His Survivor

9. Project

Ashley's POV

After I was suspended for two days because I broke Mia's nose, now I am back here and once again, everyone is staring at me like I am some alien from Mars. 

Everyone is walking with me, not wanting to leave me alone on my first day back after two days of suspension but all the stares from the fellow students is getting irritating as hell. They continue whispering as I pass them and I am really close to snap at them but Blake notices it and glares at the idiots who avert their eyes, scared of him. 

"Thanks", I whisper to him and he nods before smiling. 

"Well, aren't you popular?", Evander remarks with his smirk plastered o his face which I would really love to punch, but I don't want to stay at the house, listening to Ian going on and on about the cons of me hitting people while Martha tries her best to support me. They both were very angry after hearing about Gian and about Mia's statements but we all calmed them down before they could call that asshole and make the matters worse. 

"Thanks to your b***h". 

"She isn't my b***h", he growls back and its time for me to smirk at him. I know what buttons to push now and Mia being one of them. She irritates him to death and using her to annoy him is fun to watch. 

"Are you sure? Her infatuation seems to increase everyday", before he could retort, Arnold places himself between us and tells us to calm down. 

"You guys need to stop fighting though it is very amusing to watch", Ryan says, his hand wrapped around Hannah, who is laughing quietly while she and Chole share a secret smile, making me raise an eyebrow at them but they just shrug, still smirking at me. I sigh before closing the locker door and we all walk our separate ways, me with Arnold and Hannah for English lit. We continue talking about unimportant things. Hannah fills me in on what all went down in those two days while Arnold seems too absorbed in his own world. 

We all enter the class and the students turn to look at me and again, start whispering making me wish I could just leave and get some peace. 

After sitting through three more periods which were boring as f**k, its time for science, the only class I really like but unfortunately, I share this one with Evander. Blake is there too, but he is chill while me and Evander fight and glare at each other every chance we get but now a days, the fights are more about pushing each other over the edge or getting on the other's nerves which is kinda fun not that I would ever admit this. 

"Hello class. Today I am going to give you the project that counts for the half of your grade. I will also assign you partners and give you subjects so no one's is same, Okay?", people start groaning about the partner thingy as I am sure they already had partners picked out and what not. I merely shrug while Blake sighs, already bored out of his mind while Evander stares right at the teacher, not moving. I almost thought he could be dead but then he turns to look at a girl who had been trying to get his attention since we entered, and winked at her. Well, someone is going to be bus doing something that could potentially, have him infected with diseases, but who am I to judge?

"I am going to call out the names and both the partners will come forward and choose the topic from the chits that I have placed here", and so it starts. After about fifteen minutes my name is called and I wait patiently for my partner's name to be announced. 

"Ashley and Evander", I snap my head towards Evander who does the same, both of us glaring at each other. I can't imagine the number of fights we would have over a science project. He will irritate me to death and infuriate me on the daily f*****g basis and I would have to share the same space as him for the next weeks together. f**k!

We both go towards the teacher's table and were about to plead with her to change our partners but she shakes her head even before we spoke. 

"No. I am not changing the partners, so, deal with it", she tells us to pick on chit and before I could even touch one, Evander picks a different one and sighs before handing it to me. We have got the topic, 'Human Heart'. A lot of possibilities start to swirl in my mind and I hope this asshole, for once, will agree with me. 

"You both can go. All the best", with that she dismisses and stalk towards our seats, and the chairs scrap against the floor a little too loudly, but I just couldn't give a damn right now. My mood as already bad due to the whispering and now, it has just gotten worse. 

"So students, you have ten weeks to work on your topic. You can do whatever you want with it but remember, it will be graded as the half of your semester so be mindful while doing it. If your project is really good, we will put it up in the Science Fair that we arrange every year. All the best", the bell rings and everybody leaves with their partners, wanting to start the discussions probably. Some girls wait to chat with Blake and Evander so I just leave them both standing at the door with their bimbo admirers to go the cafeteria to have lunch. I cannot stop thinking about the project and I really hope we could at least agree on this without having to fight too much but we all know, that is not something that is going to happen. 

"What's got you in a pissy mood?", Chole asks as they all take a seat at our regular table. I sigh before placing my head on the table, above my palms. 

"Evander and I got paired for a science project", everyone starts laughing while I groan and so does Evander who finally decided to ditch the girls and join us for the lunch. 

