Cutie Pie Irwin

Chapter 4

Luke dropped Ashton off at Ashton's house and Ashton made him drive away before his mom could come outside and immediatly start shipping them together.

He walked inside and went straight to his room, where he could finish his own work before school started tomorrow.

He had told himself over and over again that Varia wasn't a concern of his, but she kept coming into his thoughts and he was sick of it. He only wanted to be focusing on Luke.

"I mean school!" Ashton blurted out loud.

He looked around to make sure no one heard that, even though his mom was in the backyard, working on her garden.

He groaned and fell back onto his bed.

Could he do this? He pulled out the money Luke had given him.

Maybe...

He stood up and shoved the dollars back into his pocket. "Mom!" He called as he went outside. "I'll be right back, just going to the store."

"Okay." She waved and went back to her garden.

Ashton smiled and started walking. Maybe he could save up long enough to buy a car!

But his family would be suspicious, he didn't have a job so how could he explain where his income was coming from?

He arrived at the store a few minutes later and browsed the aisles.

He was looking for something for him mom. A small present to show he was sorry for what he was doing with Luke.

But of course, his mom wouldn't know that real reason. She would just assume her darling Ashton was being thoughtful and sweet.

He picked out a card and some flower seeds for his moms garden, as well as some candy for himself.

He paid for it with the money Luke gave him.

He unwrapped the candy bar as he started walking home.

Would he really be expelled if people found out he was doing Luke's work? What if Luke got accepted to Harvard yet then had to flunk out because Ashton wasn't there to help him?

Ashton felt sick again, and he threw up the candy.

He wiped his mouth and stood back up. He changed his direction and started walking to the school.

-

When he arrived, he had to wait for the janitor to open the door for him.

"I forgot my Textbook in my locker." He said hastily as an excuse to run down the halls.

It was true, he needed it to work on his math homework, but it wasn't the real reason Ashton ran here.

He slowed when he reached his locker and spun the combination, opening it and pulling out his book.

He slammed it shut and made his way to Luke's locker.

He planned to write Luke a note and slip it into his locker. The note would say how Ashton couldn't go on with this and had to quit.

But as he neared Luke's locker, a bright orange flyer caught his eye.

Are you smart? Want to prove it to everyone? Write a paper about any topic and submit it to your Advisory teacher. Best paper gets a free scholarship to the college of your choice! Good luck!

Ashton stood in front of the poster and stared up at it. "Whoa..." He breathed.

Imagine if he won! He could be the one getting into Harvard!

He took off back down the hall, forgetting all about the note he was going to leave Luke.

He had a paper to write.