On Monday, Haley stepped into the school office and found it just as it always was. She figured it would look the same for the next hundred years. The walls were painted a light brown and were covered with inspirational quotes posted on landscapes and dramatic photos. She had already memorized these quotes as she passed the time as an office aid.

The waiting area was filled with neutral toned chairs and a coffee table that held exactly three magazines that not even the most desperate people would even glance at. The dark wooden front desk sat off to the right and stretched across half of the room. Doors - with black nameplates - led to the nurse's and counselor's office. Down a short hallway were the Vice Principal's and Principal's. All in all, it was a quiet and normal place.

Haley dropped her bag under the desk and plopped into a cushioned armchair.

"Hi, Dana?" she said.

The gray-haired receptionist looked at her over the top of her glasses.

"How was lunch?"

It was the exact same question Dana had asked Haley every day that year and Haley responded with the same exact answer.

"Fine. So what do you need me to do?"

With a smile that was given to everyone, Dana pulled out four narrow strips of pink paper and handed them to Haley.

"These need to be delivered to their rightful students."

Haley took the notes and moved to a filing cabinet. After checking where each student would be at the moment, she left. The sun was hot overhead but there was something wonderful about feeling its first wave of heat after being in an air-conditioned room.

The grounds were mainly empty, classes in session. Occasionally, Haley would pass the wandering student who had been given a bathroom pass. Most of the time they never needed it, wanting more to just avoid learning something new for a minute or two.

As she approached a bottom floor classroom, she could hear a deep, passionate voice slipping out from underneath the door.

"...that is why you have to remember that even though Alexander Hamilton-"

The male teacher's voice cut off as Haley pushed the door open. He was in his late twenties with black hair and seemed to be bursting with energy. It was for this reason that, though History had the effect of putting most people to sleep, the classroom was alert. The teacher looked at Haley with expectant blue eyes.

"How can I help you, Ms. Owens?" Mr. Scholar asked.

She handed him the pink sheet of paper. As he read over it, she glanced at the room. It was full of juniors, some of them taking the brief pause to whisper comments to their neighbors or check phones. Haley was looking back to Mr. Scholar when she spotted Isaac in one of the furthest rows. He met her gaze and gave a quick smile. Without realizing it, she was returning the look, if not completely matching the strength of his.

"Beth Jones," Mr. Scholar said, "you're needed in the office. Hurry back when you can, history is a story no one should miss."

Before Haley could be trapped into that awkward situation of walking alongside Beth for even a moment, she left and continued to deliver her slips of paper.

She had finished giving out her final slip and was heading back to the office when the sight of a black puppy stopped her. The dog was trotting in through the front gates, its nose tilted into the air as if searching. When it spotted Haley, its tongue fell loose and it seemed to grin at her. It was then Haley recognized Isaac's dog. For a second, she racked her brain searching for its name.

"Cal?" she said, hesitant.

The familiar sound made the dog's ears perk up and he quickly jogged to over to her. Cautiously, she reached out and scratched the dog's ears. They were velvety soft and the goofy look she received made her smile.

"Come on," she said, "I know who you're looking for."

As she started walking, she looked back to make sure Cal was following her. He was, sensing her to be wise and knowing of his true intentions. At Mr. Scholar's classroom, Haley turned back to Cal.

"Ummm...sit."

The dog wiggled its tail once and then sat.

"Good boy." She raised her hand. "Uh, stay."

The dog remained sitting, staring up at Haley with dark chocolate eyes. With one hand on the door handle, she looked back, reassuring herself that the dog wasn't going to race into the room the second she opened the door. When the door opened, Mr. Scholar stopped again.

"Here to take yet another one of my avid learners, Ms. Owens?" he asked.

"Sorry," she said. "Isaac is needed for something."

Confused, Isaac stood and walked over to her.

"Mr. Thompson return to us in a timely manner if you can."

Isaac nodded and looked to Haley, still baffled. His confusion was snatched away when he noticed the dog patiently waiting just outside. Quickly closing the door behind them, Isaac moved forward and Cal lept forward to meet him, his body bouncing as if it still didn't know how to control all its limbs.

"Cal, you know you shouldn't be here," Isaac said, kneeling down to scratch the puppy's sides.

"I found him wandering into the school," Haley said.

Isaac stood and gave a sharp whistle, the excited puppy stilled and looked to Isaac. With the dog no longer distracting him, he looked to Haley. His blonde hair was a mess and looked almost white under the sun's stare.

"Thanks."

Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, he glanced to the classroom door as if worried he would be overheard. Understanding his hesitance, Haley took a step away and he followed. He snapped his fingers and Cal jumped into action, trailing alongside him.

"He's usually good after I see him during lunch," Isaac said, "but sometimes it seems to almost make him more lonely."

"He seems really well trained."

Isaac's face suddenly became animated.

