Only Fools - Chapter 5: Chapter 5

"A C+!" I almost shout as I look down at the test that was just handed back to me. Tori lets out a snort in front of me, and I just roll my eyes at her.
"I don't think you're one to talk here Miss D-," I tell her.
"I'm not the one who needs to be getting good grades in this class, Miss Academic Scholarship,"
"Oh, shut up," I say as I glance back down at the test laying on top of my desk.
"It's just that you were so close, and yet so far. What did you need? A B?"
"Shut up, Tori,"
"Sorry, Cap.... You know I love you,"
"That's what you claim," I say as I narrow my eyes at her.
Glancing back down at my paper, I notice the words "Come see me after school" are circled in red ink, and I wouldn't even have to show up to know what's coming next.
As the bell rings, signaling the end of class, I nearly jump out of my seat.
"But jumpy there, Cap. You good?" Tori asks me with a laugh.
"Oh, fuck off,"
Mr. Todd clears his throat at the front of the room as he raises an eyebrow in response to my language. I just smile sheepishly at him before rushing out of the classroom. As I turn the corner to head to my next class, I immediately spot someone who should be on the other side of the school at the moment.
"Ivy?"
Ivy sends me a small smile before quickly walking over to me.
"You know you're on the wrong side of the school right? At this rate, if none of the dumb fucks they call 'freshmen' get in your way, you might make it to class," I joke, trying to test exactly how sad Ivy is at the moment. If she laughs or glares at me for my language choice, it's not that bad, but if she doesn't....
Ivy just sniffles from beside me, and I look over at her to see tears welling in her eyes. Widening my eyes, I immediately grab her wrist and tug her along behind me into the bathroom, not the closest one, the one that I know will be vacant so that no one else gets to see Ivy cry, because that's one thing that I know she would rather not have happen. As she enters the bathroom in tow behind me, I release her wrist as I quickly check the stalls to make sure no one else is in here, even if it is unlikely. After finding them all to be empty, I turn back around to face her and instantly notice that the tears aren't just welling in her eyes anymore but sliding down her cheeks. Letting out a sob, she throws herself towards me and I immediately wrap my arms around her to steady her.
"Hey, it's ok, Ivy. Everything is going to be ok," I reassure her quietly as I rub circles on her back. As I continue to mutter words of reassurance, she begins to settle down and her sobs are reduced to simple sniffles. Pulling away from her, I give her a smile as I look into her eyes. They're red and blotchy from crying but still manage to be absolutely beautiful.
Using the palm of my hand, I gently wipe away the tears from her cheeks and tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
"Thanks, Aspen," she says quietly.
"It's seriously no problem, grasshopper," I tell her.
"I know, but you're missing class right now to deal with me, and I know how much you enjoy design,"
"Seriously, Ivy. It's fine. Now, are you going to tell me what's wrong?"
Ivy lets out a sniffle and nods slowly in response.
"Ok. But you have to give me a minute to explain because it's going to sound stupid at first,"
"Ivy. If there's something bothering you this much, then it's not going to be stupid,"
"Alright. Well, there's just so much going on. I mean, I'm captain of the football team, right? That means that I'm the one who needs to lead my team to the championship. Heck, they trust me to be able to do that for some reason. I just.... I can't let them down. Then there's the added pressure of being the only girl on the team. I mean, I have to play perfectly all the time to even be considered a valuable team member, not to even mention a starting player and the captain...." Ivy trails off as she glances down at her feet. Lightly, I place my hand on her shoulder and give it a reassuring squeeze, encouraging her to go on. She nods slowly as she takes in a deep breath and then shakily exhales.
"And then my family, I love them to death, I swear, but I need a break! If I have to work on adding and subtracting fractions with Mitch one more time.... I am going to scream. Like, I love him to pieces, but I use a calculator for that crap so I'm really just as confused as he is.... And I honestly don't think I could handle tearing apart another one of Isla and Ivan's fights. I truly do not care who ate the last gogurt and am debating just letting them go at it. They're twelve year olds with noodle arms and low pain tolerance. The fight would be over in a minute, and the bruises would be gone in a day. I mean, does that make me a bad sister for all this? It's just that with football and school and work and now my siblings constant demands.... you, Aspen, are just the lucky one who gets to see me when I break,"
Not knowing how to respond, I pull Ivy back into a hug, hoping that this moment of serenity actually means something to her.
"I am always here for you, Ivy. I hope that you know that," I whisper to her, not wanting to completely break the comfortable silence between us.
"I know, Aspen. Of course I know that," she whispers back.
"Good. Because that's never going to change,"
We stay silent for a few minutes before she pulls out of the hug and looks back down at her feet. As she raises her head back up to look at me, I can't say that I've ever wanted to kiss someone more than I do now. Even with tears stained on her cheeks and her eyelashes clumped together, she still manages to look perfect. As another tear escapes from her eye and rolls down her cheek, it takes all of my willpower to not lean forward and capture it with my lips. All I can manage is to simply look away. She sniffles softly, calling my attention back to her as she wipes her eyes. Putting on a small smile, she tilts her head and I almost have to look away again.
