THE HEARTBREAK SOCIETY

➶ 14

RUMMAGING THROUGH MY LUGGAGE for the umpteenth time to confirm I had packed the necessities for the week in France, I slumped down into the cushioned Papasan chair. Packing was indeed a hassle. If Asra were here, I wouldn't have procrastinated until the last two hours before the flight. Unfortunately, though, she hadn't been granted the opportunity to go on the trip, to which she scoffed and bribed the Headmaster. In the end, Asra booked her own flight ticket and would be meeting us at the designated hotel. Although she had claimed that she would miss me, I knew it was because Zavian was in my class, and he'd be obliged to go as well.

And truthfully, I had long known that Zavian was crushing on me for years. I might have been dense, but it came to an extent. His consistent teases and obvious flirts were proof. I would have been an idiot if I didn't notice how flirtatious he was with me when I first arrived at the academy. However, when Asra transferred, they began spending more time together. Eventually, his feelings faded. I was also aware of Asra's feelings toward him since we were children. I firmly believed that they'd get married like a cliché love story.

Since Asra's flight was booked separately, her arrival to France would be several hours earlier. It was currently seven-thirty, and I needed to be at the private airport by eight-thirty. This airport was built to accommodate the travelling of students as public airports would be too crowded. Waiting for my phone to charge since I had forgotten to last night, I lounged lazily. And suddenly, a line of notifications blew up my phone. Checking it briefly, I frowned when most of them were from Zavian. Fifty texts and twenty missed calls, all asking me where I was and that the flight was leaving in ten minutes, with or without me. And all of them were sent nearly two hours ago.

Texting him back, I was fully aware he wouldn't receive it until he landed, No need to worry. My father called, and I was occupied. Lie, I had ignored his calls last night since I was busy stressing out for no good reason. And now, I didn't have a clue how I would be getting to France.

Locking my phone, I shoved my face into my pillows and screamed. I wanted that five-hundred thousand! There was also no way I was willing to withdraw from the academy. Did Daniel think I competed with a hundred thousand applicants to drop out now? And for the sake of my own pride, I couldn't. To imagine my father dancing happily, teasing me of how he told me so was something I wasn't able to accept.

Searching through my worn-out wallet, I was ready to cry tears of joy when I found the credit card my father insisted I bring in times of emergencies. I kissed it as though it was the most precious thing in the world. I would seriously protect this with my life. Pulling the marble suitcase behind me, I checked my appearance once more. Since this would be considered outside school hours, I could wear whatever I liked. And since it was France, dressing in style was important. Satisfied with the white cropped blouse and the washed-out blue jeans, I paired them with white pumps that had an open toe.

Tossing a matching white bag over my shoulder, I headed out the door and decided to call a taxi instead. Public flights were the least of my problems, and I wouldn't mind it at all, as long as I was able to take the next earliest flight. While in thought, I could have sworn that the email read eight-thirty in the morning, not five. My mission was to embarrass Daniel, and ideally, that meant successfully getting to France. "Good, you're finally out. I was about to call you."

The body popped out from the left, making me stagger back. Losing my footing, I stumbled over my luggage and bags. In August's attempt to pull me back up, he failed, and I had accidentally kicked him in the jewels instead. My back hit flat against the suitcase, and I moaned out in pain. "Ah, shit, my back," I dramatically wheezed out. "Why the hell did you do that?" I huffed, tilting my head as I watched him murmur curses and on his knees as he leaned forward to hold his stomach. Conflicted, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to cry, laugh, or both. "Listen, how about we put this behind us? I really can't pay for those medical bills of yours."