226

JASMINE

I was at the gate as usual when Ashley alighted from a taxi.

They still hadn't settled!

Her face was dull and she walked slowly towards the classrooms. I expected that she would come to me first. That brat!

Why was the story today though? Then it crossed my mind that she was probably still hurt from losing out on the cheer performance. Whatever it was, I wanted to find out.

“Ashley!” I called and waved.

She looked at me, “Hi, Jasmine.”

“I see you just got to school. Why do you look so sad though?” I moved closer to her, “is everything okay?”

“I rejected my mates,” she said, slowly.

“You what! Oh, poor Ashley. That's a whole lot!”

I tried to calm myself. As much as I was happy and I wanted to scream, I had to remind myself to stay calm. I could not let Ashley find out that I was elated over her predicament.

“It's crazy. I just wish they had done better. I wish they had not thrown me aside. I wished they had handled this better…”

“Hey, Ashley, don't be too hard on yourself. You