Nudes <August Alsina >

Chapter 20.

Payton's p.o.v

"How are you a senior?" Mrs.Abel furrows her eyebrows at Kayce who's facial expression is laced with confusion.

"I'm not a senior." she looks at me with a bored expression. "I take advanced classes."

I scoff. So what, that could be a common mistake. It's not like I knew she had advanced classes.

"So then why did I have to tutor you?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Obviously because I needed help with my advanced classes."

"Well how about you just stay on your grade level."

"If I needed to I wouldn't take advanced classes would I?"

"If you need help you shouldn't be in 'advanced' classes, should you?"

"Well, for one I never needed your help. I just used that as a excuse."

I raise a eyebrow at her questionable choice of words.

"A excuse for what?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"To try being friends with you since we didn't talk as much."

"Hands down, the worse lie I've ever heard." a familiar voice speaks from behind us.

I turn around to be face to face with the charitable face on Brielle. Making my eyes widen. When she said she'd try to 'get a bit more freedom and truth' I did not think this is what she meant by that. How'd her parents even allow this?

"How did you- by any means, make it up in here?"

"Well....I told the security man at the desk that my name was Aleyah Bradford. Then I went to the office to get a visitor's pass. Thankfully, they have a new secretary who has no clue who I am."

"How did you get out?" I ask. My thoughts filled with nothing but confusion.

"My parents agreed to letting me live the life of a normal teenaged girl as long as I still take my classes at the refinery home, and I don't tell anyone who I am. I'm also supposed to stay like three blocks away from this school."

"Why are you here then?"

"I want to see some people my age who aren't crazy."

Kayce let out a quite audible, annoyed huff from where she's sitting. Making me focus my attention back on the two across the room. Brielle's idea was so crazy that I almost forgot what was really important at the moment.

"Oh, my evil cousin. How are you?" Brielle smiles, but her tone is anything but friendly.

"I'm wonderful."

"You seriously are alive." Mrs.Abel mumbles under her breath. She's in a shocked state, just how I was when I first saw her.

"Yeah. I'm alive, breathing, and human." Brielle chuckles as she stands infront of the desk with a awkward smile

"Wow."

She just nods her head, not sure of what to say.

"I think it's good my parents suggested I not tell anyone. I don't want people to ask me about my insane family, or consider me as 'that girl who killed herself'. Espicially when I tell them I was at a refinery home, I'll have no friends all over again."

I nod my head in agreement. "That's actually smart."

When I look at Kayce my eyes narrow as I try to remember what we were talking about before. I think it had something to do with her taking advanced classes. Oh, wait tutoring.

"So, you wasted time out of both of our days so we could be 'frineds'?"

She just lets out a shrug as her answer. Since I bet none of her reasoning makes any sense. Brielle is standing silently by the door, with a confused look. Now, buried in this awkwardness that has consumed her.

"Seriously, there's no need to lie anymore. Honesty is the easier way to go and you'll be in less trouble." Mrs.Abel tries to make reasoning with her.

Which, she clearly hasn't learned is impossible to do with the children at this highschool. It's like, whatever you say, they still think you're lying so they'll lie and hurt themselves further. Making the situation deeper than it has to be.

"Lie about what?"

Okay. So that does make sense when you consider no one made any assumptions as to why she actually wanted me to tutor her. As I think of any possible reasons why it seemed like something just clicks in my head and I gasp at the sudden rush of realization.

"You were looking through my phone once!"

I completely forgot about that until now.

"I told you it was because- of Brielle-"

"You called her your best friend at the time, and not your cousin. The thing is, she isn't dead and you knew she wasn't so what reason do you have to want to know what's in my phone."

"Okay, for one. If I was the one who sent the pictures; which is what you're probably trying to say. I wouldn't need to look through your phone because I would know nothing is in there. Correct?"

I don't know how to reply to her. So, I just narrow my eyes in thought. Even if she is lying, and there's no doubt in my mind that she isn't- I can't just say she did it because she's the first available choice.

"You're a good liar." is my only response.

"Has it ever dawned upon you that maybe everyone isn't lying? Or that you don't worry about the ones you should be worried about."

"What is that even supposed to mean!?" I scoff, while she makes her way to the door.

Kayce shrugs, waves us goodbye, and that's it.

I sit on the couch on the further end of the room. "This is almost impossible!"

"Well, the other three told me the people who sent them are seniors."

"There's like sixty eight seniors."

"That's not that many?" Brielle adds on from her silence.

Trying to be optimistic in any way possible, but failing miserably. I look at her with a bored expression and she send a gentle shrug in return.

If I face the reality of this situation, it just happened. There's nothing I can do to erase it or change anything about it. I'll just have to live with it, and I can't live with it if it's going to bother me. The frustration I fell just thinking about it is overbearing.

I tuned everything out as I thought. Which is why it scares me when the door opens.

Camila walks inside. I'm not sure if she's here on her own or if Mrs.Abel asked her to come.

"How may I help you?" she raises a eyebrow.

"Oh, this will be quick."

She rummages through the drawer behind her desk. Before finally pulling out a school file with Kayce's I.D pictures taped to it.

"Is this the girl you were talking about?"

"What?" Camila questions.

See what I mean by pointless.

"You said there was a boy and a girl. Is this the girl?"

She too must've assumed Kayce was a senior. Since, I remember Mrs.Abel saying both of the people were seniors.

"Oh. Um- yeah that's her."

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Sorry that this update took long, I think I still have writer's block.