Chapter 2: Pride & Prejudice
Ally stares at the ridiculously tall floor-to-ceiling windows, rag in hand and her trusty ladder right by her side. That window has to be at least 6 times taller than her. The Moons own a successful worldwide mattress company called the Moon's Mattress Kingdom, and their mansion really lives up to the name.
However, unfortunately to her, that only means more work. Don't get her wrong, she usually loves to keep the main room spotless, but after a tiring morning of cleaning the jerk's room, she just really isn't in the mood of craning her neck cleaning five super-sized windows. In addition, she really wants to finish reading Pride and Prejudice, despite having already read the classic five times before.
Austin, or 'the jerk' as she constantly refers him as, is currently at school, a fancy all boys private school which tuition fee is insanely high. Thank God, because she can already imagine him making fun of her shrimpy height right now.
She turns her attention back to the damned windows. With a determined expression on her face, she carefully climbs on the ladder, only to almost tumble down by her best friend screaming at her.
Hugging the ladder in panic, she whips her head around to face Trish, who is holding a large basket and looking downright furious.
"I can't believe that guy!" Trish screams out in frustration. "First he breaks up with me, and then he waltz back with a stupid apology shirt and prays for me to take him back! What am I supposed to do?! Just miraculously forgive him for cheating on me and say 'Sure, sweetie! Let's be boyfriend and girlfriend again!'" she yells sarcastically in a shrill and girly voice.
"Trish, calm down. I almost fell off the ladder because of your screaming."
Her best friend winces and says, "Sorry Ally, I just had a really, really bad lunchtime break."
"Hey, it's okay. He's a total jerk anyways. I remember him checking me out when you brought him here last time," Ally replies, referring to Trish's awful ex boyfriend, who now apparently wants her back despite hurting Trish's feelings when she found out he was dating another girl behind her back.
"I know, but he is just so…Ugh."
"You could talk to Dez," she advises. Trish eyes her like she's questioning her sanity, and she laughs. "Come on, I know talking to him would make you feel better."
Her friend snorts. "Yeah, like that would happen. But you're right, anything Freckles do would be stupid enough to make me laugh." She pauses. "Oh man, I just thought up an awesome way to get that double timing jackass back."
Ally smiles. Now there's her queen of revenge. She almost feels sorry for the torment that guy will get later.
Then she notices the basket Trish is carrying. "Trish," she starts off tentatively, "were you supposed to send Moon his lunch?"
She cringes when she sees her friend smile that sickly sweet smile she only uses when she's about to ask her a favor.
"No no no, I am not sending his lunch for you," Ally says frantically. "It's not on my chores today!"
Trish's smile only grows wider. "I know, but I'm already half an hour late and only you can stop him from blowing up. Oh come on, Ally, my ex just did the unspeakable to me today! I need time to plan my perfect revenge!"
Knowing she has no choice, Ally begrudgingly takes the basket from her friend's hands and says, "Fine, I'll do it. But you have to clean the windows for me."
She stalks away, with Trish yelling "You're the best, Ally!" in the background.
So now here she is, in the Marino School's own elaborate form of a school cafeteria, searching for the familiar head of blond hair.
"Hey gorgeous," says a flirty voice she doesn't know, "nice outfit you got there."
Ally turns around, watching the pathetic guy try to flirt with her but failing horribly. She rolls her eyes at his cheesy 'Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?' pickup line, and is about to give him a piece of her mind when another voice calls out from across the room, and this time it's a voice she'll recognize anywhere.
"Dawson, if you don't get here in three seconds, you're in big trouble."
The guy who has been attempting to flirt with her immediately stills, his terrified eyes flicking back and forth between the owner of the voice and her. He makes a speedy exit to the door without another word. Huh, apparently Moon's also a tyrant in school.
Austin, surrounded by his group of friends at the center table of the room, doesn't exactly look happy. Ally gulps and hurries over, just because an annoyed Austin equals bad things and bad things equals she might not have time to read her book today.
