The Boys of Hawthorne by Ashtyn Short
Chapter 9

Chapter Nine 

Aspen 

As I step into the little room, a woman sits behind a mahogany desk. She looks to be in her mid–fifties. She’s wearing a bright yellow cardigan; her face is free of makeup and her graying hair is swept back in a bun sitting at the base of her head. A pair of glasses is perched at the end of her nose as she looks at the computer screen in front of 

her. 

As I take her in, I realize that she reminds me of Mrs. Harrison and a pang of nostalgia hits me at the memory of the 

fe I left behind. 

“Excuse me.” When she looks at me, I give her a hesitant smile as nerves erase any lingering confusion over what happened with the boys in the hallway, “Hi. My name is Aspen Clark. Umm…I guess my mom spoke with someone here last week and got all of my information transferred from my last school in Monument. I was told to stop in this morning to pick up my schedule and locker number.” 

“Yes, yes. Hello Aspen, it’s nice to meet you.” Says the secretary lady who I now see is Emma Frankfurt according to the nameplate sitting at the corner of her desk next to a little potted ivy plant, as she goes back to her computer screen typing a few things in, and then I hear a machine starting. 

Twisting around in her chair, Mrs. Frankfurt gets to her feet and crosses the office, stopping in front of a printer that I hadn’t noticed and grabbing a sheet of paper from its tray. 

Okay, looks here like you’re in AP Calculus, AP Literature and Composition, AP Psychology, Art, French II, Athletics, and AP Physics. That’s a lot of advanced classes.” She says with a chuckle as she hands me my schedule. Your locker number is listed right here, looks like it’s number 1254.” 

“Thanks. And yeah, I want to go into Nursing. Figured it’s best to get an early jump on my college courses in High School if I can.” I take the sheet of paper from Mrs. Frankfurt, adjust my bag on my shoulder and ask her which direction I need to head for my first class. 

After handing me a detailed map of the school, she gives me instructions on how to get to my class and offers to find me a student guide to show me around and to my classes, but I tell her that I think I’ll be okay, but that I will let her. know if I change my mind. 

“Thank you!” I tell her as I exit her office and start off in the direction that she pointed me towards, following her 

directions. 

There aren’t any students in the hallway since the second bell has already rung, and the hallways are silent except for the sound of my footsteps. The silence causes my nerves and thoughts of how the guys were earlier to resurface as I study the numbers beside each classroom door until I find the one that I’m looking for. 

Ah, here it is! 

Shoot! 

As if being a new student isn’t bad enough, now I’m walking into class after it’s already started. 

1/4 

Chapter Nine 

Huffing in frustration, I reach for the door handle, only to find it locked. I reach up and knock against the wooden door, making sure that I’m to the side of the door by the wall so that none of the students can see me as I wait for the professor to come to the door. 

Alter what seemed like forever, a man that doesn’t look much older than me opens the door. I assume he’s a student but as I take in his clothes, I note that he’s wearing gray slacks and a blue button–down shirt and quickly adjust that assumption, concluding that he must be Mr. Jefferies. 

“Um…I’m Aspen Clark,” I say, handing him my schedule, “sorry, I’m late, I just finished up in the office getting my schedule.” 

“Come in, Miss Clark.” Stepping back, he pulls the door further open, holding it so that I can enter the classroom, then 

shuts it behind me. 

We walk over to his desk, and he hands me a spare book, then turns to the class, “Class, we have a new student with us today. This is Aspen Clark, please make her feel welcome.” With a smile, he motions with his hand in the direction of an empty seat near the back of the classroom. 

Glancing at the faces of my classmates as I pass them by, murmured words follow me as I continue down the aisle, slut, whore, skank and desperate being just a few of the many things that are muttered beneath my classmates‘ breaths as I pass by their desks. 

These people don’t even know me, why would they think and say such awful things about me? 

