"Nelson, I will remember them." My mother's eyes turned dark as if she was ready to kill someone. I told her they were already rejected so it was fine, but she doesn't seem like she was going to let it go.
"Mother, it's fine, really."
"Amanda." Eek! She shot a glare at me until I was too afraid to move a muscle. "Are you perhaps acquaintances with Natasha Nelson?"
We weren't exactly acquainted, but my voice couldn't come out when I opened my mouth. I feared something would happen to me if I were to admit, but there was to guarantee that Natasha wouldn't be harmed either way.
My body was trembling in fear and I hesitated to answer. My impatient mother assumed my delay of answer as a 'no' and dismissed me and my sister.
I could finally breathe when I returned to my room. My sister questioned my actions earlier so I explained.
"So you're saying, you were hesitating to help someone who is not even a friend?"
What's with that answer?
"You sounded like a main character of some story."
Pardon? I blinked my eyes in confusion and she returned to her room.
I went to take a shower and wore my pajamas. I wasn't sleepy yet so I went to my balcony outside of my room and gazed at the bright stars in the clear night sky. It was quite chilly as the night wind blew, so I went back to my room.
I plugged the charger into my phone and turned off the room lights. The temperature of the air conditioner was low so I wrapped myself in my blanket as I fell asleep.
The next morning, the smell of freshly baked pancakes led me to the dining room after I was done dressing up in my school attire. My sister was all better now to the point she could tease me for being a pancake again.
"Alice, I'm ready."
As expected, the topic for today's gossip was about Natasha. Rumors of her studying in our school before has spread until our class and they just couldn't help run their mouths.
"She really used up our school budget until we couldn't get a new broom for months."
There was that unfortunate time, when we needed to change our broom right at the time when Natasha broke almost everything in her class. We were in a tough spot cleaning the classroom with a worn out broom.
"Are you sure it's her? If I'm not mistaken, it was a girl with glasses and she always wore a jacket over her attire. She wasn't that slim either, and her face was chubbier than now."
"She wasn't attractive back then."
"Seriously? The rumor about her going overseas for plastic surgery must be true then."
"Speak of the devil." Everyone lowered their voices and looked at the girl who just entered the classroom. No one would have believed she was the same person as the one they saw last time. However, something felt different about her today.
She was quiet, unlike last time when she would cling onto Eric everytime she saw him. The rejection yesterday must have hit her hard.
The whole day today, no one talked to Natasha, or should I say, she avoided contact with us. She isolated herself from everyone like a bullied child and hid herself in a corner during break time. Without doubt, she was broken inside.
I wanted to talk to her but she just wouldn't give way. Whenever I went close to her, she would move away from where she was. That made me wonder, was I meddling too much?
Imagine getting surgery to get a rich husband for the sake of your sick sister, but it ended up having the opposite effect. Well, it's not like I've experienced anything like that before, but it must be tough for her.
After school, I finally managed to talk to her. I questioned about her condition and how I can help her, only to get pushed away.
"Stop acting like a main character." I was shocked when she said that. "Everyone is always on your side when something happens, and gives me a glare."
She was referring to the case about her taking the photo from my bag. I do agree that the class has always helped me in every situation, but that case was different. She was really rude back then, touching my belongings without my permission. Not just touch or see, but take.
I knew those words would hurt her even more so I chose to stay silent.
"Miss." I startled when Alice called me from behind. I was so focused on Natasha that I didn't realize she had arrived some time ago.
I wanted to talk to Natasha a little more before leaving, so I asked Alice to wait for me in the car.
"If I am a main character, so are you." She finally lifted her head and looked at me.
"Stop spouting nonsense."
"I am the main character of my story and you are the main character of our own story."
Her eyes widened when I said that. And for the first time, she blushed. I was dumbfounded by her look as she was actually quite cute on a closer look.
"Thank you."
I didn't want to say things like 'find me if you need help' because I wasn't sure if mother would be willing to lend her a hand after knowing she 'disturbed the Fredericks' peaceful life'.
I waved to her before going in the car. Alice seemed to have overheard our conversation earlier and was smiling all the way home. Judging by her expression, I could tell that she was going to report what happened to my mother.
"My lady, please hear this." She went to look for my mother in the living room. "The Miss has truly grown up, my lady."
"How so?"
Alice grinned ear to ear. "She just made someone happy today."
"Hm." Mother stood up from the couch and walked to me. "That's very rare of you. Weren't you always ignorant towards your surroundings?"
Alice, you shouldn't have told her!
"I just… pitied her?" My mother ignored me and I went to my room. I was lucky enough to not be questioned about who it was.
I rested on my bed after taking a bath and had dinner as soon as my sister returned.
I woke up in the middle of the night to use the toilet, when I heard someone coughing.
"My lady, are you alright?!" The maids rushed out of their rooms. As I thought, they really do have keen ears. A chill went down my spine when I remembered grandma coughed like that in the middle of the night too.
I quickly went to my mother's room and the maids were bringing glasses of water for her to drink. She looked very weak, as if she would faint anytime. My sister woke up from the commotion too.
We didn't know what to do so all we did was look at our mother suffering. I wanted to contact someone for help but no one would be awake at that time.
The cough became more and more serious and suddenly…..
"Mother!"
...she coughed up blood.