Chapter 4
Life at Ava's place was anything but posh. Not even blackout curtains graced her windows, just some basic cloth hangings. So, at the crack of dawn, around six, Jason's sleep was rudely interrupted by the morning light.
He bolted upright, the cacophony of car wheels and footfall from outside assaulting his ears. His hair, a wild mess from a night of tossing and turning, was a stark reminder of how drastically his life had shifted. Annoyed, he ruffled his hair as he climbed out of bed.
A blush crept up his face while he changed, making him hurry. Ten minutes later, Jason had slipped into a plain long-sleeved tee and jeans, hastily tied his hair, bracing the biting cold that his outfit was ill-suited for. He flung the window open, propped himself on the sill, and with an effortless jump, landed flawlessly on the lawn. Who said cool kids used front doors? Pfft.
Jason stretched a bit, then carefully sidestepped the scallions and garlic planted by the neighbors, and began his morning jog.
At first, the cold was unbearable. The January chill was like a thousand tiny needles on his face. But five minutes in, his blood pumping, his body began to resist the cold, even breaking a slight sweat.
Feeling his heart rate spike and his breath quicken, Jason was irked. He had not underestimated that nerd Ava one bit. A less than ten-minute jog was pushing this body to its limit, a strain he used to feel only after six sets of 155lb bench presses. The once school badass was now calculating the time he'd need to regain his strength.
Annoyed, he wanted to ring Ava up and demand some compensation. So, at seven on the dot, Ava's phone on her bedside table buzzed incessantly. Ava, who had been burning the midnight oil, groggily reached for her phone.
Concerned it might be an emergency, she squinted at the screen, her sleep-addled eyes struggling to make sense of the barrage of texts.
Jason: "Yo." Jason: "Up for a run?"
Jason: "Did you even work out last night?"
Jason: "Where you at?"
Ava sat upright, her face a thundercloud as she tapped away
Ava: "..."
Jason: "You forgot, didn't you?"
Jason: "You totally forgot!"
Jason: "Time for some self-reflection!"
Ava: "I hit the sack at four this morning."
Ava: "Your homework’s MIA, dude."
Ava: "Physics 101, let s roll."
Ava: "How’d the revision go?"
Jason: "…"
Ava’s face was a blank canvas, her eyes scanning over the silent ellipses on the screen.
Jason’s lack of enthusiasm for further conversation was palpable. So, she shot off a quick "Gonna shower, BRB" and abandoned her phone on the bed.
After a less than modest freshening up session and raiding Jason's vast wardrobe, the topic shifted.
Jason: "?????"
Jason: "Hey!!!!"
Jason: "No funny business with my body, got it?!"
Ava, now standing by the window, flung open the curtains, aired out the quilt, and sunk her feet into the plush carpet, warmed by the underfloor heating.
Basking in the morning sun, she pondered on her questionable taste during her freshman year.
Yet, no matter how hard she tried, her mind kept circling back to their first encounter and his nonchalantly handsome face.
Jason was the talk of Brookdale Academy back then, a social magnet with a flock of friends constantly buzzing around him.
Regardless of the company or location, he was always the center of attention.
Such a guy.
Ava stared at the screen, lost in thought.
It felt as if something monumental had just crumbled.
The morning brought another interesting encounter.
Ava bumped into Jason’s stepmom, Mary, yet again.
Mary remained silent when Ava descended the stairs, only revealing her presence when Ava showed up in the living room and heading to the hallway. "Morning honey."
Taken aback initially, Ava quickly regained her composure. After all, she had a mental rundown of Mary from the night before.
So, she casually greeted Mary while heading to the door, "Morning."
Mary’s eyes lit up at Ava's words.
The unexpected greeting back surprised her and she stuttered out a response, "Are...are you heading out?"
Noticing Mary's disheartened look, Ava hesitated before confirming with a nod. Mary quickly offered, "I made you some breakfast. Maybe take some before you leave? If you’d like..."
After her late-night chat with her husband yesterday, Mary was buzzing with excitement and anticipation.
