Beauty and the Geek Boy

Chapter 45-Ellie

*Beauty*

When I imagined how this day was going to go, this was not it.

I'd imagined Madison driving me and the girls to school. I'd imagined being nervous before I'd finally told them that I was in love with William Johnson. I'd imagined them being shocked. Maybe even angry that I hadn't told them about my crush earlier. Then I'd imagined seeing Will from a distance. We'd sneak glances at each other, maybe even sneak away to see each other.

What I hadn't imagined was sitting opposite the principal, staring down at my hands and trying desperately not to cry.

And William Johnson, perfection incarnate, sitting less than a metre away from me and not looking at me.

I could feel my heart shattering into tiny little pieces.

I remembered his face when I'd turned from the poster, how he'd paled, how his eyes had widened.

The smartest guy in school got caught with the dumb blonde cheerleader, our relationship revealed in front of the entire student body. Then he was publicly called to the principal's office.

Will must feel so embarrassed.

If I'd been trying to imagine the worst possible thing that could happen today, this would have been it.

Principal Chang pressed her hands together, levelling a hard stare at us through her glasses. "I'm sure you both know why you were called here."

Principal Chang looked like a mixture of Layla and Narissa—her daughters. Except she was scarily serious, and super intimidating.

She sighed. "Of course—you haven't actually done anything wrong, but that poster has caused a significant stir in the student body. It's already disrupted the school day—It took us twenty minutes to get everyone into their classrooms. So, I believe it would be wise for you two to go home for the rest of the day. Your parents have already been called. The situation has been explained to them and they will be expecting you." She stood. "You are both dismissed."

I stared at her, my eyes wide. That was it?

What about the person who put it up? It had to have been Catherine. She'd been holding a camera, and the expression on her face—

Happy. Happy because she knew that Will would definitely dump me now.

My heart gave a lurch of pure agony.

Principal Chang stared at us expectantly, her fingers tapping an impatient rhythm on her desk. Will stood, his movements as smooth and elegant as they always were. I stumbled to my feet.

In the next moment, we were leaving the Principal's office. Will was silent. He still wouldn't look at me. I stared at the ground, a film of tears blurring my sight. The door shut behind us, leaving us in a quiet hall.

Will cleared his throat. "Ellie—"

"I'm sorry," I choked out. Then, before he could respond, I ran.

He was going to break up with me.

And I couldn't handle it.

I wasn't ready to have my heart shattered for the second time today. What else could he want to say? I knew he hadn't wanted anyone to find out about our relationship. Now the whole school knew. And what was worse: the principal had ordered him home early.

I was in the parking lot when the tears finally spilled over.

I'd finally gotten what I'd wanted: to be William Johnson's girlfriend. And, in one moment, it had all been ruined.