At the principal's office.
"Can someone explain it me what the hell happened at the canteen today?" Mr. Hollingsworth asked the four students who sat in front of him.
Claire just crossed her legs and played with the globe which was mounted on the table and Duncan just sat lazily with a poker face, whilst Max also sat there as if he had nothing in the world to worry about and Gwen also sat fumbling, trying to get the right words to convince Mr. Hollingsworth since she always tries her best to be in the good books of Mr. Hollingsworth because of the position she held.
"Am I talking to human beings?" Mr. Hollingsworth arched a brow.
"Well, we four were mm-mm." Claire answered Mr. Hollingsworth's previous question closing her eyes as she said 'mm-mm'.
"What is mm-mm?" Mr. Hollingsworth asked.
"I mean, DD and our disciplined president, Gwen were flirting."
"Excuse me. Have you forgotten what you did with Max?" Gwen questioned.
"What?" Claire raised a brow.
"You.." Gwen was pissed off with Claire's nonchalant behavior, but Claire just shrugged.
"Isn't someone sensible enough to explain?" Mr. Hollingsworth questioned again.
Claire turned to Max who was looking outside through the windows. She then turned to Duncan who had his arms folded and eyes closed. It seemed no one was ready to explain so she took the bold step.
"Well Mr. Hollingsworth, do you want me to give you just a scratch or explain into details?"
"I want a detailed information." Mr. Hollingsworth firmly answered.
"Okay." Claire started to explain everything from when Duncan filled her bag with tarantulas followed by she making an explosive and tampering with Duncan's desk then to what happened in the canteen.
Mr. Hollingsworth's jaw dropped after listening to the long explanation full of nasty stuff. Claire looked at Mr. Hollingsworth face with a huge question mark above her head.
"Mr. Hollingsworth, didn't you understand the canteen part. Do you want me to show you how we did it?" She asked making Mr. Hollingsworth to jolt back to reality.
"You, you this girl. You are so naughty." Mr. Hollingsworth complained.
"I know." Claire answered tapping the globe.
"I'm so unhappy I'm not allowed to punish you."
"Really. Fine then, I give you the permission to punish me sir."
"Tcch, you..."
"Okay then, how about expelling DD, Max and I and let Gwen stay. You know we three can be admitted into a noble school within just a few minutes. Even I have decided to stay home after my next expulsion. But Gwen, it will be a bit hard for her to get into another noble school."
"Hey you. Watch your tongue!" Gwen warned.
"What, isn't it the truth. Unless you write an entrance exam before you are admitted into a noble school. Just accept the truth." Claire explained to Gwen who was burning with fury.
"That's enough." Mr. Hollingsworth chipped in. "You four are prominent students in this institution yet you don't behave as one-"
"And why should I?" Claire interrupted.
"Don't interfere please?" Mr. Hollingsworth pleaded. "You four are prominent students in this institution. You've got great backup. That's why you are allowed to do certain things but that doesn't mean you can do anything. Everything has got a limit. I'm pleading to you students to at least obey some vital rules of the school. Please."
"Okay sir. I promise to never misbehave in the school again." Gwen promised giving an assured smile. Claire just rolled her eyes at Gwen because she knew how hypocritic Gwen can be.
"Fine then. But why didn't you two boys talk?" Mr. Hollingsworth asked.
"What do I have to say. That huge mouth has said everything." Duncan referred to Claire but she just sneered at him and held Max's arm.
"Well, Max is innocent in this situation. I dragged him in." Claire defended Max.
"Okay then. Since there's no suitable punishment for you four, the only punishment I can give you is detention. And it starts now. You'll be released at eight o'clock in the evening." Mr. Hollingsworth declared.
"What! Eight o'clock? In the evening? Sir isn't that too lethal. We'll die of hunger and thirst." Claire objected.
"Don't worry, you'll be served lunch and supper." Mr. Hollingsworth assured.
"What if I want to use the washroom?" She asked again.
"There's one in the detention room, you know." Mr. Hollingsworth answered. "Okay if there are no objections then, your punishment begins." Mr. Hollingsworth called Mr. Walter one of the guards and asked him to take them to the lounge on the fourth floor.
They first went to class to take their bags before going to the detention room. Mr. Walter then locked the door from outside and left the four.
Claire and Max sat closely as if they were stick together with a glue on the couch with Claire clinging onto Max's arm whilst Duncan sat in an arm chair like a king and Gwen stood behind him glaring daggers at Claire.