"Can I be there when you both decide to work together? Your fights are really amusing", Hannah comments and I almost throw my bottle at her but don't. We both don't reply and the chatter continues around us until the room falls silent abruptly. I raise my head from the table and I am met with a receipt. I push the hand away and look up to see none other than Mia, standing there with a bandage on her nose and looking like, she could stab me with a knife. 

"What now?", I ask sighing. I am really not in the mood to deal with this s**t again and I would rather walk away and be the bigger person here but she has different plans. 

"This is how much it cost me to get my nose repaired, you b***h".

"I hope the doctor did a better job this time", the words fall out of my mouth before I could stop them. I really need to get a filter. 

"I am going to make your life miserable for doing this to me, I promise you". 

"Don't hold back", I smirk at her before picking my bag up and leaving the cafeteria. I bang the door on my way out and smirk when I hear a yelp. I know it wasn't necessary but me being me, I cannot live without making a scene once in a while. I thrive off the drama. I may have numbered days and that is one of the reasons why I like to make a scene. Its fun and fun is what I need in my life. I am done being depressed now and I plan on enjoying the best I can. 

My phone starts ringing while I was walking back to the locker room. I expected a call from one of my friends but it was surprisingly, Dr. Ken. He never calls me on my private number and now that he has, dread fills me. The results were apparently taking a little longer than usual when Ian called them a few days ago. 

"Good morning, Ashley". 

"Good morning, Dr. Ken. To what do I owe the pleasure?", he chuckles before clearing his throat. 

"The results are in. I wanted to talk to you before I called Ian", he isn't the biggest fan of my father either but he has got no choice, just like me. 

"Don't sugarcoat and give it to me straight, please". 

"There is nothing to sugarcoat as the results are really good. The cancer is still at bay due to the medicines that we have you on and the chemo, too, seems like working", he says and a lone tear falls down my cheeks. I expected him to tell me that my condition has worsened but now that he told me it hasn't, I can breathe a bit freely. 

"So, what's next?"

"We continue the medicines and you have to come for a chemo soo. Its been six months since your last one and we need to keep everything as it is", he knows chemo is not something I look forward to. The side effects are bad, really bad. The hair loss, nausea and mouth sores are the worst. 

"Okay. When do we schedule it?"

"I will talk about it with Ian, okay?", he knows not to address him as my father while we are alone. 

"Okay. I will come and collect the medicines?"

"I will have them delivered to your address. Just go and enjoy school, yeah?"

"Enjoy? Right", I scoff while he laughs making me smile a little. 

"You are going to be okay, Ashley", he says that we such sincerity that I almost believe him. My mom would have been the happiest at this moment, probably dancing around the room and hugging me tightly to her chest, her tears flowing freely. 

"I know you miss your mom but I assure you, she is looking over you right now and probably hosting a dance fest in heaven, to celebrate this news", he says and I smile at his words which are probably true. My mom always believed in dancing your heart out and brining your inner Beyonce out. 

"She probably is", I look for a second and smile at the sky. I know my mom is always there with me, no matter what and now I have come to terms with her passing away. I still miss her dearly, but I know she loves me too much and wouldn't want me to be sad forever. 

"You are a strong girl Ashley, I proud of you".

"Thank you so much", with that we both hang up and I take out my books, already a bit late for the class. 

Finally the day is over and we all are going our separate ways but Evander has some different plans. 

"When do you want to start on the project?", he asks me. His tone is strained and I mentally laugh at him. 

"Tomorrow?"

"Why not today? The earlier we finish, the better", he muses and I hold back a scowl. I am in a good mood and no one can take that away from me, not even this handsome asshole who thinks too highly of himself. 

"Fine. You coming over then?"

"Okay", with that he goes to his car while I get into Blake's and plug in my earphones, lost to the world. 

"We are home", Chloe yells as we all enter and Blake scowls at her before hitting her arm lightly. 

"Stop screaming", he chides and she pokes his stomach before showing her tongue. 

"Hey kids", Martha says as she comes out of the bedroom, in a nice sundress. She probably is leaving to go the bakery. She smiles at all of us but more so at me. Ian told her about the results, I guess. 

"I have baked some cookies and some fresh bread is on the counter. Make sandwiches if you want or order something, okay?"

"Yes mom", Blake says. 

"I am going to the bakery. If you need me, call, okay?", she leaves after smiling one last time and we all look at each other. 

"I am going to go and freshen up", I say and climb the stairs, Chloe following behind me while the boys go to Blake's room. 

"So, you and Evander got paired up huh?"

"Yeah, unfortunately", she laughs while I groan loudly, 

I just hope we can limit the fights and yelling and actually get some work done.