Chapter 3 Leaving

**

Hailey chewed at the tip of her pen continuously as she continued to stare at the blank sheet before her.

It had been almost an hour since their third term examination began and she hadn't written a word...

No. It's not as if she was dumb. Far from that.

She was amongst the most intelligent ones in her class.

Right now,staring at her blank sheet, her mind was else where.

Thinking.

She was thinking of home.

She dreaded going home whenever the term was about to end.

And like every other term, she was dreading it again because she knew that after writing chemistry,which was their last paper,they would be going home the next day.

And she didn't want to go home.

She never wanted to.

When every single student couldn't wait for the term to end,she always wished there was never a vacation.

She sighs.

In the eyes of every student,she was the perfect, charming,sexy,alluring and intelligent girl. She was every girls envy and every guys dream.

She shakes her head.

If only they knew that everything she did was just for show.

It was just a facade to hide her brokenness and pain.

Because if anyone were to ask her what was bothering her, she wouldn't be able to answer.

She couldn't confide in anyone else. Anyone who had the privilege to listen to her problems and secrets, they will die too..

And so to keep everyone safe,she had to act as the perfect girl and do anything to become the center of attention..

****

"Need help?"

A calm voice asks beside her jolting her out of her thoughts.

She turns and to her surprise it was the nerdy Jason guy whom she had saved from being bullied by Jack..

She has been damn rude to him...But wait! Was he also a science student like her?

If so,why hadn't she ever seen him in class..

Or maybe she never really paid attention..

She sighs and turns away.

"I could help" he says again and without waiting for an answer,he discreetly throws a crumpled paper at her..

She catches it,opens it and realises they were answers to almost all the questions..

"Twenty minutes more!" Their supervisor shouts and she cusses silently.

"Oh hell!"

She hadn't realised she had spent the entire time thinking of the place she hated most.

Home.

Without further ado,she begins to steal glances at the paper as she copies them in haste.

It's not as if she didn't know the answers.

She just didn't have time to think..

****

A smile played along Jason's lips as he watched her write in haste.

He was fascinated.

Everything about her fascinated him..

He smiles and looks away before concentrating on his own paper.

****

THIRTY MINUTES LATER...

Hailey sighs contentedly as she begins to pack her books into her backpack after submitting her exam paper.

Talking of exam...

Where was the nerdy?.

She hadnt even thanked him for his help..

Swinging the bag over her shoulders,she strolls to look for him.

****

Hailey found him seated at the farthest end of the dining hall.. As usual, he was alone..

She steps into the hall and walks towards him..

"Hi"

Jason looks up from the textbook he was reading and stares up at her..

His breath hitches,his heartbeat increasing a thousand times..

"Uhh.. Hi?"

"Can I sit?"

"Uhh sure" he shifts uneasily and she plops herself near him...

They stare at each other in silence..

"Umm. You are learning? We'll be vacating tomorrow so why are you learning?"

Oh shoot!!

Such a stupid question Hailey.

He smiles

"I had nothing better to do"

"Hmm.. Umm.. I wanted to thank you for the help today.. I don't usually cheat during examination.. Actually I don't cheat.. Ever!.. I just.. My mind was elsewhere and..I.."

"It's okay Hailey. It's not a big deal" he assures her and she stops rumbling..

"And I'm also sorry for being rude to you the last time. I was.. Er..." She trails off.. How was she supposed to tell him?

That hey,Jason I was rude to you because I needed my cocaine in order to make me act normal?

Hell no!!

"It's okay" he cuts in.

If this was a dream then he better not wake up. His long time crush sitting before him and having an actual conversation with him..

What more could he ask for?

"You're a nice person Jason"

Holy shit!

She remembers his name.

Oh someone pinch him.

He grins stupidly..

"And you're sweet and.."

He pauses when he sees the expression on Hailey's face change.

"What's wrong Hailey?"

He asks..

Silence.

****

Hailey's breath hitches when she spots Jack standing in a corner behind Jason.

He wasn't staring at her. He was staring at Jason.. more like he was throwing daggers with his eyes.

Oh no!!

How could she have been so stupid and careless to let Jack see her talking Jason..

She stares at him.

Jason was too nice and innocent and she wasn't going to let him become another victim.

No! He couldn't die because of her.

She gets up from her seat abruptly.

"Umm later Jason.. B..bye!" She stutters and turns on her kneels and runs out as quickly as possible..

****

Jason grins as she runs out.

Maybe he would search for her and take her number before every student leaves school tomorrow.

It was vacation after all and he could persuade her to go out with him.

Maybe,he would finally tell her how he felt about her.

He smiles,satisfied..

But little did Jason Michaels know that,that was the last time he was going to set eyes on Hailey. For a long long time to come.

***

"I'm going to tell boss that you've been violating his commands and making male friends" Jack grabs Hailey's arm and spins her around harshly.

"No.. I swear.. I.. Was just thanking him for his help. Please Jack. It won't happen again. I.. I swear" she pleads.

"Boss is the only one who gets to decide who you hang out with. No male is allowed near you until they pay. You know that Hailey.. Go pack your bags. Early tomorrow we're leaving straight to the club" Jack warns and walks out on her.

She stood in silence,her eyes pooling with unshed tears.