*Flashback continues*
Someone had grabbed the duster that was aimed at him. He could not see her face because of the angle but her crystal clear voice resounded in the now pin drop silent classroom once again.
''Let me join you all,'' she spoke again and Maxim noted the gasps and whispers that rose at the girl's words.
Maxim watched as she held the duster in one hand and pointed her other hand towards the guy who shoved it at him.
''You like to play power, right? Two can play the game. I, Diana Chen will tag along with you in this thing. Bully me or be bullied by me.''
And through his half-lidded eyes, Maxim could see a few people retreating.
A few remained fixated in their spots though and the girl named Diana stepped towards them.
Maxim glanced at her straight back and her long blonde hair which was tied in a high ponytail.
Soon, he heard her clear voice once again, ''If you get an itch to bully someone again, come at me. I will be up for it anytime.''
''Why are you defending him?" One of the guys asked her coldly.
And she laughed, ''Because I feel like it and also, he is my deskmate. That's the least I could do.''
Maxim's eyes flew to the empty seats in the first row. One of them was his and the other… was vacant since school reopened.
The sitting arrangement here was done based on students' position in the last semester's exams and while he was in the first position, he never really paid attention to who was 2nd.
But the girl standing in front of him was the answer to his unasked question.
The crowd dispersed and she turned around to walk towards him. She squatted near him and this time he saw the face. Blonde bangs that framed her face and a pair of jade green eyes that looked at him with so much kindness that he was sure he had not been looked at like that in a long time.
Not pity, not hate, not disgust, and not anything else. Just kindness. Genuine kindness and curiosity. Period.
Maxim was not in a coma but he was so shocked by the turn of events that he remained in his position like a dead person.
Her lips parted when she looked at him, ''What a doll,'' he heard her mumble under her breath and he blinked.
Did she just call him a doll?
''Let me help you up,'' she extended his hand towards her.
He looked at her hand and then at her. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much could he trust that she was not another person out to play some shitty prank on him? After all, she was in the second position and it gave her more reason to hold a grudge against him, right?
It was childish but the people here really were that petty.
''You can trust me,'' she tilted her head to the side with a smile.
Maxim's heart skipped a beat, ''Can I really?" he whispered and in response, she moved her outstretched hand at him.
He grabbed it this time without any hesitation and she tried to pull him up only to fail in doing so terribly.
''You are heavier than you appear,'' she pouted.
Maxim bit his bottom lips to hold back his laughter. And you are cuter than you look. He kept his thoughts to himself.
He pushed himself to his feet and glanced at their little height difference, he was around two inches shorter than her.
He was mostly skinny with a little flesh on his body so for her to call him heavy, the credit went to his strong bones.
The class was dead silent for whatever reason he was unaware of.
His footsteps staggered a bit and she immediately held him close, ''Come with me,'' she said before dragging him out of the class and he noticed there were a few minutes before the first period began but he followed her out without any questions.
She walked around a few hallways before stopping in front of what looked like the gym room in the school.
He hesitated.
''Come in, scared little bunny. I have a spare tracksuit here and you are a drenched bunny at the moment. You need to get changed,'' she sighed, ''I won't eat you up,'' she added.
His face turned hot and he lowered his head, ''Alright.''
Diana smiled, ''You are a cute bunny,'' she raised her hand.
His eyes fluttered close on instinct but the pain that he was used to did not come. All he felt was the stroke of soft fingers in his hair.
He opened his eyes to look at the girl who was ruffling his hair.
''Just stick to my side in the future and they won't approach you. You will be safe with me, Warner,'' she ruffled his hair again, ''So soft,'' she smiled.
He blinked, ''How do you know my surname?"
''You are the first person who made my rank drop to 2nd. How could I not remember your name?'' she spoke in an exasperated tone, ''Maxim Warner. I remember it very well.''
''Then, don't you hold any grudges against me?" The girl was cute and sweet and he liked her yet still he could not help but be cautious.
He was cornered by almost the whole class filled with rich sons and daughters just because he stood out, his marks were outstanding and his assignments were up to date but then why was she treating him well, unlike others?
Did she have a hidden agenda?
But what would she get from a street rat like him? He had nothing to offer to this Princess in front of him.
Or... Maybe she just wanted to take him to the highest cliff and drop him down from there. Maybe, her way of humiliating him was different than the rest of the class. Maybe—
But she burst his bubble in the next moment, ''Why would I hold a grudge against you?'' she laughed, clutching her stomach.
''Silly bunny, you were the topper because you had it in you,'' she pointed her index finger on her forehead, right where her brain was.
