Bad Boy Gone Shy

T W O - Not a good girl. Not a bad girl

T W O - Not a good girl. Not a bad girl

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A kind office lady had called her mother up at nine twenty one am, partly because she felt sorry for the pale faced teenager excessively quivering at the front desk, but mostly because none of the staff members seemed to care about sending a nauseous girl home. Jasmine could confidently claim herself to be the queen of faking sicknesses. She could make her voice sound groggy, or act as if she'd just revived from fainting. She could fool anyone, and KIND ladies were just a bonus. 

"Your daughter seems to be... a little unfit for school," Jasmine grasped an empty vomit bag in her fingers as she watched the woman nod against the telephone, "Yes. I understand...she claims to have vomited earlier today and wants to go home... I see." The lady placed a hand on her hip as she leaned against a wall, pressing the telephone closer to her bushy hair. "No, she doesn't want to take any medication here. I suggest you take her home right now and let her rest....she looks very exhausted ma'am....oh, yes, I believe that-" She peered over her shoulder and asked for her name, before turning back around "...Jasmine will be going home this morning then?"

Jasmine nervously fiddled with the plastic in her hands as her eyes travelled from portraits of ex principals to cases of sports trophies. Of course, Arden High was merely anything without its golden cups and shields, which even 'till now were the school's most prized possessions. Many of the athletes had graduated, resulting in drastic fluctuation of sports clubs and competitive teams. 

Then came the senior football team to the rescue, redeeming the school from the embarrassment that was coming last in the states soccer and rugby competitions. This iconic event was the only reason why Heath Parker was let off the hook so easily. He had been the one to 'lead the school out of ashes'. 

Michael Rupert, Arden's only accountable student journalist, once titled Parker, 'The male Daenerys Targaryen'. It was supposed to be a huge compliment on Heath's behalf as Michael was relating him to the mother of Dragons in the popular TV series Game of Thrones, but the article became a laughing stock amongst the kids within a couple of hours. As a consequence, Michael Rupert was sent to the hospital with a severely blackened eye and a broken nose one day after the journal was published. 

Jasmine looked up as the lady placed the telephone back into its holder and walked towards her. "I talked to your mum," She said with a soothing voice, "It'll take her a while to drive up here."

"How long is a while?" Jasmine asked.

"Not too long," The lady replied, "Probably no longer than five minutes. She doesn't seem too far away." 

Jasmine nodded, seating herself on a nearby couch. Her mother was the Sparta kind- the kind of woman who went golfing during her work breaks and invaded every game of Black Jack. She barely had time for nursing children, furthermore, receiving calls about how sick they were. It just wasn't her thing. 

"By the way, don't sleep on that couch," The woman said, "You'll get plenty when you're home."

With that, she averted her gaze to the computer in front of her, madly typing away indecipherable letters. It was quite a wonderful scene: pudgy middle aged ladies silently assorting files or answering calls with spectacles sitting on the tips of their noses. This was Jasmine's definition of peace. She briefly closed her eyes with the intention of meditating, but was abruptly distracted when her jacket pocket began vibrating. 

Jasmine groaned as she reached for her phone, but soon found herself chuckling at the rather horrible nickname that flashed across her screen.

"Hello Phat Ho." She laughed.