Chapter 3

Liliana

Jarek: Are you finished with my homework yet, little pauper?

I roll my eyes, looking at the time. It's just past seven, and Jarek has four assignments for me to do, with one of them being a three-page essay. I'll be lucky if I finish by nine.

Me: I'm working on your essay now.

Jarek: Don't be rushing through it, pauper. I expect nothing under a B plus. 

Me: I'm trying my best, Jarek.

Jarek: You better get back to work, pauper. You have a long night ahead of you.

I toss my phone aside, not bothering to answer him, and I turn my attention to the work. Tears burn behind my lids. Why am I letting him treat me like this? I should go to the principal or the guidance counselor about Jarek's behavior toward me. Unfortunately, his family owns this town, so I doubt anybody will help.

I end up doing homework well past midnight, and when I wake up just before my alarm goes off, I find myself still sitting at my desk. Slobber runs from my mouth to my arm, where my head is resting, and I wipe it off as I sit up.

Grabbing my phone, I curse when I see it dead, so I throw it on the charger and quickly jump into the shower before the others wake up. There's only one bathroom the kids have to share, so if I want a morning shower, I have to be up before everyone else.

There are four of us foster kids living here, so it gets hectic, especially in the mornings. Susan, our foster mom, is never awake when we get ready for school, so we all have to fend for ourselves. Luckily, the younger ones are old enough to dress and feed themselves; otherwise, I'd have to help them.

Remembering to grab my phone from the charger when I'm throwing everything back into my bag so I don't forget it, I head down for some breakfast. I grab a muffin from the box sitting on the counter and hurry out the door.

I reach into my bag and pull out my phone, but when I turn it back on, I wish I hadn't. Jarek has left over twenty texts and even a few missed calls. The more texts he left, the angrier he gets, and before I leave the front gate, I press his number and wait for him to answer.

"It's about damn time!" He answers on the first ring.

"I'm sorry, my phone died, and then I fell asleep at my desk…."

"Stop with the excuses, Liliana. I'll be there to pick you up in two minutes. Be ready."

The line goes dead.

I stare at the screen in disbelief. Not so much because of the rude behavior but because Jarek really does know my name. He just doesn't say it—and wait—he's coming here? I groan when I realize I have no choice but to ride to school with him. I don't know how he knows where I live, but I stand here, looking up and down the road until finally, he turns the corner and pulls up in his Tesla.

                                                                       ***

"What the hell is that?" Jarek eyes the muffin in my hand with disgust.

"It's my breakfast. I had to grab something fast since I was running late."

"Screw that," he snatches it from my hand and then tosses a Greek yogurt at me, "You can use to lose a few pounds."

I look at my size six form and gawk at him, "Muffins aren't bad for you when they're made with the right ingredients."

"Not ones with chocolate chips in it, and why are you questioning me? Did you not learn your lesson yesterday?"

"They were blueberries, not chocolate chips, and I'm sorry." I've come to realize that Jarek likes to be praised, so I make sure to use it to my advantage, and hopefully, he goes easy on me, "I didn't mean to question you. I hadn't realized it was unhealthy. Thank you for informing me of it."

"You're welcome, pauper. I will pick you up at the same time every morning, so be ready."

"Yes, Jarek." I glance down forlornly.

"What, you don't appreciate that I drive over here to pick you up? Would you rather walk the full mile to school every day?" He stops at a stoplight and glares over at me. "

"I am very grateful to you, Jarek. Thank you for being so thoughtful." I fake a small smile for him.

"That's right, I am thoughtful, and you better remember that." He stares at me until the light turns green. "Did you get all my assignments done?"

"Yes. The essay took the longest, but I was able to finish it all," I reply.

"Oh, yeah, the essay. That was actually extra credit; I had the due date wrong. It's not due for another week, but thanks for doing it anyway." He smirks when he looks at me briefly.

My hands curl into fists at my sides, wanting nothing more than to punch my bully right in the face. Instead, I put on my fake smile. "It was no problem, any time."

"If you can't be pretty, then at least you're smart," He mumbles this, but I'm sure I'm still meant to hear it. 

I turn my head to look out the window so he can't see the tears threatening to come out. I hate that I let Jarek upset me this much. He means nothing to me, so why do I allow his words to hurt as much as they do?

Thankfully, the rest of the car ride is quiet, but once we arrive,

Jarek grabs my bag the moment he parks in the school parking lot. "I need my work. It's best that I get it now; we don't need any teachers seeing us exchange it."

I sit and wait for him to return my bag, and finally, he hands it to me as he says, "You better get in there; we can't be seen together."

 Of course, he can't be seen with me; I'm the poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks, and he's the richest boy in town. It should be illegal for us to even look at each other, I think sarcastically. I roll my eyes inwardly as I climb out of the car. He starts to say something, but I slam the door like I hadn't heard him. I thought for sure he would come after me for it, but he never leaves his car..

                                                                      ***

By the third period, when I'm going through my bag in my locker, I figure out why it took Jarek so long to get his stuff from my bag. He took my homework as well! This angers me, so I pull out my phone and send a quick text without thinking it through.

  

Me: You took my homework.

Jarek: Excuse me?

Me: When you took your homework out of my bag, you also took mine. I need it back... please.

Jarek: Since you asked so nicely, meet me in five minutes by the janitor's closet on the second floor.

Me: Thank you.

Maybe he can be nice every once in a while. At least, this is what I think as I stop at my classroom to inform the teacher that I'm headed to the restroom. I then head down to the second floor to meet Jarek. I may have misunderstood the guy. I mean, he's got a lot of people who follow him and are constantly watching his every move, so maybe I have him all wrong.

Jarek is already waiting by the door, and I give him a small smile, but all he does is frown. As soon as I get closer, he opens the door next to him, "Inside, now."

I duck under his arm and enter the closet, only to spin around when the door closes and hear the lock click. Jarek is leaning against it, just glaring at me. I'm frozen in place, not knowing what is going through his mind, but by the look on his face, he's really pissed off.

"Jarek? What's wrong?"

He begins to stalk me slowly, and I take a few steps back, "Were you accusing me of taking your homework?"

"What?"

"Your text. You accused me of taking your work, and I don't appreciate it," he bites out with a clenched jaw.

"I d-didn't m-mean it!" My back hits the shelving unit that holds all the cleaning products.

Lifting his hands, he grips the shelf above my head and leans closer. "What am I going to do with you, pauper? You don't seem to learn your lesson very well."

"I'll do better, Jarek! I promise, please!" I hate begging, but I hate being alone with him in this closet even more.

He takes hold of my jaw, narrowing his eyes at me as he says, "See that you watch that tongue of yours, pauper. I'd hate for you to lose it after one of your mouthy responses." He shoves me away and then reaches for something in the back of his pants. I squeeze my eyes shut, thinking he's going to hit me with something.

"Open your eyes, pauper." 

I open one eye and see that he has papers in his hand—my homework, to be precise. I straighten up and take it from him, saying, "Thank you, Jarek."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, get out of here before I change my mind and make you really hurt." He's back glaring at me, and I take it as a signal to get the hell out of here.