Chapter 18 Your Brother Doesn’t Care About You Anymore
After stepping off the bus, Jocelyn marched away from the school, her face tight with anger. A little while later, Christian biked toward her, and she reached out to stop him, ignoring his efforts to brush her off.
Forced to halt, Christian glanced at the hand gripping his school uniform and frowned. “Let go of me.”
Jocelyn said, “Why didn’t you answer my calls?”
Christian looked away and replied, I’ve been busy. There’s no particular reason. Stop coming after me.”
“But you promised to help me with my studies. If I fail the mock test this time, I’ll get expelled. Do you not care about that?”
Christian stayed silent, his eyes averted as if trying to stay firm. Seeing that Jocelyn–wouldn’t let go, he said, “Let go now. It’s almost time for class!”
Jocelyn held on stubbornly. “I won’t release you until you explain yourself. If you don’t care about me, then I might as well skip class. No one has ever cared about me.”
Christian’s face tightened as he looked at her. Finally, he relented, “Didn’t I ask you to memorize those formulas? What about the Vormesh vocabulary? Have you read the extra books I suggested?”
Jocelyn nodded eagerly. Tve done everything you asked, including memorizing all the vocabulary. Feel free to quiz me.
“Christian, I don’t like it when you ignore me.”
He replied casually, “Got it. We have five minutes before class starts. Let’s meet in the library at noon for your study session. I might be busy after school, so I can’t help you then.”
Jocelyn’s frown quickly disappeared as she flashed a bright smile, her cheerful demeanor returning. “Okay, I’ll find you at noon.”
Christian said, “No need to find me. Just come to the library.
Jocelyn, afraid he might change his mind, hurriedly replied, “T’ll head to class now. Don’t stand me up.”
With only a minute left, Jocelyn rushed through the school gates and into her classroom, relieved to see that Brianna hadn’t arrived.
As she settled into her desk, the math class representative approached with a test paper. “Ms. Carter wants. to see you in the office.”
Jocelyn’s stomach dropped at the news.
Entering the office, she saw Brianna sitting behind her desk, her expression stern as she glared at the door. Jocelyn, come over here.”
Nervously, Jocelyn walked to her desk. “Ms. Carter, did you need something from me?”
Before she could finish, test papers were thrown at her face, causing a sting as they scattered around. “Have you forgotten what I told you last time? Jocelyn, you never listen. Do you enjoy dating so much? Christian,
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despite his tough background, doesn’t even need to take the SAT–he already has a full–ride scholarship.
“How about you? You’re an orphan with no one to depend on. If you don’t work hard now, who will you rely on in the future? Even your brother doesn’t care about you anymore.
“I don’t understand what you’re thinking about all day long!”
A sharp edge of paper scratched Jocelyn’s neck, making her stammer. “Ms. Carter, you’ve misunderstood. 1 don’t know who told you these things or spread rumors Christian is just helping me with
my studies.”
Brianna sneered angrily. “Don’t think I’m unaware. This morning, you were calling Christian’s name loudly on the bus in front of other students. What was your intention?
“Trying to act like you’re the female lead of a story, making things seem so romantic?
“If your grades don’t improve, you’ll end up with a life of menial jobs!
“You’re destined for failure!”
Jocelyn clenched her fists tightly. She had never been scolded so harshly, not even by Zachary
She felt a surge of anger as Brianna’s misunderstanding made her feel deeply uncomfortable.
“Ms. Carter, you’re right about many things, but I stand by my words–Christian is only tutoring me. If you don’t believe me, call him to confront me.
“If you still doubt me, you can transfer me to another class. Yes, I’m an orphan, but I have a brother. He’s just busy and can’t always be there for me. He hasn’t abandoned me!
“Don’t worry. I’ll prove my worth with my grades!”
With that, Jocelyn turned and left the office. Her desire to study hard was genuine. The things she said to Christian were merely to ensure he wouldn’t ignore her.
He wouldn’t suddenly ignore her unless something had happened.
Jocelyn wasn’t distracted by the morning’s events during her classes.”
At noon, she went straight to the library. She found Christian already there, surrounded by cakes and pastries.
Jocelyn approached him and took a seat. “Let’s get started.”
Christian was engrossed in a book about computer programming, which she found confusing.
Without looking up, he pushed a piece of cake toward ber. “No rush. Eat this first. I’ll be ready shortly.” With an hour and a half left in the lunch break, Jocelyn waited patiently as Christian finished his work.
When she took out her pencil case, her pen accidentally rolled to the ground. As she retrieved her pen, she noticed a pink strawberry keychain in his pocket, which stunned her momentarily.
He asked. “What’s wrong?”
Chapter 18 Your Brother Doesn’t Care About You Anymore
Jocelyn quickly composed herself. “Nothing
“Have you eaten Hand me the book”
Throughout their study session, they spoke little. The dely interruptions were the curious glances from
classmates.
Who said that early relationships had to disrupe studi
If she dated Christian, she’d be even more focused on her work than before
He was always precise in tutoring
Jocelyn paid close attention. Before the realized the time, the bell rang, signaling the end of the period.
Christian packed up his things. “Let’s call it a day. You can head back now. I’ll continue with you
tomorrow.
Jocelyn nodded, grabbed her backpack, and then hesitated before saying “Christian.
