone.

"Oh my god, who posted this?!" I say, scrolling down at the channel.

"It was me! I really loved your song and I wanted the whole world to see it." Max says and I turn to him.

"Thank you!" I cheese, hugging him.

"Whoo! Go Val!" Carter says and everyone joins his clapping.

"I'm very happy for you, Valerie. Now, everyone go back to the clubhouse to prepare. Suzanne will be there shortly to begin the quiz." Louis says and I nod with the biggest grin on my face as Carter hugs me.

"Yeah, let's do this! Eagles! Eagles!" Sophie and her team chant as they all head upstairs.

I let out a sigh as I follow the Ravens upstairs.

I then feel a tap on my shoulder and I turn around to meet Leo.

"I just wanted you to know that I had no idea she planned to give up London for me." He says.

"Well, isn't she full with surprises?" I cheese, sarcastically hitting his arm.

I then give him a glare as I turn on my heels, catching up with Jackie and Hayley.

I really don't need this drama right now.