Chapter 248: 248-He Looks Shattered
Clementine:
I rolled my eyes at the voices and stared at Troy, who grunted as well. That’s when Yorick and Haiden burst out from behind the bushes, looking pissed.
"What the heck?" Haiden barked, glaring at Troy.
"What? And who even shows up like that?" Troy shot back, irritated by how they appeared so suddenly.
"I was about to attack you," Troy joked, though he wasn’t entirely kidding. Even after North, we’d become hyper-aware of our surroundings.
"Well, then you shouldn’t have stolen her from us," Yorick snapped, finally drawing the attention to himself.
"I didn’t steal her. Since you guys were planning something, I decided to plan too. What’s wrong with that?" Troy defended himself, giving a shrug.
I sighed as I watched them argue again.
"Hey, guys, let’s not forget she hasn’t picked anyone yet. She’s given all three of us a chance, and we have to win her heart. Let’s focus on the real issue," Haiden finally said, snapping out of it as he realized I didn’t like their constant back and forth.
"What main issue? Did something else happen?" I asked, and the three of them gave me a puzzled look.
"Weren’t we supposed to talk to Ian about what you heard? And the ringleaders asked us to meet them in the hall. I’m guessing they’ve returned and found out we caused some trouble," Yorick explained, reminding me that just because we’d come back didn’t mean our mission was over.
Still, I didn’t know how I was going to talk to Ian. At the same time, I reasoned with myself: I hadn’t given him a chance, and I hadn’t let him fool me, so I guessed I was fine.
I just wouldn’t pay much attention to him for trying to start a relationship with me, only to hurt me by sleeping with his ex.
"Okay, let’s go," I sighed tiredly. I really didn’t want to deal with the ringleaders right now, but that was our life, we had to.
We started walking together, and once we reached the main hall, I realized Ian was already there. There was a brief, awkward glance between us before we both looked away.
I knew the state he’d found me in. But he had no idea I’d caught him in the same situation, even worse, actually. I hadn’t fooled him, and I hadn’t gloated about it after sleeping with my mates.
The three ringleaders stood in their usual attire, but Miss Rue was missing the beautiful smile she always carried. She looked disappointed and upset.
"Seeing you all here really makes me upset," she began with an obvious announcement. "First, Clementine was caught using the phone booth."
As she paused, I noticed Ian turn slightly to glance at me.
"And then she was sent to the mate she was missing and trying to call—Haiden’s vacation place," she added.
I saw the tension in Ian’s shoulders. He always rolled them back and straightened his posture whenever something like this, or something that caught his attention, was brought up.
"And then, when the three of you were together at the vacation spot, you caused such a ruckus that not one but two packs decided it was better you weren’t there with them," she continued, shaking her head in disbelief.
I guessed it was the first time Ian had heard what happened.
"And sadly, because of you three, Ian and Yorick’s vacations were cut short too," she added, taking long pauses between her words.
"I understand, Clementine, you’re feeling lonely. You should’ve asked me. I would’ve spoken with the headmaster to grant you a phone call or a visit to your mate." At that point, she looked straight at me, shaking her head to show how disappointed she was in me.
"But that doesn’t change anything, does it? Of course not," Mr. Rick cut in. He’d never miss a chance to make me feel small. It seemed like he’d been waiting for the moment he could call me out for what I’d done.
"I think Rick is right. Even if you’d managed to get her on the call or send her away to Haiden, it wouldn’t have changed anything. The outcome would’ve been the same. She’d have gotten drunk and caused enough ruckus to ruin the vacation for even Haiden," Ms. Lenora muttered with a grunt.
Sometimes she acted so strangely that I couldn’t help but think she and Mr. Rick were either mates or twins but I knew they weren’t related.
"I understand. Anyway, stress can do that to you. And she was drunk too."
However, Miss Rue instantly defended me, and I felt bad for her. Whatever she was asked to do at the academy, she did it. And I could tell she also got a hard time from them for being so nice to everyone.
"Anyway, it’s very sad that all your vacations ended when you should’ve been resting. However, it’s going to get a little harder from here on," Miss Rue said. "Due to the mistakes made, it’s been decided that all five of you will be punished in the hardest way until the others return."
She finished her words and stepped back as Mr. Rick came forward.
I sneakily exchanged glances with my three mates, the ones who knew why we had come back.
We already had a feeling they’d punish us in a way that would drag us away from spending too much time in the academy, which made us even more suspicious of them.
Just as we expected, that’s exactly what happened.
"You’ll be splitting woods and doing different kinds of chores around the woods and in the academy for the next fourteen days," Mr. Rick announced.
"It’ll start early in the morning and finish by evening. I hope no mistakes are made this time," Ms. Lenora added, gesturing for us to take our seats, eat, and then leave so we could wake up early for the hard chores.
As soon as they sat down for their food and we sat down for ours, I noticed my mates giving me a nod, signaling me to talk to Ian.
Their insistence was getting too much, and if I protested any further, they’d probably realize something was wrong.
So, I turned to speak with Ian. However, the moment I reluctantly shifted in my seat, Ian put his fork down and stood up.
"I’m not really hungry. I’ll go to my room and rest," he announced to the ringleaders, and before they could ask him anything else, he walked out of the hall.