Taming Asher

On a scale of one to ten, my life had always dangled between three and four, thanks to my very wretched humble background, until the day it hit zero.

"I will give you the money on the condition that you send that text to Asher." Mia Harper began with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Asher?" I repeated.

"You heard me right."

No way.

Asher Thorne was the hottest, attractive and most popular kid in school. Bad boy, star hockey player, arrogant and snobbish, were the perfect words to describe him with. His dad was the CEO of the Thorne Pavilion Hotels, littered across the country. So, just saying he was rich was a mere understatement. Not only that. Asher wasn't the kind of guy anyone could just walk up to. He hardly ever smiled and didn't talk to just 'anybody'.

"No big deal." Mia was saying. "Just hit the send button, and you get a whooping sum of five hundred bucks." She waved the money right in front of my eyes.

"Come on. Just do it." Her best friend and partner, Nicole, urged. "It's not like he's going to put a bullet to your head."

I stared down at the ridiculous message typed on my screen. "Hi, Ash. It's Grace, the sophomore scholarship kid. I think you're cool. Can we hang out after school today?"

I shook my head at the incredulity. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this. I've never said a word to him since I resumed here, and I doubt he even knows I exist. This would only..."

"Will you do it or not?" Mia demanded darkly. "It's just a simple joke. Besides, this is five hundred bucks. You get to pay for your cousin's stupid watch without any hassles and have all the balance to yourself."

At this point. I began to think she was the one who actually stole the watch. I inhaled deeply. While I was still trying to process my thoughts, Nicole put a hand around my shoulder to talk persuasion into my ears. But unfortunately, that was a wrong move, because my phone almost slipped from my hand and in a bid to catch it, my finger accidentally hit the send button.

Oh no.

I'm doomed now.

"Are you okay?" Nicole demanded, seeing my expression. She peeked at my phone screen, then squealed and hugged me tightly. "Yay! Good girl! She's done it, Mia!"

Mia flashed me a big smile, squeezing the money into my numb hands. "Perfect. Let's go, Nicki."

I watched them stalk away, feeling bewildered. It can't be too late. I can still delete it, I thought, staring down at my screen.

But it was too late.

Asher had not only read it, but replied too.

"Sure. Meet me at the practice field."

What?

I could bet my bottom dollar that this message only meant two things. Either he wanted to make fun of me or decided to play along for the fun of it.

I was just about to text back that it was all a joke when I felt a shadow loom behind me.

"What are you doing?"

I looked back sharply. It was my cousin, Regan. The reason I was getting into this mess.

Let me start from the beginning.

It all started after PE, when I lost a fancy wristwatch, belonging to my hottie cousin, Regan. Actually, it's not the regular fancy watch, but a special edition worth three hundred bucks.

"Listen, idiot, you had better find that watch before the end of the day. Else, get ready to hand me the cash equivalent!"

"Look, Regan, I..."

"I would listen to nothing, till you have the watch or money in your hands. Period!"

And with that, she stalked off.

I sighed, wishing I had not been next to her when she was about to use the bathroom, and needed a keeper for her precious watch. Where on earth was I supposed to get three hundred bucks from? Since I had about a hundred in my savings, I figured I would have to pay the rest in installments. I slapped the heel of my palm against my forehead wearily, finding my way out of the gym, only to hear a familiar voice behind me.

"Gracie?"

I stopped short.

That was Mia Harper. The richest and most popular kid in tenth grade, who wouldn't stand breathing next to anyone below her social ranking, let alone hold a conversation. Scholarship students like me knew better than to mind their business and stay out of her way.

"Gracie?"

She called again. The fact that she called my name so sweetly said a lot. What did she want from me? Or did she have the watch? I turned around slowly.

"I doubt you will ever find that watch. But I could help you with the money." She offered with a friendly smile. She collected my phone and typed the text herself.

What I couldn't process right now was why she insisted on me texting him. Were they scheming something?

Presently, Regan tried to peek at my phone but I turned off the screen immediately. She rolled her eyes with a scoff. I shoved my hand smartly into my skirt pocket before she could catch a glimpse of the dollar bills.

"I wonder what you are up to. But I don't care. Follow me to the practice field. We can ask Mia if she came across the watch by chance." She said, "She and Nicoli were among the girls hanging around when I gave it to you."

Sometimes, we pronounced Nicole that way for the fun of it.

"There will be no need. I already asked her. She didn't see it," I said quickly.

"How would you know? Mia has eagle eyes. She might have seen who picked it up. All she needs is a little prodding and begging. Come on." She moved on, expecting me to follow.

