"Gwen, sorry! I forgot to tell you that Mr. Dean is still coming to class this afternoon." Erica clasped her hands together, her eyes filled with tears, as if fake tears could fall at any moment. Casey's reaction? Of course, she really doesn't care. Unreasonable excuses kept attacking her. Casey glanced at the tube bag beside the woman, then nodded.
"Even though you previously contacted me to tell me the wrong information, why didn't you tell me again?" Casey asked, her gaze softening. Following Erica's acting.
"I-I'm sorry ... I'm still at home too. I didn't bring it with me at first either! My brother told me to hurry up, so I didn't have time to check my phone again. I'm really sorry, Gwen." Erica's tears immediately flowed, and even when she was crying, she could still look charming. Casey couldn't help it, Erica was really very beautiful as an angel, only her nature was really annoying. The girl still hadn't finished crying, her smooth, already red cheeks were getting redder, as was her sharp nose. The other kids looked at them in bewilderment, one of them approaching.
"Erica, what's wrong? You had a fight with her, Gwen?"
"What? Not at all! Erica, never mind. It's okay, stop crying," Casey begged as she stroked her shoulder. Erica rubbed her eyes, wiping away the tears that had been streaming down her cheeks. The girl began to show her deadly smile to the other children who were worried about her.
"I'm okay, really. I just feel bad for Gwen," she said.
"What did you do wrong, Erica?" they asked again, so fond of meddling in other people's problems.
"It is just a trivial matter! Erica, Mora, and Hanna are already at the front of the class. You'd better follow them," Casey said, changing the topic. The children are now not paying attention to them. Erica looked outside the classroom, and indeed, her two friends were there.
"And you? You don't want to eat with me anymore?" she said it softly, as if she wanted to cry again. Her gaze was like that of a stray dog begging to be picked up by its new master, so adorable, but Casey knew her attitude was only toxic to her.
"First, I'll go to the toilet. I'll catch up later," she said before leaving the classroom for the bathroom. She had to wash her face and neutralize the emotions that had been rumbling in her chest.
Casey stared at the mirror that reflected the heroine's Gwen face. She had been trapped in that game for quite a long time. It's still a long way to a happy ending if it's according to the route she runs in the real world. Casey had even begun to vaguely remember her true face. Even though she had just dyed her hair ash brown in real life, she had to get back to feeling Gwen's jet black hair color. Casey washed her face many times. After that, she re-applied sunscreen and lip tint to keep her lips from getting too pale. If you look at it, the heroine is quite sweet, even though it's not as charming as Erica. However, she should still be proud because it was this face that the four young masters fought over. Casey shook her head quickly, even slapping her cheeks. This wasn't the time for her to think about such unimportant things!
One of the bathroom cubicles at the far end opened, a girl came out of it at a leisurely pace towards the sink to wash her hands.
It's Laura, the person in charge of the class.
Laura turned to Casey. "Oh, hi, Gwen. I didn't realize you were next to me," she greeted as she rubbed her palms with soap. Casey only responded with a chuckle.
Ah, looks like now would be a good time to ask about the task earlier. Casey wanted to be more certain whether her guess that Erica had framed her was true or not, so he had to ask someone else. And Laura is the perfect person to ask.
"Um, Laura," she called.
"Yes?" Laura said as she dried her hands and turned to look at Casey.
"Did Mr. Dean tell you earlier that he had urgent business, so he couldn't come to class this afternoon?" Casey asked. She waited for the change in the face of her interlocutor now.
Right guess.
Laura frowned and then checked her phone to see if there was a message from the lecturer. "There's absolutely no such information, Gwen," she replied, then showed Casey the screen of her phone so she could see for herself.
Casey smiled crookedly. "Ah, I see."
"Where did you get the information from?"
"Erica told me," Casey answered firmly. After all, she didn't need to hide who the culprit was.
"Huh? Erica?"
Casey nodded. "Erica told me she was informed that Mr. Dean couldn't come, so there was no need to bring the assignment."
Laura's brows furrowed, then the laughter she had been holding in for so long finally came out. Laura laughed in disbelief at what Casey said. This made Casey surprised at the spontaneous attitude of the girl with the dutch braid hair.
"Me? I never even talked to her," Laura said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Besides, if there's something, of course I'll immediately tell the class group. You should know that yourself."
"Ahaha... you're right ..." Casey laughed embarrassedly.
Laura noticed Casey, who now seemed to be thinking about something seriously. There was a bit of suspicion because Casey didn't usually ask her, and it was rare for them to even talk like close friends. However, Laura knew from the start that when Casey approached Nakamura, the girl did not carry the drawing assignment given by Mr. Dean. Laura smiled lopsidedly. After paying a lot of attention to Erica and Casey's interactions, she already understood what was going on between the two of them.
"You'd better call someone at home, to bring your assignment here," Laura said, interrupting Casey's thoughts.
"Ah, yes. I think so," Casey said forcing a smile. Laura tapped Casey's shoulder lightly. "If there's something you'd better ask me. Not everyone can be trusted, huh . . . that's if you trust me too."
Casey was silent digesting Laura's words. It felt like the third time she had admired a fellow woman. The first belongs to Eleana, the second to Asylin, and the last to her current interlocutor. Even Casey felt that Eleana and Laura had similar traits. She also felt like Laura knew what Erica had done to her because, judging by what Laura said, it sounded ambiguous. Can Casey make Laura a friend? It seemed she could think about this further.
The bottom line is, Laura is so cool!
"Thank you, Laura. I trust you."
***
On the other hand ....
Eric had just come out of his room to get ready for the campus. Today's class schedule starts at noon. The guy whistled and even hummed happily as he walked while shaking his car keys. It looks like Eric is in a good mood. With a dark gray short rib shirt and black formal trousers. Not only that, Eric combined it with a black coat that he slung over his arm, adding to his masculine impression and glasses that he tucked between his shirts to wear during class. As usual, Eric never messed around with matters of dress.
"Good afternoon, Master Eric," Asylin greeted as he bowed. When they passed each other in the corridor. The maid was less busy in the morning and intended to put Casey's tube bag down.
"Morning, Asylin," Eric replied with a smile, without stopping his steps. However, his forehead furrowed at a glance at the item his servant was holding. He stopped his steps and turned around, Asylin was still not far from him.
"Asylin," Eric called.
"Yes, Master?"
Eric walked over, trying to confirm the tubular item. "This thing, isn't this Gwen's?"
"Absolutely right, Master. I meant to put it in the room."
"Huh? Why? Did Gwen forget to bring it?" asked Eric again.
Asyln shook her head. "Gwen said this thing can't be brought now. She's late, so she won't have time to go back to the room. That's why I helped her, Master," explained Asylin. The woman looked closely at the expression on her master's face, looking confused. "Is something wrong, Master?" she asked, a little worried.
Eric shook his head and smiled sweetly. "Here, let me take it to campus." The man took over the tube bag from Asylin.
"But, Master—"
Eric opened the bag, checking what kind of work Casey was doing. Knowing this, he nodded in understanding. "I'm sure Gwen guessed wrong, a task like this is impossible for a lecturer like Dean to delay. Then I'm leaving. Bye! " Eric said goodbye before running away from Asylin to his favorite car.
Eric put the bag in the passenger seat beside him. He started the car and then sped across the street. He had to hurry up and meet Casey.
"You must be in trouble right now, wait for me, Gwen."