Chapter 5 : Much like your father

*Dave*

After class, I packed my textbook and notepad into my backpack. It was time for lunch and I was starving.

“Nice kicks, dude,” the boy that sat next to me complimented.

I looked at my shoes and back at him, smiling. Of course, they are nice. They’re Nike.

“Thank you, dude,” I answered, and he nodded.

“So your father is Cary Newman, right?” he further inquired and I nodded. I saw it coming. He wanted to start up a conversation and be friends with me.

Is it genuine or is he just trying to get close to me because I’m from a wealthy family?

“Yes. Cary Newman is my father.”

“Oh… cool!” he responded and soon got distracted by the people sitting behind us.

He seemed to pay attention to whatever they were saying, and before I knew it, my ears were with them too.

“I still can't believe she leaked that video,” a girl said.

“Why wouldn’t she? They both hurt her, didn’t they? Why would her boyfriend sleep with her best friend at her party? It’s insane. I would do way worse than that if I was in her shoes,” another girl added.

I knew it was my first day at school and I should mind my business, but the conversation really got me. I was still shocked hearing it, even though it wasn’t a new thing.

“Hey. What’s your name?” I asked the boy who first spoke to me.

“Daniel. And you’re Dave, right?”

“Yes, I am.” I leaned closer to him and asked in a whisper, “Do you have any idea what they are talking about?”

He chuckled and nodded. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and showed it to me.

“Everyone in school knows. It’s a trending topic on the school page currently,” he added.

I watched the video and tried to identify what the boyfriend and best friend of said girlfriend look like.

I was expecting the girlfriend to show up somewhere in the video, maybe when she caught them, or show herself recording it and threatening to post it, but she didn’t.

“And the girlfriend that posted the video?” I further inquired.

He looked back and pointed to a girl behind us wearing a hoodie. Her face had a couple of bandages attached to it. I could see the sadness written all over her face.

“She is the girlfriend, but we aren’t sure if she posted the video or not. As you can see, it is an anonymous page. She may or may not be the one. People and even those in the video think she did it because that is a perfect way to get revenge, don’t you think?”

“True. But did she say she did it?”

“No, she didn’t. When her ex-best friend confronted her about it, she said nothing. She didn’t try to defend herself, nor did she admit it. She’s so hurt and I feel bad for her. Can’t you see her face? She got into a fight with Emma, her best friend, and that is where those wounds on her face came from.”

I heaved a sigh and gave Daniel his phone. So much drama on my first day at school. Looks like I’ll have so much fun in Woodbury compared to my previous school.

“Daniel! It’s time for lunch!” a few guys chorused as they rushed up to where we were.

“Sure! Dave, are you coming?” Daniel asked, and they all looked at me.

“Not yet. I’ll join you soon,” I answered, and he left with his friends.

I looked back again at the girl in the hoodie and saw that she was preparing to leave too. She had her earphones plugged in, and it was obvious she didn’t want to speak to anyone.

Heartbreak. The word isn’t new to me. I was once left heartbroken by a girl, and it left me with a shattered heart. I lost sight of myself for a little while until I slowly started to heal, putting my broken pieces back together. So, I understood how awful she would be feeling.

I looked around the class again to see if I'd see her ex-boyfriend and the so-called Emma, but they were nowhere to be found.

Maybe they couldn’t stay back in school because of the leaked video. I mean, who would?

My stomach grumbled again, reminding me I was yet to give it what it needed. I sighed heavily and picked up my bag.

As I headed out of the room, I searched the school map on my phone and it led me to where the school’s cafeteria is located.

On my way to the cafeteria, I saw Emma and the other guy in the video sitting together at an empty table. I didn't know his name but I recognized him pretty fast. The students that passed by made no effort to hide their staring or the look of disgust on their faces.

I ignored them and headed to the cafeteria. I ordered some food and luckily, I found an empty table to sit at. I could go look for Daniel and his friends, but I don’t know the area well enough and would rather not get lost with a tray of food in this crowd.

While eating my food, I listened to the collective chewing and loud chatter from the students sitting around me. My eyes scan the crowd, mostly out of curiosity, before landing on the girl hearing the hoodie from my class earlier. She is sitting alone a few tables over from me with her head lowered as she ate.

The students around her table kept giving her an irritated look, but she didn’t notice. She was less concerned about those that were around.

