Jenalyn: From the Inside (#3) [Complete]

Chapter 24: Hayden

Monday, 3:02 P.M. EST

Our peer counseling session should be interesting today. I haven’t spoken to Ren since our spat earlier, but I’m sure she knows I’m not going to pair up with her. If she doesn’t? Well, hey! It’s all a part of the wake-up call. 

We make it to the peer counseling room, and all of us find our seats. We listen to the instructor for two minutes before she makes us break off into pairs.

I scan the room for who to pair up with, already certain that Sarah would be ecstatic if I chose her. I’m kind of going for a soft blow to Ren with my actions though, so Sarah is going to have to wait. I’ll make it up to her.

Ella doesn’t associate herself with the group much. She seems like she’s so far up Ren’s ass that she’s not even aware of it! Maybe after I get things right with this place, I’ll get to her. But for now? I look past her too. 

Once everybody settles in, the instructor talks. I don’t pay her any mind though. My eyes fall over to where both of the boys in our ward sit.

I know little about the more vocal of the two, but I make my decision as soon as my eyes landed on their bodies.

Dan! Of course! 

Why was that even in question?! Ren has already made it known that he’s off limits. 

Let’s play with that today.

Everyone breaks off into pairs, and I make my way over to where he sits. “Hey, Dan!” I say nonchalantly as I pull up a chair beside him.

I’m not sure where Ren got to, but I can already feel her hard gaze on my back.

“Uh... hey Hayden?” he responds, question discernible in his voice.

The kid sitting next to him, who I assume Dan was intending to pair up with, let’s out a small sigh and goes to find a new partner. 

I should probably feel bad, but I don’t. Everyone will thank me after I knock that girl off her high horse; I’m sure of it!!

“I was wondering if you wanted to pair up today?” I ask, noticing everyone else paired up already. “We didn’t really have a lot of time to talk yesterday, so I figured we could make up for it now?” 

Dan turns his head over his shoulder to glance at his friend, who is now sitting with Ella. He turns back to me to nod his head. “Sure, we can do that,” he says. 

We make our way to one of the unoccupied tables. I notice Ren, unfortunately, paired with Sarah, eyeballing us angrily as we do. 

“So what’s up? Are you starting to see what I’m talking about with the she-devil?” he asks as soon as we’re both seated. He glances over to Ren, who I’m sure glares right back at him.

I let out a small laugh, but I’m not sure how to respond. I wasn’t expecting him to jump right into it. 

“What do you mean?” I ask, trying to play dumb though I’m sure we both know I’m aware of who he’s talking about. “I just thought-“ 

Dan interrupts me with a laugh. “You know who I’m talking about,” he says matter-of-factly, crossing his arms over his chest. “And we’re limited on time here. If you want to get started, we should do that.”