Chapter 1 The Scholarship Girl

• "Miss Ava?"
• The sound of my name snapped me out of my thoughts.
• I blinked and looked up to find Professor Harrison staring at me from the front of the lecture hall. His thick glasses sat low on the bridge of his nose, and behind him, thirty pairs of eyes had turned in my direction.
• Professor Harrison adjusted the glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. "Since you're kind enough to daydream in my class, perhaps you'll also be kind enough to tell us what part of the brain controls judgment and decision-making."
• A few students chuckled.I rolled my eyes secretly and stood up before answering the question. "The prefrontal cortex."
• A smile spread across his face. "Correct. as always."He gestured with his hand. "You can sit down now."
• A few students sighed in disappointment.Others rolled their eyes and hissed loudly.
• I ignored every single one of them.
• That had become my specialty in the past one month I’ve been at this school.
• Ignoring the rich,spoiled brats.
• And I planned to keep doing it until graduation.
• Westbridge College wasn’t exactly the kind of place where someone like me would blend in, no matter how hard I tried.
• Everyone here knew everyone.
• They knew whose father owned half the city, whose mother was a famous actress, whose family donated millions to the school every year.
• Then there was me.
• A transferred scholarship student.The girl with oversized glasses who always sat in the front row, answered every question correctly, and disappeared the second class ended. I preferred it that way tho. less attention,less drama and more peace.
• The bell finally rang, signaling the end of class.
• "Ava!"
• I didn’t need to look up to know who it was.
• My roommate, the only friend I had here.
• Esmery dropped into the empty seat beside me with the same bright smile she wore every single day.
• "Now tell me you actually heard what Professor Harrison was saying," she said, deadpan.
• "I did." I answered simply.
• "Liar." She retorted
• "I answered his question."
• "You answered it because your brain is basically a walking encyclopedia."
• I chuckled softly and slid my notebook into my backpack.
• Unlike me, Esmery is a social butterfly. A cheerleader for the hockey team plus her parent are well to do.
• She was also the only person I willingly spoke to not because I enjoyed making friends but because she never gave me a Choice. She’d decided we were friends the day i moved in and became her roommate.
• "You know," she said as we walked out of the classroom together, "if you smiled at people once in a while, they might stop thinking you're a robot.”
• I glanced at her briefly before looking away.
• "Do you think I care about what anyone thinks of me?” I asked scoffing.
• She sighed slowly.
• The hallway buzzed.Students moved in every direction, rushing from one class to another. Some leaned against lockers, chatting, others hurried past with stacks of books in their arms.
• The walls were covered in colorful posters, Parties,Clubs, Volunteer programs, Sports events and others.
• One poster stood out from the rest.
• WESTBRIDGE WOLVES HOCKEY TEAM. HOME PARTY THIS SATURDAY.
• Someone had drawn tiny pink hearts around the captain's face with a marker.
• I shook my head. Seriously?
• "Wow… look at how cute Brandon is," Esmery chanted excitedly, nudging me.
• There it was again. That name.
• I've heard it almost every day since arriving at Westbridge.
• Brandon Kingston.
• Captain of the hockey team. The most popular guy on campus.
• According to them, he’s the most handsome guys they’ve seen.
• But to me he was just another student and I didn’t fancy him at all. I’ve not met him physically but I’ve seen his pictures almost everywhere in the school.
• "Mmm" I mumbled, and kept walking.
• Esmery stopped and stared at me.
• That's all you have to say?"
• "What else is there to say?"
• She looks offended. "So you don’t like Brandon?" she asked, glaring at me playfully.
• "I thought people came here to study," I replied.
• "Of course they do." She replied.
• "Then act like it. I would rather die than fangirl over some student. I said.
• "Gosh, what am I going to do with you," Esmery exclaimed.
• "I still don't understand why everyone acts like he's a celebrity," I said.
• "If anyone hears you say that, they'll think you've lost your mind."
• "Duhh," I scoffed.
• “You are honestly unbelievable Ava.”
• Then all of a sudden students began moving away from the middle of the walkway. Clearing the way as if it had been rehearsed.
• Girls squealed.
• Phones came out.
• Some girls even started fixing their hair,adjusting their makeup.
• "What’s going on?" I asked Esmery.
• "It's them. The hockey team. They're coming," she squealed.
• I looked at the wide, empty path everyone had suddenly created.
• "So that's the reason we should stop walking?" I frowned.
• Esmery covered her face.
• "You’re meeting them for the first time and this is what you’ll say? I can't believe I'm friends with you."
• I adjusted my backpack and kept walking.
• "Ava," Esmery called after me.
• "What?"
• "Move,they’re coming.”Her voice was strained.
• I looked at the empty path again then back at her.
• By now, students were already staring at me like I was crazy.
• "The hallway belongs to everyone," I said,holding my backpack tightly. "And I'm not leaving the damn way for anyone. They can all go to hell for all I care." Students gasps but I kept on walking.
• The hockey team are already walking toward us. Laughing among themselves. Oblivious to the scene that’s happening.
• They were taller than most students.
• Black training shirts with the college logo across their chests. Some carried hockey sticks over their shoulders.
• The tall one in front stood out among them. Dark brown hair, tall, Broad shoulders, and the captain logo at the front of his shirt and he look handsome. I mean very handsome for any lady but not for me.
• Soon I was walking in the same lane with him and the distance between us shrank. Students watched nervously.
• Some glanced between Brandon and me, waiting to see who would move first.
• His conversation with the guy beside him faded as his eyes settled on me. We were only a few feet apart now but i kept on walking and so did he.
• Esmery rushed forward and grabbed my wrist.
• "Ava," she whispered urgently. "Please move."
• "I'm not blocking anyone," I replied, my voice low. I snatched my hands from her.
• He was close enough now that I could see the exact shade of his hazel blue eyes and his face up close.
• For the first time since entering the passage, he wasn’t smiling anymore, he was now staring at me.
• The people around us held their breath, waiting for what would happen.