*Elizabeth's POV*

After the incident, I didn't have energy to attend the school for a whole week. Diana kept me updated and Janet taught me what I missed at school. At least, I was happy at the home, away from a particularly arrogant being and his rudeness.

"Lizzy, you can't live your whole life deep in your burrow! You must get out at some point of time. Now, leave this issue and forget about him. There is a big, bright world outside him!" Janet tried encouraging me for the umpth time in that week. I felt ashamed to tell her no once again. So, I agreed to go back to school even though when I didn't want to.

I woke up early in the morning the next day and got dressed into my grey Denims with a white, turtle neck sweater. I didn't want to dress up so I just pulled my hair into a side plait. That suited me very well. Then I waited for Diana to pick me up. She came earlier than I expected her to and kept me distracted the entire way.

As soon as we got to school, I knew what was to be done. I decided I would go to the last seat in the corner and occupy it before anyone else did just to stay away from him.

The classroom was empty when I reached so I followed as I had planned. I plugged in my earphones and kept listening to the music as I hummed along with the song on loop 'I Love It' by Icona Pop to keep me occupied.

'You're on a different road, I'm in the milky way

You want me down on earth, but I am up in space

You're so damn hard to please, we gotta kill this switch

You're from the '70s, but I'm a '90s bitch

I love it!

I love it!'

The class began to fill up slowly which I could tell with the commotion that gradually turned louder. But I didn't raise my head up to confirm it even once.

'I got this feeling on the summer day when you were gone.

I crashed my car into the bridge. I watched, I let it burn.

I threw your shit into a bag and pushed it down the stairs.

I crashed my car into the bridge.

I don't care, I love it.

I don't care, I love it, I love it.

I don't care, I love it.

I don't care.'

I glanced at my wristwatch and saw that the class would be commencing at any moment so I kept my iPod and headphones back in and occupied myself with the subject books. The teacher finally came in and the class went on smoothly. I didn't see that freak again for the whole day. I assumed he was on leave and that allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief.

Diana, Janet and Susie chattered non-stop, gossiping about all the good things that I missed. But Lola seemed depressed herself.

"What's up with her?" I pointed animatedly at Lola.

"You know, she is Lola. Doing her usual Lola thing!" Diana sang, making everyone burst into laughter.

"Shut up! Senseless people!" Lola grumbled before walking away while we continued laughing.

*****

We decided to go bowl later that day. I got three strikes in a row, while Diana got four. Janet didn't take part as she wasn't the athlete type. Susie could hardly lift the ball. Poor thing. While on the other hand, Lola was busy flirting with a cleaner guy who she misunderstood to be the manager of the place.

The day was tiring by the time I headed back home after having dinner with my friends and the cleaner guy who Lola had decided to drag along. The imagination of how the rest of the dinner must have gone, one could imagine.

By the dawn of the next day, I had completely forgotten about the devil reincarnated.

Cheerfully, dressing into a pair of grey skinny jeans and a red sleeveless blouse with a wooden brown jacket over it. I let my hair open and put on an exotic blue crystal pendant necklace which Liam had gifted to me on my fifteenth birthday. Oh, how could I forget about Liam? Liam was the guy who had proposed me but I - I with my ego as big as a mountain, had rejected him. That incident was an year ago but he seemed to have moved on about it. It was good for him, but he still continued to talk to me occasionally.

I decided to take my red Porsche this time to the school. I hummed to myself all way long.

I was almost late by the time I reached the parking lot. So, I parked my car at the first spot available in the parking lot and rushed to my first class.

The teacher was already there when I reached it but thankfully she let me in without any detention slips. Walking over to the last bench as that was the only empty seat remaining and sat next to Megan. We used to be really good friends in elementary school. She smiled at me making me smile back at her in return before I turned to face the teacher and black board again.

The first thing I noticed was that she was a new teacher for the subject I hadn't seen her before in school. That was the reason I couldn't name the face I was seeing. She looked quite old for her profession.

