Chapter 43
1250words
She pictured her mother and then Evan and finally Ryan. The myriad of emotions she felt threatened to burst out of her chest and just as she was about to pirouette, Mason swore so loudly it caused her eyes to snap open.
The music kept playing and she turned to reprimand him but the words died on her lips when she saw who'd walked in.
Louisa Roberts smiled warily, waving a hand in the air, "Hi."
Mason was already on his feet, charging towards her, "And what the fuck do you want? Didn't you see the sign outside? This place is occupied, so go."
"Actually, I didn't come here to practice," She said gently, "I wanted to speak with you Aurora."
Natasha scoffed from where she sat, muttering something in Spanish. "Keep her name away from her lips, cabaron."
"Please," She added urgently, trying to walk past Mason but he blocked her path, "Please."
Her eyes found Aurora's, pleading desperately and she sighed tiredly,
"You have a minute."
Mason swiveled to face her, "You can't be serious! You want to talk to her!?"
Aurora gave him a look and he rolled his eyes, pretending to zip his lips and throw away the key. She smiled, watching as he returned back to his previous spot, Natasha and his gaze focused on them,
"So," Aurora began, walking to grab the bottle of water by the stereo that was still playing, "What do you want?"
There was hesitation in her eyes and she twisted her fingers together, "I just want to let you know that I'm not doing this because I have any mean intentions. It has always been my dream to participate at the national convention and I-"
Aurora lifted a finger, silencing the girl instantly, "Did you-" She paused, licking her lips, "Did you come all the way here to tell me this?"
"I-I haven't finished yet but-"
Aurora laughed, she couldn't help it. She threw her head back and laughed genuinely, "Oh my god, Louisa. You're funny and I mean it in a good way," She swallowed the rest of her amusement and shook her head, "Why would you think that I'm affected by your decision?"
"I heard that the title has always been yours but I genuinely just wanted to have a shot at it. If I had known that there wasn't a competition for it then I would-"
"You would still choose to compete against me," She cut in brusquely, "Spare me the fake sentiment, Louisa, girls like you make me sick. I don't care if you had a good intention or didn't know that the title has always been mine," She drawled monotonously,
"I don't care. You're the least of my worries right now and honestly, I was getting a little bit tired of doing the same thing over and over again. You can have the position if you want, I'm not even going to try hard for it."
Aurora plastered a dopey grin on her face and leaned forward to whisper into her ear, "The moment you chose to hang out with Eva and her troupe, I already knew what you were aspiring for. So don't even think your doe-eyed, innocent act is going to work for me, I've done way worse to achieve the things I want."
She straightened, her eyes narrowing in a clear warning before she stalked off, slamming the door shut behind her.
The rest of the day went smoothly and she didn't see the blonde for most of the class, not until it was lunch time did she show up, sitting with her clique and pretending to laugh at something James Arthur had said. Aurora ignored her for the rest of the day and hung out with her friends.
Natasha was telling them about her new boyfriend from France and how she was taking an online French class so she could relate with him better. Mason, being the dick that he was, betted that they would break up before the end of the semester. It resulted in an argument that she was forced to split up after it went on for so long.
They had one more class after that and then it was time to go home. Natasha reminded them that her birthday was days from now and that they'd better planned something jaw-dropping for her. After kissing both of them goodbye, she left. Mason stayed for a few minutes before he too hugged her and then left, saying he had something important to do for his dad
Aurora stayed back to dance some more. She danced until her limbs began to protest and finally, she decided to call in it. After changing in the dormitory and putting back the clothes she wore earlier this morning, she picked up her purse and sent a quick text to Calvin, asking where he was.
As she was walking in the corridor that led to the main entrance, Professor Elena burst out from one of the classroom, nearly running into her.
"Aurora, you haven't gone home yet?" The woman asked causing her to frown. Elena had never been interested in her before so this was new.
Since there was no harm in answering her, she nodded, "Yes, ma'am."
She made to keep walking when Elena spoke again, "I heard your mother didn't take the news of the contest lightly. She keeps pegging the vice chancellor to mark it out."
Aurora stiffened at the implication in the woman's tone. She drew in a sharp breath and faced her,
"I assure you, none of that will happen. My mom just needs time to adapt to the change."
"And it's a change that has long been needed," Elena took a step forward, her smile looking more predatory than pleasant, "Don't you think so, Miss Rochester?"
Aurora could see through her horn-rimmed glasses what she was trying to do. She huffed, having played this game one too many times,
"What do you want me to say, Monroe?" The use of her surname obviously shocked the older woman and she took a step back, "You want me to feel bad, or wronged that this was taken from me? No," She took one step forward, "Your little blonde can have the position for all I care, I just think it's a little shameful that you're doing all this to rile me up."
She smiled and tipped her head in a parting gesture. As she walked away, she felt like she could suddenly breathe better and she was almost out the door when Elena screeched in fury,
"You think your family's money will protect you for long, right? You think that you're untouchable and that nobody can get through your skin?" Aurora despite herself, stopped walking to listen, "You're not going to get the last laugh, Louisa is an excellent student and this contest will let everyone know just how prejudiced your family is."
Aurora scoffed and shook her head. This was disappointing.
She didn't look over her shoulder but made sure her voice was loud enough, "With all due respect, Miss Monroe. I don't give a damn."
And she walked out the door, slamming it shut for the second time that day.
