“What?” Ms. Anderson seemed to be taken back. “What’s your reasoning?”
“She’s a weak character easily swayed by Trenton—”
“Tristan,” Ms. Anderson corrected her.
“Tristan. The only real reason she starts having her meltdowns is because she’s trying to change something for a guy she barely knows, thinking that her future is set.” Aria clicked her pen. “How am I supposed to cheer for a character who can’t even try to think about her situation logically? Like, I mean, I get she’s supposed to be seventeen turning eighteen; but at the same time you’d think that she’d think a little more. I mean, all her thoughts are so wrapped up in romance, and her own destiny that she doesn’t even take a minute to think about everyone else, and how they’re affected. It’s pretty stupid and selfish.”
Ms. Anderson was clearly interested and a bit miffed. “Oh?”
Aria glanced around and noticed that everyone else seemed curious about her own interpretation.
“Yeah. She doesn’t think about her sister’s life when she clearly dies in a preventable accident. Instead, she focuses on her own life and doesn’t even seem to regret it.”
“But in the tenth chapter, she laments over her sister’s accident.”
“For a chapter, yeah. There’s like two lines that include her sister but nothing else after that,” Aria shot back. “What kind of protagonist is that? What kind of person is that? Her little sister dies, and Brea could’ve totally prevented that. Like, I bet the sister would’ve been a better protagonist even after knowing she’d die.”
Ms. Anderson seemed to be caught off guard and was scraping the ground to find some sort of proof that the book wasn’t terrible. “Then what about Tristan, he clearly added clarity to Brea’s life after her sister’s death.”
“Clarity?”
“Yes, he helps her figure out what she needs to move on.”
“So what you’re telling me is that Trenton—”
“Tristan—”
“Is a manipulative bastar—guy who tries to help Brea? Really? Because all his motivations aren’t even in the book. It’s like he’s meant to be there just to be there. He has zero qualities of an interesting character.”
“He helped her get through depression!” Ms. Anderson insisted.
“By ‘help’ you mean get her to do stupid stunts? What kind of help is that? She could’ve died and the parents would’ve gone through a double devastation.”
“He’s helping her to live in the moment.”
“Live in the moment? Brea doesn’t need to live in the moment, she needs someone to sit her down and talk it out. She’s so warped from knowing about the future that she can’t even think straight.”
“He does—”
“He doesn’t even ask her how she feels! How is that any part of talking it out?”
“Okay. Then riddle me this—”
The bell suddenly rang but the tension in the classroom didn’t dissipate whatsoever.
Aria tried her best not to let this affect her through the rest of the day, but when Mira dug for details, it was clear that she wouldn’t be able to avoid the topic.
“Did you tell Anderson that the book was sh*t?”
“I didn’t say that—”
“It’s recorded!”
Aria did a double take. “What the hell? Are you serious?”
“Yeah, some kid posted it on their social.”
She could only groan. Why did it have to get more complicated?
“I mean, I get that you hate her book choices but damn, you laid it on thick.”
“Mira,” Aria huffed.
“What? I’m serious here! It’s actually a really good argument.”
“She was just asking questions and I answered,” she paused, “but if she tries to change my grades because of this then I’m totally going to the office.”
Mira hummed, “I would too, honestly.”
“So what’s this video you were talking about?”
“You haven’t seen it?”
“I don’t do socials.”
“Right, right.” Mira then opened up her own phone to show her.
As clear as day, the video was indeed her argument with her English teacher shot in full 1080p with full distinct audio.
Dread started to fill her stomach. Would she get detention for arguing with her teacher? Is this considered insubordination? Would she get expelled for this? If they expelled her, she would need to find a new high school and quick. Aria didn’t have too much time to lose and she couldn’t really afford too many screwups. Would colleges revoke her acceptance?
“Hey, you okay?”
No, she was definitely not.
Chapter 9
Adrian
Adrian wasn’t sure what to feel. A few days ago, a video of Aria’s argument with Ms. Anderson was trending on social media.
Truth be told, he couldn’t care less about the book and the entire convoluted storyline. Honestly, he didn’t think it was that bad of a book, but clearly, Aria seemed to think otherwise. It just sucked because he was starting to like her a little more than a friend, and if her breakdown on Fractured was anything to go by, he probably didn’t stand a chance.
It wasn’t like he wanted to like her more than he already did, but over time, he just realized that she was a really cool person to be around. Aria was brutally honest with people, but she had her moments where she would finesse her words while still getting the main message across.
She was also a really hard worker. When Aria decided to do something, she’d do her best to get it done and get it done right. Chemistry class was a fine example of that. Through all her irritated comments about her chemistry teacher, he knew that she was actually getting significantly better at it.
But the best part was that she was a person he could talk to.
Not just chat with every now and then, but someone he could really talk to. He didn’t have to think about being the next leader of the pack, or how his decisions and words might affect his people’s future. He could talk