No way I would follow her there, right now. I knew her excuse to ask Mia was a lame attempt to see Asher. Every girl made up dumb reasons to hang around the field after school, just to watch him play or maybe get a chance to talk to him. Asher was her biggest crush, just like the other girls. Except me, of course. I saw nothing special about him.

"Will you run ahead then? I think I need to use the restroom." I told her.

"Same here. I need to freshen my makeup too." she replied, already turning around.

I slumped my shoulders in defeat. You've tried, girl. Just accept your fate.

Ten minutes later, we were ready to go. Regan had made me repack her hair even though it didn't need fixing. Her lips were glossier, her short skirt a few inches higher, and to crown it all, she had undone a few buttons down her blouse for some cleavage sake.

Lord have mercy on Asher.

I didn't give any hoot about my appearance. My messy bun was just perfect as far as I was concerned and my lips were just fine too.

"What about Lisa?" I asked. Lisa was her best friend and companion.

"Forget about her." She hissed. "She thinks she can fool me. She lied about having a stomach ache, just to visit the medical center, because Asher was there for a minor injury."

Oops. And she was mad at her for that?

"She knows I have a crush on him. She has a boyfriend already. I don't understand why she keeps forcing herself on him and still claims to be my friend." She snorted. "The only reason I'm heading to the field now is because of my watch, thanks to you. I could have been on my way home."

I made a silent scoff. Because of the watch indeed.

The moment we stepped into the field, I decided to keep things simple, avoid looking at the boys and focus on my feet or my phone. After all, he must have even forgotten a nobody like me ever texted."

I sighted Mia sitting with Nicole at a far corner of the field, chattering among themselves and watching the boys. Going to meet them would require me and Regan to walk through the field, under the full glare of everyone. Regan's perfect plan to get noticed. She even walked differently now, like a wobbly programmed doll, feeling like a runway model.

I toyed with the idea of pretending to be busy with my phone, but the thought of tripping blindly on the grass or over a player, haunted me. So I focused on my shoes instead.

When we were a few strides away from Mia, I heaved a huge sigh of relief. But I guess I heaved too soon.

"Grace Williams!"

Rather than stopping dead in my tracks, I pretended not to hear and quickened my steps, my pulse racing. For a guy whom I thought had no idea I existed, I wondered how he knew my full name.

To make matters worse, Asher jogged up to me, panting. He grabbed by free hand, since the other clutched my miserly school bag.

"Grace." He looked straight into my eyes. "Come on. You saw my text, didn't you?"

He pulled me along before I could protest. My heart pounded hard. His hands felt strong, and a bit clammy. Even though he was sweating, I could still catch a hint of his expensive cologne. This was the closest I had ever been to him. I had always watched him from afar like some untouchable TV celebrity.

When I looked back at Regan, all I saw was pure hate and fury. Like she was going to rip me apart and explode. Standing behind her were Mia and Nicole with dirty smiles on their faces.

What the hell... What could those girls have up their sleeves? And what was Asher up to? He couldn't possibly be playing nice for no reason.

"Listen, Asher, I'm sorry. It was a mistake. I didn't mean to text you." I said as he pulled me along. The game was still on. I couldn't believe he had just ditched it because of me.

"Liar, liar." He sang.

"Why would you think I'm lying?!" I snapped, irritated by him and the attention we were drawing. "We've never even said a word to each other, so why on earth would I randomly text you out of the blue?"

"You should know better."

We were already walking out of the field. When I looked back again, I found Mia, Nicole and Regan in a heated argument. He dragged me across the field and back into the building until we stopped in the hallway near the male locker room. I frowned.

"Wait for me here. I need to take a quick shower."

Before I could blink, he dumped a bag on me and I was forced to catch it. "That's my phone and laptop. Hold tight!" And just like that, he disappeared into the locker room, shutting the door behind him.

I really hated this because I hadn't even recovered from losing a wristwatch entrusted to me, and now this. I slid down the wall and sank to the floor, clutching the bag tightly. If his phone and laptop were really inside, and anything happened to them, my life would officially be over because I knew they would cost over a thousand bucks.

I must have sat there thinking and staring into space for about ten minutes when Matt, Asher's best friend showed up.

"Hey, you." He snapped his fingers to get my attention. "Thanks. You can hand it over now. It's not your baby. The owner needs it."

"Tell him to come get it himself." I mumbled icily.

Matt chuckled, taking big strides towards me. "What if he doesn't want to?"

