Derick and Jems walked through the hallway, and all eyes were on them. The moment they got to her classroom, she sat in her seat while Derick went to stand at the far end of the classroom.
"Hey, Jems baby," Freda said as she sat close to Jems.
"What do you want?" Jems said without looking up from her book.
"So, how are you doing?" she asked, gently pushing Jems with her shoulder.
"Girl, what do you want? I know you don't care about how I'm doing," Jems said, still not looking up from her book.
"Umm… please, can you give me Derick's number? Pretty please?" she said as she grabbed Jems' hands, trying to make a puppy face.
"Well, if you want his number, why don't you walk up to him and ask for it yourself? It's not like we're friends. Ever since Derick came, every girl in school has automatically turned into my friend and started being nice to me, which is annoying. The moment any of you girls approach me, I know it's definitely because of Derick. So please, I'm busy," she said as she pulled her hands away from Freda.
"Jems, how could you say such a thing? We are friends, and I care for you," she said, standing up from her seat.
"So, tell me one time you've actually had a conversation with me," Jems said, raising her eyebrows.
"Ummm…" she said, biting her nails. "That time I asked you to pass me the ball in gym class. And that time I asked you to get up from my seat in the science lab. And…" Before she could finish, she was interrupted by Mr. Chales, their science teacher.
"Everyone settle down," he said, dropping the books he was holding on the table.
"I guess you'll have to return to your seat. Mira's been waiting for you,
she's on your seat," Jems said, pointing to Mira, who waved at them with a smile.
"Okay then," Freda said as she went back to her seat, and Mira came to sit with Jems.
"Okay class, bring out your textbooks. This week you all will be working on a project. At the end of the class, I'll tell you which project you'll be working on. You'll be in groups of four, I've already arranged that. At the end of the class, you are to meet Jenny, your captain. She'll show you the list so you'll know your group members and what you'll be working on. There are groups A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H, and it is to be submitted next week Monday. Do you all understand?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," they said in unison.
After the class was over, the class captain came out in front of the class and started calling the names of people and the groups they were in. She then called Jems' group.
"Group D: Ethan Reynolds, Gabriel Martin, Jems Dawson, and Freda Thompson," she called out.
"Looks like I'll be doing all the work," Ethan said as he ran his hands through his black hair.
"Excuse me, what do you mean by that?" Jems, who was standing a few meters away from Ethan, said, holding her waist as she glared at him.
"What do you mean by what do I mean?" Ethan said, raising his eyebrows. "I'm saying, I'm the only smart one in this group. That's what I'm saying, and you know that." He glared at her with his ocean-blue eyes as he smirked.
"We are smart, and it's very rude of you to say that," she said, still glaring at him.
"Hey, guys," Freda said as she and Gabriel joined them. "Ethan is the group leader," Freda said as she jumped over to Ethan's side and held his hand.
"Like you guys have a choice," he scoffed. "And you, get off me," he said, pulling his arm away from Freda.
"Freda, at least have some self-respect," Jems said, rolling her eyes as she deliberately bumped her shoulder against Ethan and walked out of the class. Derick followed her.
"Can you imagine that jerk? What does he think of himself? Huh? How could he call us dumb indirectly? I'm so pissed right now, I really felt like kicking him in the face. Can you imagine that brat?" she said, looking at Derick, who just kept staring at her. "I'm going to make sure I study and show that brat who's boss. I'll give my all to this project," she said. "Derick, you know everyone can't take first place. That's why others take second, third, and fourth, and that doesn't mean they don't study right? They're also considered smart," she said, now directly looking him in the eye.
Derick chuckled, and Jems stopped talking.
"Did you just smile?" she said in awe.
"Why would you let what he said bother you this much? You know you're a smart girl. If he doesn't want to accept that fact, that's his problem, okay? I feel like your blood pressure is increasing," he said, patting her gently on the head. Jems' face instantly turned red. "Or do you by chance have a crush on him?" Derick asked, raising his eyebrows.
"What? No, of course not! That ugly jerk could never be my crush," she said. Her face was now as red as a tomato.
"So I was right," Derick said as he smirked. "Your face is proof that you like that kid. You're blushing."
Derick teased her, and Jems touched her cheeks and turned around. The moment she turned, she saw Ethan coming.
"Hey, you. Why did you walk out? We were going to talk about the project, that's why we were all gathered. Or were you planning on slacking off and making us do all the work?" Ethan said.
"Is that a problem, Mr. Smarty Pants? That was what you said earlier, that you were going to do all the work yourself since you're the only smart one in the group. Your words, not mine," she said as she smirked.re
"So just because of what I said, you were going to slack off? Shouldn't you watch, learn, and be part of the project?"
"Nope, I don't think so. Some smarty pants thinks they can do it on their own. I wouldn't want to bother them," she said with a fake smile, raising an eyebrow. "So I thought of doing it on my own, the whole project."
"You can't be.." Ethan started, but Jems cut him off.
"But I forgive you. I know you can't do it on your own, so we'll all work together as a team," she said, smiling as she walked away. Derick followed her.
"Hey, get back here!" Ethan said as he followed her back into the class.
Derick's POV
I saw Jems walk out of the class angrily. I had no idea what they were talking about, but it was probably because of the project, so I followed her.
"Can you imagine that jerk? What does he think of himself, huh? How could he call us dumb indirectly? I'm so pissed right now,I really felt like kicking him in the face." She looked so cute when she was angry. I could almost see invisible smoke coming out of her ears, and for some reason she reminded me of Ava, my little sister. But Ava was older than Jems. She had just turned 21, and I couldn't even celebrate her birthday with her or wish her. It had been almost a year since I last saw her because she was in her third year in college, and I was always working. Seeing her was almost impossible most of the time.
So seeing Jems act this way reminded me of Ava. I had no idea when I chuckled, but it caught Jems' attention. She stared at me with her hazel eyes, her mouth slightly open. She blinked twice with her long fluttering lashes.
"Did you just laugh?" she asked.
I had no idea when I started patting her head. For some reason, I wanted to protect her, not just as her bodyguard. I wanted to make sure she never cried, to always stay by her side. I don't know why I felt attached to her, but… I couldn't. I mustn't.
One of the clients my agency sent me to protect had fallen in love with me. We lived together in a safe house for almost six months, and she kept throwing herself at me. I don't know if I was too friendly with her, but she almost died. She almost lost her life because I rejected her. I couldn't understand what I did wrong. Maybe I led her on without knowing, but I was very professional. Still, I regretted smiling at her, regretted giving her any hope.
The day I watched her jump out of her room balcony, a three-story building, I felt guilty. I felt like it was my fault. Luckily, she fell into the big pool outside and survived, but she broke several bones. Ever since then, I blamed myself. I couldn't even stop her from falling. I failed to reach her on time.
After that incident, I became rude to any lady that came my way. It changed me. So looking at Jems, it broke my heart, knowing I had to only show her the cold-hearted man I had become, and nothing more. After all, I was only her bodyguard. That was how it was supposed to be.