Chapter Three

The day went by much quicker than Lauren thought it would and surprisingly, the Chemistry test was not as tiresome and stressful as she first assumed it would be.   She had a feeling Luke was helping her out with some of the choices for she could feel his presence for the duration of the entire test, but he never said or gave anything away.   It was kind of a system they had: Luke was the best at Math and the sciences like Computer Ed, Chemistry, Geometry, Algebra II and Biology- his brain lapping up the information like a sponge and solving the problems as if he were a calculator- while Lauren excelled at the Arts and sports (things that she enjoyed with a passion).  Because of this, she made sure to apply for clubs that interested him and to put one-hundred percent of her effort into the assignments she would be give, which he greatly appreciated. It turned out to be a mutual benefit because she discovered that certain aspects of the assignments were quite enjoyable and she did go away learning something so at least she could have it under her belt.   This also caused many of the teachers and the principle to keep a watchful eye on her due to her wide range of skills. She was currently in the main hallway where many of the other students were loitering about at her locker putting her books away when she was approached. She was exhausted from track and from gym and just wanted to go home and collapse on her bed. Her red medium length hair was currently free of its confining low ponytail and hung loose, giving it a slightly alluring look.  It was one of the only things she liked about herself. It hung in waves and was always soft to the touch whether she did it or not. Part of her hair also hung in her face like Akira’s hair which was also something she liked.

“Lauren,” the semi-deep voice said making her instantly turn around which in turn made her hair whip around with her.  She immediately found herself face to face with a wide, strong and rock hard chest. Trying not to blush she brought her hazel eyes to his amber ones.  Luis, her brain registered as she inwardly ogled his strong face; the hint of stubble that was beginning to line his manly jawline; his kind gaze that settle upon her five-foot-nine frame. There he was in all of his six-foot-seven inch glory: the golden boy of CrestWater High- Luis Parker.  The long reigning local celebrity and all around chick and jock magnet. It had been that way ever since his transfer to their district back in junior high- he would always seem to attract a crowd wherever he was and no matter how sour the mood, one always seemed to leave in higher spirits than when they arrived which was understandable considering his charming, witty, compassionate and charasmatic personality which were only matched by his good looks.  All in all, he was the average girl’s idea of a perfect man- so much so, that one would think him a myth until meeting him. He wore a

“Lauren?  Como estas?” he asked with his amazing Puerto Rican accent.

“Huh?”  she was so busy gazing at him that she forgot he addressed her.  Stupid, she thought.

Stupid is right… answer the guy, Lu, or are you all of a sudden mute?

“Oh Lo Siento, Luis.  What’s up?” she recovered.

“I was just wondering about the English report we had to do together on a piece by William Shakespere… I was wondering…” he trailed off for a moment and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand while his cheeks painted themselves a rosey red.  Cute, she thought.

Yeah… real cute Lauren.

Ignoring him she urged him on.  “Yeah. I’m thinking about doing mines on Hamlet,”

“Well, since it’s due in a week from now, I was thinking- I mean, if you’re up for it- if you wanted to come over to my house, or go to the library to do some research on the topic since I’ve never read it before.  I don’t even know what it’s about and since you are practically the top student in the class I figured you could help me out with it?” he asked still blushing a little which had Lauren chuckling quietly.

“Tryna butter me up, huh Luis Parker?  Think you can just flatter me and I’ll start blushing and automatically agree?” she teased.

“I would never.  You see, I asked myself, ‘Who is the smartest girl in class who would be willing to help a loser like me?’ and immediately my mind went to you and I was like, ‘if anyone can help me… it would be Lauren.  Good ol’ compassionate, kind, gorgeous Lauren’,” he beamed.

Lauren would be lying if she tried to say her heart didn’t hitch at his words even if he was just messing around.  However being the girl that she is, she masked it and continued playing along.

“I feel honored but what do I get in return for having to scrap my entire schedule and not only bring you up to speed but then do the report since I know I will be doing all of the work.  Not to mention, I had a pretty full day planned and now I’ll have to clear my schedule? Whats in it for me, Mr. Parker?”

