THE ALPHA'S BEAUTIFUL REJECT

2.A girl can dream

CHAPTER TWO

1. A GIRL CAN DREAM

My upcoming seventeenth birthday.

I’ve tried not to think too much about it. But how can I not? There is a small part of me that is quite anxious about it. I push the thought to the back of my brain, choosing instead to listen to a podcast on university application advise from a student that got into Yale two years ago. If I’m lucky, I’ll get into an Ivy league college and right now, I’m taking any grain of advice I can lay my hands on as I walk down the familiar streets. I’ve already applied to every community outreach program available and I’m waiting for replies. I’m part of the school’s volleyball team. That should account for something, right?

I’m about to walk into the main gate when my attention gets drawn to the house across the street. Mateo’s car is packed outside and the three musketeers are there. Mateo is sitting on the trunk, laughing about something with Brian and good heavens, but once again I find myself infatuated by his beautiful smile. Sigh. Theo on the hand, is standing off to the side, talking to someone on the phone and its quite clear he is pissed with whoever is on the other end of the line. I can’t hear a single word because of the distance but the gestures he is making with his hands is enough of a show and tell.

“Spying on the neighbors?” The soft whisper next to my ear makes me almost jump out of my skin, my cheeks flashing red from instant embarrassment when I spot my mum’s best friend and co-worker Madeline. She is holding a small bag of fresh fruit.

“I was so not spying,” I counter rather defensively, joining her as we walked through the gate.

She laughs, “Whatever you say kiddo. Any special plans for your birthday?”

“Just the usual,” I shrug.

“Hmm,” there is something disturbingly strange about the way she says that but before I can pick it apart, her bright smile flashes again as she hands me a smaller package of fruits, “Give these to your mum. You know she can never have enough of these apples,”

“You know it. Thank you and please have a great evening,” I wave her goodbye as she walks into her quarters while I head to ours.

Mum is in the tiny, open kitchen, slicing up some cabbage when I get back home from my shift at the bookstore. A smile works its way up her lips the moment she spots me, pausing for a second with the knife midair.

“Aunt Mads gave you these,” I say, placing the apples on the kitchen counter.

“Of course, she did,” she smiles yet again. Their friendship tracks as long as I can remember. Heck, probably before I could even learn how to form coherent sentences.

“Uh-huh.” I mutter.

“How was work? Did Chris give you a hard time at work again today?” She questions.

Chris Sheppard is the twenty-seven-year-old, college- dropout son of the bookstore owner and happens to be in charge of the bookstore. His dad, a nice old man and the complete opposite of him, retired from the bookstore a month ago when his arthritis got worse. If Chris wasn’t high on drugs, he was definitely drunk on something. Not to mention the number of times we’d had to endure watching him flirting with every pretty woman that walks in the store. Several times, my co-workers and I have had to take it upon ourselves to apologize on his behalf when some of the customers threatened to call the cops and report him for harassment.

“He was surprisingly nicer today, “I answer, grabbing a piece of fried chicken from the bowl on the counter and consequently earning a slight glare from my mother, “Need any help?”

“Just take a shower and help me set the dinner table,” she says with a slight wave of her hand before focusing on the cabbage again.

“Alright,’ I make my way to my bedroom.

After taking a much-needed shower, I help mum set the dinner table. Potato wedges, chicken, coleslaw and some homemade mango juice. One of my favorite food combos. Something is definitely up in the air.

“What’s the occasion?” I question as we start eating.

“Why? I can’t cook my daughter one of her favorite foods?”

“We almost always eat whatever leftovers the Baldwin have in the kitchen,” I narrow my eyes slightly, “So what is going on mum? Wait, are you going on a date?”

For the last couple of years, she had tried to date but none of it really made it to the third date. She might love me to death, but she needed someone in her life too. Unfortunately, she seems to be quite unlucky in that department. Maybe we both are. I’ve never dated or even have a boy look at me in interest. The most action I’ve ever gotten is my cheeks flushing when I once made a less than a second eye contact with Mateo about three weeks ago. I’d been taking out the trash when he started his morning jog.

“Fine,” she looks up, “I might have to go see your aunt. Mr. Baldwin has agreed to give me a full week off in two weeks’ time,”

“Aunt Shelly?” I frown, “Why?”

The relationship between mum and her sister is as complicated as it gets. Aunt Shelly is the one who made it out of this town after they lost their parents in their teens. She moved to the city, never looking back and soon enough got married to a rather wealthy neurosurgeon. They barely talk to each except for the one or two awkward thanksgiving dinners we’ve shared.

“Because she came back to the country after her fifteenth marriage anniversary trip in Phuket and she thinks there might be an opportunity for me to get a better job in the city. If I get the job, we get to live in the city just you and me. Hell, I could even finish college, get an even better job,”

“Mum, that’s awesome,” Finally, a chance to get away from this dreadful town. The only thing I’d miss about it, is just my best friend Jack and the few people that have been nice to me.

“Yes. But, will you be okay with me leaving you for a whole week?” Concern etches over her eyes.

“Its just a week, mum. Besides, I can ask Jack to stay over and don’t forget Aunt Mads will definitely check up on me. You know how your best friend gets,” I smile reassuringly, “I’m going to be fine, mum. Speaking of which, Jack and I got ourselves a Saturday gig. His mum is catering for a family function for the Ortegas,”

“Oh, I heard about the function. Some very prominent person is supposedly coming to it. I know you are just excited to see Mateo,” she wiggles her eyebrows cheekily. Of course, she knew about my insane crush on the guy. Heck, its hard to let go when he seems to be growing progressively hotter each day.

“He doesn’t even know I exist,” I counter.

“Haven’t you learned a thing from all the high school films you’ve been watching?”

“They are just movies, you know,” I point out, adding more potato wedges to my plate.

We spend the rest of the dinner talking about my crush on Mateo and the upcoming function. Once dinner is done, I finish my homework, study some biology before drifting off to sleep. In my dreams, there is the same recurring dream, perhaps a wish, that when I turn seventeen in a day and my wolf appears, I would be Mateo’s mate. Except I know that in reality Omegas never become mates of wolves from high-ranking wolf families, let alone even get mates. With Mateo’s father being the beta of the pack, its high unlikely he’ll ever notice my mere existence. But I’m okay with being invisible. At least then, I can dream of the impossible future without anyone ruining my imagination. A future with Mateo Ortega. One where he smiles at me and tells me he has always noticed me. One where I’m the only girl in his world.