38. borjuazee

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"Damn it." I toss my pencil down onto the table before grabbing an eraser once again. "How do you spell bourgeoisie?"

"B-O-R-J-U-A-Z-E-E." Asher spells the word out for me, but I don't write it down because I know there's no 'J' in bourgeoisie.

Devin spells the word out for me as I write it down once again, this time tracing over it with a thick black marker. It's a little crooked now that I look at it, but it's also too late to re-write.

"Get off your phones," Devin mumbles as she adds bullet points to our poster. "You guys aren't doing shit."

Aaron, Asher, Devin and I sit around a large rectangular table in one of the many study rooms on campus. Mr. Sanders assigned us to work on a poster board explaining the social classes in the eighteenth century. Boring.

Aaron begins looking through Devin's textbook, seemingly searching for more facts we can jot down on the poster we'll be presenting to the class after work time.

"Give me a marker then." Asher pockets his cell phone as he stands up, hovering over me. I hand him the black marker I was using. "'Scuse me, 'Stella."

I move out of his way, watching as he scribbles something onto the board. I angle my head to get a peek at what he's adding onto our poster. He stands up from his crouched position, smiling as he returns the marker to me.

"Really, Asher?" Devin gives him a bored expression as she points to the small stick figures drawn at the bottom of the poster.

"The bourgeoisie." He shrugs. "Family of 'em, actually."

"You're so stupid." Aaron sighs.

I smile, looking at the little stick figures. They're kind of cute, if you ask me.

My eyes travel to Asher, who sits beside me. He already has his gaze set on me with an expression I can't decipher. I quickly look away from him, still highly aware of his stare in my peripheral vision.

"Jacob's been talking so much shit about you," Aaron says, shaking his head as he scrolls through his social media. Asher and I share a glance. "What happened on Friday, anyway? I didn't even know you guys still had beef."

Please don't tell him.

Asher shrugs. "He was getting on my last nerves."

"And no one took a video?" Aaron shakes his head in disappointment. "I'd pay to see you beat the living hell out of him."

I pretend like I'm not listening to their conversation, unreasonably laser focused on tracing over Devin's neat handwriting.

"Estella, how'd he do?" He asks me. "On a scale from 1-10. What would you rate his skills?"

His question takes me by surprise. "Um... I don't know."

"I think we should just stop talking about it already." Devin shrugs as she draws a line across our poster, underlining the large title written at the top. The line comes out perfectly straight. I have no clue how she does it.

"I just don't get it," Aaron continues. "All I know is that there was a fight. No one's saying why it happened or who started it or who the fuck won."

"Who cares?" Devin interjects. "We all know Asher and Jacob have never gotten along. It's happened before and if we're being honest, it'll probably happen again before we graduate."

I lean back in my chair, silently thanking Devin for steering away from the topic I'm so over talking and hearing about.

During passing period, I had to explain to Madison and Vanessa that everything that happened last weekend was all just a huge misunderstanding. Jacob Matthews never laid a hand on me. He and Asher fought, that's all. There's no need to tell anyone about Friday evening's events.

"How many times has it happened?" I ask in a low voice, turning to Asher.

"Twice," Devin replies.

My eyes widen. "That was your third time fighting him?"

He nods once. "And counting."

I stare at him in awe, hoping he's only joking. But based on the lack of amusement in his eyes, I have a feeling he isn't.

Before I can respond, the door of the study room swings open and a girl named Macy appears with a tight-lipped smile.

"Hi, sorry to interrupt you guys. Mr. Sanders just told me to tell you guys that it's time to come back to the classroom," she explains.

"Thanks, we'll be right over," Devin says, still focused on completing our board.

If she wasn't in our group, we wouldn't have finished this mini-project at all. And it'd probably look a lot sloppier than it does because no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to write straight without having a line to guide me.

I stand from my chair to help her clean up the table, grabbing our markers and wiping off the eraser shreddings on the desk to throw them away.

"Okay, we have to go back," Devin says. "I hope you guys know what you're saying for our presentation."

-

"How about I go to your house after my shift?" Aaron asks me with a smile. "I get off at nine. We can watch find something to watch on Netflix and hang out. Do stuff."

"Tempting." I give him a sheepish smile. "But my mom's home today... and she would kill me if I had you over."

He shrugs. "Willing to risk it?"

I laugh, shaking my head. "I'm not."

He nods in understanding. "Another day."

"Yeah." I agree. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, see ya," he replies before giving me a friendly smile and walking to the parking lot.

Nice going, Estella. Could you be any more awkward?

I inhale deeply, shaking my head. After I realize I'm standing in front of the school without reason, I walk over to Asher, who sits with a group of guys I'm not acquainted with.

"Hey," he says as I sit down next to him on one of the cement steps.

