Chapter 6 - Stay Away From Toby Ridings
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So I'm puttin' my defenses up
'Cause I don't wanna fall in love
If I ever did that, I think I'd have a heart attack
~ Heart Attack by Demi Lovato
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It's okay.

Don't worry about it.

You're fabulous.

But the students molested our roses!

After splashing cold water on my face, I glanced back at my reflection in the mirror. It wasn't fair that our hard work was used against us. Who knew how many other students got the stems with rotten eggs. I sighed, wiping my face with a towel. During my reform to be a better human being once I started school, I didn't realize I would face upsetting circumstances.

Nevertheless, crying over it won't solve the problem.

As a great therapist once suggested, "Girl, put your imaginary crown back on your head and grab yourself a sword. You're your own knight in shining armor."

I stepped out of the bathroom and bumped into Miley, who was frantically pacing around the room.

"Watch where you're going!" She snapped and speed walked to the other side of the room.

"Aw, did you not get a rose, today?" I asked. Only that could explain her grumpy mood.

"I don't care about roses," she said dismissively.

"Not even if Toby gave it to you?" I wiggled my eyebrows and smirked.

"Shut up, will ya?" Wow, grumpy siren should be going off any minute, now. With a loud huff, Miley sat down on her bed and I joined her. She seemed upset about something. "What do you want?" She asked me.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly. "Any problems or anything? If it's Shark week, I have a chocolate bar. I don't mind sharing." During times like these, chocolate helps.

She took steady breaths for a few seconds before replying, "I'm perfectly fine. I don't need chocolate or roses." I shrugged. "Every day is a struggle." She finally relaxed a little.

"I understand," I whispered.

"Tell me, Noor, am I fugly?"

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Effing ugly," she elaborated.

"Of course not!" I said immediately. "You and I both know you're effing gorgeous! Why would you even ask me that?"

"Doesn't matter," she said and turned away. Her focus returned to her phone.

"Did someone say something?" I slowly asked.

"Go away. I don't wanna talk," she said rudely. She wasn't in the mood and that was pretty obvious. I dropped the topic and decided to leave the room. Just as I was about to step out, I heard, "Under the bleachers."

"What?" I looked at my cousin in confusion.

"If you want to stop the stink bombs, that's where you should go. Soccer field bleachers," Miley said, not looking up from her phone. "It should be safe after six." I grinned. She wasn't as tough and mean as she pretended to be.

"Thanks. You're amazing!" I had my phone out, ready to get Babushka on the case.

"I know," I heard Miley say before I left.

¤》¤《¤

"So hot." Babushka licked her lips.

"Totally and madly hot," I agreed.

"I'm so glad I came with you guys," Nelly said. She was the blue haired girl from the Shakespeare club meet. She didn't act like she enjoyed our side of the club, but now she did.

The three of us watched the boys' soccer team. They had just finished a game and had taken their shirts off. Let's just say, they raised the heat levels by one hundred degrees. My eyes were going to burn.

Dear Allah, please forgive me for this sin.

I can't help but admire your creations.

"Why isn't your brother sparkling?" I asked Babushka. She rolled her eyes and slapped my arm in a friendly way. Her brother had many rumors lying around his reputation. Some said he was a vampire while others said he was a Russian hitman. Well, by walking under the glaring sun, he proved he wasn't Edward Cullen. As for the assassin part, I think it was safe to say he didn't mean harm. He was simply a quiet person.

"Can we focus on the matter at hand?" she said in a strict tone. "We have to throw away those egg roses before the enemies execute their prank. Let's start moving. The guys are pretty much off the field." Nelly and I followed behind her towards the bleachers.

"I can't see any eggs under the bleachers," Nelly complained, once we closed in.

"Well, Ms. Negative Nelly, try using your nose instead of your eyes," Babushka commented. We searched around everywhere under the bleachers, only spotting spider webs and dead insects trapped in it.

"How do I see egg roses with my nose? You make no sense, Grandma," Nelly said, shaking her head. I giggled at her words, earning a glare from Babushka.

"Call me Grandma one more time and I promise I'll tell Harry you love him," Babushka warned. The way Nelly's eyes widened, I knew she was caught off guard.

"Harry . . . Styles?" I asked. "Harry Potter?"

"No, Harry Vanderbilt. The only Freshman who made it to the varsity soccer team this year," Babushka explained.

"I don't like him," Nelly said, not meeting our eyes.

"Sure, you don't," Babushka teased. "He's after all, out of your league. Son of a huge businessman, isn't he?" Nelly's face morphed into a frown and she ignored Babushka's statement. "It's okay. I'll tell my brother to put in a good word for you if you help out today."

"Really?" Nelly asked hopefully.

"I don't suppose love potions work on Harry?" I wiggled my eyebrows. The girls rolled their eyes.

"Let's find the--do you smell that?" Nelly stopped a few feet away from us, her nose raised in the air.

Babushka and I followed her lead and surveyed the area where the stinky smell was coming from. Under this end of the bleachers, there were a few sports bags. At first, I assumed it belonged to the soccer players, however, now, it seemed as if they were simply putting up a charade. I crouched down next to one bag and unzipped it, earning a strong stench of rotten eggs. In response, my buddies and I covered our noses.

"So gross," Nelly commented.

"I feel so bad for the unborn chickens," I said. "They already have poor B.O."

"Oh please, have you ever been near poultry farms. Those stink even worse," Babushka said.

"As long as I get my chicken nice and roasted, I don't care," Nelly replied, dropping the topic. "Anyways, what are we going to do with these?"

