How to Raise an Assassin

CHAPTER 30: MAKE WAY BOYS...THERE'S A GIRL ON YOUR SQUAD

Ash was quiet while I recounted my story to him. When I was done, he just sat back in his bed and stared at me. I didn't see the face of horror he displayed that night when he called me a monster. It seemed more pitiful.

Ash looked like he was about to say something when I heard the gruff of a woman behind me.

"Dang girl you still here? Let the boy get some rest."

I turned around and saw Auntie with her hands on her hips looking down on me. I got up from my chair and apologized. Then I said goodbye to Ash before heading out. "See you tomorrow."

As I left the room Auntie went in and closed the door behind her. "That cat has her paws all over you boy."

I smiled, wondering if that was true or if the reality was reversed.

***

After a week of recovery, Ash was cleared to head back to school. His return was welcomed by the teachers. The students, however, seemed a bit timid.

Especially when the first thing Ash did upon entering the school was to head to me to chat by my locker.

"Thanks for telling me that story Zay," he said leaning up against the locker. "I know it was hard."

I closed the locker door where Ash looked at the graffiti pinning Ash's disappearance on me. Ash took out a marker and crossed out the sentence, substituting it for his own. You can't get rid of me that easily. Then he signed his name.

"So, you ready to get your butt whipped in dodgeball again?"

I smirked. "Oh, you're so going down this time. I won't fall for your cheap tricks."

"Ash," said a squeaky voice from besides us. "You're back."

A group of students who were a bit chummy with Ash before he got injured came up to greet him. Ash smiled and greeted them all as they slowly crowded him to ask him questions about what happened to him and if it was true that his father was the Mayor of Chicago. Meanwhile, I was somehow pushed out of the circle as the group crowded around him.

I wanted to fight my way back in, but I didn't want to take away from Ash's popularity with the others. I was definitely an anchor to his sails. I decided we'd chat during class or after school.

Then Ash calmed down the group. "Guys I have a question to ask you," he said aloud without any care as to who heard. "I heard you've been giving my girl Zay here some trouble."

The eyes turned towards me outside the group. Some of the faces were repulsed. Others looked like they wanted to hide behind a dumpster. A couple even looked at me as if I was some stranger they'd never seen.

Ash took the silence from the group as culpability. He yanked himself free from the group and bowed in their direction. "It was an honor chatting with you guys, but I don't wish to surround myself with fake friends. If you want something from my dad, write him a letter like everyone else does."

Then he turned towards me and smirked. "Bet I can beat you to math class."

Then he sprinted down the hallway, clearly against the rules, but he didn't care. I took off after him, happy to have Ash back at school with me.

***

The apologies flooded in like a dam bursting on the Nile.

Just a week ago they saw me as a monster. They saw me destroy my desk in the middle of class with a single thwack. They heard me call them out for being double standard.