That jolted me back to reality. What was I doing? This wasn't me! Can't let all my efforts go in vain!
I let go as if I'd touched fire, turned on my heel, and ran, leaving Jason and an audience of stunned onlookers in my wake.
In the following days, a new rumor spread around campus: Jason, the student council president, had supposedly led the basketball team to corner freshman Olivia, all just to hear her admit that he was good at what he did.
People who knew me kept asking what really happened, but I didn't have the patience to explain, so the rumors spiraled out of control.
The final version? Olivia was supposedly dumped by Jason and left crying on the basketball court.
In the past, I might have gone after every single rumor spreader to set things straight, but I had bigger fish to fry—I was desperate to hit up the local steakhouse for some blood-rare steak.
Arriving at the steakhouse, I was confronted with two plates of steak so rare they nearly brought tears to my eyes. I braced myself and grabbed a piece.
It tasted awful. As soon as I swallowed, a wave of nausea hit me. I clutched my mouth and fought hard to keep it down.
The steakhouse was sparsely populated that afternoon, but as luck would have it, Jason and his roommate were there too, dining at the same place.
This time, he didn't run. Instead, he came over, all awkward and blushing like a schoolboy with a crush.
His red face irritated me. "What's with you? You look like you're about to explode."
He opened his mouth to respond, but I didn't give him a chance. My stomach revolted, and I threw up all over him.
The world stopped. Everyone did too. I felt like I was sinking into the floor, utterly mortified.
It was a complete disaster. I had no idea what to do, so I just shut my eyes and passed out.
For real, I didn't fake it—I just blacked out from all the stress.
When I came to, I was in the infirmary, covered up and cared for.
"You up?" Jason was there, hovering with a worried look.
"Dreaming, so shush," I snapped, barely looking at him.
It seemed like Jason and I were just a recipe for disaster. Trouble brewed whenever he was around. Right on cue, Ava burst in, "Olivia, you pregnant or what?"
I was flabbergasted. Pregnant? As if! What kind of nonsense was she spouting?
"Why would you even say that?"
"Well, I heard about the vomiting and fainting, and how Jason carried you here..."