They thanked Mrs. Baker and took the schedules. Noah looked at the girl he now knew was called Destiny but she did not look the least bit pleased at the recent turn of events. Mrs. Baker placed a hand on Destiny’s shoulder and she looked at them as she said, “Would you wait for Destiny out in the hall for a couple of minutes? I just need to talk to her quickly. And don’t worry, she will bring permission slips for you so you won’t have any problems if you are late to your next class.”
Noah dragged his feet as he headed after his sister and the other girl. He lingered at the doorway until his sister looked at him pointedly and pulled his sleeve. He had no choice but to shut the door behind him and they stood in the hallway looking at each other.
“So, how exactly does one become a guide? Are you getting paid for it?” Natalie asked.
Stella shook her head as she said, “Oh not at all. It is part of extra credit. Anyway, it’s not like I need the extra credit, just doing this for fun. I love meeting new people. Now Rags, she is the one that needs the extra credit, she needs all the best scores and points from extracurricular activities she can get if she wants to maintain her scholarship.”
“Rags?” Noah asked through gritted teeth.
“Uh huh, the shabbily dressed oaf in there. I mean, did you see those shoes? Jeez, good shoes are the basic, right? And do you wanna know what gets me riled up more? It’s the fact that she thinks she is all that. Ever since she jumped sixth grade and joined us in the seventh, she has been the youngest in our class and she thinks that makes her special. Well, it doesn’t stop the annoying brat from being such a loser,” Stella said with an eye roll.
“Doesn’t one being accelerated in class mean that the person is extra smart?” Natalie asked as she placed a calming hand on her brother’s shoulder.
“Yea, whatever,” Stella said with an eye roll. It was clear that she was defeated by the argument and had nothing else that she wanted to say to strengthen her stand.
Noah opened his mouth to speak when the door to the class opened and Destiny stepped out. Wordlessly, she handed them their permission slips and the rude way that Stella grabbed it from her hand did not go unnoticed by Noah.
“We have History now, what do you have?” Stella asked.
“We have…”
Destiny started saying when Stella cut in as she glared at her and said, “I wasn’t talking to you Rags. You should remember your position.” Stella turned sweetly to Noah and she asked, “So Noah, what class do you have now?”
Noah looked directly at his sister and he said, “We have Science now. Why don’t we meet up for lunch? I believe there is a cafeteria.”
“Oh yes there is, you won’t have to eat with this loser during lunch, trust me. She can sit beside the garbage cans where she belongs, as usual,” Stella said, still glaring at Destiny.
Noah’s blazing grey eyes moved from Stella to Destiny and the anger he felt melted away as he watched her swallow hard. She looked up at him and said, “We are already late. We should get going. Excuse me.”
Noah nodded at his twin and she placed a hand on his shoulder before she let him go. Their eyes met and a message was passed in the gaze. He followed Destiny, amazed at how brisk her steps were despite her little frame. He was feeling a mix of different raging emotions as he followed her into the class. On one hand, he wanted to shut the mouths of everyone who seemed to have something mean to say about her just because she was not as fortunate as them, something that was no fault of hers. And on the other hand, he wanted to pull her into a hug and whisper to her that they were all assholes, the lot of them who chose to be mean to her.
He settled down in the seat next to her, content to just watch her and take in her every action, completely oblivious to the fact that the teacher just walked into the class.
CHAPTER SEVEN
DESTINY
Mr. Robbs stopped at the center of the class and he smiled broadly. The sheaf of booklets in his hands did not go unnoticed by the class and the murmurs began instantly. He walked around and as he did, he dropped a booklet on the respective owner’s desk. He spoke as he shared the booklets.
“While some of you did excellently well, there are the select few who performed woefully,” he said. At the sound of the last statement, the class broke into an uproar. He looked from one side of the class to the other, his eyes rested on a particular side and he said, “I know what you are thinking, who cares how well you do in Science when there is a job waiting for you in your father’s firm or rather, the reins are just waiting to be handed to you when you come of age.”