She commenced the class with the revision of the previous class and her plan for the present class. I picked up her name to be Veronica. But of course, with the honorifics. After a while she stopped the class and asked, "Now students, sit with your partners and solve your textbook exercises."

The whole class got up and shuffled around to new seats.

Feeling baffled, I caught hold of Megan's arm and questioned, "What partners?"

She just let out an, "Oh!"

And before I could make sense of a single syllable meaningless word, she proceeded to call for the teacher's attention, "Mrs. Veronica, Elizabeth has been absent for a while and doesn't know who her partner is."

"Oh dear! Come here, child. Let's see who is available," Mrs. Veronica instructed me and I couldn't help but sheepishly follow her.

She looked around the class and then asked me to go and sit beside the guy who had been seated in the third row. I looked up to see who he was and began cursing my luck.

Someone just kill me right here and now, please! Why did it have to be him?

Unwillingly, I walked up to him and took my seat. I was careful enough to keep distance as wide a berth as possible between us.

I neither looked at him nor turned in his direction. I didn't even greet him a simple 'hello'. My actions were detached enough to make him think he was invisible. At least, that was what I hoped.

I let myself dig myself into the books and started solving the activities by myself. I knew all the answers and had almost completed it. While writing, my brain formulated various ways to talk to the teacher and get her to change my partner.

Mrs. Veronica walked from bench to bench, inspecting and directing the students as required. I finished my share of excercise questions and turned to face her as she was already moving towards us.

"Do you have any doubts, my dear?" She asked when she reached us.

"No ma'am. I've completed it," I replied politely.

"So fast?" She asked, looking shocked.

I just nodded, forgetting about the fact that I had a neighbor about whose status I didn't have any clue.

"What about you, dear?" She now asked Rome.

"Not quite well, ma'am," he replied to her like a well groomed gentleman. But I didn't need to face him to see his expression. All I felt for him was detest.

"Oh my!" I could have rolled my eyes at her dramatics especially when she turned to look at me with that reprimanding look.

"Child, this was supposed to be a team work. Please help him out," She scolded me slightly.

Taking a deep breath inside, I decided to address the elephant in the room to her, "Excuse me, ma'am. Can you please change my partner? I'm not really comfortable with him."

I was almost about to glance his way from the corner of my eye but then stopped myself from doing something that torturous.

"But why? You must learn to communicate with each and everyone in the class, so you can take this as your new assignment rather than a request to work with him," she smiled at me as she finished.

"But ma'am-" she cut me off.

"No more ands or buts! Just help him."

Then she moved on to the next desk leaving me feeling greatly annoyed from within.

Why should I help him? Can't he do it by himself? I so hate him!

I took a few deep breaths to control my temper before gathered enough control to face him, still not really looking at him. I was in no mood to explain or argue with him. I didn't even want to see him. So, I just pushed my book to him to copy and then turned away from him to face the board.

At first, he just pushed it back harshly in reply. Then seeing that I didn't react to it, he slowly took the book back again. I didn't bother to see what he was doing, I didn't even care when he looked at me. The bell rang shortly and he passed me my book back before me.

Before he could say anything, I snatched the book, packed my bag and within no time, I was out of class.

I almost ran out even before Mrs. Veronica could step out. After that, I was careful enough not to encounter him again ever, or directly. But whenever I saw him with other girls, a sting of jealousy hit me. And I hated feeling that way.

Why was I even feeling that? Like, seriously? Jealous? Why in the world was I letting it get to me? Why?!

Those few days went exactly like that.

I would pass the book to him to copy and start chatting with the other neighbor. That was way I could avoid talking and staring at him. Then just when the bell would go off, I would rush out of class. He might have tried to talk to me many a times but I ignored him and got myself busy in some or the other work to avoid him. I had been careful enough not to see his face again, therefore I had almost forgotten how he looked. All that I could recall were just faint memories that didn't matter. At least, anymore.