X. Essential
1413 Words
Hailey's POV:
Someone nudges my shoulder, “Hailey...Wake up. We’re here.”
I wipe the drool from the side of my lips. “We are?” I yawned and stretched my body. I smile, “I can’t believe Mr.Greyson allows us to use the private jet.”
Even though Josh is wealthy, his parents don’t allow him or any of his siblings to use any of their items without parental consent.
Josh threw his arms in the air and stretched his body. My eyes averted when his shirt lifted, slightly showcasing his tone body. “Well...mom does want us to be safe on our flight.”
He grabs my hand and leads us out of the plane. We walk down the stairs, and I inhale a deep breath, feeling the breeze brushing through my hair. A black car pulls around the corner with a man opening it for us. “I can get used to this,” I exhale in satisfaction.
He smiles, “Get used to it then.”
Josh yawned and made himself comfortable on my thighs as he closed his eyes. “Now, I can get used to this.” He grins while I play with the locks of his hair.
“So, what’s the plan?” I ask.
“Well... let’s see.” He crosses one leg above the other and tucks his arms behind his head. “I graduate in two years as valedictorian and the most handsome guy at Pandora Academy. You graduate two years after that as the prettiest girl because we both know you won’t be valedictorian.”
I nod along.
“Then, I go to whatever elite college.” He rolls his eyes, “And you will go with me. Together, we will rule college!”
I burst out laughing when he did an evil laugh. I point a finger in the air, “The state!”
“Country!”
“World!”
Josh sat up, running his fingers through his messy hair as his eyes shone mischievously.
“Next! The universe!” we screamed simultaneously.
Slowly, our laughter dies down, and he flops back down and hums the melodies of a song while I play with the tip of his hair.
“You know that can’t happen,” I said.
“And why not?”
“Because no elite college will accept me. I’m not that smart if you haven’t noticed.”
Josh gasps, placing a hand on his chest. “No!” Sarcasm.
I flick his forehead causing his face to grimace. “I’m serious,” I pout. “I know I only got accepted into Pandora Academy because of your family recommendation.”
“And what makes you think that?”
“Josh, the woman who looked me up gasp when she saw me - Oh! You’re Hailey Vaughn!" I mimic the woman’s voice while planting both fists on my waist.
Josh chuckles, “That says nothing.”
“They put me in a room with five people to interview me instead of taking me to the testing room.”
Josh swirls my blonde locks around his finger. “There is nothing wrong with getting in with connections. I mean, it’s not like I built a whole new building with daycare so that you can work right in front of me while I stalk you every day.”
“Wait...What?”
He unravels my hair from his finger. “Nothing.” He sat up and crossed his legs. “But, seriously, Hailey. You got connections, use them. That’s how people thrive in this type of world.”
I tuck my hair back. “What if I fail? I heard that the educational system at the Academy is hard.”
He smiles, puckering my lips with his hand. “Then I’ll be your tutor. I’ll drill the lessons deep into your mind.”
I lean closer to Josh for a hug. “Thank you. You’re the best. You know that?”
“Oh, I know, but I don’t mind hearing you say that more often,” he said. I chuckle in his arms. “Next time, you can say I’m handsome or sexy or amazing or all of the above.”
“How about narcissists?”
He smirks, “I prefer the term confident.”
“But seriously, what’s the plan?”
“Well, tomorrow is the unofficial first day of school where you will get your assigned dorm room and uniform. It will suck starting a new school but at the end of the day. You will love it.”
“And how are you so certain?”
“Because I’m there, and I’ll bring cupcakes if you feel like you had a bad day.”
The car came to a stop. “Young Master Joshua. We are here,” the driver said.
The door opens, and he steps out, with me behind him. I glance around to see a local street, similar to every other one. “Get some lunch. Hailey and I will take a while,” Josh told the driver, who smiles.
Josh takes my hand and walks into a store. “Why are we here?” I ask, glancing around the furniture store.
“To shop...for furniture,” he said. “At Pandora Academy, we are allowed to decorate our room as we please; hence, we need new furniture,” he explains.
“They don’t provide the furniture for us?”
“They do, but only for scholarship students.”
I glance around the shop once more. “Josh...I can’t afford any of this,” I whisper, seeing a worker passing by with a smile.
“On me.”
“I can’t let your parents pay for all of this,” and certainly not call my parents to pay for this.
Mom would laugh before she forced Mr.Greyson to purchase me a ticket back home.
Then, dad will throw a party.
Actually, that doesn’t sound too bad.
“I never said my parents would pay for this...I am.”
My eyes widen. “Josh! Are you crazy? I know you grew up with the money, but-”
He pinches my lips together. “I’ve been working.”
“Which is more of a reason why you should be spending money! Look, I’ll sleep on the floor and study in the library-”
“Hailey.” He grabs my face, and I stop rambling once my eyes focus on his feeling the beating inside my chest. “Allow me to puff my chest once in a while,” he whispers, causing my cheeks to burn. “Okay?”
I nod, unable to reply without choking on air.
Josh grabbed my hand and led us towards a bunch of cabinets. “Which one?” he asks.
My eyes land on a simple black cabinet with gold handles. “That one,” I said.
“That one it is,” he said. "Excuse me."
We walk from one piece of furniture to another. Josh would agree to whichever I pick without a single glance at the price tag. I want to know what job he took, enabling him to pay for all of this.
“Last but not least. The most important thing,” Josh said, and my eyes drop towards the rows of mattresses. “The bed,” he said in a solemn tone. Josh looks at me. “The bed is essential.”
I lift a brow. “I guess it is.”
He tilts his head at me. “Really important.”
I chuckle nervously, feeling a bit freaked out by his weird actions. “Yeah...I mean, you don’t want your back to get hurt or anything.”
“Or your back,” he mumbles.
“What?”
He clears his throat. “Umm, you know, you tend to sleep weird.” He smiles, “So, which one do you think is good?”
I look back at the mattress and leap onto one, then roll around it. Josh laughs and jumps onto the bed beside me. I look at him. “Too bouncy.”
I stand up and leap towards another bed — Josh lands beside me. “Too hard!”
I look at the worker then back at him. “Do you think they will get mad if we keep doing this?”
He looks around and grins, “Take your time. We got all day to try out every single bed.”
- Writer