At that, the hoots in the class increased and there were replies of, “Yea! Yea! So true!”
“Well, I hear you but then ask yourselves if those employees will want a dumb dropout for a boss. At least, being a smart dropout is better, right?”
The hoots changed to murmurs and mocking sounds as the class broke into a riot once more. Destiny sighed and she leaned back in her seat. She was used to this scenario already. Mr. Robbs stopped in front of Destiny and he smiled as he set her booklet down on her desk. She smiled back at the man and pulled her booklet towards her as he walked on. The bright red 100 jumped out at her.
“Good job,” a voice said beside her and she turned to look at Noah. He was smiling at her and his grey eyes were very bright.
She swallowed hard and said softly, “Thank you.”
She turned back to the class and tried to concentrate without thinking about the guy that was seated next to her. She could not understand how she was feeling and she shook her head hoping that it would clear out the fuzziness.
From one class to the other, the pair moved and finally during lunch time, they headed to the cafeteria.
“Oh come on, don’t tell me Rags has to sit with us!” Damian said with a groan.
Damian was the male version of Megan. No one seemed to be able decide who was more important, Megan or Damian.
Destiny sighed. The only reason they had approached the table is because his sister who was sitting there with her guide, Stella, had waved them over. “Come on, you don’t have to sit with her, all right? Just keep her at her usual table besides the trash alright? Come sit with us, man.”
Destiny turned around to move away but she felt Noah’s grasp on her arm. She looked up at him in surprise.
He smiled at her, a smile that caused butterflies to go wild in her stomach. In a low tone, he said, “Come on, sit with me, alright?”
Speechless, Destiny let him pull a chair out for her and Destiny sat down in it. She could not understand what was going on and was still trying to comprehend why this stranger was being so nice to her. She was so used to the rich kids being snobs and mean to her. Destiny raised her head up and she saw the girl Natalie smile at her.
The grumblings settled down a few minutes later and they settled into random discussions. Destiny was smart enough to keep her mouth shut and not even get the least bit involved so she was very surprised when she heard her name.
She looked up to see Noah smiling at her as he said, “So, Destiny, what are the cool spots here in Aqua Vale?”
“Well, there is a really cool place that opened up almost two weeks ago, The Sun Café and it is really fancy and…”
“Oh please, did you just mention the word, ‘fancy’ Rags? What do you know about that word? If fancy hits you smack-dab in the face, will you recognize it?” one of the others, Dana said with an eye roll.
Destiny swallowed hard and she blinked hard. She quietly turned back to her sole bottle of water. She raised her head as soon as she heard Noah speaking. Their eyes met and he held their gaze as he continued, “I am very much interested in Destiny’s opinion and if she says it’s a cool place, then I am really looking forward to going there.”
“Oh come on Noah, I am pretty sure that this so-called fancy place is some greasy one-dime hole in a wall that she works at,” Lillian, a black girl said as she flipped her straightened hair.
“And you are right,” D
estiny said strongly as she looked squarely at Lillian. She would never be embarrassed of what she did, “I actually do work there.”
Lillian glared at her and she gaped like a fish. Damian chuckled and he said, “Sure, why don’t we go check out the dump guys? Then, Noah will realize the trash that he has a guide.”
Destiny sighed and turned to Noah. “Please excuse me. I’ll meet you at the door to the cafeteria once the bell goes if you don’t mind.”
Destiny stood up and she was at the door when she felt a light tap on her arm and she turned around to see him.
“Where are you heading to? Let’s go together.” He grinned at her.
“Uh…” Destiny looked him over and her eyes rested on the sandwich bag in his hands. “Food is really not allowed where we are going. I mean, where I’m going.”
He grinned and leaned an arm against the edge of the door as he said, “The sandwich is for you and I am glad that you agree that I am going with you.”
“Sandwich? What sandwich? Why?”
“Turkey sandwich. Trust me, it is absolutely delicious. You have got to try it. It will go very well with your water.”