"Hi." I smile.

"You okay?"

I nod. "Yeah."

"So are we are we gonna go to the park or chill at Asher's?" Nick, who I recognize from my Calc class, asks the group. "I'm down for either one."

The group begins to discuss their options, seemingly coming to a consensus of going to the park first to 'smoke up' and then walking over to Asher's, where they'll eat and hang out for a while.

"Wanna come with us?" Asher asks as he turns his head to face me.

I watch as he brings his hand up and tucks a strand of hair that came loose from my ponytail behind my ear. He pulls his hand away right after, but I don't address it.

"I can't. My mom's home," I reply, knowing he'll understand with those few words. "I should probably get going now, actually."

I pat my hands on my jeans once before standing up from the step. Turning back around to say bye to him, my eyebrows furrow as he holds out an arm to me.

"Help me up, would you?"

I grab onto his hand, pulling him up to his feet.

"Where are you going?"

He shrugs. "Taking you home."

I shake my head. "No, you should hang out with your friends. I can walk."

He rolls his eyes, turning to face the boys who now seem to be tuning into the conversation. "I'll meet up with you guys later. I'm gonna take Estella home first."

He begins walking down the steps. I follow after once he waves me over. The both of us ignore his friends calling out, 'simp!" as we make our way down the excessive amount of stairs leading up to the school.

"You really didn't have to give me a ride."

He shrugs. "I owe you, anyway."

We get inside of his car. I buckle my seatbelt as he turns on the stereo: the first thing he does every time he enters his car, I'm sure.

"You owe me?" I ask in confusion. "You don't owe me anything," I explain. "As a matter of fact, I owe you. I feel like I need to be paying for gas, at least."

Not that I have money to pay him for gas.

He laughs, the sound filling up the small space of his car. "We live on the same street. I literally can't get home without passing by your house."

I agree with a nod. The two of us continue conversing for the few minutes we're in the car.

Something I've always liked about Asher is how easy he makes everything. It's as though nothing ever happened last week. The way our conversation flows without any awkward silences or forced laughs brings me comfort.

"Thank you," I say as he pulls up to the front of my house.

"You're welcome," he replies as I remove my seatbelt. Just before I open the door, he asks, "Estella, we're good, right?"

I nod. "We're good."

"Alright." He smiles. "I'll see you then. Tomorrow morning— I'm taking you to school. Don't 'forget' your phone again."

A smile takes over my face. "I won't."

Before our conversation goes on any longer, which I'm sure it can, I open the door and hop out of his car. He doesn't leave until I'm in my house.

"Estella!"

My mom's voice blares from the kitchen just as I enter. I lock the door and walk over, finding her with a rag and cleaner for the counter in her hands.

"Hi, Mom."

"What took you so long?" She asks.

I should be used to her bluntness by now. But somehow, it still manages to catch me off guard. No greeting, no how was your day? I think most of my shock comes from the sight of her cleaning, though.

"I was at school," I reply.

"You get off at 3:00," she counters. "It's already almost 3:30."

I bite the inside of my cheek. "Sorry."

She ignores my apology, turning off the water coming from the faucet and drying her hands. "Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about," she says, walking over to the living room. I follow after her. "I'm spending Thanksgiving break with Matthew and his family."

My eyebrows furrow. "You are?"

She sits down on the couch. "His family lives up in Utah," she continues. "His kids are coming with us, too. So, I was going to ask if you wanted to come along."

If I'm being honest, I had no idea my mom and Matthew's relationship was so serious. I thought he was only one of her boy toys. But they're spending a holiday together— with his entire family.

"Do you want me to go?" I ask curiously.

She shrugs. "I don't have a preference."

I press my lips together, slowly nodding my head. She turns on the TV, letting me know she's done with the conversation.

I watch as she chooses a movie on Netflix before I turn around and head up to my room to start my homework.

As I sit in front of my computer, I think about my mom's offer to take me with her for Thanksgiving. The last time I ate with her for the holiday was years ago, back when my dad and brother still lived with us. We would go to my grandma's on my dad's side and meet up with our entire family.

After they left, I'd spend holidays with Brooke. She and I would eat dinner, watch movies. When she started to bring Jackson along, it was the three of us for most holidays. As I got older, I'd spend days like the Fourth of July, New Years, and Halloween by myself.

Maybe it'll be nice to spend time with a family on Thanksgiving, even if it isn't my own. Even if she didn't necessarily seem like she wanted me there, this might be a chance for us to spend time together.

I'm going.

-

author's note:

hii everyone! sorry for the lack of updates lately. I've been super busy with schoolwork and going to all of the senior activities they're hosting for us before graduation :)) but i'm back! and I have some exciting chapters coming up.

I hope you all are enjoying!

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