The whole campus was under great turmoil since the unspoken truth was out. Although Care was not the center of the issue, she effortlessly snatched the limelight. A lot of people approached her. Their sudden change of heart was in the least shocking nor their apologies for their share of her hate parade and made up excuses to redeem themselves.
Screw prestige, she sighed inwardly.
Tossing her goody girl image y to thin air, Care yelled, "Geez, just leave me be!"
In less than a minute, her infamy went back up not that it did her any good. There were still some pips who persisted to stay behind, a good example is Alder.
I'll allow, she decided on second thought.
Besides, nobody noticed her trying hard not to limp by underhandedly using Alder as her crutch.
"Care!" a familiar shy voice called.
"Yikes, it's wimpy Lark! Ignore him." Alder coaxed.
Salty, huh?
Quite understandable. He was present when Lark stood up for his step-sis against her.
She beamed at him, "It's fine. I'll talk to him. Be on your way. Appreciate the concern, though."
As expected of Alder, he left in peace only after he landed a peck on her cheek. She wondered if the touchy maniac would die if deprived of physical contact. Well, generally speaking, it is normal for people to seek affection through touch.
Throbbing pain assaulted her ankle. The rottweiler might have bitten hard. Oh my, heavens! Standing up longer will be the death of her thus she proceeded on a vacant bench nearby. At first, Lark thought he was snubbed yet followed shortly when Care darted him a questioning look. When they arrived on the spot, he bowed immediately.
"Sorry, Caress. Mandy and I were in the wrong. Please send Aster my sincerest apologies. We have no right to personally face her after the damage that my sister has done. Sorry!" he expressed in a humble and regretful dulcet.
A fallen angel pleading for redemption, he sounded exactly like that. How could a mere mortal be unsparing?
Care made no effort to stifle her laughter. Amused was the understatement of the hour. She was rather captivated by his remorseful display.
"Regardless of who Madelaine is to you, don't burden yourself with her sins. Her mistakes are hers alone. I'd say Aster feels the same so take it easy, Lark."
He raised his head up. A sad smile curved his lips unsuitable to his immaculate, innocent face. Somehow, his sadness reached her, clutching her heart tight.
"I disagree. As her brother, I could have guided her more. Please, I must ask you! There's no excuse for what she did but when the time comes and she begs forgiveness, please treat her with kindness."
That wench is still lucky to have you, she realized.
Part of human nature drives many people to pass accountability to others in grave circumstances. In short, people rather blame others except themselves. It is rare for somebody to carry the guilt on his own accord especially if he was not the one at fault.
"Since I owe you one at the Camaraderie, I'll try my best."
He nodded. A brief silence passed between them broke by his phone chiming for a new message. Time to go, he thought.
Just as he was about to turn --
"Hey, don't be stupid! You aren't her parent so stop beating yourself up because of her crooked morals. Besides, you wouldn't so boldly stand up against ME, the girl you LIKE, for Mandy if you didn't love her to the surface of the ocean floors."
Oh-uh... The boy was gone in a heartbeat, running and blushing bloody red.
From a distance, her eyes caught the walking figures of Eli and Penny. The sweet smile was wiped from Care's lips for their image burned in her memory. They were grinning from ear to ear with light-hearted air surrounding them. Plus, his laid-back attitude towards good ol' Penelope is a punch to her gut.
"Did we ever have that easy going conversation?" She mumbled to herself.
Out of nowhere, a girl tripped and fell her thick books on the ground. It caught his attention. He immediately crouched to help her like a perfect gentleman he embodied. Talking about real cliché!
Right, she almost forgot the fact that he is naturally drawn to people who need help. And she realized she was just one of those not somebody special her delusions led her to believe.
The next day, the tension rooted from Aster's bullying case was its peak. Students involved had undergone trial presided by the University Board of Conduct and Ethics. It is initially handled by the school per legal procedure even if Aster went directly to authorities. Nguyens presented incriminating evidence given their power to gather intel.
Denying was pointless but there was plenty of room for blaming. Several of her accomplices, although they were as responsible as she was, chose Madelaine as scapegoat. To everyone's surprise, she admitted to the accusations desspite incurring the wrath of Mayor Salvador. As a result, he allowed her to be the subject of criticism.
It was getting grim for her future.
Aurum City imposed harsher laws for bullying leaning on bringing you-get-what-you-deserve justice instead of reformative. Bullies should watch out for imprisonment or persona non grata sanction. As for Mandy, she was granted the following verdict: expulsion from AU and involuntary enlistment to a reformative program not to mention her reputation powdered in ruins.
With justice at hand, Aster remained passive. She was detached from guilt for her oppressors' fate onwards or joy because they are being punished.
A gentle tap on her arm caught her wandering mind. She greeted Care's frowning face with an encouraging smile. Since they unveiled each other's Pandora box, they become more expressive with each other.
"I'm sanctioned for a three day disciplinary service!" Care protested, her amber eyes glowing fiery.
"I'm forced by Grandpops to attend counselling. Whose much worse now?" she contested.
Both ladies groaned in despondent protest, but hers was especially dramatic. The patriarch of Nguyen said she needed professional guidance in her healing process. She won't deny that, of course. Nonetheless! Opening up to a licensed psychologist is extremely difficult considering that she cannot even confide to her blood sisters.
Afternoon came. An anti-bullying symposium was held for every department and level. It increased her discomfort. Some of her block mates asked her the typical question 'are you okay?'. She had the most awkward small talks with them. And there's Ivy checking on her from time to time. Marigold's line "Ivy Nguyen obsessed about herself so much she could not be bothered about someone else" yesterday surely hit home.
I wanna hurry up and see Orion, she pined.
A gaping hole opened up in her chest expanding the longer time she spent on missing the Fae. She could imagine him caging her in his arms sharing the cozy warmth of his body. How cold her world had become without him!
"Hey, what's with you? For a second you look like a lovesick pup." Care pointed out.
She shot back a clueless expression hinting 'Whatever you mean?'. A tiny bit of her conscience is gnawed yet she has no way of explaining things to her friend without sounding delusional.
"Anyways, I'm done crashing in your place. Daddy's back from his business trip b'cause the news reached him. In fact, he's here." Care spoke in seemingly annoyed tone to hide her exuding joy.
Arnaldo Aragon at the distance waved his hand at Aster as soon as their eyes met. For a moment, she almost jumped in elation and screamed YES. In her defense, she loved providing shelter to Care if it meant protecting her from Helena Aragon's schemes... but she cannot dictate her feelings for yearning to be beside Orion which she cannot since they were busy dealing with the situation.
After accompanying the lovey-dovey father and daughter to their car, she dashed straight home. Stopping at a flower shop for even a minute will kill her with anticipation. Instead, she stopped by their grandiose drawing room and stole the tulips in his grandpa's favorite porcelain vase. Sleeping with flowers is her personal trick for lucid dreaming, sort of an accustomed practice.
In no time upon resting on her mattress, she woke up on the other world. As always, an abundance of colors and its shades painted the horizon. She held her breath for a second there, charmed by the scenery. Then, air stuffed on her lungs momentarily when a pair of arms coming from behind enclosed her with the warmth she was missing like crazy.
"Welcome home, Star." Orion whispered with a fervent passion of a lover.
Indeed, she was home.