Destiny found herself chuckling and he chuckled as well. He finally stopped chuckling and just stared at her and she shrugged, “What?”
“You have an amazing smile. I really wish you’ll smile more often.”
Destiny bit her lips softly as she suddenly felt nervous. She shook her head and she said, “I’m headed to the library. Eating is not allowed there.”
“Great, then you can eat it before then, what do you say?” He winked at her and she smiled again as she accepted the bag that he held.
“Thanks. Why are you doing this though?”
“Why shouldn’t I do this?” he smiled wider. Destiny nodded and she tilted her head towards the direction of the library.
“Shall we?”
“Great.”
And he was right. The sandwich was very delicious. She ate it as they walked to the library. Every now and then she stole glances at him and every single time, she saw that his eyes were still on her. By the time they got to the door of the library, the bell was going off.
“Ooh, I guess we will have to take a raincheck on our library visit,” Noah said and Destiny nodded.
“I’ll lead the way to our next class then.”
As soon as the final bell went, the chairs scraped across the floor as all the students jumped to their feet as they hurried out of the class. As usual, Destiny was the first out of the class. She ran down the halls as usual and was out the front doors in a flash. She was very surprised when she felt a light touch. And she swerved around.
“Noah?” I thought I was out of the class before anyone noticed. When did he leave the class? When did he catch up with me? Was he following me? How did he find his way around the complex maze of halls so easily after moving through the halls for just one day? How come I never heard his footfalls behind me? The halls are still not crowded. Destiny asked herself the questions as she looked up at him, dazed.
“You’re fast, very fast,” he said in an impressed tone.
“Uh and you are too, kinda fast, I mean. Do you need something? My job ends at the school doors you know.” She shook herself out of her daze, not asking any of the questions that was swirling in her mind.
“I wanted to offer you a ride. We are headed to the Sun Café after all. That is the name, right?”
“Yes, that is the name. But it’s fine, really. I have to get to work early. I have to get going.”
“I’ll see you there then?” he said it more as a question than a statement.
“Sure,” Destiny nodded, already hurrying off.
As soon as she got to the café, she threw on her apron and got to work. She was attending to the upper floor today. It was mostly used for corporate dinners and business lunches. It was perfect because it was away from all the fun and ruckus of the lower floor. As she walked towards a table of customers with a tray of appetizers, she smiled as she walked past a picture on the wall. It had a picture of a cup of coffee, a sheaf of papers and a pen, all on a table. Below the table in the picture were the words, Close that Deal over a Sun Café Coffee.
She delivered her orders and hurried to the next table. For the first thirty minutes, she was very busy. As she headed down to make some orders, she heard some voices she was all too familiar with - Havana Academy brats. She swallowed hard before she stepped out into view. Seeing that the table was already being attended to by another server, Kimberly, a high-schooler like her and a Canadian with wavy shoulder-length brown hair, she breathed in relief and hurried to the kitchen to give the orders.
Just as she stepped out, her attention was drawn to the table again because Damian had made himself the center of attention. She sighed as she walked closer to them, taking in the conversation.
“Oh come on, Noah. I can’t believe you’re asking this poor tramp what she will recommend for you. What do you think her taste will be? Certainly not refined like ours. Jeez!” That was Damian.
“And hey, where’s Rags? Probably for the first time ever, she was right about something being fancy. She’s really not too bright in other ways,” said Damian’s best friend, Ben.
Destiny’s eyes found Noah and she could see his eyes darkening. But why? She wondered.
“Are you ready to make your order now?” Kimberly asked quietly.
“Well, you are so inefficient aren’t you?” Damian snapped.
Destiny hurried over and grabbed Kimberly. She had just worked with Kimberly for a week but she knew that she was short-tempered and despised rude people.
“Ah, here’s Rags!”
Destiny pasted a smile on and she said, “Why don’t you all decide what you want to order? We’ll be right back.”
She pulled Kimberly away to a quiet corner of the crowded café.