Trying to ignore the insults, I quickly make my way to my desk, only to come up short when I find Boston seated at the desk directly behind the one that the teacher told me to use. His three brothers are also here, taking up the desks 

to his left and right. 

None of the four even spare me a glance, confusion rears its head once more, but this time, instead of nerves, hurt takes its place as these boys continue to act like they don’t even know me. 

Seriously, what in the actual hell? 

Placing my Literature book on my desk, I pull out a notebook and pen and try to pay attention to what Mr. Jefferies is saying. All throughout the class, spitballs seem to magically fly through the air from behind me, landing in my hair, on clothes, or on my desk as well as nasty, ugly remarks that are murmured only loud enough that only I can hear. 

“Man, what were you thinking sleeping with that?” 

“I wasn’t, man. I needed a warm place to slide my cock into and she fit the bill. Biggest. Regret. Ever.” 2 

His words hurt. 

So much. 

I find myself fighting back tears as they continue to destroy me with their words. 

“Hope you’re getting checked, she probably has some type of venereal disease.” 

“Dude, you didn’t wrap it? Fu*ck man, that’s nasty.” 

2/4 

Chapter Nine 

“Don’t remind me. Like I said, biggest regret ever.” 

For you and me both, prick! I think as I try to ignore the four jerks sitting behind me and focus on what Mr. Jeffries is going over at the front of the classroom. 

“I bet by the end of the month that she will have propositioned the whole football team and already fu*cked three- quarters of them after seeing the way her eyes lit up at the lot of us at the game Friday night.” I hear one of the boys say Unfortunately, I can’t distinguish their voices apart yet, they all sound too much alike. 

“Such a slut.” 

I try to ignore them, I really do and by the time the bell rings, I have two whole pages full of notes. Unfortunately, I couldn’t actually tell you a single thing Mr. Jeffries said. I may have been listening enough to write down the words that were said, but I didn’t absorb them at all. My mind was instead on the four guys behind me, and how petty they were being. 

Students all around me stand up, rushing out of the classroom to head to their next class. Lifting my bag onto the corner of my desk, I close my notebook and dogear my book, so that I know where to look when I undoubtedly have questions later as I try to do my homework. 

The four guys behind me pass by, knocking my backpack, book, notebook, and pencil to the floor, not even bothering to stop as they saunter towards the front of the classroom. 

“That’s right, back on your knees where you belong, slut.” 

“What the frick?” I grumble as any hurt that I had previously felt immediately turns to anger, at how y my stepbrothers are treating me. 

Quickly grabbing my stuff, I shove it all into my bag, stand back up and rush out the door, glancing at my schedule to see where I need to go next. 

Next up is Calculus. 

After checking the map, I figure out that it was on the second floor. Rushing down the hall, I see the guys making their way up the stairs and my chest hurts with betrayal, on top of the hurt and confusion that they’ve already caused this morning, as I watch yet another girl, a blonde this time, wrap herself around Boston. Pulling her into him, he wraps both of his arms around her, resting his hands on her ass as he leans down. 

Biting my bottom lip, I try to keep my eyes averted, afraid that I won’t be able to keep my composure if I see him kis*sing her. Hitching my bag up on my left shoulder, I pass them by, using my right to shove into them, and then continue my way up the stairs like I hadn’t done anything. 

“What the hell, bit*ch?” I hear the girl say as I continue taking the steps one at a time, not bothering to give the five of them a second glance as my anger continues to simmer. 

I hear quiet murmurs followed by the sound of the girl giggling at whatever was just said, followed by a male voice saying, “could she get any more desperate? Be glad you dodged that bullet, man.” 

Unable to be the bigger person, I turn around looking at the five of them beneath me, and while glaring daggers at the group below me, I spit, “The whole lot of you can go screw yourselves!” 

3/4 

Chapter Hine 

Author’s Note: What were they thinking? How could they be so cruel? How could they hurt her like that? The truth is hidden 

in the following, chapters, keep reading, to find out. 

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