“Well, Ms. Stone… you would have to pleasure of MY company,”

“Sorry babe your gonna have to do better than that.  Besides your not my type,”

Lies and deception.

“You wound me, Ms. Stone…. Hmmm,” though it was a joke he couldn’t help that his ego was a little wounded and he felt a little embarrassed.  Embarrassement quickly morphed into annoyance however as soon as Lauren started laughing at him and teasing him.

“Ohmygod!  The look on your face was priceless! I’m messing with you Luis,” her back was hunched over due to her laughing so hard.  No doubt tears were probably streaming down her face, though it was masked by her baseball cap and side bang.

“I’ll tell you what, Luis, since I’m done with my classes and I don’t start track meet till next week, how bout we stop by the library and get a copy of Hamlet, then we can go to my-err- your house and tackle it together.  Sound good?”

    After getting over his initial embarassement, his face practically lit up with excitement and he could feel the relief rush through his system.  He didn’t know what to do about the assignment Mr. Tate (the English Lit. teacher) gave them. He thought he was done for as soon as those dreaded words left his mouth.  

“You got a deal, Ms. Stone,” he smirked.

***

(An hour earlier)

The golden sunshine illuminated the classroom which was filled to the brim with all manner of students, some paying attention, and some dozing off or sneaking peeks at their devices possibly texting.  Not Luis however: he was avidly listening to Mr. William Tate as if his life depended on him as he announced their first assignment: write a four page synopsis and report on one of the works of William Shakespere.

“You all can pick any topic you want, except Romeo and Juliet: everyone in this room knows that story,” he announced commandingly which had earned the attention of every student in the room- and not in a good way.

“What the heck, Mr. Tate?” retorted an angry blonde who was seated in the back row of the room.  She had piercing blue eyes and her curly hair was pulled back into a low ponytail.

“You heard me, Ms. Summers now sit down before I make it an eight page report on a topic of my choosing,” he replied not shaken by the girl’s angry outburst.

“What!? You can’t do this!  I have practice! I have a life! I don’t have time to do an essay this big!”  she replied making Mr. Tate raise an eyebrow in question.

“... Fine,” he replied, stunning the entire classroom making Lauren’s gaze- which had been firmly fixed on the doodles she had created in her scrap notebook- whip to his.  What was he thinking, she questioned. Luke’s mind was also drawing a blank as the two of them stared at the teacher in confusion, their eyes boring into his brown ones framed by his black rectangular frames.  He had a round face and black hair peppered with strands of grey and white. He wore a white button up shirt with a blue tie and black pants and dress shoes. He was one of those teachers, Luke and Lauren noticed, who genuinely cared about the subject that he was teaching and took care to make sure he got his point across to his students, not taking any stuff from anyone- no matter who they were- which made them confused all the more at what was going on.  Their confusion was replaced with humored shock when he replied.

“Thanks to our very own Ms. Summers I’m going to have a little mercy on you all… you are going to do an eight page report and it is going to be due at the end of next week,” he finished with a smirk, earning a loud barrage of outrage.  

“Mr. Tate, this is impossible!” cried a jock who was also sitting in the back on the right of the now fuming blonde.  He had shaggy red hair that partly hung in his face and threatened to cover his green eyes. He was leaning forward making him look dominating especially in his blue and red jacket which all of the popular jocks wore- including Luis.  

“Quiet, Mr.  Brown or I’ll make it a sixteen page report.  Now unless anyone else wants me to bump up the assignment some more,” he started taking off his glasses and glaring straight at the class letting everyone know he

was serious, “then you all will sit down and shut your mouths and get started, “ he finished turning back to the whiteboard, letting everyone know of his finality.    

