Monday has arrived, and one can only guess what will happen at school with Michael enrolled. Fallen angels are known as a disgrace to the Sky District, so I might assume that he won't have such an easy time like Isaac. Considering how there are a few angels that also go to my school since the city's hospital is run by angels using their light magic to heal people, Michael could also run the risk of being bullied, so I secretly asked Isaac to keep an eye out for Michael since they are in the same class. A fallen angel in the lower wealth class is the perfect set up for bullies, but once they find out who he serves, I don't think that Michael will have too much of a problem.
"Lady Viola, I noticed this when I helped you shower Saturday, and I didn't want to say anything, but can I ask what happened to your shoulder?" Michael asks as he scrubs my back.
"Ah! This? It's just a little scratch that Isaac gave me when I first met him last week," I respond holding onto my shoulder. "He was severely wounded and scared, so I can see why he would lash out when a complete stranger approaches him."
"Where did you find him? He said that he got captured again," Michael comments rinsing off my back.
"He was in a cave in the woods. It's usually empty since the magic spirits are very picky on who they let in. I normally go there to replenish some of the magic energy I lose throughout the month, so you can imagine my surprise when there was somebody else inside." I gaze into my reflection in the water and slouch a bit. "He had all sorts of scars and wounds on him. Some were still bleeding or trying to heal. I had never seen something as horrific as that. I couldn't just leave him there, so I took him home."
"The Young Lady is a very kind person," Michael says as he clutches my shoulders.
I turn around to see Michael staring at nothing. "I wouldn't say that I'm kind," I begin as I move around to face Michael. "When my family died, I wanted the people who did this to burn. I wanted everything to go away and die. I even wanted kill myself a few times if that meant that I could stop hearing the constant buzzing of people's demands." I set a hand on Michael's clenched fist that lays on the edge of the tub still holding the washcloth. "But then Delic came into my life, then the workers, then the twins. Before I knew it, I had all sorts of people around me who genuinely cared for my well being and wanted to see me laugh and smile again
.
"My kindness is something that was bred from my hatred. My hatred for traitors. My hatred for backstabbers. My hatred for anyone and anything that tries to take away something that is mine. I may sound childish and arrogant, but I will never have the people I love taken from me again. That's where my so-called 'kindness' comes from. From my hatred and goal to tear down the people who made me this way in the first place."
Michael gazes down at me. "How could someone like you have so much hatred when you show nothing but love and joy to everyone around you?"
"You haven't worked here long enough to see it," I respond as Michael starts cleaning my chest. "I depend on the affection of others to keep me calm so that I will never have to show my hatred to anyone that doesn't deserve it. Every once in a while, it will accidently leak out, but now, I have so many people by my side that keep me in check."
"My Lady, breakfast is ready on the table," Alex calls out from the bathroom doorway. "Michael if you don't mind, can you quickly wrap up so that Lady Viola can have her breakfast?"
"Oh, yeah. Sure," Michael answers. He hurriedly douses my head in water to wash off the rest of the soap and helps me out of the tub to dry.
At school, Isaac and Michael say goodbye as they head to the third year building while the twins and I walk inside the second year building. As I proceed down the hallway, I am greeted by my fellow schoolmates, some more enthusiastic than others, but all with the same respect. The kind of respect that one earns through proving their worth and abilities using their actions instead of words. Something that I worked hard to accomplish in a short amount of time.
We pass by the middle wealth classroom that Abigail is in to find her quietly sitting in the back corner seat. Her little group of followers has abandoned her after hearing what she has done back in September. Although I did request the mayor to put in a gag order so that the Actona Family can continue their life in peace, the majority of the city's leaders have already heard about what happened. Sir Brian has already lost complete hope of his daughter ever learning her lesson and casted her aside providing only the most minimum of care for Abigail.
Even though I incredibly dislike her, I do not wish for her life to be ruined. I just want her to learn that not everything can be bought with money. Not loyalty. Not power. Not love. Nothing. I don't know if she understands the entirety of her actions, but she will eventually get it in her head that actions have consequences and consequences have lasting impressions.
"Alright class, homeroom is starting, and you can probably guess what we are going to talk about," Mrs. Giselle announces as she walks in. "It is December which means that it is almost time for the annual Winter Festival at school. For the rest of the homeroom, you as a class must decide on what you will be doing for the festival, so I will leave it to the class leaders to facilitate the decision making."
The Winter Festival is a yearly event the school hosts that is open to the public. It marks the time of the Winter Solstice which is also known as the shortest day of the year. All of the events start early in the morning so that people can use the daylight as much as possible before it gets dark. When it does get dark, the walkways are lit up with beautiful lanterns with a huge campfire as the centerpiece which is the kids favorite to make s'mores. At the end, there's a huge fireworks show in honor of the Winter Family for keeping the snow away. Once the fireworks are over, the Winter Vessel releases a bit of their control over the snow in order to let the natural snowfall to commence at the end of the festival and the official start of winter.
