Weekend was finally over and Scarlet left early for school, skipping breakfast. As she walked down the hallway, she reflected back on what happened between her and her mother. They have not been on speaking terms lately and it somehow hurt a part of her. Thinking about it, she knows it's not really her mother's fault and she could not blame her. They have both had their ups and downs and together, they were able to overcome it. She just feels her mother is doing too much, and that too at a wrong timing.
Another reason why Scarlet decided to leave early was so as not to meet Johan on the way. She has neither set her eyes nor spoken to him since that day.
Scarlet stopped walking and turned to look behind her. Few students now walked in the hallway, chatting as they go and having big smiles on their faces. It made Scarlet question herself on the last time she saw herself smiling that way. A kind of sincere smile where you feel every ounce of peace within you and life isn't so mean. That kind of smile she lost after the accident that made her mother now think she is sick all the time.
She let out a sigh and walked over to the closest bench to where she was and she sat down, placing her bag gently beside her. She decided to wait for Melanie and ask her the reason she has not been returning her calls and messages.
Scarlet's hands were tucked inside the jacket she was wearing and she let out a sigh. It has been up to fifteen minutes now and she could see that the number of students who now walked in the hallway had increased and it was becoming noisy.
Pushing her back forward, she glanced at the entrance and by coincidence, Melanie appeared at the same time.
Getting up from the bench, she walked a little bit forward as Melanie was approaching but when she got to her, she simply walked past her without even sparing her a glance and Scarlet felt the coldness of her attitude. Not understanding what was happening, she quickly moved her feet and when she caught up with her, she held her hand back and called her name; "Mel."
Melanie stopped walking but she did not look back at her.
Jokingly, Scarlet asked, "Mel, why are you acting weird? It's not like I stole something from you."
Mel jerked her hands free and turned to face her, her expression shows clearly that of someone who is angry.
"So, you do know you stole something from me and you have the effrontery to confront me like this. I would have been ashamed."
Scarlet blinked and the corner of her upper lip pulled up as she had a confused look on her face. "Mel, what is happening?" she asked, not grasping the situation.
"You don't know what is happening after you stole my boyfriend from me?"
"Boyfriend?" Scarlet repeated. "How can I possible steal your boyfriend when you don't have one yet?"
"Right!" Melanie raised her voice at her which attracted the attention of few students passing by. "I was talking about Damien."
Scarlet didn't know who was delusional between the both of them because she knows Melanie doesn't have any boyfriend, unless she has but has been keeping it a secret from her. "But Damien is not your boyfriend, at least, not yet," she tried to reason with her.
"You know I was finally going to talk to Damien and you stole him just right in front of my eyes. The reason I went for the performance was to confess my feelings to him and I told you but what did you do? You snatched him right before I could even get the chance to talk to him," Melanie said, clearly looking hurt and angered. "I saw you, Scarlet. I saw you with him that evening, and I know you must have talked about how shitty life is and how heartbroken you felt. You do that all the time and I know he must have been moved by your tears."
"Mel," Scarlet called, feeling hurt and seeing how students were already listening to their conversation and gossiping. Melanie is a loud speaker and she herself knows, then why is she talking about their issue in public? It was something Scarlet does not understand, but now she knows the reason Melanie has been ignoring her calls and messages. "I didn't steal anyone from you," she tried explaining. "You must have misunderstood the situation when you do not even know what really happened."
"Did you or did you not cry in front of him?" she questioned, and yet, despite the dozens of eyes and attention, Melanie did not stop there. "Do you think I am that kind of best friend who sits back and watch you get everything you want including stealing my happiness and then give you the relief talk like always? What about me Scarlet? Huh? Have you ever thought about giving me that kind of relief? No, because it's always about you. Who knows if that is what caused you and Johan to break up anyway?" she said at a go, fueling out how deeply pained and angered she was before turning her feet and walking away.
Scarlet watched her back until she disappeared. She felt dumbstruck and hurt by her words. It was obvious that Melanie saw her talking with Damien that evening and that was why she left without telling her and also the reason she didn't pick her calls or respond to her messages.
Looking out at the sea of faces that now watch her, she has never felt more alone and vulnerable. Every stare that was send her way looks criticizing to her and she wished something would just make her disappear. It was too humiliating to just stand and do nothing and she could feel her eyes begin to tear up.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out and the crowd attention became diverted as everyone wanted to know what had happened. Without waiting for another second, Scarlet blinked her eyes and gulped down before sneaking away quietly and heading directly to class.
When she got to the classroom, she saw Melanie sitting at the far end corner, eyes down on the book in front of her and as Scarlet stared, she could hear Melanie's words repeating in her head. Taking in a breath, she diverted her gaze and looked around until her eyes fell on an empty seat at the back. she walked to it and sat down, placing her bag down gently and taking out her book which she spread out on the table, but she did not look at it, instead, her eyes moved to the direction of where Melanie sat and she watched her, feeling pained.
It was clear to her that Melanie also felt hurt, but it was because she misunderstood. She could have at least talked to her about it than announcing it to the public. But that was not the reason she was hurt. She was hurt because somehow, she knows she has lost her best friend, she has lost the only person who listens to all her worries and does things to help her feel better. Melanie can be a cheerful person, but once someone does anything to betray her, which is what she must have thought Scarlet did, it would take a great amount of time to get back together again and by then, the bond might not be as before again.
The sudden sound of a book landing on a hard surface with a thud alerted Scarlet and she shifted her gaze from Melanie to now look ahead of her where she saw the lecturer standing at the front and about to begin the class. Even though from the corner of her eyes, she could see Adam just entering, late, she pretended not to see him and instead she looked down on her book and picked up her pen.
Halfway through the class, a student entered and whispered something to the teacher before leaving and Scarlet could see the teacher looking directly at her.
"Miss Winters," he called and Scarlet sat up, wondering what the student must have said and she could feel the fear seeping in when few of the students looked at her.
"It seems your attention is needed in the infirmary," he said to her and that eased her a bit as she stood up immediately and left the classroom in a hurry.
As she headed towards the infirmary, she had an eerie feeling about what was ahead of her. Never had she been called to the infirmary or even stepped foot inside except that day, and she was beginning to think the nurse must have found something strange about her, but when she stepped inside the infirmary, her feet stopped moving immediately and she froze, looking surprised.
It was then that Scarlet knew the reason she was being called in because sitting on a bench and looking directly into her eyes was her mother and the nurse standing just beside her.