Underestimated Heiress

CHAPTER 26 - Back to school

After the school holidays, Ethan and Jess returned to school, and it was time for Jess to embrace her new role as school president. Anticipating a busy first week filled with challenges, Jess felt prepared to tackle her responsibilities. Following the camp, she believed she had gained the respect of most of the leaders in the leadership team. However, she was unaware that dynamics had shifted during her absence, and things were not as she expected.

After returning from camp, Richa tried to get in touch with Nate but he was always busy. Richa was used to having him around, the thought of not having Nate around scared her. She didn't know how to react to this situation, she felt lonely and unknowingly she started blaming Jess again for the situation. In the heat of the moment, she created a group on WhatsApp chat app including all the girls in the leadership team except Jess. Initially, Geeta was the only one to ask why Jess was not included in the group. Richa quickly offered an excuse, stating that Jess would feel upset if they planned an expensive trip and she couldn't join them.

The group's reaction stemmed from a complex mix of social dynamics and underlying jealousy. Coming from elite families, they were accustomed to privilege and carefully curated appearances. They were always impeccably dressed, maintaining a polished and presentable image.

In contrast, Jess was the daughter of a poor farmer. Her background and style were markedly different - she didn't prioritise dressing to impress others. Despite this, she received significant attention and appreciation, which deeply frustrated most of these girls. Richa's excuse about the expensive trip was just a convenient cover for their deeper resentment towards Jess's growing popularity and success.

During the assembly, all the leadership team were once again introduced to the school and were handed their responsibilities and badges. Everyone in the LT(Leadership Team) was excited to finally embrace their role as leaders. After the assembly, the LT team went straight to their meeting room. While everyone was waiting for Jess and Colin to come and brief them, all the girls were discussing their trip to Hamilton island.

Colin and Jess were back in the room to brief the team about the plans and the responsibilities of each leader. They shared their goal and approach to tackle the challenges or hurdles that they might face. Jess and Colin made a good team and showed good leadership qualities. It was easy for them to get everyone onboard on their plans and strategies.

After the brief everyone dispersed to their desks to start their work. Jess demonstrated her leadership skills by taking the initiative to connect with her team members individually after the brief. She engaged in casual conversations to understand any potential issues or concerns they might have regarding their responsibilities

However, Jess noticed that most of the girls, except for Richa, seemed uncomfortable during their interactions. They appeared to avoid eye contact and kept conversations brief, possibly indicating feelings of guilt or unease. Jess didn't care much about it, it didn't matter to her as long as it doesn't impact her goals. Jess has always been like that, least bothered by others and more focused.

While Jess focused on her objectives for the week from her cabin, Colin found himself admiring her from a distance. Since the start of the summer camp, he had been developing feelings for Jess, although he was not yet fully aware of these emotions. As he observed her dedication and determination, a sense of admiration grew within him, hinting at the deeper feelings that were beginning to take shape.

Soon it was lunch break, Jess thought now that she is friends with Richa, she will have lunch with her and also take the opportunity to ask her about her coffee catch ups with Nate. Jess wanted to avoid addressing the topic, but she couldn't help but notice a shift in dynamics since the summer camp; Richa's behavior towards her had grown noticeably colder. It was as if there was an unspoken tension that Jess could feel, even if she chose not to confront it directly.

Jess DMed(direct messaged) Richa asking if she wants to have lunch together. When the message was sent Jess could see Richa looking at her phone which meant she had seen the message, but she didn't reply back instead she asked the other girls if they all wanted to get lunch together. She purposely suggested an expensive canteen where she knew Jess wouldn't come. She then replied back to Jess saying "Sure, we have planned to have food in the canteen today, you can also join us."

Jess was now dependent on her part time job for any allowance and she clearly couldn't afford the expensive canteen, hence Jess replied back, "you can carry on, I have some last minute work to finish. I will grab something using the school coupon."

Richa couldn't resist her smile when she read the message. While she was still smiling, she received another message from Jess, "I didn't want to be judgemental hence I thought I will discuss with you the reason behind you giving me a cold shoulder. You can't deny it as I can feel it. Now that you found an excuse for not having lunch with me has further confirmed my suspicions. If you feel like discussing it feel free to reach out, I will not ignore you."

Jess's message swiped off the smile from Richa's face and left her feeling guilty. She realised that she was repeating the same mistakes again by blaming and targeting Jess. She thought she should meet up with her and come clean. So she sent a reply to Jess, "can we catch up after school in the same park?"

Jess replied, "Sure. I have around 60min."

Richa replied, "See you after school."

Jess went to grab her lunch from the school cafeteria, she was completely immersed in her thoughts about the strategies regarding the LT work. She sat by herself on one of the tables and didn't notice the few people who were observing her including Colin, Nate and Ethan. Ethan wanted to go and talk to Jess about his part time job but he stopped when he saw the other 2 people staring at her sister. He smiled and messaged in the family group, "Seems like this year has brought its own challenges for my dear sister. She knows how to fight everything, I would love to see how she overcomes a love triangle." The message followed by multiple smileys. Within a minute, Ethan got a call from his mother and she started enquiring about the situation. Ethan saw this as a golden opportunity and asked his mom to help him find a part time job related to gaming and he will report everything about Jess to her. Jenna was annoyed by Ethan's behaviour but she didn't have much choice, so she agreed on it.

Jess was still unaware about what was happening and how her younger sibling was taking advantage of her situation. After she finished her lunch and had successfully taken down some notes, she started checking all the messages on her mobile while walking towards the water filter to fill in her bottle. When she saw Ethan's message she almost screamed with anger, she knew he was around so she quickly scanned the surroundings and saw 4 people actively observing her. Maddy had also joined the group of people because she saw Nate following Jess.

Nate had not spoken to Jess after their breakup, he didn't have courage to face her. When Nate saw Jess in the cafeteria, he found her more beautiful and attractive, and was trying to find an opportunity to talk to her. When he saw Jess walking towards the water filter with her bottle, he quickly followed her not wanting to miss this chance.

Jess had already seen him walk towards her, she studied the surroundings and saw that there was no escape, so she stayed calm and continued with what she was doing. If she runs it will be reported to her parents and they might get concerned.

"Hi Jess", Nate said.

Jess was still filling her water bottle, she turned around acting surprised and replied, "Hey Nate. How are you?"

Nate was happy to see that Jess was not ignoring him, he quickly replied, "I have been good. How was your break?"

"It was alright. Thank you for asking" Jess replied and started walking after a small pause, while saying, "I will see you around."