"Shameless b*tch." She muttered.
"What?" Claire who seemed to hear Gwen murmuring asked.
"What do you mean by what?" Gwen asked rudely.
"I heard you say something."
"Does that concern you."
"Hey DD, it'll be better if you keep your girlfriend in control." Claire warned Duncan but Duncan just leaned his head on the headrest and closed his eyes.
"You're sitting comfortably while we are stuck in a problem." Gwen referred to Claire.
"Problem? What problem? Max, are we stuck in a problem?" Claire asked Max but he just shrugged.
"Shameless pig." Gwen muttered.
"Huh?" Claire asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You said something right now."
"Listen here, if you are hearing mysterious voices just keep it to yourself. Don't try to involve others in it." Gwen blurted.
"Tcch." Claire slammed her hand on the sofa angrily. She closed her eyes and took in two deep breaths to calm and control her anger. She looked up at Gwen then smiled before saying, "Okay. As you wish."
Gwen just rolled her eyes and headed for the washroom and Max just closed his eyes.
Claire stared at Duncan's face who still had his eyes closed. She found something strange about Duncan ever since they were given a detention. His face looked pale and he had this cold aura surrounding him, as if he was trying to distant himself from the world.
She squinted her eyes then got up and and sat on the arm of the chair Duncan was sitting on. She leaned a bit on him and tapped his shoulders. Duncan's brows creased in annoyance wondering who was disturbing him. His long lashes fluttered like butterfly then his eyes opened. He furrowed his brows when he saw Claire sitting beside him.
"Err, I just sensed something strange from you. Like..."
"What?" Duncan asked coldly.
"I mean you've been like, you're distant ever since we came here." Duncan creased his brows hearing Claire's answer. He looked around him and averted his gaze back onto Claire then arched a brow.
"But I'm right here." He said with a faint teasing smile on his face.
"Tcch, you don't get me DD." Claire said in a low voice tapping the headrest. "What I mean is, you are like exuding a cold aura which makes people wobble immediately they see you." Claire's statement made Duncan's brows to even knot harder.
"Why, you don't like it?" Duncan asked teasingly.
"What." Claire sneered. "I'm just thinking about your poor nasty girlfriend. How would she feel if you continue to exude such aura. She will really feel intimidated and probably run away from you for her dear not-so-precious life."
"I don't get you. You really seem weird today. After being bullied by my girlfriend you are still thinking about her."
"Well." Claire scratched her nape wearing an awful smile. "You know, I kinda have some humanity unlike you."
"You." Duncan was pissed off. "Just go away from me." Duncan tried pushing Claire away with little force whilst Claire just kept brushing his hands away. They did this quite silently in order not to attract attention from sleeping Max and Gwen who seemed to spend centuries in the washroom.
But the unexpected arrived. Gwen suddenly opened the door just to see Claire and Duncan having a silent cat fight. Her eyes burned with rage as she approached the two who seemed to not have noticed her. She yanked Claire's arm and pulled her back causing Claire who was caught off guard to lose her balance and fall flat on the floor. The impact was so strong that a loud thud was created when she fell.
This commotion caused Max to instantly open his eyes. He got up from the couch and noticed Claire on the floor with her face not in view. Max glared at Gwen before approaching Claire. He squatted beside her and gently picked her up. He noticed her body was limp making him turn Claire to face him in his arms. He immediately realized Claire was unconscious and blood was trickling down her delicate face from her head.
"What did you do to her?" He turned and asked the other two giving them a hard pointy glare.
Gwen started to panic when she realized the change in situation. Truth be told, she actually itched to hurt Claire but not in this kind of situation. Not when she was trying to keep a good image of herself in front of everyone.
She glanced at Duncan hoping for him to redeem her but Duncan just stood there with his lips partly opened as if he was in a shock. But he quickly recovered from it and approached Max with a calm and peaceful aura.
He extended his hand before Max handling a white handkerchief to him. Max took the handkerchief and started to wipe the blood.
"Who did this to her?" Max asked again, his voice evidently showing how furious he was.
"Don't ask me because even Claire knows perfectly well that I was not the one who hurt her this time around and it really pains me because everyone knows I am the only one in this institution who has got the full right to hurt Claire Klein. But unknowingly someone else hurt her without my permission." Duncan said shrugging though what he said seemed to be true because knowing the status of Claire's family, he is the only one who can hurt her.