"Then he can bid it farewell."

He stooped low in front of me now, and for dumb reasons I couldn't explain, my heart began to race. Matt wasn't quite different from Asher in looks. They were both tall, athletic and annoyingly attractive, with the perfect abs and muscles. But Asher had full long dark hair, which he always left to fall over his face, while Matt's hair was cute and spiky. I felt like running my hand over it so they flew in more different directions.

"One word of advice, gal." He lowered his voice. "Don't join the throng of girls forcing themselves on him. It's never going to do you any good. Not when you're not in his league."

Okay. This was actually the most hurtful word I've heard today.

"Can I have it now?" He tugged gently at the bag.

I sprang to my feet with anger and indignation, then smacked him repeatedly on the head with the bag while he struggled to rise. I must have hit him about five times before it dawned on me that I could be doing damage to the phone and laptop, then halted instantly.

"What the heck?! Are you crazy?!" He yelled at me, trying to regain his composure.

"You must be the crazy one for using those stupid lines on me!" I shot back. "And listen carefully! I will rather die, than force myself on spoilt jerks who think life is all about drinks and girls. I find them utterly worthless!" I finally flung the bag at him and then stormed off.

I had barely taken a few strides when a familiar steel voice stopped me.

"Grace."

I turned around with an equally steel stare at the caller.

Asher.

He had just come out of the locker room. His hair, dripping wet, fell over his face. He wore a fitted shirt with the top buttons undone, revealing those annoyingly perfect abs that did something unsettling to my stomach.

I refused to let it leave an impression on me.

It did though.

"Do you realize the gravity of what you just did to the devices in that bag?" Asher demanded in an unusual calm tone.

My hard stare melted at the spot. Oh no. I swallowed hard. "Really?"

"Come have a look." He commanded.

My gaze wandered to Matt, and then back to Asher. I did a quick calculation. With the small distance between us, if I turned around now, I would be able to run off even if they chased me. I mean, what if they tried to hurt me in the process of going ahead to "see" the devices.

"Are you coming or not?" Asher growled, looking angrier.

"I'm sorry. No." I muttered firmly in an innocent tone. "I gotta go now. I'll see you tomorrow. Just send me the bills for the damage." Without waiting for a response, I turned and bolted, scurrying off like a mouse.

They chased me.

Runner runner. Good thing I had great legs.

And a smarter brain too.

I flew down the stairs with ease, by sliding down the handrails, a skill I had acquired as a kid with my brother, Faith. I chuckled, hearing the stomps of their boots. Weaklings.

The moment I landed, I slipped under the staircase and hid. Seconds later, they rushed past at full speed.

I chuckled.

I won!

Didn't they say he who flees a fight, lives to fight another day? I don't remember exactly how it goes though, and I don't care. But one thing was sure. Tomorrow is another day. I might have the energy to deal with them then.

I felt so worked up and didn't dare to return to the field or exit the school just yet. Instead, I found my way back upstairs to the restroom, to buy myself some time. I sat on the closed toilet seat feeling depressed, and had a good cry. I must have dozed off crying because when I finally opened my eyes, I realized it was already dark to my horror.

On my way home, I rehearsed several lines in my head for Regan, but none of them made sense. I gave up trying and rather decided to seek solace in Nicole's words; Regan won't put a bullet to my head.

Regan's dad, a sweet guy, and my mum's elder brother, was the one who opened the door for me, but he was on a call. The rest of the house looked empty, so in relief, I made for my room immediately. However, I was greeted by a surprise the moment I turned on the light switch.

Regan was seated on my bed, legs crossed, as if she was in a yoga meditation.

"So you have a thing with Asher? How long has it been?"

I rolled my eyes, pulling off my bag as I flung it to space. "I have nothing to do with idiots like him, Regan. Please lay off. I'm tired." I began to undress, but she didn't budge.

"Mia told me you sent him a text, asking to hang out."

I said nothing, determined not to indulge her.

"Don't you dare ignore me, Grace!" She raised her voice.

Heck! What was this? "What if I do?"

"I will make sure you regret it." She came down from the bed now and walked up to me with slow steps like a cat, waiting for an opportunity to prance on its prey. It was till she came closer, I realized she was recording me.

I grabbed the closest thing next to me immediately, my skirt, covering my chest. "What exactly are you doing, Reg?!"

She gave me a bitter smile. "If you don't tell me the truth. This video is going to the class group in five seconds."

I was totally exasperated at this point. "What freaking truth? I told you I have nothing to do with that jerk!"