“Are you the one that they’re calling Rags? They are such bastards!”
“They are not all so bad. The dark-haired guy and girl are really nice, especially the guy; at least I think so,” Destiny heard herself say.
Kimberly narrowed her eyes and she crossed her arms. “They go to your school, don’t they?”
Destiny shrugged. “Yeah, and I made the mistake of telling them about the café. Although honestly, I don’t regret it too much. They are more business for Miss Cathy so I didn’t think about how cruel they are. Look, I’m sorry. How about I attend to them? You can take my tables and…”
“No way am I letting that happen. You have to go to school with those jerks. I won’t let you suffer them here as well. Go on, I’ll handle it.”
“Please, please tolerate them. I really don’t want you to lose your job. Please,” Destiny pleaded.
“Fine, for you, I’ll behave.”
Destiny chuckled. “Thanks.”
She watched Kimberly return to the table, then she returned to the kitchen to pick the orders. She returned from the upper level with an empty tray and she swallowed hard when she saw Noah walking towards her.
“Hi, aren’t you going to join us and hang out?”
Destiny’s smile slipped and her eyes hardened as she said, “In case it’s not obvious, I’m working and that means, I can’t just hang out. But you probably don’t know what working means, right?”
“Destiny, I...” he stammered.
“I need to get back to my work. Excuse me.” Destiny turned around and stalked off, not sparing a look back. Of course, he’s just like them. How dare he ask me to hang out seeing all too well that I’m working? But of course that’s not important to him. He’s probably used to people at his beck and call. Well not me!
She slammed the door of the kitchen and the chef looked up in shock. She smiled her apology and sighed as she filled her tray. So much for a new friend.
CHAPTER EIGHT
NOAH
He sighed as he looked after her. He heard his name and he looked back to see Damian waving him over. “Come on man, what do you ha
ve to say to that trash?”
Noah's hands formed fists on his sides. He stalked towards the table but just as he got there, he caught his sister’s eye and she shook her head subtly. He sighed as he freed his fingers from the fists and settled into the seat he had occupied earlier. He pasted a smile on and spoke to the waitress whose nametag read Kimberly.
“What do you think of the Maple-Walnut blend milkshake?”
Her lips turned up in a smile as she said, “It’s absolutely amazing, trust me.”
“All right. I’ll have that and a slice of carrot cake.”
“Great,” Kimberly said as she took down his orders on a little notepad. She turned to Natalie who was ready and waiting.
“I’ll have a Chicken Caesar salad and a mixed berry milkshake. Thanks.”
Kimberly turned to the other six at the table. When she finally got to Damian, he said, “Let’s see, can I have you on a platter, nude with a dribble of maple syrup?”
Noah rolled his eyes as the others broke into laughter.
“Nice one man!” Ben cheered as he gave him a high-five.
The girl cleared her throat. “Excuse me? If you don’t know what to order, it would be best if you simply don’t say anything. That was very improper.”
“Or what?” Damian snapped. He jumped to his feet, glaring at her as he leaned in. “You really should be glad that I even deem you worthy to see nude you peasant.”
Noah stood up. “I think that’s enough, Damian.”
“What do you think you are, huh?” Damian snapped as he grabbed her around her waist and pulled her close. She shoved at him, trying to get out of his hold as he nuzzled her. Noah and another customer pulled him away from her. He called after her, “Bitch!”
“That was harassment Damian,” Noah told him quietly as they regained their seats.
Damian waved his protests away. “Oh forget that man. She’s a slut. She can do nothing.”
Just then, two uniformed guards approached their table and asked Damian to go with them. After a few protests, he headed off with them. A few minutes later, all their orders were brought and they dug in. Noah kept interrupting his food looking out for Destiny and the waitress. He hoped they were both okay. He had offended Destiny and the moron Damian had really hurt the girl. Just as they were all asking for seconds, Damian stormed towards them, his voice at full volume and flanked by the men who had left with him earlier.
Destiny: BWWM High School Romance Page 6