Crossing Hearts- A Maidstone Love Story

Chapter 10

The Monday morning sun barely peeked through the clouds as Jasper, Casper, and their friends trudged toward school. The weekend's mischief still lingered in their minds, but the thought of returning to the daily grind was met with groans and grumbles.

"Can't believe we're back already," Dylan muttered, kicking a loose pebble along the pavement. "Feels like we just left."

"Yeah, but at least we've got a whole week to cause trouble," Tyler added with a grin.

Casper chuckled, but Jasper remained silent, his mind elsewhere. His thoughts kept drifting back to Alessia and the confrontation he knew was coming. He'd been avoiding her all weekend, and he knew she wouldn't let it slide.

When they arrived at school, they headed straight to their form room, the familiar routine doing little to lift their spirits. Mr. Tucker, their form tutor, greeted them with a nod as they filed in and took their seats.

"Morning, lads," he said, scanning the room. "Let's get this done quickly so we can head to assembly."

The register was taken with the usual monotony, and soon enough, they were making their way to the assembly hall. The large room was already filling up, and as they scanned the rows of seats, Jasper noticed that the only ones left were right next to Alessia and her friends.

"Great," Jasper muttered under his breath.

His friends caught his hesitation and immediately started making excuses. "Uh, I think I'll sit over here," Dylan said, quickly moving away from the available seats.

"Same," Tyler added, following suit.

Casper just shrugged, leaving Jasper to deal with the situation on his own. With no other options, Jasper reluctantly made his way to the empty seat next to Alessia. As he sat down, he felt the tension radiating from her, and he knew he was in for it.

"Morning, Princess," he said quietly, trying to keep things light.

Alessia gave him a sideways glance, her expression unreadable. "Morning."

The assembly started, with the headteacher droning on about school updates and upcoming events, but Jasper's mind was elsewhere. He could feel the eyes of Alessia's friends on him, and it made him uncomfortable. To distract himself, he glanced over at Casper and his friends, who were already messing around, pushing the chairs in front of them where a group of Year 7 students sat.

Jasper couldn't help but join in. He nudged the chair in front of him with his foot, causing the younger student to jolt forward slightly. The boy turned around, eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and fear, but Jasper just smirked and did it again.

Casper, noticing what Jasper was doing, joined in with a mischievous grin. Soon, all of Jasper's friends were nudging and pushing the chairs of the Year 7s in front of them, causing a ripple of giggles and annoyed whispers throughout the row.

Alessia, however, was not amused. She shot Jasper a warning glare, but he just ignored it, continuing to nudge the chair until the headteacher's voice cut through the noise.

"And finally, a reminder for Year 10," the headteacher announced, his voice stern. "After-school detentions this week have been assigned for any missed detentions from Friday. That includes Jasper Harrison for missing his detention and for inappropriate behaviour during the girls' PE lesson."

The hall fell silent, and Jasper felt every eye in the room turn toward him. Alessia's glare intensified, and he could feel his friends' surprised stares.

"Seriously, Jasp?" Casper whispered, though his tone was more amused than concerned.

Jasper shrugged nonchalantly, but inside he was seething. He hadn't expected to be called out in front of the entire school. As the assembly ended and the students began to file out, Jasper was met with a mixture of whispers and giggles. He kept his head high, though, refusing to let it show that he was bothered.