Silent mutters broke the otherwise silent classrooms as students commenced to brainstorming ideas for the essays they were given.  It was already a given that the assignment would account for seventy-five percent of their grades so failure of slacking off was simply not an option- unless one wanted to repeat the entire semester and thus get pushed back a year.  This meant that everyone had to put their best foot forward and buckle down… or if you were popular, pay off one of the smarties to do the assignment for you. No doubt, Lauren thought, that’s what at least three-quarters of the popular group was going to do, since if they used their own brains they wouldn’t even be in highschool right now.   Letting out a quiet chuckle, she proceeded to writing her thesis statement, having already decided that she was going to do the report on Hamlet.

*** (Presently)***

   

    Luis was ready to write his will as he walked down the halls to grab his bag from his locker.  His father was going to kill him for failing his assignment which- as Mr. Tate made quite clear- would account for more than half of his grade for the semester.  Being a sophmore in highschool and the star quarterback on his team meant that he had a lot riding on his shoulders. He had to make absolutely sure that he maintained at least a ninety percent average in his studies to even be considered for a scholarship at a respectable college or university.  Not to mention he was the heir to his father’s company which meant even higher expectations from him. In other words, he absolutely could not afford to fail this assignment. At the same time however, he didn’t want to cheat which he knew was the thing his friends were going to do seeing as they had ‘more important things to do with their lives.’  His parents always taught him that hard work goes a long way, and that a man who’s not willing to work hard to reach his goals was not a man. Letting out a sigh, he stopped in front of his locker letting his mind wander off to nothing in particular when a certain redhead, hazel-eyed beauty popped into his head, drawing a triumphant smile from his lips.  Lauren Stone, his fellow classmate and friend here at CrestWater High. If anyone would help him out, she would. No doubt she had already picked out an assignment and was well on the way to complete it. He was saved, he thought, that is if she agreed to help him, the little voice at the back of his head reprimanded. As if fate was in his favour, he spotted her walking with her friend towards her locker and immediately started after her calling her name.

    “Lauren!  Espera!” he exclaimed catching her attention.   

    It was when she beamed at him, he knew that his future and more importantly his life and reputation was saved.  

***

Even though school wasn’t that bad today, Lauren was still happy that it was over so that way she could go home, and curl up in her bed with a good book.

“You mean you are so happy so that way we could head on over to Luis’s house and work on that report which accounts for three-quarters of our grade which is eight pages long, which we only have a week to complete, right?”  Luke questioned accusingly.

“What!?  Oh- I mean umm- yeah,” she exclaimed forgetting that she was speaking aloud.  The good thing was that she had already read the novel plenty of times so that she pratically knew the entire thing by heart.  However, now she had to work with Luis who- though he was a likeable person- she knew had probably never picked up a William Shakespere book in his life.  Sighing, she trudged towards the school library only to be stopped by the sound of a loud honk coming from a nearby car.

“Lauren!” the oh-so-familiar voice of Luis called, “Wanna a ride!?  My house is pretty far and I don’t want you to get lost!”

“Oh it’s fine, I enjoy the exercise anyway, but muchas gracias,” she waved him off.

“Yea but we need to get a head start.  C’mon I don’t bite,” he teased while smiling showing off his dimples which ultamitely made Lauren concede and hop in the passenger’s side of his car.   

The dimples, she thought, they always get me.  

Luke smiled at her thoughts before going to the depths of her mind.

***(In the car)***

    “So I heard Akira’s championship match is coming up which must be why you didn’t ride with her,”  Luis said while keeping his gaze on the highway in front of them which was filled with cars no doubt on their way home from a long, tiring day of work or school.   

“Yup,  she’s ‘nervicited’.   A lot’s riding on this competition,”  she replied her head leaning against the window aimlessly looking out into the distance.   

