Little Miss Valentine

Chapter III: Don't Get Attached

Little Miss Valentine | Chapter 3 | Don't Get Attached

"It's not my job to make you feel comfortable, first of all." - FLO.

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"So, I believe introductions are in order." Mr. Bray enthusiastically clapped his hands together, turning to me and Mr. Whatever-The-French-Word-for-Asshole-Is, who hadn't moved from the couch at all since I'd arrived. "Aja, you go first."

Well, what's the point of introducing myself if you've already told him my name? Use your brain, Bray.

"Um, I'm Aja... nice to meet you." I mustered up the most enthusiastic voice I could manage without sounding too fake in front of Mr. Bray. The boy rolled his eyes a little while Mr. Bray's back was turned, knowing just as well as I did that there was nothing "nice" about our meeting in the slightest. Not that either of us was going to let Bray know that.

"I'm Jesse." he mumbled, so quietly that it took a few seconds for me to register. 

Hmm, it has a name.

"Nice to meet you too." he said, sporting the most sarcastic, laid-on-thick smile I've ever seen.

I can already tell this is going to be a long ass morning.

A few seconds of silence passed, with neither of us sure of what to say or how to act. The entire aura in the room just felt thick and awkward, neither of us wanted to be here and then there's Mr. Bray sitting with his trademark Cheshire Cat-looking ass grin on his face, utterly oblivious to our discomfort. I crossed my legs and shifted my hip, waiting patiently for someone to say or do anything.

"I have a meeting I've got to attend to in a few minutes, otherwise I would have shown you around myself, Jesse." Mr. Bray finally spoke, swivelling his chair to the boy.

"It's fine, don't worry. I'm sure I'm in good hands with Ava over here." he crossed his arms over his knees and cocked his head up at me, giving me a cheeky grin, his eyes sparkling with a mischievous glint.

It was getting harder and harder to pretend that he didn't irritate the shit out of me.

"It's Aja." I said, trying my best to force a polite tone.

"Right, Aja. My apologies. English isn't my first language." he pointed a finger at me and leaned back onto the couch cushion, resting his elbow on his knee. He smiled from ear to ear, seeing right through my attempts to keep my annoyance suppressed.

On the outside, I was smiling and being a little ray of fucking sunshine. On the inside, however, I was thinking of ways to find out if he owned a car or not so I could key it.

Mr. Bray stood up from his desk and grabbed a blue plastic folder that had been sitting on the brown mahogany wood. "Alright, I should probably go to my meeting. I can trust you'll be okay, Aja?"

"I'll be just fine, like Jesse said, he's in good hands." I nodded, side-eyeing Jesse on the couch as I spoke. Yes, good hands that may or may not be used to throw a stapler at his head as soon as we're left alone together.

"Perfect! I'll leave you two to get acquainted." Bray said happily.

Oh, been there, done that, got the ass bruise to prove it... wait, no, that sounds wrong, forget I said that.

Mr. Bray walked out the office door with the blue folder tucked under his arm, closing the door gently behind him. As soon as we heard the light click of the handle, Jesse and I dropped our fake smiles, and thank God because my cheeks were starting to ache hard. I looked over at Jesse, but he avoided making eye contact with me, instead choosing to stare forward at the wall and scratch his forehead, his arms spread out and relaxed across the back of the couch. A sliver of natural light shone through the slits of the half-closed blinds directly onto Jesse, highlighting his admittedly-perfect face.