"I'm sorry, this whole time we've been talking about my problems. You got your test back today, right? How did you do?" she asks me.
And as much as I hate lying to her, I know that she doesn't need yet another thing to worry about.
So I put on my most believable fake smile, and I answer her, "I did fine. Don't worry about me,"
I pull her into another hug to stop further questions and as she melts into my arms, I squeeze her even tighter. I'll always be here for her. And I want to make sure that she knows that.
————
The rest of the day passes by in a blur and before I know it, I'm stepping back into Mr. Todd's classroom, well almost. Before I can actually pass through the doorway, I suddenly run into someone and am nearly knocked to the ground. I, however, regain my balance and thankfully don't make too much of a fool of myself.
"I am so sorry,"
Upon hearing their shaking voice, I glance up to see a quivering freshman with a notebook clutched tightly against her chest. She must have forgotten it in the room and just came back to get it.
"Hey, you're fine," I say with a soft, reassuring smile. That was nice enough right? But then again not overly nice to the point where she makes fun of me with her friends about it later?
My thoughts are suddenly cut off by the girl's smile that's shyly sent my way before she scurries off down the hall. With a sigh, I actually step through the doorway to see an all too familiar girl with a smirk playing on her lips, standing next to Mr. Todd.
"Oh. So you're just clumsy then? I really thought that what we had was something special," the girl says rather dramatically as she places a hand over her chest.
Mr. Todd looks between us for a few seconds with obvious confusion clear upon his face.
"So you two already know each other then?" he asks.
"I guess you could say that we've run into each other a couple times," the girl says, sending a wink in my direction. An unauthorized smile makes its way onto my face at her comment and as the memories come rushing back.
"I'm Margot. Margot May," the girl says as she steps forward and outstretches her hand for me to shake.
"Aspen Grayson," I say as I quickly shake her hand.
"Yeah. Don't worry. I know who you are. You're pretty popular around here, Miss Grayson,"
I roll my eyes at her and open my mouth to respond, but Mr. Todd suddenly cuts me off.
"Hey, girls. If you could figure out when you are going to meet up for tutoring in the hallway, that would be great. I have a student who is coming in to take a test, and they'll need silence,"
"Yeah. Of course, Mr. Todd," Margot gives him a small wave as I nod my head in agreement with her. After exiting the classroom, we walk down the hallway a bit before I decide to speak.
"So...."
"Seriously? The girl with the fucking academic scholarship needs me to tutor her?" Margot asks me sarcastically as she stops to lean sideways up against the lockers.
"Jesus, keep it down," I hiss back at her. She begins to open her mouth, but pauses for a minute as she begins to look around us in an obviously exaggerated manner.
"Alright. Because I'm assuming that you don't want your imaginary friends to hear? Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Snuggles, that you had to learn something new about your BFF today,"
"Actually, I was hoping that all the spirits in this school wouldn't overhear you. Now I just know that they're going to be cracking jokes tomorrow. At least I'm now prepared for when my books are randomly pushed out of my hands or the chalk seemingly lifts itself and leaves a nice message on the chalkboard for me," I say rolling my eyes. As I look back at Margot, I can't help but notice a ghost of a smile on her face, which then vanishes almost as quickly as it appeared.
"Alright. Whatever. I'll do it," she says with a shrug.
"Really? Just like that?" I ask her excitedly, practically jumping up and down.
"Well, I'm going to need something in return," she says, a smirk playing on her lips. I let out a sigh as the last of the words escape her mouth.
"I thought Mr. Todd was going to give you extra credit for doing this. Isn't that enough?"
"I'm already acing the class. What's a few points of extra credit really going to do?"
"What's a few points of extra credit really going to do," I say in a higher voice, mocking her under my breath.
Margot raises an eyebrow in amusement which causes for me to smile sheepishly.
"What is it?" I ask her.
"Well, you're close friends with Naomi Paine, right?" Margot asks, almost as if still wrapped up in her own thoughts. I nod my head slowly in response, even though I'm ninety-nine percent sure she was just asking it as a rhetorical question.
"And is there any way that you could get a key to the school?"
"Sure.... wait. Why?"
"I'll tell you later. Just meet me here tomorrow at 10pm with the key and don't be late,"
With that said, Margot then pushes herself off of the lockers and turns on her heel to begin to walk away from me, however the sound of my voice causes her to stop.
"What if I'm late?"
Slowly, Margot turns around to look at me with one eyebrow raised.
"Well, how badly do you want to keep that scholarship?"
With that, she turns back around and I just have to glare at the back of her head as she walks away.