Hostage

Party At O'Riley's

Ruby's POV

"I'll be throwing a party at my place tonight by 7. Wanna come?"

I rolled my eyes comically as I shut my locker and made my way down the hallway. I would go batshit crazy if I heard another invitation to Randy O'Riley's party.....not that the invitations were directed towards me anyway.

Perhaps that's why I was mad...

That's crazy....I didn't even care.

I drew in a deep breath.

"Morning sunshine." Jessica chirped as she joined me few steps away from drama hall. I tilted my head a bit and I couldn't help but notice she was showing a little more teeth than usual.

"Someone's happy." I smiled.

"Indeed I am." She returned the smile. I sighed.

"Does this have anything to do with your mysterious new hottie?" I smiled wryly,expecting her to do what she always did whenever I tried to talk about the new guy she was seeing. I found it a little bit strange that she never talked about him an whenever I tried to bring him up,she'd just laugh it off and try to change the subject.

She chuckled slightly.

"Hey....did you hear about O'Riley's party?" She asked and I rolled my eyes before I could help it.

"Its all I've been hearing all day." I didn't want it to sound like I was complaining but that was exactly how it came out. "Tell you what? What are you doing tonight?" I asked. She was quiet for a while so I took it as a sign to continue. "How about we have a party of our own? Just the two of us. Mums away for the week so.....Netflix?" I smoldered.

"Uhm....." She stammered. "Actually, I-" she paused. I raised an eyebrow. "I was invited to O'Riley's party." She said. My mouth fell.

Unbelievable.

"A few days ago. I was going to tell you but it didn't seem that important with all that was going on at home and--and your bracelet but--"

"You thought about it and now you want to go." I cut her off.

"I just.." She paused. "This is the first party I've been invited to all senior year and I--"

"You need a break." I nodded and faked a smile. "Well... you've earned it Jess. You should totally go." I told her as we came to a halt in front of the door.

"But--"

"I'll be fine. I've still got Netflix after all." I gave her arm a light squeeze. "See you after class." I pushed the door open and then walked in. I took my usual position at the far end of the hall.

"Good morning class." The new drama teacher started the moment the clock struck nine o'clock.

Mr.  Deangelo Belvedere, popularly known as 'the new school hottie' since Mrs. Brown took a sick leave four days ago.  He was to be our substitute teacher till she returned.

"Good morning." The greeting this time was a lot louder than usual. I rolled my eyes. I couldn't say drama had been the same since he took over. The class seemed a lot fuller too and I knew exactly why...

Dark hair, grey eyes and a very thick Italian accent. He seemed pretty young too.

He gave an acknowledging smile and then turned to the board. We all watched him scribble some words before he turned to the class.

"Today, we're going to be talking about stage management ." He said and then paused for a few seconds before he continued. " Each and everyone of you here has a talent. Some of you here share the same talent and some of you are different. But despite those differences, the one thing that you all share in common is the stage."  He moved towards the board and encircled the word stage.
"The stage." He continued.

I drew in a deep breath and then let my eyes wander round the hall. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Emery whisper something to Tyler and I watched them laugh about it. I pulled my gaze away and then turned back to Mr.Belvedere.

"Which, before I forget brings me to your arts project for this year. I was told that every year, a graduating project is given to  the--" He paused. "Graduating set of the school." He smiled sheepishly as loud feminine chuckles filled the hall....I sighed.

I don't mean to sound like a hater but I didn't exactly get the joke.

His eyes scanned through the hall for a few seconds and then I noticed a hidden smile cross his face as though he'd found what he was looking for before he continued.

"Now,I understand that I'm to take care of the pairings myself, but out of the generosity of my heart, I've decided to let you choose your partners yourself." He said. "So very quickly, here's what we're going to do so we don't spend too much time on this." He continued. "I point at you and you tell me your name and the name of the person you want to be paired with while I write it down." He searched for a pen in his bag. "Now I want you to understand that one a name has been mentioned, it cannot be altered." He placed his pen on his pad, ready to write. The hall became filled with murmurs.

"Not fair." Miley whined. "What if someone you do not want chooses you?" She asked.

"Well then, I guess you'll just have to work with 'em won't you?" The teacher smiled faintly. "Those are the rules." He continued. "We'll start with you. Redhead." He pointed at Emery.

"Emery Whitehill. I choose..." She paused and pretended to look around. "Tyler Marshall."

"Suzie. I choose Anabel." Susan, formally known as Slutty Suzie called out.

"Damon Grey. Brie Rose." Damon called. I smiled  satisfactorily, knowing that Brie's expression was probably full of disappointment..... Everyone knew she wanted to be paired with Jase.

"Ward Lambert." Ward paused and swallowed hard. "Jessica Lee." He said slowly, making me come close to chocking on my own saliva. I turned to look at Jessica and seemed even more surprised than I was. She shot me a look that said 'I don't know what the fuck is going on.'

I smiled reassuringly at her.

This day just couldn't get any more surprising.... Worse still, I smelled something... Something fishy.... Something stinky... And I couldn't help but think Jason had something to do with it.

"Ruby Kent." Someone called from the back of the hall, and this time, I did choke on my saliva. I coughed loudly for a few seconds..... not because someone had claimed my identity but because it was a voice I recognized. A voice that'd promised to become my worst nightmare.

"O...Kay." Mr. Belvedere pursed his lip. "Now, do you mind telling me your own name young man?" He joked, earning laughter from the other students. But I didn't find it funny. I wasn't finding it funny in the littlest sense. I shut my eyes.

Fuck.

"Jason Monroe."

Time flew by quickly for me afterwards till Mr. Belvedere made his final statement.

"Each team is to prepare or write a script. Do not forget this project carries  fifty percent of your grade this year and the winners would be given the opportunity to direct their very own movie. Lastly,on behalf of his grandson,Tyler." He stretched his hands towards Tyler. "The Chairman has volunteered to sponsor this years school trip." He announced. Silence reigned in the classroom for a few seconds before loud murmurs and applause followed. "And so if you are up for an adventure, you should keep your ears on the ground for further information on the date and location. Good luck and may the best team win." He said and then walked out. The class became rowdy with excitement afterwards but I couldn't even move....

Not with the way I was trembling.

A/N

Hey guys. I'm really sorry about the late update.... Got a lot on my plate RN but I promise updates will come in more frequently from now. Don't forget to vote if you enjoyed this chapter.