She was thrilled about her stepson's sudden change in behavior but also worried that it might be a fleeting phase.
Desperate to seize the moment, Mary decided to make an effort to bond with her stepson.
So, she woke up at the crack of dawn and dashed to the local super market.
Scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, sausage links, golden brown waffles, fluffy pancakes, sliced strawberries, whipped cream, buttered toast, freshly brewed coffee - her culinary skills were a bit rusty, but she did everything she could.
She was desperate for some validation.
But after hours of hard work, the sight of Ava made her want to retreat. Jason's descent down the stairs was a sight to behold, his stone-cold, poker face making his usual grumpiness look like child's play. Mary had barely gotten a word out of him yesterday and now she was stressing over the potential backlash of her well-intentioned meddling.
But after watching Jason devouring a full plate and heading out, Mary was all relief and joy.
Yet Ava felt a weird vibe. Jason's stepmom's concern was like a tsunami, overwhelming her as she left. As she reached the lobby, her phone buzzed with a new notification
"Your account ending in **** has received a transfer of 100,000.00 dollars from the user with the account ending in **** on March 1st. Your current balance is 100,299.50 dollars. Please confirm the amount - Chase Bank"
Ava was taken aback by the insane amount of money, she was left speechless.
Jason was equally baffled by the message. Ava was using his phone number 2, so both his phones received bank messages. Recognizing the account number, he scratched his head in confusion, "It isn't payday."
A transfer this large was unusual.
Payday...
Unable to fathom why his parents had suddenly sent him money, Jason chalked it up to a retweet he'd made a few days ago.
With that, he dropped the subject and led Ava to his regular barbershop.
On recognizing Jason’s face, the stylist immediately welcomed Ava.
Ava, feeling out of place, pointed at Jason and said curtly, "He's here for a haircut."
Tony, the head stylist, quickly assessed Jason's shaggy hair before turning to Ava, "Oh, such fair skin and a delicate face, she'd look good in any hairstyle."
Jason barely acknowledged the compliment. He found a seat, plopped down and ordered, "Cut it short."
He gestured to his own hair, "This short."
Tony attempted to offer an alternative, "But wouldn't that be too short? A bob cut is quite trendy and would..."
His words were cut short by a glare from Jason. Tony fell silent.
"I said cut it short. This short." Jason’s fierce expression evident in the mirror. That usually mellow face suddenly became a pressure cooker, making you feel like if you didn't hurry to meet her demands, you'd be toast.
As the shop started to buzz like a beehive, Ava decided to bounce for some fresh air.
She sprawled on a garden chair, soaking in the sun and spacing out, her head filled with pictures of Jason giving the stylist major side-eye.
That's her face, Ava had peeped it in the mirror for over a decade, but in that moment, it felt so alien she was shook.
So, a killer vibe doesn't need a buff bod?
Half an hour later, she got her answer from the figure strutting out of the door.
The long locks were history, swapped for a buzz cut that was practically bald on the sides. Atop the buzz cut, some short, messy hair was chilling on her forehead, curling naturally, unable to hide those rebellious peepers.
The already slender girl suddenly stood tall, as if she'd grown a few inches outta nowhere. Even when she was just lounging at the shop's entrance, her vibe was intimidating.
Passersby all craned their necks to check her out.
She wasn't phased at all. If anyone gawked too much, she'd spin around and snap: "What the hell are you ogling at!"
She sent a few wannabe tough guys, with their rainbow-hued hair, running scared.
The whole thing was surreal.
The sunlight hit her impatiently creased brows, and then Ava heard a familiar voice with an unfamiliar edge: "Yo, are you coming or what? Have you sprouted roots on that bench?"
A few beats later, Ava got up.
Jason was scratching his forehead, grumbling as he walked: "Dumbass, I said shave it, shave it.
Can't they understand plain English, why leave a mop of hair like that?"
Ava snapped out of her trance.
She stared at the ground, feeling all kinds of twisted, then blurted out: "Actually, it looks dope, it suits you."
The air went silent for a hot minute.
The next second, Jason suddenly picked up speed: "Insane…it’s insane!"