"Put it in the backpacks of our enemies," Babushka grinned.

"It'll stink up the school," I pointed out. "I'd rather avoid them calling pest control. Oh my god, what if the cafeteria gets blamed for making awful burritos and causing upset tummies, hence the smell? They might lose their jobs."

Wait, my mom's the President.

No one can lose their job because of petty teenagers like me and my friends.

"Noor, that's cute, but no," Nelly said and zipped the bag again. "Like Granny said, we're avenging what they did to our roses by giving them a taste of their own medicine."

"Thank you and don't call me Granny!" Babushka snapped.

I chuckled as they started an argument about Granny and Harry. Each one of us grabbed a bag and snuck out of the bleachers towards the parking lot. We shoved our stock in Babushka's car's trunk and proceeded to leave.

"Hey!"

Babushka, Nelly, and I froze in our spots.

Everyone was supposed to be inside the school building, not in the parking lot. Swallowing hard, I turned around first.

"Oh, it's Toby, guys," I said upon finding the culprit. Toby stood with his arms crossed and eyes fixated on me. "Fancy seeing you here, Hottie." My friends still stuck close to the car, ready to dash off any second.

Let's pray they don't ditch me behind.

"What's in your trunk?" Toby asked Babushka, completely ignoring me.

How offensive.

"None of your beeswax," Nelly replied.

"Let me see," he said, stepping forward. The three of us protectively shifted near the trunk.

"Why'd you check out a car when you have three attractive girls in front of you?" I grinned.

"Shut up," he said and advanced towards the back of the car.

"You better bring a search warrant if you want to touch my car," Babushka warned.

"A please  will work too," I said, endeavoring to reduce the tension. Toby narrowed his eyes at me. When his gaze didn't drop, I added, "If you keep staring at me, baby, I think I'm gonna have a heart attack." Nelly and Babuska turned to me like I had said something peculiar.

"You'd think the egg would stop this nonsense. But no," Toby said almost disappointed.

"How dare you doubt my feelings?!" I asked dramatically putting my hand over my heart.

He scoffed. "I'm out of here. You're a lunatic and so is Savannah. She can take care of her stuff herself." He turned around and I faintly heard him say, "People don't even treat me the same anymore."

Babushka seemed to have heard him too. Seeing her sigh, I raised a questioning eyebrow.

"It's been three years. He needs to get used to not being pampered and treated like a celebrity," she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Nelly scoffed. "He's Toby Ridings, Noor. The whole country knows who he is."

The girls didn't give me enough time to register the information.

"Let's go before Savannah or someone comes here," Babushka said in a hurry.

We sped out of the school zone. Meanwhile, I pondered about Toby's surname. It sounded so familiar, yet nothing came to mind. Maybe he was the son of some business tycoon or something.

It wasn't until I reached my doorstep when my phone rang.

Mom flashed across the screen.

Grinning, I stopped short at the front steps of my uncle's house and answered it.

"Hello, my lady!" I said enthusiastically.

"No need to shout, honey," Mom said in a tired voice.

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Anyways, I don't have a lot of time, but my assistant and your bodyguards reported something important."

Oh no. Did she find out about the roses and the eggs?

Wait, my bodyguards are supposed to keep their distance from me. We didn't want to draw too much attention to ourselves. In that case, what did they have to report? They obviously didn't know about what I was upto.

"I'm not in trouble, am I?" I asked carefully. "It hasn't even been a week since I--"

"Noor, do you know a guy named Toby in your grade?" She cut me off.

"Yes."

Did Toby file a complaint against me? Was shameless flirting an offense? Hold on, I was checking out those hot soccer players . . . Was Allah punishing me?

"Do you know who he is?" she asked me.

"He's a friend. Why? Is everything okay?" She was scaring me. "By the way, do you know any important figures with the last name Ridings?"

"Daniel Ridings. Ring a bell?"

The phone almost dropped out of my hands at the mention of that name.

"Don't tell me Toby's related to Daniel Ridings," I whispered.

"He's his son." When I thought my life wasn't so complicated, it knocked on my door with a surprise. "I want you back at the White House, immediately!"

"What?! No! I don't even know Toby. He's Michael's friend, not mine!" I said. "Mom, please, I won't let him know who I am."

"Noor, I can't afford to take the risk," she said in a stern tone. "After your father, you're the only family I have."

"I know I'm special, but please, I can't stay under the tight security at the White House." She had to understand my reasons. "I promise I won't become overly friendly with Toby. Believe me, he doesn't strike me as the type to hurt people."

"Noor." I heard a defeated sigh.

"Please mommy," I begged.

"Fine," she said. "But promise me if anyone--and I mean anyone--gets the slightest hint about your identity, you must let me know. Even a minor accusation. Am I clear?"

"Worry not, madre. I promise." I felt much more relieved.

"Stay away from Toby."

"As you wish."

"Stay off the radar."

"I will."

"Remember, the President may be busy with her campaigning, but her daughter is her first priority," she said. I beamed at her words. Whether she re-elected or not, she was always going to be my mother. "I better go now. Love you."

"Love you more."

She hung up, and I realized how close I was to getting kicked out of Delaware.

I had to keep my distance from Toby, if I wanted to stay.

Out of all the schools in the state, why this one?

Why the one with Toby?

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A/N

Late update, I know. Sowwy.

What do you think is up with Toby Ridings? Why are the mother-daughter worried?

Any predictions?

Btw, this book a short story. I don't have a ton of material to drag it with. The pace will be relatively fast.

Thanks so much for the support so far. Keep voting, commenting, and sharing! <3