Chapter 7 — Them

TAYLOR’S POV:

I could not sleep last night and I regret it now as my eyes look puffy and red.

Honestly, I’m nervous and worried about today.

Zach walks into the kitchen and looks at me with shock written on his face. “What happened to your eyes? Did you even get any sleep last night?”

I slump on my couch and say, “I couldn’t stop thinking and so could not sleep either.”

Zach says, “Do you want to grab your favorite Starbucks coffee before heading to school?”

I nod my head in response, get ready and slowly make my way to the car waiting for Zach.

I sit in the car, waiting for Zach to get my coffee while I try to get some sleep in the car so that I at least look a little more energetic before reaching school.

Zach gets into the car and hands me my caramel Frappuccino, which is my favorite Starbucks drink.

I take the drink from his hand and say, “Thanks for getting me some coffee.”

I take a sip of my drink and I moan, loving the taste of the coffee. Starbucks coffee really helps to brighten up my day because I feel energetic after drinking it. No joke, it really helps a lot, especially during my exams.

I look at Zach, seeing him eyeing my drink, and I say, “Do you want to try?” Zach shakes his head. “No thank you. You know I don’t like drinking coffee.”

I smile and say, “It’s really nice. Trust me; you will fall in love with this coffee after you try it. It tastes like heaven.”

Zach raises his eyebrow and says, “You sure?”

I nod my head in response and pass him my coffee.

He looks at it before taking a sip and widening his eyes in surprise. “Wow. This drink is really nice.”

I take the coffee back and say, “Told you. Okay, let’s quickly make our way to school. I think the students will be arriving soon.”

Once we reach school, we immediately make our way to the hall and Zach looks at his phone and looks up at me, saying, “They are coming in about 5 minutes. Kayden just texted me.”

I fake a smile, hiding my nervousness and nod. “Okay.”

Zach looks at me worriedly and asks, “Are you sure? You look worried.”

I sigh and say, “Yeah, I am. It’s just that I don’t know how to react if I see them.”

Zach touches my chin and lifts my face to see his beautiful blue eyes and says, “You are stronger than you think you are. Just be yourself and don’t let them dim the fire in you.”

I smile widely and say, “Thank you, Zach. You always know how to comfort your best friend.”

We hear the bus coming into our school and Zach says, “They are here already; we need to go down.”

I look at myself one last time in the reflection of the window and say, “Let’s go.”

I see some students gathering around with their teachers while some are still coming down from the bus. We walk down the stairs and I wave the twins over.

I say, “Are all the students here today?”

They nod their head in response and Kayden says, “Their principal is there.”

Zach looks over and says, “Gather the students around first; we will brief them before bringing them to the hall while Taylor and I will personally bring their principal and teachers there. Gather some of the student council to gather the students’ luggage and put it in a safe room.”

Both twins nodded. “Okay boss.”

Zach and I make our way to the teachers and their principal, Mr. Patrick. Zach says, “It’s a pleasure to have all of you here today, Mr. Patrick.”

Mr. Patrick says, “Thank you. All of us are looking forward to the coming week.”

I see Kayden and Jayden bringing the students up, but I do not notice a particular person looking at me.

I focus on the conversation between them and Zach says, “The students from our school are waiting for all of you in the hall. Taylor and I will lead you there.”

We show them the way to the hall and when we open the door, everyone stood up and clapped as they entered.

I direct them to the seats we had reserved for them, right in front of the stage, while the students are made to sit behind them.

Mr. Wilson sees them and says, “Good morning to all of you and welcome to Liverpool High School.”

All of them including Mr. Patrick shake hands with him while Zach and I make our way backstage to get our microphones.

We walk to the stage and Zach speaks into the microphone. “Please quiet down everyone so we can start this.”

Everyone starts to quiet down, and Zach finally begins. “Good morning, principals, teachers, and fellow students. My name is Zach, and I am the President of the Student Council.”

I continue his sentence and say, “And I am Taylor, the Vice President of the Student Council. We are your hosts for today.”

Everyone claps and I wait for the claps to die down before continuing, “It’s an honor to have the principal, teachers, and students from Wilton High join us here today.”

Thankfully, the entire event goes smoothly.

Zach says, “Thank you and we really hope that you love it.”

I smile widely and say, “Student Council members please go to your respective groups that we have assigned to you and please guide the students that you are supposed to group with.”

Zach and I walk off the stage and hand our microphones to Charlotte. “Good luck to you two. Taylor, remember that later I am driving you back home.”

I nod my head in response and we go back to check on the grouping. When I walk towards the group of students, I find Liam staring at me. Seeing him standing there with her, hurts me the most.

I remember the moment when we were best friends and he was always there for me and speaking up for me when someone bullied me.

Zach notices me staring and says, “Taylor, let’s focus now.”

I broke our eye contact and look at Zach and say, “I’m sorry.” Zach says, “Okay, so our group is number 5.”

Zach looks at the students and says, “Sorry, the teachers actually grouped them, and it landed to us having them in our group.”

I sigh loudly and say, “It’s alright. Let’s just get it over with.”

We walk over to our group and Zach says, “Hi, everyone! We will be your group leaders for the next three months and today we will be touring you all around our school.”

I see Melissa giving me looks which almost seems like she is throwing knives at me. I look away and turn towards everyone else, “Let’s get going because our school is pretty big. Before we go for the tour, do any of you have questions to ask?”

Liam suddenly spoke up, looking at Zach and asks, “Sorry, what was your name again?”

Zach seems furious, so I step in and say, “His name is Zach and I am Taylor.”

Liam smiles at me and says, “Okay.”

I touch Zach’s arm and say, “Chill, man. Don’t act up; he is just an idiotic person who is trying to get under your skin.”

He smirks and looks at Liam, who heard it, and Liam seems hurt when I finish.

But suddenly, there were thoughts in my mind; I don’t care how he feels but it hurts when I see him like that.

Am I still in love with him?