"Shut up, you retard, I'm not speaking to you!" Charmaine's abrupt tone toward Morris' acquaintance caused the young man to throw back his head and roll his eyes in complete disbelief at the manner in which Charmaine had addressed him.
"What brings you to this place?" Morris inquired as he glanced at her, concern lines deeply carved into his forehead as he did so. Lucy came running in, her chest heaving heavily and her breath coming out quickly as she struggled to recover her breath until she had reached Charmaine and stopped.
"You are both going to be in trouble with the masters if it comes to light that you were here since snitches are rampant throughout the sect." Morris added.
"You are such a liar and a fake! Aren't you?" When Charmaine looked at Morris, her expression distorted in such complete contempt that she asked the question.
"What exactly are you trying to say? Would you mind elaborating on what you mean in greater detail, please?" Morris asked.
"I can't believe you would come into my room and take my herbs." Charmaine inquired, getting right to the meat of the matter.
"What?" The question was asked in tandem by Morris and his companion. after being taken aback by what Charmaine had to say,
"Will you just just stop pretending?! You broke into my room and took my herbs, so I've come to get them back from you." A shout came from Charmaine.
"I'm sorry, but I just don't get the basis for your accusation that I stole your herbs!" Morris responded.
"Please hand over my medicinal herbs." Charmaine replied, annoyed that Morris would lie in such a way.
Morris peered over Charmaine's shoulder to get a glimpse of Lucy. Lucy gave a pitiful sigh, turned her head away from Morris, and hid her face because she, too, was experiencing feelings of shame and remorse at the fact that her fellow apprentice was being accused by her closest friend.
She didn't want to choose a side, so she kept quiet.
"I did not take your herbs, I swear!" Morris responded while making an attempt to justify himself.
"You believe making a sworn statement will be sufficient to establish that you didn't take my herbs?" Charmaine expressed her curiosity.
"Since you are already here in my room, why don't you have a look around and see if you can find your herbs anywhere?" In answer, Morris questioned as he moved aside, displaying his bed and the vacant space adjacent to his study area that was virtually empty.
"You may have handed it to your friends and asked them to keep it hidden for you." After seeing that her basket of herbs was unable to be found, Charmaine instantly remarked on the matter.
"You'll see that I have nothing to conceal if we go to the dormitory together and check it out!" Morris' friend responded.
Charmaine was not in the least bit prepared to admit defeat.
"Hey, before the masters find out about this and someone sees us here, let's just get out of here," Lucy murmured to Charmaine while placing her hand on her shoulder.
"Please let's just leave; we can deal with this later in the day." Lucy added.
After giving Morris and his companion one final furious glare, Charmaine eventually complied with Lucy's suggestion and exited the room.
"Why did you stop me? It would have been easy for me to follow that guy to the dormitories and look for my herbs." As they were making their way back to Charmaine's room, Charmaine remarked.
"We'd be in so much trouble if you went there. It's better this way since we can hope no one has seen us and we'll be in less difficulty." Lucy provided a response.
"I told you I'm not worried if the masters find out I was in the men's dorm. As soon as they discovers that Morris stole from me, they will spare me." Charmaine gave her response.
"How certain are you in the assertion that he stole those herbs? Someone else besides him could have been responsible for it!" Lucy said.
"Why are you protecting him?" Charmaine queried while turning her head slightly to gaze at Lucy and slightly boosting the volume of her voice. her facial expressions were sufficient evidence to show how irritated she was by Lucy's insistence that there was a potential that Morris could not have taken her herbs.
"Why are you blaming him when you have no evidence against him?" Lucy inquired while adopting the same demeanor that Charmaine had had toward her.
Charmaine remained silent as she walked towards her room.
"Are you absolutely certain that you brought the medicinal plants with you when you emerged from the woods?" As Lucy inquired, she continued to trail after Charmaine.
"I can't say for sure."
"You should take your time and attempt to retrace your steps. Making such groundless claims without providing any evidence simply because you made a little error might end up costing you a lot." Lucy stated, which prompted Charmaine to pause once more in her stride and gaze at her.
"Are you all set up?" Louie asked Calhoun who was prepping his sword for the final match in order for him to graduate.
"I'm not sure. I'm anxious, to say the least." Calhoun gave a reply.
"This is the last round of your match. You will be facing off against Caleb Cook today in the fight." Louie said.
"I am aware of it, yes. Thank you very much for making my anxiety levels rise." Calhoun provided a response.
"You've been honing your skills for all these years in preparation for this very moment. You have no need to be worried about anything." Turner said as he stood close to Calhoun's door and looked inside.
He had positioned himself such that he was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest as he observed the two younger guys.
"I have no idea what's causing this level of anxiety in me." Calhoun gave his consent.
"Take a deep breath and realize that all of your supporters, including your two closest friends, are going to be cheering for you," When he referred to their relationship as "bestest pals," Turner remarked as he gestured to himself and Louie.