"Make me believe you then. Call him."

She brought the camera closer to me, but thankfully, I still had my undies on, and my skirt was doing a great job till the bills Mia gave me fell out.

My heart literally dropped this time. I ducked down to pick them immediately, as Regan tried to beat me to it. She grabbed three hundred dollar bills, while I was able to grab the remaining two.

"Where did you get this from?"

"You can have it. It's for your missing wristwatch."

"I asked you a question, Grace."

"I stole it. If you don't want it, you can return it." I muttered coldly.

"So you slept with Asher for five hundred bucks?"

Okay, this was the height of it.

"Get out." I ordered, gesturing at the door.

"What? Excuse me?"

For a response, I grabbed her by the hair, shoved her out the door, slammed it shut and locked it.

I went to bed without food that night. Despite all the entreaties by my aunt to open the door, I didn't budge. I had enough for the day already.

I did a lot of thinking as I laid on the bed with my growling stomach. Regan treated me the way she did because my family practically lived at their mercy.

I grew up in a small town in Minnesota. My parents own a few farms where we plant corn and soybeans. But three years ago, we had the worst harvest ever. Uncle Pete, Regan's dad, who came visiting, suggested I follow him to Michigan and school with his daughter, to ease my family off some burden because we were four kids in all, of which I was the eldest. Of course I agreed. And here I have been.

Thing is... Regan never welcomed me because she saw me as a local country girl who came to steal her dad and invade her perfect life.

Regan was registered into our current school, Blue Lake High, by her mum's elder sister, Aunt Elena, who had no child of her own and considered Regan as hers. She was a very rich and influential lady from what I heard, a successful YouTuber and a dentist.

I made it via scholarship the previous year, thanks to her dad, and it totally got on her nerves. Though she was a year older, we were classmates. Yet, she sought every little opportunity to belittle or bully me. Heck. It was so exhausting. But I was willing to put up with her till I got my diploma. At least that was the wisest thing to do.

I didn't realize when I dozed off, but when I opened my eyes the next morning, it was past nine.

"Shit! Algebra starts by nine!" I exclaimed, dashing out of the bed and out of my room only to walk into my aunt, Cecil, who sipped coffee at the dinning. Lord. I dreaded the woman. She was way worse than her daughter.

"You know, I'm actually reconsidering your stay in this house." She began cooly.

My gaze flicked to the clock. "Please.. can we do this later? I'm super..."

"Late." She finished for me. "Yeah, obviously. Exactly why you shouldn't bother going today. There's no point." I watched her take another sip of the coffee.

"But if I really hurry I could..."

"Forget it!" she snapped, slamming her cup down with a loud thud. "I never imagined in my wildest dreams that my husband would bring home a country bumpkin from nowhere to harass my daughter."

My heart dropped. Her words re-echoed in my ears. A country bumpkin from nowhere. I bit my lower lip to curtail my countenance. I won't let her see me break down. She tossed a list at me.

"Go get these items from the store." She rose to her feet. "And next time, you should know better than to attack my daughter and wake up late."

With that, she grabbed her handbag and left for work. She worked as a designer in an upcoming fashion house. But I never got a single new clothing from her, except her husband, uncle Pete decided to advocate for me, and when I usually did, it would be a hand me down or thrift store clothing.

Phew. Not like I cared. As long as I was strong and healthy, I was fine.

I half opened my mouth when I stared at the list. It was an endless one for grocery shopping.

And I was to do it alone.

An hour later, after eating and getting ready, I was about to leave when my phone buzzed with texts.

Miami Harp, 10:15am : Where the hell are you? What on earth did you do to Asher yesterday? He's been looking everywhere for you!

I frowned. Mia has never texted me. This was a first.

"Didn't I tell the idiot to send me the bills?" I muttered to myself angrily without bothering to reply her. That was when I saw the texts Asher had dropped earlier.

Jerk, 8:50am: Where are you?

Jerk, 8:52am: Grace Williams?

Jerk, 8:55am: Are you ignoring my texts now?

Jerk, 9:10am: Are you so shit scared you can't rear your ugly head or even reply my messages?

Ugly head? Not me. Somehow, the words bit me down a bit. It's not like I wanted a jerk like him to find me attractive, but him seeing me as something far from beautiful wasn't going to help my pride or morale.

I sent a rolling eyes emoji.

Good Grace, 10:18am: Tomorrow, dude.

I smirked as I hit the send button, then switched off my phone. If he thought he was a king ruling over everyone, then I would play a very big role in humbling him. Afterall, I already promised to pay for the damage. Even though I had absolutely no idea how.

