Bianca wanted to cry. She had to go back to that 'hell's freezer'.
The unpaid bills were increasing and the girl's needed psychiatric treatment costed a fortune; even when she only had been less than 2 months in her home, living costs became unsustainable. She reasoned that, if Mr. Hamington was willing to pay for her expensive ticket flights to and from Switzerland, he'd rather increase her grandma's allowance instead; but he rejected the proposal, basically forcing her to go back to that school so her living expenses were covered by them.
What a cunning, hypocrite assh*le. He didn't care about paying more, no; his plan all along was trapping her financially to that freaking school. He was taking advantage of their (Bianca's and Loraine's) economic dependence on him to dictate their lives. Which they obviously didn't appreciate.
Loraine was furious as she realized it.
"Who does he think he is!? I can't believe it!" She complained.
Mr. Zachary Hamington wasn't in her good graces anymore, but neither she and her granddaughter could refuse his help. They were stuck.
Why he was so intent in keeping Bianca on that hell's freezer anyway? What was his real objective, keeping them apart? Despite the women's insistence in looking for answers, Mr. Hamington's explanation didn't change from the same 'Bianca needs better education' which wasn't enough of a good reason in their eyes. Learning how to fight and defend herself was proved to be impossible for Bianca, so studying abroad was becoming more of an absurdity.
In February, she was forcefully back to International DeckerFord School and feeling more dead than a corpse. Even when she was hidden under a big coat, cold seemed to slip under her skin, and she just wanted to recoil in her room forever.
Being away from home again put her on a bad mood, wanting to avoid any type of human (and non-human) contact. At this point school was useless anyway: she should drop out, get a job and start supporting herself and grandma instead, now that she was almost 16. She was practically an adult already.
"Hey, you, don't leave your stuff anywhere you want" Nicole, her roommate, told her annoyingly.
Bianca didn't want to put up with this crap another semester. But she also needed the school district to pay for her medicines and living expenses.
Decisions, decisions.
She started missing school classes once every two or three days, then every other day, attending the bare minimum just to let everyone know she was still alive. Her grades also dropped below average and some teachers started mocking her for it, prompting other students to do the same.
"Congratulations! Everyone got above 8 on the last quiz" Mrs. Mila said, faking happiness then suddenly becoming serious "except for someone, unsurprisingly".
Almost everyone would turn towards Bianca, laughing at her. Some even started making bets about if she would show up to class any day or not, and a few others would secretly admire her nonchalant attitude about school and exams in general.
Only Dereck had grown a little worried for her. The few times he approached her, she never was 'in the mood' to talk and he neither could impose his presence anymore because he was no longer welcomed into her room. Nicole would probably get pissed and get him in trouble otherwise.
So he gave up on her.
None of the teachers cared enough about her constantly missing classes, until Principal Thomas one day asked specifically about it. They all made up unconvincing excuses and received a strong scolding in return.
One of the teachers, Mr. Finn, was assigned to try and talk to Bianca about what was happening, but the girl responded she just 'wasn´t in the mood' to attend classes. That daring answer made him mad almost instantly.
Then her grandma, Loraine, was called. But that proved to be useless, as the old woman just carelessly said 'Leave her (Bianca) alone. She must have her reasons for missing classes'.
Then Bianca was appointed to a psychologist, but she also missed the first two or three dates. She finally had to reluctantly go to the fourth scheduled appointment, as she was threatened to be dragged there if necessary. The (stupid) psychologist said something about Bianca feeling 'alienated' from her school peers (no way, Bianca thought sarcastically) and suggested her to join recreational activities after classes to develop a sense of belonging or some sh*t.
The suggestion wasn´t really a suggestion, as she was forced to choose and join some club activity.