Page 28 of Don’t Forget Me

Ezra no longer bothered me for the rest of the session, but he remained beside me since the room was filled up before he could change seats. The awkwardness of his fidgeting almost set me off, which made me the first one out of the classroom.

Rushing, I pushed between the crowds of plaid-wearing teenagers who loitered around the black and white tiled hallways, speaking to their friends about their experiences during the recent winter break. How I wished I was that excited to talk about my life with someone else, but there was nothing to even be joyful about. I did nothing over the holidays but work and fight with my stepfather.

I sent the thought of Mario out of my mind. He wouldn’t ruin my life anymore; I was thousands of miles away from him. It was not necessary to ruin my first day completely. I put on my earphones and played music. Songs with pianos and violins filled my mind with a serene cadence as I walked to the dining area.

Stepping into the cafeteria, I grabbed myself a plate and began to scoop food onto it. Everything looked delicious, causing my stomach to grumble once I had walked to the farthest unoccupied table. The tables in the darkly lit cafeteria were long and made of juniper. I watched as students pushed through the rows of tables and screeched with excitement when they set eyes on their friends. I was thankful I couldn’t hear them through the music I was blasting.

Some might have worried for my eardrums, but personally, I didn’t think there was a better way for my hearing to be impaired. Blasted eardrums were the best option to tune out the obnoxious conversations.

As I set my dark blue platter on the mahogany bench before me, I locked eyes with the ginger girl from my earlier class. She’d been sitting on a table, surrounded by more girls with the same mid-thigh skirts and tight button-up shirts. They seemed just as whorish as the girl who confronted me about the desk.

Ezra sat with a couple of friends not too far from her. He laughed with them, perhaps about some esoteric joke, his expression softened when we locked eyes. I looked away and began to eat. I had an itch to glance over at their table, to make sure they weren’t staring at me while I ate. It made me feel self-conscious about chewing food.

I had noticed that most of the girls here weren’t even eating the food, but if I had to be honest, I was hungry, and I had never had food like that before.

I survived on pizzas, burgers, chicken nuggets, and bread whenever I wasn’t at school. My old school’s lunch was criminal too, but it was free, and it was a constant.

A figure appeared before me. I looked up and noticed his piercing blue eyes before recognizing his arrogant smirk. My lips immediately fell into a frown.

“Oh, come on,” his lips read. His mouth continued to open and close as he formulated words that I refused to even try to process.

I continued to chew on my rice.

Then, he leaned forward, reaching for my ear. I pushed back my chair and glared at him. “Dude, what’s your problem?” I asked him, taking the earbud out.

“I just want to talk to you,” he argued, holding his hands up.

He was enjoying this. The chatter I had once heard had silenced. Ezra and I had caught the attentions of almost everyone who sat in the lunchroom.

“Leave me the hell alone,” I uttered slowly. I pushed the platter away from the edge and grabbed my backpack, leaving with rosy cheeks from anger and embarrassment. The best choice I had right now was to wait outside my next class. My boots clicked and clacked beneath me. The glances and stares of so many people caused me to squirm internally.

Today was going to be a long day.

fourteen

LYSANDRA

I looked down at the text message on my phone and almost squealed. Ezra told me that the construction for the set of the movie had already begun. He also mentioned that he picked out the best locations for the most dramatic scenes.

It had only been a month since we signed the contract, which was a freakishly quick turnaround. I guess being the producer’s ex had its perks after all.

Although I found it a bit odd that the head of the production company was overseeing such small details about one of the many movies that he’d funded. Nonetheless, I accepted his help. Perhaps he had really enjoyed my book. Throughout the years, I noticed that he had a pattern of making books into movies. Maybe my book was one of his favorites… I confessed that it was a bit far-fetched. Yet I still wondered if he was always this involved with the other movies that were produced by his company.

The casting call had been sent out weeks ago, and several auditions would take place today. Part of me couldn’t believe that this was really happening. My dream. The idea that followed me for years. My past could no longer define who I was because my present had given me a new identity.

And I did it.

My loafers clicked beneath my feet as I walked to the Van Dorren Auditorium. His father, before he passed, left all his buildings, projects, and money to Ezra.

I only knew because it had been the talk of the city for months. I read about it in newspapers, saw it on the TV at the pub, and had received a ton of text messages about Ezra. Everywhere I went led me back to him. It was as if his shadows followed mine.

I had to stop thinking about Ezra so much. This was wrong. My mind accused me of thinking more about a former relationship than my current one. I had to remember to prepare myself mentally to be able to get married to Aldair. He was the one for me. He had never hurt me. Not once had he lied to me. He had everything I wanted in a man.

Kind of.

He was willing to make a lifetime commitment to me; it was only fair that I was too.

I looked down at the sparkling marquise that shone on my ring finger. If only he knew that this was my least favorite diamond shape. I had asked for a pear-shaped ring. I even showed him and pointed out to him the ring that I wanted. But I was grateful that he had decided to propose with such an expensive ring. Although there was no need to waste so much money on a rock that would perish one day.