Megan’s POV

The moment my sister and I got out of our house, I am surprised to see a car waiting for us in our driveway. I can’t tell who’s car it is, and when the driver rolled down his window, I saw Lennon and Cole smiling at us. And then Lennon got out of his car, and he walked towards the backseat and opened the door for us.

“Good morning, Megan. I am sorry that Ashton is absent for today, and he asked me to pick you up and your sister.” He said, and I couldn’t stop my heart from beating so fast, and I am just glad my brother left earlier than us, or I will be in big trouble again.

“I hope it would be all right if I would be your driver for the day.” He added, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw my sister blushed when she found Cole staring at her, and I want to scream no, it is enough that I am being attracted to Ashton, and I can’t let my sister fall for Cole, too, it would be a total disaster for the four of us.

“You don’t need to pick us up, Lennon. Besides, we are used to riding the bus every day.” I replied, and I can tell the Pritzgold children are gifted with exceptional beauty, and I wonder why they got it all.

“It’s okay, Meg. We are on our way to school anyway.” Lennon replied, while I saw a wonderful smile on my sister’s face when Cole winked at her, and I need to reprimand Ava later because she is still young, but I can’t deny my sister looked mature with her age; like sixteen years old already.

“Thank you so much, guys,” I said the moment we got out from Lennon’s car.

“You are welcome, Megan,” Lennon said, and I said goodbye to them, and my sister says goodbye to me, and then she ran towards her classroom to meet her friends, and I know she was avoiding me.

“Wow! It seems you are now close with your future brothers-in-law.” Alice declared the moment they meet me at the library entrance, and I couldn’t stop myself from feeling sad again, and I scowled at Alice.

“Megan, that is not the look I expected to see from you, knowing you’ve got a boyfriend,” Oscar said while he raised his eyebrows.

“I know, but how can I be happy knowing my favorite brother is against it? Besides, it seems Dexter was suffering from a broken heart; that is why he wants to include me with his misery.” I said.

“Hey, don’t say that, Meg. We all know how much Dexter loves you.” Alice said as we get inside the library, and I felt so relieved that I haven’t seen any of Lauren’s friends.

“Yeah, and tell your hot and handsome brother to try someone like me. I will take good care of him, Meg.” Oscar added, and I laughed as I shook my head.

“You know, guys, we better stop talking about boys as of now, and let’s focus on our studies,” I said, and they all followed me as I walked towards our favorite spot away from the rich kids of the school. And I found Zachary got inside the library as we are about to get out, and he looked so happy to see me.

“Hey! Megan, it seems I will be your escort for today.” He said with a wide grin while Oscar fluttered his eyes that I need to stop myself from laughing since he looked so ridiculous trying to get Zach’s attention. I haven’t told him yet about Zachary’s confession, and I wonder how he will react about it, and I looked back to Zach before I speak, and I realized he just finished with his football practice since he seemed so fresh from the shower.

“I don’t need a babysitter, Zach,” I replied, and he laughed, which made the librarian looked at us and made a sign to silence us, and we all hurried to the door.

And my boyfriend’s best friend was true to his word. He walked beside me in going to my morning classes, and no one dares to come near me. It seems that the girls didn’t give me hard stares because Ashton is not around. I suddenly felt worried because I can feel that something is going to happen since they are all so calm the entire morning, and the same things happen during the afternoon, and I felt glad I survived the day without commotion.

“Megan, can I talk with you?” My manager of the cafe asked me to have a talk with him, and I suddenly felt nervous, but I was thinking he will inform me about the salary increase that we are waiting for, for a while now, and I become excited.

“Sure, Mr. Johnson,” I replied, and he motioned me to follow him to his office.

“Meg, I know you are an outstanding employee and very diligent. But I hate to say to you that I have to fire you.” He said, and it feels like he poured me cold water.

“What? But why?” I asked my boss in bewilderment because I always do my job well, and I make sure I will never get late.

“This is with regards to the returned ten orders of latte, the owner knew about it, and he was not happy about it, and I hope you will understand. I tried to defend you because I know it wasn’t your fault. Those girls only want to mess up with you because they have nothing to do with their life. And I know they are all rich kids.” Mr. Johnson replied.

“And the owner is firmed with his decision. He received a letter from someone threatening to file a lawsuit against him if we cannot fire you. I am sorry, Megan, I know how devoted you are to your work, and you are my best employee.” He added, and I can feel my entire body shivered. I badly needed this job because I want to help my family. 

“Alice, you can’t just quit because Mr. Johnson fired me. He needs you, Al, and you love your job so much.” I said after I changed my uniform into my casual clothes.

Alice barged into Mr. Johnson’s office after our manager fired me, and she told him she also wants to quit right away, and our manager begged Alice not to resign. But she looked so determined now that I don’t think she will listen to any of my reasoning.

“They don’t value your hard work, Megan, so why should I stick with a company like this. They didn’t even investigate what happened, and for me, it is very unfair to you that they will judge you because of those monsters who want to ruin your life. I don’t understand why they want to make you suffer when they are living in a mansion, and they have a good life, and I hate those girls.” She said, and it should be my line and not hers because I was the only one who got fired.

“I know you are doing all this for me, Alice, but I am telling you, I am okay, and you don’t need to resign just to show your sympathy with me,” I said as I try to look strong in front of her. I don’t want my best friend to know that I am having a hard time because of everything that happens in my life.

“Megan, I am not doing this for you. I want to give our boss a lesson to ponder. Let us see if he will not realize what he had done to you, and I am sure our boss will lose more customers; he doesn’t realize those patrons keep coming back because of our charm and skills in dealing with customers.” She said that made me laugh even if I felt like dying inside.

“Don’t blame Ashton again this time, Megan; I know you will drag his name into this. No wonder those girls are silent the entire day. And Lauren is something. And you need to be more careful because she doesn’t know yet that you are now Ashton’s girlfriend, and she already accomplished something like this.” My best friend said, and I know she has a point; I can’t blame this to Ashton because this is the evil doing of Lauren.

“Of course, I know,” I replied, and I let out a heavy sigh.

“Don’t look so sad, and don’t worry, I know my aunt will help us, don’t forget she is our fairy godmother in terms of part-time jobs. I am telling you before this week will end we can find a new job and new environment.” She said, and just on time, Ashton texted me. I can’t stop myself from feeling so happy, even if I felt so down.

I informed my boyfriend we resigned from our part-time jobs, and he called me right away. Still, I didn’t tell him anything that happens on Friday night because Zach begged me not to say anything to him about it, and I told Ashton not to worry about me, and just like that, he made my day complete and happy. And I realized I miss him so much, and I felt so delighted when he informed me, he will be back by Wednesday, and I couldn’t wait to see him.

“See, how does Ashton make you so happy, Meg?” Alice asked, and I could not argue with her, and I realized I should never allow those girls to hurt me anymore. I need to face them with my head high, and I am no longer afraid because I know everything will be alright as long as they will not hurt any of my family members; they can throw anything at me, but I will never let them see me cry, like what happened earlier, I tried my best to control my tears because I realized if I sob tears can’t do me good. I need to be strong.

“Yes, Alice, you are right. I never realized that the person you love could make your heart so calm in times of trouble, and I am so happy right now after I talked with him, and there is no way I am going to break up with Ashton..” I replied, and my best friend giggled as we got out of the cafe with a happy face.