This was always my father's favorite time of year because he gets to see everyone smiling and trying to catch snowflakes. It lets him know that the sacrifices he makes with his body is worth every moment if he gets to see people happy. He was always surrounded by people who would come up to him to give their thanks for letting Eshea experience the other three seasons.
Eshea is the only place in the Northern Country that gets to experience spring, summer, and fall thanks to the Winter Vessel. When this is found out by those from the outside, refugees try to escape into the city to free themselves from the cruel snow. Of course, Eshea's mayor generously provides shelter for these refugees until they are able to enter back into society and provide for themselves. However, there are groups like Black Snow who benefit from the harsh environment and capture people who try to escape. This is just the reality that is the Northern Country. This is also part of my job as the Winter Vessel to manage.
"What is the main goal for this class activity anyways?" Alex questions as he listens to everyone spouting out ideas.
"The main goal is to profit from the festival," I explain turning around to face the twins. "The students who attend Sliding Academy are either next in line to inherit their families' businesses or aiming to start businesses of their own. The festival is made so that these students can use what they learned from their families and from school in order to prove that they are right and ready to take over said business."
"Do you have to participate since you are already a leader in the city?" Xander asks, leaning on one hand.
"Yes, I still do. I am a student of the school, and I am Student Council President" I reply pointing over to the rest of my classmates. "If I were to use my position in the city as an excuse to not participate, they would see me as someone who doesn't work with others to help them achieve their goals. One can't be a leader alone. A person needs people to help them in order to get their business together which is the secondary goal of the festival. Building connections with other families and networking around in order to get the materials needed."
I glance over at the board which already has a few ideas up. "Whoever's idea is chosen will be the leader of the class activity which means they will need to coordinate with the rest of the class to his or her advantage. However, the leader isn't limited to the people in this classroom. The leader can use any of the students who have connections to other classes to better gather materials if this class isn't able to get them itself."
"Well then why don't you put an idea up? I'm sure everyone will vote for it since you are already a leader," Alex suggests.
"The fact that I'm already a leader is the reason why I'm choosing not to suggest an idea. Like I said, these students are here to prove to their families that they can do what they do correctly. If I take that away from them, then it will only hinder their progress and make them think that people who are leaders will use their power to step over them."
I grab my geography book and open up to the map of the city. "Eshea is built on the mutual trust that no one single business will monopolize an idea. Business leaders in each industry and district in the city cooperate with each other in order to keep the city running. No one business is more powerful than the other, but all have an understanding that one wrong step in business can cause a collateral downfall on the residents here, and nobody wants the damage of an entire city to be on them."
"That's a lot of pressure to be putting on a bunch of teenagers. Don't you think so?" Isaac asks from the doorway.
The twins quickly turn around to find Isaac and Michael at the door of our classroom. I didn't even see them there, and I was facing that direction. How did he manage to evade my vision?
Michael walks inside the classroom and sits on my desk. "Shouldn't kids be enjoying their life instead of worrying about running a business?" he asks, twirling my hair with his fingers.
Not even a minute goes by before Michael is surrounded by the girls in my classroom. Even though there are angels that go to this school, they are normally in the higher wealth class and don't interact with those in lower classes, so seeing one in our lower wealth class is a huge deal.
"Ladies, ladies," Michael laughs as he raises his hands. "I'm here to visit my master. Do you mind giving me some time to speak with her?"
The glares. The envious death glares I get every time I bring a new personal aide to school.
Please, give me a break. It is not my fault that I find random handsome guys in inconspicuous places! They are normally rough looking and dirty when I find them, so forgive me if I don't realize their good looks until after they shower!!!!!
I let out a long sigh and drop my head. "Why did you two come here? Aren't you supposed to be with your class deciding on what you all will do?"
"Well, I mean we were," Isaac begins tapping his fingers together. "Then an idea was chosen, and the leader told us to ask you to help us."
"What do they want with me?" I interrogate, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms.
"The chosen idea is a restaurant, and the leader was wondering if you can make some tiny ice sculptures as the table centerpieces," Michael explains. "Since it is known that the ice you create doesn't melt as quickly, they thought it would be a great idea since it will last throughout the day."
"Oh! And they were wondering if you can make a small pocket inside the ice sculpture for a small electronic candle to sit in for when the sun goes down," Isaac adds.
Ice sculptures, huh... Well, I mean it wouldn't hurt to make a few as practice for me. The fine details and such will allow me to learn how to manipulate smaller amounts of ice instead of a huge block made into arrows.
"I don't see why not. I will just have Delic rearrange my schedule so that I can focus on that along with whatever part I will have in my class," I respond, shrugging my shoulders. "Now you two go back to your classes. The bell is about to ring, and I don't want to be responsible for your tardiness."
"Fine," Isaac mumbles, dragging his feet out the door.
"Then, we will see you at lunch time," Michael says, roughing up my hair before running out the door.
Why was he showing such a happy face when something was bothering him?