Waking up to the sound of someone knocking on my bedroom door, I checked the time and realized I was already late for school.

“Gosh! Not again.”

I yanked myself out of the spacious bed and quickly headed to the bathroom.

Whoever was knocking had full access to the room to come in and do their duties. I knew it was the maids, they always came in eventually when they got tired of waiting for my orders.

I brushed my teeth, took a warm shower and headed out of the bathroom to get dressed for school.

Isabella greeted me as she arranged my uniform and other school materials. I responded and asked if Franklin had already left for school. 

“I left young master in the dining room having breakfast,” she said, then asked if I wanted my food packaged for school or if I would eat in the dining room too.

“I... I think he might be done eating by now, right? I need to get ready before he finishes. Package mine!” I ordered. Before I knew it, she bowed and scurried out of the room.

I quickly put on my uniform, applied some makeup, and just as I was about to leave the room, Isabella returned with my food bag.

“Young master is on his way to the garage. Let me escort you there, Miss Caldwell,” she said, and together, we ran out of the mansion.

But just as we arrived at the garage, we saw one of the cars screeching away; with Franklin sitting in the back, staring at me. He then turned and rolled up the window.

“I hate it when I oversleep!” I roared, just as my personal driver showed up, fully prepared and ready to offer his service. I glared at him, huffed, and told him to hurry; I was already late for school.

He quickly unlocked one of the SUVs, which was similar to the one carrying Franklin, and opened the door for me.

Without hesitation, I got in, and Isabella placed my backpack and food bag on the seat beside me.

As we sped away, I realized I had forgotten my laptop in my room. But that was okay, I could log into my cloud storage and access my files from a school computer.

I could see Franklin's SUV ahead of us through the front glass, they were driving fast. I could simply tell my driver to catch up with them, but that wouldn't make any sense. I mean, it wasn't as if we were stopping at the same destination.

Franklin was a sophomore at Silver Ridge High, while I was in 7th grade at Bluebell Junior High. The schools weren’t close, you’d have to pass mine before reaching his, several miles away. I just loved it when we rode in the same vehicle. And when it was time to go home, I’d call my personal driver to pick me up.

Arriving at Bluebell Junior High, I was greeted by the familiar faces of my best friends namely Olivia, Jessica, Kimberly, and her boyfriend, David.

We exchanged greetings and headed straight into the school building. It was already time for our first lesson, so I didn't get the chance to eat my breakfast in the cafeteria. I had to eat in class, which didn’t go well with Ms. Thompson. She told me to leave her class after calling me a glutton.

But a glutton? I wasn’t really a glutton. Maybe Franklin, he actually loved eating a lot. I left the class and ate the rest of my food in the cafeteria. Jessica and the rest of our squad met me afterward and told me everything Ms. Thompson had said behind my back, which didn’t surprise me.

The middle-aged woman was a grumpy person who always found fault in practically everything one did. I really didn’t like her. If only I could have her replaced.

As we talked, Nicolas, William and Martinez; the bullies at our school, came laughing at me and calling me a glutton. I didn’t quite understand how they knew about the whole thing until David told me it was probably Chloe and Ava, since the two were dating two of the guys.

“I’m gonna crush those two when we get to our next class,” I said, glaring at them from afar as they continued laughing at Nicolas’s mockery.

“You don’t have to do that. Ms. Thompson must’ve reported you to the principal. Don’t justify what she did by cornering those miserable brats,” Kimberly warned.

“Yeah, let’s just leave” Olivia advised.

It wasn’t that I was scared or anything, I just didn’t want to get my friends into trouble. So I heeded their advice and left the cafeteria while the brats and the rest of the cowards laughed at us.

That was hurtful, not my first time being taunted, but my first time being humiliated by that group of three who seemed to find joy in bullying others.

After our lessons for the day, I bade my friends goodbye and waited for my driver to come pick me up. While waiting for him at the school’s main entrance, someone called me from behind. It was Mrs. Brain, the principal. She looked me in the eye for a few seconds before asking if I needed a lift home.

“No, thank you, Mrs. Brain. My driver will be here soon,” I politely declined her offer.

“Okay, if you say so” she shrugged, then walked to the staff lot and got into her car.

I expected a series of questions about what had transpired between me and Ms. Thompson, but she never said anything about it. She just kept giving me that strange look until she drove out of the school.

My driver arrived shortly after and drove me home. As we entered the garage to park, I saw Franklin and a strange, well-dressed figure obviously about to go out in one of the most expensive sports cars in the garage. It was a beautiful girl in red, and he even opened the door for her.

What the f*ck?

I quickly got out of the car the moment we parked and watched them with my mouth agape as they drove off. Franklin had a satisfied smile on his face as he looked at me, while the young lady didn’t even spare me a glance.

My heart sank.