"He is! He's still just a puppy. But watch, I'll show you."

He looked like a little kid eager to show off his new toy and Haley had to hold herself back from smiling. Isaac turned to Cal, his face going from bright to serious in a second. Haley glanced around. They had stopped just beyond the shade of the buildings and no one seemed to notice them.

"Cal, sit." The dog obediently sat. "Cal lay down." He did. "Cal, roll over." The puppy gave a floppy twist of its body, managing to do a complete roll. "Cal, sit."

The dog adjusted back to a sitting position. Isaac threw a quick glance at Haley, the edge of his lips curling. Something in his look was boyish and excited all at once.

"Cal, ninjas! Hide!"

Instantly, the dog dropped to its stomach and covered its eyes with its paws. Unable to help it, Haley started laughing. The smile on Isaac's face widened at the sound. He focused back on Cal.

"Cal, police! Hands up!"

The dog quickly sat up and raised its paws in the air. Haley's laugh renewed, and she covered her mouth to keep the sound down. Cal was able to hold the stance for a second. As he was about to fall forward, Isaac crouched before him and caught him.

"Good boy," he said, rubbing his stomach.

"Are you preparing him for a life of crime?" Haley asked, lowering her hands.

When Isaac looked up at her, she was still smiling. His answer seemed to be delayed for a second.

"Well, you never know." He shifted his attention to Cal. "Best to be prepared for every situation, right?"

"So you have a big fear of being attacked by ninjas?"

"Doesn't everyone have that fear? They are ninjas after all."

"I can honestly say I have not had that fear."

Isaac rose to his feet and gave a sympathetic shrug. "Well, it looks like Cal and I will have to save you from ninjas one day since you don't realize the true threat that they are."

For some reason, Haley felt herself smiling at this statement and cocking her head at him. At the look, Isaac stared at the ground and adjusted his glasses.

"Umm...yeah, I should you know, get Cal home and get back to class."

"I should get back to work."

"Cool."

"Okay."

They both looked at each other and then spun away. Isaac glanced back once as he headed towards the gates, smiling to himself. As the distance grew, Haley's own happy looked started to fade as her thoughts righted themselves. What was she even smiling about? The dog was cute, that was all. There was no reason to keep smiling. The dog wasn't there anymore.

By the time she pulled the office door open, her smile was stuffed away and all thoughts of a cute dog and his goofy owner were forcibly shoved to the side.
Dana eyed Haley as she took a seat beside her.

"That seemed to take an inordinately long time," she said, her voice hinting at a secret.

Haley started straightening out stacks of paper on the desk.

"I found Isaac's dog on campus and had to go find him to have him take care of it."

"I see."

The phone rang and Dana picked it up, sparing Haley from saying anything more on the subject and inadvertently reviving her thoughts. Another form of distraction appeared when the office doors opened and Ty and Josie walked in.

"Okay, so you make a good point there," Ty said, "but I still think there was something going on between the blonde girl and Sam. She was in too many pictures for it not to mean something."

Their conversation stopped as they approached the desk.

"What can I help you with?" Haley asked.

Josie handed over two sheets of paper. "Can we get thirty copies of each of these?"

"Sure."

Accepting the two piece of paper, Haley walked to the copier. The machine hummed as she keyed in directions. The second the pages had been handed over, the girls started talking again, but this time the names were different.

"Did you see Theo's latest post?" Josie asked.

"Yes, and it was completely obvious. The caption, 'with the love of my life'. We know what he was referring to."

Josie leaned against the desk, twirling a pencil in her fingers.

"He played it off well. He was holding his guitar and you could only see the edge of Bobbi's elbow and her shoulder. To anyone who isn't smart enough to see it, it would look like he was talking about the guitar."

She tapped the counter with the pencil's eraser as if bringing home a point.

Haley had her back to the two girls and took this moment to roll her eyes. Sometimes she wondered if they realized how completely crazy they sounded. They were talking like they knew a secret no one else did. Did they not understand that it was all guesses and in the end, none of it mattered whatsoever?

The copier continued to spit out pages as the girls talked. The whirring of the machine wasn't loud enough to drown out the conversation behind her. Haley silently urged the copier to move faster.

"Did you see the thing last night?" Josie asked.

"Of course. The fact that they hid the web address in the half a second before the music video ended, which then led to a fake website, that when you rearranged all the error codes spelled out a social media account name, which posted a photo of a date was pure brilliance. Seven Ships never does anything less than amazing."

Before Haley could process the fact that they were talking about a band that was not only, not pop but something she actually listened to, the copier finished. Grabbing the two stacks of papers, she handed them to the girls.

"Thanks!" Josie said, offering the gratitude up with a cheery smile.

Haley only gave a nod in return. They left and Haley welcomed the silence that followed. Halfway through the girls' visit, Dana had walked off to deliver a message and had yet to return.