The shopping actually took longer than I anticipated, and by the time I was done, it was two in the afternoon. I was so exhausted I thought I might collapse on the sidewalk. By the time I was about to leave the convenience store I went to get the last set of items I needed, it was swarming with a lot of customers. I pitied the elderly woman at the counter who looked overwhelmed. Her assistant was absent and she didn't seem able to handle all the customers. I felt a nudge to stay back and help.

"Do you need any help?" I asked her.

"Sure. I would appreciate." She replied eagerly. After dropping my bags aside, I got to work. While she handled payments, I packaged items and restocked shelves from the supply room. I worked non-stop for the next hour and a half until the crowd thinned. The woman was genuinely pleased.

"Thank you so much, dearie. You are an angel." She cooed when I told her I was leaving. "My shop attendant suddenly bailed on me because her mum fell sick."

My mind raced. What if my mum or dad suddenly fell sick too?

"Are you in a hurry to leave? Won't you have lunch at least?"

To this request, I couldn't decline. After all, my aunt won't be home till night and there was no point rushing home to that cranky girl called Regan. Fresh ideas bobbed my head as I had my taquitos with fountain soda. I wondered how many jobs I might have to work before I would be able to pay off my debts to Asher, if he was really serious about the damaged whatsoever.

I had three options. The first was to play another stupid deal with Mia Harper. The second was to agree on certain terms and conditions with Asher, which could be to do assignments for him and run errands for a period of time. The last option was to work my ass off and pay him till the money was complete.

I groaned in frustration. All the options were so stupid and impossible. I needed to start saving up for college as early as possible, not to save up for a rich fool all because of a mistake that was never my fault.

"Grace, are you there?"

I heard the elderly woman call. I hurried to her instantly. Had she been calling?

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you calling." I apologized meekly on approaching her.

"It's nothing, dear. I just wanted you to have this." She handed me some dollar bills but I shook my head. I helped her because I pitied her, not for monetary gain.

"It's fine. You don't have to pay me. You gave me free lunch already. I only wanted to help."

"And this is only a token of my appreciation." She insisted, dumping the money on me. I was about to let out another protest when her phone rang. She picked it up immediately, let out a sad sigh after a moment and hung up.

"Is everything okay?"

She sighed again, staring at a cup of noodles she had just heated. "I was going to give that to my boy who told me he was on his way. Now he's saying he can't make it. I don't eat noodles."

My eyes glistened. The soda and taquitos didn't do great justice to my hunger.

"Now it would be such a bad waste." She moaned.

"Not while I'm here. I love noodles." I sang sharply.

Three minutes later, I was back at the table, enjoying the noodles, pleased with my luck. I was halfway through when I heard her bubbling voice again.

"Bennie darling. Were you going to surprise me? Didn't you say you wouldn't make it?"

I couldn't see them from where I sat because I had picked a table away from the entrance. So I was invisible, except someone decided to walk in.

"You wouldn't believe it. An angel came to help me out today. You know Marie's mum fell ill."

"Oh really? That's cool. Who was it?"

I heard a masculine voice ask. For some reason, I thought it sounded familiar but I brushed it off.

"She is still here. She was so helpful, sweet and humble. She even refused the little money I offered."

I blushed at the compliments and wished I was out already. The 'little money' was a hundred bucks. Funny how I made three hundred bucks in two days without any hassle. But it hurt deeply to think that I would use it to pay for damages that weren't my fault at all.

"Are you okay?" I heard her ask him. "You look moody."

"Nothing much. Just a poor hopeless nobody at school who ruined my devices yesterday and decided to ghost me today."

"Oh, that's so terrible of him." She mulled in anger. "You shouldn't play calm. Get him arrested if possible."

"Forget it, Nana. I know just what to do."

"Some kids just ruin things out of jealousy and hatred, without minding the cost. You shouldn't take them lightly." She continued.

"Grace!"

I heard her call after a moment.

Good thing I was nearly done with my meal. I rushed it now.

"Grace!" She called again.

I tried not to choke as I swallowed the last forkful. Time to go. I grabbed my old purse and hurried to her. "You called." I said when I got to her, surprised to see she was alone.

"I wanted you to meet my grandson. He just stepped out this minute." She said, craning her neck at the door. "Oh, there he is."

I looked back and almost stiffened.

Asher?

Lord have mercy.

He was her grandson? Bennie?

And I'm the poor hopeless nobody?