The day the first school year ended, someone finally discovered the secret Carolline Ruiz had been keeping.
The person who uncovered the secret was naturally Megan Clifton, who was closest to her. They spent nine of the twelve months of the year living and eating together.
Megan was really slow to discover the secret a whole year later.
Just like at the end of last semester, on the day they received their grades, they both had to eat or drink something together because they wouldn't see each other for two months.
At 11:30, the two had lunch at a restaurant near the school, after receiving their grades and having a class meeting.
Carolline Ruiz didn't suspect Megan Clifton's purpose in inviting her to lunch. She simply thought they wouldn't see each other for a couple of months. In reality, they could hang out together during summer vacation if Megan wasn't too lazy.
However, Megan preferred to stay at home, just like Carolline did.
That's why the two became good friends, while their relationships with Sophie Thompson and Agatha Gage were more casual. Of course, the four of them would still get together for a meal once a week, and celebrate holidays together.
"What should we eat?" Carolline flipped through the menu, asking Megan for her opinion.
"Let's have some tea first, then order later. I'm not that hungry yet." The first two sentences were for the waiter, and the last was for Carolline.
"Classmate, school's out today, so many classmates will be coming later. We recommend you order your meal now." The waiter politely suggested, not wanting to waste their seats due to the high customer flow during lunchtime.
"Then just give us the five most expensive dishes." Megan covered the menu and handed it back to the waiter without any hesitation.
"...Alright." The waiter hesitated for a moment before leaving with a red face.
"What's gotten into you today?" Carolline frowned. Although Megan seemed difficult to get along with, she was actually a good person once you got to know her.
"What do you mean? Was my tone wrong just now?" Megan asked back, quickly changing the topic to the real reason she invited Carolline today. "Tell me, have you been secretly crushing on someone but not telling me?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Carolline's heart skipped a beat, confused about the sudden question.
However, her natural reaction betrayed her. Her face turned bright red and her fingers fidgeted. She wondered if her secret crush on Bryan Hawkins had been discovered since he was her future cousin-in-law.
"Bryan Hawkins, you like him," Megan decided to be direct and brought up the issue without any guessing games.
"You…" Carolline raised her head, not expecting Megan to be so straightforward.
"Come on, just tell me. Although if you say no, I won't believe you." Megan arrogantly took a sip of tea.
"…Just don't let your cousin find out, and don't gossip inside our dorm." With that, Carolline indirectly admitted her feelings.
She wanted to ask how Megan found out but felt obtaining this assurance was more important.
"I won't gossip in the dorm, but not letting my cousin find out is impossible." Megan put down her teacup and slowly explained, as Carolline watched her with wide, horrified eyes. "I told you before, I feel sorry for that guy. If you really like him, I'll support you. How about I help you steal him away?"
"…" Carolline was utterly speechless with shock, trying to change the subject. "How did you find out?"
"Remember last week when you got your period? I climbed onto your bed to get you a pad and saw your open diary. You'd written 'Bryan Hawkins' all over several pages. It surprised me."
"…" So that's why she'd almost screamed in the restroom that day, waiting so long for Megan to bring her a pad.
Carolline still remembered the scene vividly, but because of her period, she hadn't paid attention to details, let alone realized her diary had betrayed her secret.
"Fine, I admit I like him, but I only want to secretly like him. I don't want him to know, and especially not your cousin. They're so good together." She hated homewrecking "mistresses" the most. Although Bryan Hawkins and Matilda Ferguson hadn't officially gotten married, their relationship was stable and happy. Carolline didn't want to disturb it or become such a despised person.
"Good together, my ass! Do you know…" Megan tried to continue, but Carolline interrupted her with even more vehemence.
"Enough! Whether they're good together or not, it has nothing to do with me. If you still consider me your friend, let's drop this. Otherwise, we can't be friends. Of course, you can disregard my friendship, but if either of them finds out from you, I'll hate you for the rest of my life."
Carolline spoke very seriously and earnestly.
She had even decided that if Megan told Matilda Ferguson or Bryan Hawkins about her feelings, she'd avoid Megan forever—she'd rather drop out of school.
This was the first time Megan had seen Carolline so determined. She couldn't understand why Carolline was so resolute. Nowadays, girls wouldn't hesitate to pursue someone even if he had a wife, as long as he met their criteria.
Was Carolline being too stubborn and traditional?
"Did you hear me?" Not having heard an answer, Carolline asked again cautiously.
"Fine, I got it." Megan knew that if she didn't give a definite answer, she might lose this friend. Though she had never made friends with someone as simple and serious as Carolline, she didn't want to lose her. "Who said I don't care about you?"
Carolline finally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that despite Megan's sometimes unserious and joke-loving nature, she'd always keep her word and fulfill her promises.