"Ah, my lady, my lord. You are a bit late today." Teacher Borin chuckled, looking at us as we walked inside." I was beginning to-"
"Teacher Borin!" Myria interrupted him mid-sentence and waltzed right in front of him.
Her steps were a bit too hurried for a sick person, but so far so good.
Standing in front of her somewhat startled teacher, she lowered her head and spoke somewhat shyly.
"I am feeling faint, so let me skip class. I want to go and play."
Silence resounded in the classroom as I struggled to cover my face behind my palms.
Could she act any more guilty? Even a blind chimp could see she was pulling something here. Seriously, what kind of six-year-old doesn't know how to lie convincingly? We even practiced for hours just to avoid this habit of hers.
Listening to Myra, Teacher Borin looked conflicted, struggling to answer. Not that I expected him to give a positive one anyway. Myria had crashed this thing hard with a single sentence.
Yet somehow, out of expectation, this thing took a turn for even worse.
"You are feeling faint?" A voice from the side, startled both of us. At once, our tiny brother-sister pair snapped our necks to the side. There right at the end of the room sat a woman with a crown on her head and a cold expression on her face.
"Mother?" I somehow managed to weasel out. Myria, on the other hand, went pale with fear.
Looking at our faces as if scrutinizing every single detail, Mother slowly got up from her seat.
"I came to talk to Teacher Borin, see how both of your education was progressing." She began walking in our direction.
"In fact, Teacher Borin was just mentioning how diligent Myria was in her studies. Always working hard to surpass expectations."
Uh, oh. She spoke about Myria and not me, I wonder what things this guy had told her. Remembering what had happened during our last Parent-Teacher conference, I made sure to keep my head low while she spoke.
"He only had an excellent thing to say about you, Myria." She kneeled down and got face-to-face with Myria. "So tell me, daughter, were you feeling unwell?
Seeing Mother's cold, expressionless eyes boring down into her own, Myria couldn't take it anymore and burst into tears. I honestly couldn't blame the girl; I have had similar experiences in the past three years.
"I… I AM SORRY, I WANTED TO GO OUT AND PLAY, AND ORION SAID I WAS MIND CONTROLLED AND… AND THAT I COULD IF I LIED ABOUT BEING SICK."
This little… looking at my unfilial disciple screaming at the top of her lungs, I couldn't help but feel a cold sensation on my back.
Mother was looking at me now, all her silent ire seemingly shifting on me.
This wasn't good. Mother had a reputation for being extremely cruel with her punishments. A reputation she had gotten because of me.
"Is this true, Orion?" She questioned with the same cold gaze boring down on me. Somehow, I could tell she already knew the answer.
Lying was of no use now. There was only one thing I could do to save myself.
"I…I AM SORRYY… I DIDN'T KNEW, MYRIA WANTED TO GO PLAY, SHE SAID SHE WAS TIRED OF STUDYING EVERYDAY, SO I TOLD HER… I AM SOOORY."
I, too, burst out into tears, screaming just as loud if not louder than Myria.
"And you thought lying about this was a good idea." Mother questioned with the same expressionless tone.
"I AM SORRY; I DIDN'T KNOW; I PROMISE I KNEW NOTHING."
I jumped down on the floor, flailing my arms and legs while screaming.
"I AM SORYY, I AM SORRRY, I AM SRYYYY."
"Ahem, my lady." Seeing me flailing like a bug on the stove, Teacher Borin was the first to feel mercy. "Maybe we are overreacting a bit; Lord and Lady were still children, after all. Perhaps it would be best if we take a lenient approach." He tried to speak but shut up, looking at my mother's expression.
Saying so, she walked up to my thrashing body. "Stop." She spoke in the same tone, and I instantly halted my twitching body.
"Teacher Borin, please continue with your lessons." She spoke after taking a moment. "Please make sure to send them to my office after your lesson."
Saying so, she turned towards the door and walked out of the room.
Seeing her leave, I got up on my feet. Phew, dodged that bullet, or atleast delayed it. Looking ahead Myria was glaring at me with a wronged expression.
"Ahem." Teacher Borin coughed lightly." I suppose there is an important lesson to learn here; it is never good to lie, especially to your teachers."
Myria hurriedly nodded as if trying to prove she was still a good girl. I had to join as well, or else I would have stuck out like a sore thumb."
"Now, then, we should get started with today's lesson. Today, we will be learning about the Giving Etiquettes in the noble circles."
Argh, just kill me now.