Haley pondered what to do next when a shout from outside made her sit up and look around. The office door banged open and Jace appeared in his gym uniform. His tall gym teacher had his hand firmly clamped on Jace's shoulder as well as another boy's. Besides the livid scowl on Jace's face, there was the beginning's of a bruise on his cheekbone.

"He started it!" yelled the dark haired guy.

"Like hell I did!" Jace lunged at the guy and slammed him against the wall. "¡Vete al infierno!"

Mr. Swanson yanked Jace back and shoved him towards a chair.

"Sit! Now!" his deep voice boomed through the room.

Still looking as if he wanted to rip the guy to shreds, Jace did as he was told. Mr. Swanson turned to the second guy.

"Cody, take a seat. If either of you so much as look at each other, I will have you pulled off the team. Understood?"

Cody nodded, but his expression was murderous. Giving them both a stern look, Mr. Swanson walked to the Principal's office. After a short knock, he stepped inside. Haley felt she had been turned to lead.

The whole scene had happened in a matter of seconds but had shocked her. She had never really seen Jace angry. The thought surprised her because it was true. Jace could be a lot of things, but pissed off had never been one of them. Seeing him like that now was like being doused in ice cold water. All she could do was stare at him.

Cody was slouched in his chair, arms stubbornly crossed while Jace sat bent over his knees, staring at his hands. Continuously, he stretched his fingers and then balled them into fists, as if he were trying to rid himself of something. His bruise was getting worse, but he didn't seem to notice.

When the shock wore off, Haley stood. Crossing the room, she slipped into the nurse's office. Since she was in the middle of looking over a sick kid, Haley silently grabbed an ice pack and left. Jace was still glaring at his hands like he couldn't bear to look at anything else.

Haley walked to him and held it out. It took a second for him to register that the ice pack was there and what it was for. Without looking at her or even saying anything, he took it. As Haley settled back into her spot, Jace lifted the pack to his cheek.

The Principal's door opened and a man in his late fifties stepped out. Both Jace and Cody looked over. The man gestured to Cody. He rose and walked into the room. In the silence that followed, Haley busied herself with tidying up the desk. Questions raced around her head but she held them back. Besides, why did she even care? Jace could do whatever he wanted, it wasn't like they were friends, right?

At this thought, the image of Jace standing on his balcony inviting her over for food filled her head. She nudged the memory away since part of her still didn't understand why he had offered it and why he even talked to her in the first place.

The minutes stretched on. Cody left the office and then Jace was closed in behind the doors. Dana returned, but neither of them said anything, just waited.

The office doors opened and Jace's mother walked in. She looked as beautiful as ever. Even without a trace of makeup on she looked as if she had come from a photo shoot. Her blonde hair was piled on the top of her head and she wore a loose t-shirt, jean shorts, and sneakers. Haley was struck with the feeling of knowing that no matter what she did, she would never look that beautiful or comfortable.

Jace's mom was at the desk and about to speak when the door to the Principal's office opened. Jace stepped out and in a second his mother was standing before him. Her elegant hands cupped his face and turned it, inspecting the bruise. Though Jace was a few inches taller than her, he seemed small in that moment.

"Mijo," she said, the Spanish endearment full of concern as it slipped from her lips. "What happened?"

Jace didn't have time to answer.

"Mrs. Cortez," the Principal said. "If I could have a word with you."

She nodded. Giving Jace a quick kiss on his cheek, she followed the principal. It was only a few minutes before she exited and walked back to Jace. They left and Haley sank back in her chair, frowning. Not once had Jace looked at her.

She knew this shouldn't bother her, but that didn't stop the feelings from being there. On top of that, despite knowing she shouldn't care, she couldn't stop the questions about what had happened that buzzed in her head.

**********************************************************************

Kamusta, Star Butterfly!
(Filipino)

Wait! Are those thoughts about Isaac's cuteness, Jace's fight and the chapter in general for me?! You're too kind!
👉🕳👈

Okay, do you ever get like ten chapters into a book and think 'wow I just straight up don't care' and peace out?

Oh my gosh! 😂 It would be too hilarious if someone felt this way about this book right now! If you do you have to tell why before you peace out! Cause if anyone could die of curiosity it's me! (You know cause I'm a cat 🐱)

So I'm guessing even if it's not on chapter ten you still have this feeling, so where in a book do you usually decide if you'll stay or not?

What is the number one thing that makes you stop reading a story?

My answers: I can usually tell by the first chapter if I'll stick with it for a while. And it's a mix of poor writing and unrealistic world or characters.

This author's note was so boring I think I've broken. 😭 *sits down on the floor and cries until I become a puddle of melted ice cream*

What's the point of voting, commenting or following, I'm an author without any oddness! There's no point going on!

Yeah, she's totally coming to terms with the divorce and realizing that she just needed to find out who she was again.