His lips parted.
''I won't say that I won't try my best in the upcoming semester to take my position back. Watch out. Rest, we are good. You are cute and I certainly don't mind becoming friends with you,'' she extended her hand towards him.
His jaws dropped. She wanted to be his friend?
''Will you be my friend, Warner?''
''But...'' His lips thinned, ''Don't call me bunny,'' he shook hands with her.
''Now that you have sealed the deal, you can't go back on it no matter what I call you,'' she smiled like a cat who stole the fish, ''Come on, Warner. Let's get you changed before you catch a cold,'' she ruffled his drenched hair.
He smiled, flashing both his dimples at her.
Unbeknownst to them, that day, words spread in the school.
The Princess of the aristocratic Chen Family, Diana Chen, befriended a street rat, the lowest of the kind in the Elite school.
*Flashback ends*
'Wahhhh'
Diana rolled off the small bed in her sleep and she landed on the floor with a 'thud'. Startled, she sat up straight and looked around, ''What happened? Who kidnapped me?" She gulped, looking at her unfamiliar surroundings.
The noise of the baby crying caught her attention and she slowly came back to her senses.
The events of the past few hours flashed in her mind and she realized where she was.
Diana pushed herself to her feet and picked the baby from the bed, ''Hey, are you not feeling sleepy, princess?" she looked at the baby questioningly.
The baby looked back at her as she stopped crying suddenly, her eyes going wide.
''Are you trying to say that I am beautiful?" Diana flashed the child a million dollar smile but a discreet sweat droplet rolled down her back as she kept chanting in her heart. Don't cry. Don't—
'Wahhhhh wahhhhh'
The child cried harder as if she saw a ghost and Diana panicked.
She quickly checked the time on her phone. Was she hungry?
She brought the formula bottle closer to her mouth but the child turned her face to the side and cried harder.
Diana's gaze snapped at her diapers.
She touched the bottom slightly and fluffed it only to realize that the diaper had turned heavy.
She got a new diaper from the bedside table before carefully removing the heavy one off her body.
Diana's movements were slow and awkward. Eventually after finishing the big task, she picked up the baby in her arms and walked out of her room.
It was pitch black outside.
Diana walked back inside the room and came back with her phone flashlight while swaying her upper body from left to right with the baby on her left arm.
She turned the lights on walked circled the place while coddling the baby with a little sweet talking and it was not long before she heard the sound of soft snores.
She quickly hopped back to the room and placed the baby on the bed.
'Wahhhh'
As soon as she was placed on the bed, the little thing started crying once again even though her eyes were closed.
Diana sighed, ''I think...being stubborn runs in our blood, doesn't it?" She inched closer to the baby and placed her palm right under the baby's head before gently swinging her head from left to right.
Soon enough, the baby stopped crying.
Diana sighed in relief.
She quietly got off the bed and pulled two notepads and a pen out of the bag that she ran with.
Walking back towards the bed, she sat on the floor and leaned back.
She could barely afford any living expenses here. Her savings were almost all gone with the flight tickets, shopping and house rent.
But this was not going to be the end.
There were the baby's expenses and she could did not know how long she could hold on without her red wine, her beauty products, her branded clothes, and five-star signature dishes.
Life can be hard but she still needed some motivation to get through it.
And with her current state, the kind of motivations she wanted were all unattainable dreams.
She opened one of the notepads and started writing on it.
To-do-list.
1. Get a cheap but decent laptop.
2. Prepare a story outline.
After giving it one deep look, she placed it aside and opened another notebook.
A story.... It has been so long since she wrote a webnovel and she wondered if she could still do it.
The last time she wrote one, it earned her a few bucks... around a few thousand dollars that could barely afford her a pair of shoes of her choice.
And being the easily demotivated person that she was, she dropped the story halfway, only to gain the readers' ire.
At one point, she did want to go back to finish that story. Not for money but just for the readers whom she left hanging. But by the time she went back to the app, there were curses all over the comment and review section so on an impulse, she deleted her webnovel account.
It was a cliche CEO story that she wrote last time but she had no motivation to re-write it anymore.
As for a new story....
''Hmm, a princess turned beggar. Ends up with an adorable baby in her arms?'' The words rolled out rather bitterly from her mouth as she closed the notepad.
She pushed herself to her feet and placed both the notepads and the pen inside the bedside table drawer.
Diana climbed on the bed and gently pulled the baby in her arms while making a mental note to get a comforter tomorrow.
With a soft sigh, she glanced at the sleeping baby in her arms, ''I don't regret meeting you. I wish... we met in better circumstances.''