Taming Asher

On a scale of one to ten, my life had always dangled between three and four, thanks to my very wretched humble background, until the day it hit zero.

"I will give you the money on the condition that you send that text to Asher." Mia Harper began with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Asher?" I repeated.

"You heard me right."

No way.

Asher Thorne was the hottest, attractive and most popular kid in school. Bad boy, star hockey player, arrogant and snobbish, were the perfect words to describe him with. His dad was the CEO of the Thorne Pavilion Hotels, littered across the country. So, just saying he was rich was a mere understatement. Not only that. Asher wasn't the kind of guy anyone could just walk up to. He hardly ever smiled and didn't talk to just 'anybody'.

"No big deal." Mia was saying. "Just hit the send button, and you get a whooping sum of five hundred bucks." She waved the money right in front of my eyes.

"Come on. Just do it." Her best friend and partner, Nicole, urged. "It's not like he's going to put a bullet to your head."

I stared down at the ridiculous message typed on my screen. "Hi, Ash. It's Grace, the sophomore scholarship kid. I think you're cool. Can we hang out after school today?"

I shook my head at the incredulity. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this. I've never said a word to him since I resumed here, and I doubt he even knows I exist. This would only..."

"Will you do it or not?" Mia demanded darkly. "It's just a simple joke. Besides, this is five hundred bucks. You get to pay for your cousin's stupid watch without any hassles and have all the balance to yourself."

At this point. I began to think she was the one who actually stole the watch. I inhaled deeply. While I was still trying to process my thoughts, Nicole put a hand around my shoulder to talk persuasion into my ears. But unfortunately, that was a wrong move, because my phone almost slipped from my hand and in a bid to catch it, my finger accidentally hit the send button.

Oh no.

I'm doomed now.

"Are you okay?" Nicole demanded, seeing my expression. She peeked at my phone screen, then squealed and hugged me tightly. "Yay! Good girl! She's done it, Mia!"

Mia flashed me a big smile, squeezing the money into my numb hands. "Perfect. Let's go, Nicki."

I watched them stalk away, feeling bewildered. It can't be too late. I can still delete it, I thought, staring down at my screen.

But it was too late.

Asher had not only read it, but replied too.

"Sure. Meet me at the practice field."

What?

I could bet my bottom dollar that this message only meant two things. Either he wanted to make fun of me or decided to play along for the fun of it.

I was just