It was at this moment Luis took a moment to steal a glance at the girl sitting next to him.  Her red wavy hair was pulled into a low ponytail that hung out the back of the baseball cap she was wearing, and her skin- her smooth creamy skin- was seemingly cool considering the temperature and the fact that she was still wearing her denim jacket over her white v-neck.  Then again, considering how much she runs track or spends time out on the field in general, it shouldn’t be surpising that she wasn’t the least bit hot, he thought. Her long and no doubt shaven legs were covered and molded by the old blue jeans she wore making him wonder when was the last time he had seen her in shorts or a skirt.   However, it wasn’t her frame that trapped him- yes it lured him in and enticed him- but it was her face that made his heart speed up: it was the way her side bang fell over part of her forehead and almost hid one of her beautiful hazel eyes, the way her lips curved into a smile as she thought about her friend and the way her cheeks lifted as she did so making him notice the very feint freckles that tried to dot them that almost hypnotized him and made him forget that he was on the highway.  Clearing his throat quietly and shifting in his seat he started thinking of something to say in response.

“Why would she be nervous, I mean I heard from Justin that their routine was pretty tight.  They could definitely take home the win this year,”

“Yea, but you know how important this is to everyone.  I mean the whole school’s counting on her and not to mention the scouts that will be watching it all to spot the diamonds in the rough as they call it.  And to put

the cherry on top, her parents are to be attending the competition for the first time.  I only hope she doesn’t let the pressure crush her.” she muttered the last part.

“Nah, she’ll be fine.  Like I said, I heard their routine is tight.  Akira is an amazing dancer and only a fool would believe otherwise.  But I do understand the pressure of it all. I mean with the football and basketball championships coming up.  Everyone’s expecting our team to win, however if I don’t pass this assignment with a ninety percent mark or higher I will be booted off of the team and more importantly my parents will kill me.   Like seriously my dad will murder me, then bring me back, and then murder me again,”

Lauren let out a small giggle at his troubles earning a poke in her thigh and a mock glare from him.

“It’s not funny, stop laughing.” he pouted.

“Aww, Lo Siento Luis, but it is funny.  But I really don’t think you have much to worry about since I’m going to be helping you out with the assignment which by the way is on Hamlet which I have read a thousand times so I practically know it by heart.” she beamed.

“Well then you should know enough for the both of us,” Luis let out an awkward chuckle.  He felt a little bad and embarassed that he didn’t know the topic so she would probably be doing most of the work on the report.

“Oh no you don’t Luis,  you’re going to read it by the end of the week and I will be starting on the draft and when you finish you will join in helping me ok?”

Though it was phrased as a question, Luis knew he didn’t really have an option to complain as she tended to get really bossy when it came to things she was passionate about.  And apparently acing this assignment was one of them. Not to mention she was technically doing him a favour by even allowing him to collaberate with her. With a resigned sigh he muttered an “ok”.  

“Who knows you might actually like the book,”

Lauren knew that he had a lot on his plate and that she could easily do the whole thing herself but she wanted to see how serious he was about his education and at the same time prepare him for college.  If he was serious about getting a good mark on his paper then he was going to earn it. After all, when you are in college you have to do these essays on a weekly basis and sometimes back to back, especially if you got into a good one like Harvard or MIT.   

Silence reigned over them as they drove on yet another highway full of cars, trucks, and the occasional motorcycle.  Skyscrapers towered against the blueish sky in the distance and the smell of oil and gasoline hung in the air. It was about time that green forms of energy were properly pursued on a mass scale.   Lauren always hated the fact that factories were allowed to pump massive amounts of pollution into the air and no one seemed to have a problem with it or were rather too afraid to do something about it.  If this kept up then the earth would soon be a desolate wasteland we pass on to our children. So were the thoughts and musings of her empty mind- wandering from topic to topic in the comfortable silence.  Luis kept his eyes on the road and made sure to stay at the speed limit only cutting his gaze away when his phone (an iphone 8) buzzed with a message.

Where are you?- Mom

Trying to call you, pick up your phone every once in a while. Mom

Skillfully, he took his right hand off of the wheel and punched in his six-digit passcode before sending a reply.

No need to get a heart attack. I’m on my way home from school.  Got a large assignment that’s sure to kill me before the night is out.  Talk to you when I’m there. .

He let out a little chuckle to himself when he read the reply from his mother.

Well I’ll be sure to say nice words at your funeral… NOT.  At least then I’d know where you are all the time, lol. Call me when you arrive, son- Mom

Will do.  Love you.