She is probably going through a lot right now, and people staring and whispering behind her back won’t help the matter.

I continued to watch her as I ate, wondering what her name would be. Then I remembered that I could search for her on the school page. I searched “hoodie girl” after getting onto the school page on my phone and it brought out her picture.

Hmm. She’s pretty.

It was a picture of her smiling sweetly. I bet it wasn’t a recent photo because she didn’t have bandages on her face.

I scrolled down to read something about her and stumbled upon her name.

Della Avary? The daughter of James Avary? Wow! She is also wealthy like me.

I knew James Avary because he was among the top ten richest men in California, like my dad.

As I read about her, I learned that Della is twenty years old. My eyes lift from my phone screen to gaze over at her, still sitting alone with her head down. I found out things about her pretty fast, thanks to the school page. I knew she could write, and that she was part of the cheerleading squad for the school’s football team.

“Dave!” Daniel cheered, appearing right in front of me and blocking my few of Della. I flinched and hastily turned off my phone, shoving it into my pocket.

“What the fuck, Daniel! You didn’t have to yell my name like that,” I huffed, trying to calm my racing heart.

“I’m sorry, okay? I got so excited. The boys from the football team wanted to ask if you’d like to join us,” he said, looking over my shoulder.

I slowly looked back and saw them approaching us.

“Hey, Dave!” one of the guys said, and I smiled.

“Hi.”

“So, Daniel told me you are a new student and suggested that we ask you to sit with us. One of our strikers is bedridden and there’s an important match coming up. Would you love to save our asses?” he asked as he sat next to me and jokingly pulled me closer by the shoulder.

I looked at Daniel and he grinned widely. He gave me a reassuring nod.

“You don’t even know if I can play well,” I muttered to him.

“Then we’ll train you, right guys?” he offered, and they all consented.

I exhaled and nodded my head. “Okay, then,” I answered and they all cheered loudly, drawing attention to our table.

I smiled and looked up to see Della staring at me with zero expression. I kept my smile, hoping she would smile back at me.

And to my greatest surprise, she did. Though it was a faint one, I was happy she did.

‘I am a new student, so she knows I’m not the enemy,’ I thought.

“So we’ll be practicing this evening before we leave school. See you on the field,” Daniel said and the rest of the team walked away.

Daniel picked up a sausage from my tray and threw it in his mouth. “Thanks, man,” he uttered and went with his friends.

I looked up at Della again and saw that she wasn’t seated anymore. I hurriedly looked around and then I found her walking out of the cafeteria.

I grabbed my bag, stood up, and ran after her. “Della!” I called out.

She took a pause and turned to look at me.

I moved closer to her and smiled. “Hi. I’m Dave.”

“I know. You introduced yourself in front of the whole class. I heard your name. You’re Mr. Cary’s son,” she responded, and I nodded.

“You know my dad?” I lifted my brows in surprise, and she scoffed.

“Who doesn’t?” she answered, and I chuckled.

“True. Well, it doesn’t matter. Are you good though?” I further inquired.

She let out a faint sigh and nodded her head. “Yes, I am. Thank you. I have to go now though.” She turned to leave.

“Wait… you are a cheerleader too, right? Will you be coming to the football practice?”

She looked at me and shook my head. “I’m not a cheerleader anymore,” she answered coldly.

I nodded knowing full well why she would want to not engage in any social activities anymore.

“Okay. Well, I do hope you’re all right. I know how it feels to be betrayed and heartbroken. This phase will pass,” I said, and Della smiled softly.

She walked closer to me. “You are very much like your father.”

“Is that a compliment?” I creased my brows, and she chuckled.

“Yes, it is. Your father is a nice man. Everyone knows that. Welcome to our school by the way. I can’t tell you to blend in, because it looks like you blended in already,” she said.

“You mean Daniel and the boys from the football team?” I asked, and she nodded.

“Well, they need an urgent player for the next competition, that’s why they came to me. And Daniel, he’s pretty jovial, so yeah, I’m blending in.”

“Good. Make friends with them. But if you are close to me, it could tarnish your image… Bye,” she muttered and turned to leave.

I stared at her until she was out of sight. I sighed and headed to the football field.

I felt pity for Della. She was so alone and I am aware of how it feels to be lonely.