"Ally!" Dez greets her as she makes her away to their table. He and Austin are best friends, though Ally can never quite grasp why someone like Austin would be patient enough to put up with Dez's crazies.
"Hi, Dez!" she greets back with a smile.
"Are you two just going to chat or are you giving me my lunch now?" Austin mutters. "I'm about to die of a severe case of starvation."
Ally quickly takes out his lunch, which involves (surprise surprise) pancakes, along with cheeseburgers, tacos, and dozen other junk food any growing boy will love to eat. In case you are wondering, the cafeteria does offer food, but Austin had childishly argued it wasn't enough. She knows for a fact that he just said that to get her another chore, however, and much to her satisfaction the maids ended up taking shifts.
One of the guys sitting beside Austin whistles and says, "Austin, dude, it must be awesome seeing a line of maids in that uniform and looking as cute as her calling you master every day."
She automatically blushes, then notices the scowl on Austin's face.
"Seriously, dude? You keep your fantasies to yourself," Austin practically growls. Is it just her of does he really sound that possessive? Nah, definitely just her.
"Come on, man, introduce this hot little chick to us," another guy says, elbowing Austin in the side.
He scowls some more. "If you don't stop this right now, Dallas, you'll be on your own with the biology quiz next period," Austin threatens, shooting him a glare.
The three of them instantly begins a heated battle about whether or not Austin should introduce her to them.
"Excuse them, but they are hormonal teenagers in an all-boys school in desperate need of any form of girl contact," Dez apologies. Sometimes the things that boy says actually make sense. "Which reminds me, I have to feed my pet kangaroo today." ...Never mind.
She awkwardly leaves, and it isn't until she's to the entrance when she realizes she forgot to take the basket with her.
Zooming through the crowd once again, she intends to just grab the basket and leave, but as she nears their table, however, their weird conversation unfortunately catches her attention.
"Dude, you totally like her," Dallas, or at least that's the name she remembers, says to Austin with a knowing smirk. Dez and the other boy nod vigorously.
"You guys are crazy if you think I like her," Austin moans, clearly annoyed out of his mind. With his hands covering his ears, he looks exactly like a five-year-old avoiding a lecture by his parents.
"But she's cute, and since you apparently made it clear that you have zero interest in her, can I ask her out then?" Dallas asks. He falters under Austin's withering glare. "Dude, I was just kidding. Just admit you like her."
Her hand reaching to the basket freezes in the air. Basket be damned, she decides, she has a feeling this isn't a conversation meant for her to overhear. She then wishes madly for him not to notice her, but unluckily her prayers went unanswered.
"Dawson? You're still here?" The faintest blush creeps on his cheeks as his ears turn suspiciously red. She just continues to stand there with her mouth agape, her hand still stretching out to the forgotten basket uncertainly.
"What?" he then says, frowning. A look of pure panic crosses his face for the slightest second, and then he's back looking all cool and collected. He takes a big bite out of his stack of pancakes nonchalantly, looking at her with inquiring eyes.
And then she just has to say the first thing appearing on her mind. "How can you eat pancakes in every meal?" she blurts out, then immediately face palms, wishing for a hole to magically appear and swallow her up.
He blinks, clearly bewildered. Then his dumbfounded expression changes into the trademarked smirk. "See, that's why I so do not like her. Coo, coo," he singsongs, twirling a finger beside his temple.
Her jaw snaps close, and she snatches the basket away from the table, a furious blush blooming on her face.
Hah, she knew it couldn't be possible for him to like her. Why should she care anyway? He's just an immature jerk.
What? He has his pride and she has her prejudice.
A/N: Okay, you guys are just so awesome that I had to update the next chapter. But as much as I want to type out chapter three, I really have to STUDY:( KILL ME NOW. But anyways, thanks for all the reviews and please keep on reviewing if you like it!