Briefly glancing at Lauren to find her asleep, Luis turned back to the road just in time to find a red pickup truck coming up in the lane to his right seemingly wanting to switch to his lane making him to slow down a little, but was a little surprised to see the pickup slow down as well.   Thinking he still wanted to switch, he rolled his window down and made a hand gesture only to find that the driver wasn’t even looking at him. He seemed middle-aged, though that was all he could tell for the windows were tinted.

“Let me hurry up and get out of here,” he mumbled stealing a quick glance at Lauren to make sure she was ok before starting to speed up making the truck speed up with him.  Anxiety started to creep through him and he almost switched to the right lane until he saw a large eighteen-wheeler come up beside him stopping him. He would have slowed down but there was a grey minivan coming up behind him and he didn’t want an accident especially on the highway.   However, when the pickup nudged his car, he knew that it was time to get off of the highway.

“What the hell?!” he muttered, not noticing that Lauren started to wake up.  

“What’s going on?” she mumbled trying to remember when she dozed off.   

“I don’t know, but we’re not about to find out.”

He started to hit the gas when the truck nudged him even harder pushing the car dangerously close to the eighteen-wheeler on Lauren’s side.

“The hell, Luis!?” she questioned frantically, pulling out her cell.  

“Lauren take a pick of the two trucks and the van behind me, now!” Luis commanded proceeding to speed up in order to lose them.  In turn all three vehicles sped up with him making it impossible to lose them.

“Oh my god!”  he yelled when the truck nudged him even harder causing him to jerk the steering wheel just to keep from ramming into the wheeler on the other side.   He sped up even more to lose them looking for any off ramp to take on either side. He was not about to die because of some lunatics who had a death wish.

“Luis, an exit is coming up in twenty miles on the left, take it!”  

“Okay, d****t!” he yelled frustrated.  

Seventy… eighty… ninety…

Still no use, he had to go faster.  

Ninety.. One-hundred… one-hundred-ten…

Almost there… he could see it coming into view.  

However, just as when he started to turn to the left, now being ahead of the truck enough, it bursted ahead of him and rammed him into the eighteen wheeler sending Lauren’s head colliding agains the glass.  

“Lauren!  Damn!!” he yelled trying to slow down completely forgetting about the van behind him barrelling towards the back end of the vehicle.

Initially the vehicle started to propel forward, but another smash of the truck sent it flying towards the eighteen-wheeler which in turn started to flip off of the highway, onto the street below sending the car tumbling with it.  

Time slowed down and all Luis could hear was Lauren’s shrill screams and the sound of glass breaking and gunshots firing.   One second stretched into a minute… an hour… an eternity...tumbling in the air and coming down only to land roof first onto the eighteen-wheeler which was lying on its side.   

CRASH!!!!!

Nothing was heard even after the ringing of his ears died down.  He didn’t know how he was even conscious considering half of the car was crushed and Laur-

Luis head whipped so fast towards her it sent a stinging pain to his neck.  His eyes widened as he saw her body unconscious, head, face, and ears bleeding sandwiched between the dashboard and her seat and the window.  Tears sprung at his orbs as they captured the horrifying image. This was all his fault he chanted over and over in his head. And just when he thought things couldn’t get any worse the van behind him caught on fire.   

Author's Note

Okay here it is. Sorry I was a little late, but I had a really late night Thursday and therefore couldn't edit the ending scene so it didn't come out like i wanted it to.

Also an important NOTE SO PLEASE READ! :

Due to having never attended a public school, I don't really know how the class schedules work and whatnot. Therefore if the school scenes aren't realistic enough let me know in the comments and make suggestions on what i could do to make them better- even if it means rewriting the entire scene. My aim is to make it as realistic and relatable as possible. The same goes for the end scene. I'd really appreciate it. Like I said, i really didn't get the chance to revise and edit this so this is how it came out. I will be going back to review this. I am also putting together a cast for this book so I will probably be posting that next week but don't hold me to it.

Good day, reader :)