The Blood Red Rose

Chapter 6 : Heartbreak

"Miss Emma, please pay more attention in class!" exclaimed Hunter. Chelsea looked up from her book and glared at Hunter. Hunter didn't care how she looked at him. This was the last class for the day, according to Chelsea.

Chelsea sighed as she closed her book. "Why do you care if I pay attention or not?" asked Chelsea. "Besides, I already have good grades."

"Well, if you want to keep those good grades of yours, pay attention," replied Hunter. Instead of sitting next to Chelsea, he was sitting in front of her which was hilarious. Earlier, she had to copy something from the board down in her notebook, but her being short, she had to lean to her side to see what she had to write. "So, Miss Emma, what will we do after school today?" asked Hunter.

Chelsea had put away her book and read the History book instead. "Well, I'm going to the library," said Chelsea.

"What for? It's not like you're going to meet me again." Hunter softly laughed but then jumped with a small yelp as the bell rang. "I'd appreciate it if the bells weren't so loud," Hunter said as he rubbed his right eye. He might not have done almost anything in each class, but he was still pretty tired.

Chelsea giggled as she looked inside her bag. "Now, why would I want to--" Chelsea immediately stopped talking, a look of shock on her face.

"Miss Emma? What's wrong?"

"The . . . l-letter . . . Did you give it back to me . . . ?" asked Chelsea, her voice shaking.

"I left it on your table in homeroom this morning. I thought you took it. Did you not?" Hunter stood up and looked down at her. She seemed upset. And for what? A missing letter from Nathaniel Sharon Anderson. Typical for Chelsea, Hunter can see that now.

Chelsea got up and darted out of the classroom, accidentally leaving her bag on the table.

"Hey, wait up!" yelled Hunter. He grabbed Chelsea's messenger bag and went after her. He bumped into a few other students--which he didn't find pleasant--and managed to get to his new homeroom. He made his way to Chelsea's table and was about to carelessly drop her bag onto the table but stopped. Nathan's photo was there. It had glass. It could break. If it breaks, Chelsea might start crying. He groaned as he set the bag down carefully. He was surprised to see that Chelsea wasn't there. He looked to the front of the classroom and sighed in relief. Chelsea was talking to Mr. Jones, probably about Nathan's letter. He began to walk towards her.

"A missing letter, eh?" asked Mr. Jones. "Well, a student did hand me a sheet of paper this morning right after homeroom. Let me get it." Mr. Jones pulled out a couple of drawers out of his desk and grunted. "It's not in here. Let me check my other drawers. I'll be quick." Mr. Jones got up from his chair and went to the corner of the classroom on his left, his drawers just sitting there. Mr. Jones wasn't as tall as Hunter but he was still taller than Chelsea. He started to look through the bottom drawers first. Then moved onto the next top ones.

"Miss Emma," Hunter whispered as he gently placed his hand on her shoulder. Chelsea had jumped and Hunter took a step forward to stand right beside her. "Are you okay?"

Chelsea just nodded and looked back at her table. "Thank you for getting my bag, Hunter," Chelsea whispered back. She didn't understand why they were even whispering. Everyone else was talking rather loudly.

"Chelsea, I found it!" said Mr. Jones. Hunter quickly removed his hand from her shoulder and walked back to his seat as Mr. Jones turned to face Chelsea. "Here's the paper. Is this it?"

Chelsea smiled and took the paper, her hands slightly shaking. "Y-Yes, this is it. Thank you so much!" said Chelsea. She waved at Mr. Jones and skipped back to her table. "H-Hunter! Mr. Jones had the letter!" Chelsea exclaimed.