The Secret Business

new student

Ashton Fair walked into Good Vibes High School, an angry glint in his eyes. His face was void of any emotions, the only thing remotely giving away how he felt was the tight tick in his jaw.

He deeply dreaded the next few weeks of which he would be attending the school as a senior. It is only for work. He has no choice but to comply with orders.

He attended high school years ago and dreaded every single second of it. He doesn't suspect this school will be any different even years later. If anything, he expects this experience to be far worse than before.

At least this time, school was not mandatory for a whole school year. It was only for two weeks before he would "graduate early".

Ashton walked through the doors, the halls were oddly quiet for the number of students he saw crowding a certain spot in the hall. He only ignored it, opening the door to the principal's office right by the entrance.

A lady sat at the front desk, her brown eyes focusing intensely on whatever she had on her computer. She seemed not to have noticed Ashton as she typed something into the computer, her finger tapping away. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a messy bun that flopped as she tilted her head ever so slightly.

"I'm here to speak to Simmon Travis," Ashton spoke through the silence, his voice deep and gravelly as if he hadn't spoken in a while.

The lady jumped, cursing under her breath as she sat up properly. Her wide brown eyes met Ashton's cold green ones before her eyes slowly drifted to the tattoo peeking from under his collar. Confusion showed on her face before hesitancy replaced it.

He leaned down to eye level with the woman, an impatient look growing with each passing second. "Simmon Travis?"

"Yes. Sorry, sir." she stumbled, her cheeks turning bright pink in embarrassment.

"I'm younger than you, ma'am," Ashton spoke, smirking as he doubted that sentence as she looked to be in her early twenties and trying to get into college by the Collin's Royal College wristband she wore. But, he had to play the part. "Why call me sir as if I'm older?"

She looked down at the computer in front of her ignoring the comment. Instead, she frantically typed something on the computer before picking up the phone to her right. "What's your name?"

She held the phone to her ear, hearing the dial tone. She typed in a number before putting it back up to her ear.

"Ash Moon," Ashton responded instantly. She nodded and waited for the person to answer the phone.

"Principal Travis speaking." a male answered on the other end of the line.

Ashton raised an eyebrow as he could hear the male on the other end of the line clear as day. He wondered if the woman was hard hearing or something of the sort.

"A boy by the name of Ash Moon is asking to speak to you, sir," she explained. She was quiet for a while as Simmon spoke to her about something Ashton didn't take the time to pay attention to. "Okay. Thank you, sir. Will do."

The woman put the phone down. Her brown eyes focused on Ashton with a glint in her eyes as if she were suspicious of him. As if she could read through him. She stared for another minute before finally looking away.

"Mr. Travis advised me he'd send your schedule to my email as soon as he has written it out. He insisted on doing so though I usually do it." she tilted her head slightly as she stared blankly at her computer. She shook her head as if to regain her focus before she looked back up at Ashton. "And then I can send you on your merry little way to your first class."

Ashton only nodded in acknowledgment, causing her to sigh at the nonverbal response. She proceeded to type in a few things on the computer before she stood from her chair. The blue and brown dress she wore flowed down around her curvy thighs and to her ankles, nearly touching the ground. The dress flowed in the wind behind her as she walked down a hallway, disappearing through a door on the left without a single word.