Chapter 5 Fountain's Favorite

Darren tied her hair into a ponytail as she glanced at herself in the mirror. So much beauty outside, so much pain inside. She made a pouty lip as she finished up with some gloss and spray, getting ready to hit class.

The first day was a mess, the second day was even worse. It was almost a week now and all that was on her mind was the pile of assignments on her to-do list. Today, they were to be allocated their plot for their practice. It was a lot. She barely had time to tend to herself but she was expected to care for soil.

Chloe had gone for a workout super early and she wasn't yet back. Darren wasn't going to be waiting, she didn't even have the energy to call to check up. Chloe had taken too long.

She sauntered out of the hostel and into the corridor that held door frames on each side. There were girls everywhere, a few guys, and a lot of chattering. She hustled her way through, clutching her backpack as she tried to recall what she had read the previous night. She knew the way these things work; they laden you with so many school chores that you run out of time to do your studying and then boom!... exams come knocking. She didn't want to be in that shoe anymore. Rachael was gone, and Chloe had enough burden of her own. Her mum had informed her via text that she was leaving her dad. I've had enough... were her words.

All efforts to reach out to her had proved futile. Her dad wasn't taking her calls either. Darren assumed it was as traumatic for them as it was for Chloe. She so wanted to be a supportive friend at a time like this, but Fountain called, and she couldn't send it to voicemail.

She looked around for Chloe but didn't see her, and so focused on the path in front of her.

Ten minutes later, she was at the field along with other students and Mr. Kennedy who was so selfish with his allocation. He could have kept the whole yard to himself for all she cared. She saw Chloe when she arrived, looking nasty as hell. There were a lot of people between them but she managed to get her message across.

"Where the hell were you?" she mouthed

Chloe just smiled.

"You're to ensure your plot doesn't get infected with pests. We are running out of resources based on the students' carelessness. Think of it as your pet. Plot Pet. See? Easy."

The students filed out, beside their plots and listened to Kennedy read out the dos and don'ts in plot handling. Nothing new to Darren, except the boy standing a few feet from her, looking so focused.

She hadn't noticed him before but when Mr. Kennedy spoke most of the time, his eyes were on him. Darren took this to mean he wasn't so new around here.

She took notes and laughed at the jokes cracked by a few boys who had officially identified themselves as the clowns of the class. They made the days easy.

Darren walked to the lab to grab her seeds. She needed to dry them out and carry out fertilization as early as the next day. As she got there, she met the lab attendant who handed her a glass potty with her name taped across the bottle.

"Ensure to follow the guidelines in your manual, and if you need any assistance, don't hesitate to let me know."

She was so sweet, it made Darren smile. "Thank you." She was stepping out when she bumped into the guy she had seen in the yard, Mr. Kennedy's friend she had nicknamed him.

"I'm sorry." He said. It was a thin miss from spilling all of her seeds.

"That's alright." She replied. He followed her eyes from his hands and back to his eyes again.

He ran a hand through his head. "Oh, it's not what you think."