Chapter 250: 250-Slut Shaming Me Now?
Clementine:
It took me a while, but I managed to find the strawberries. I filled my first basket, ran back to the main ground, and tossed them into the bucket. I noticed the others had already filled theirs.
However, they had found out that Ian had angrily stormed off, and we didn’t have much time since we were supposed to head back to the academy by 1 p.m.
They said we had more tasks to do there. I guess they realized they couldn’t just leave us out in the open for too long. I don’t know, something was up.
My mates didn’t ask what had happened between Ian and me. The last time they checked, I was supposed to tell him about the mystery behind Bodhi’s diary and what I’d heard from the ringleaders.
But they silently grabbed their baskets and ran after me, filling theirs with strawberries to help fill mine and Ian’s buckets.
I didn’t put a single strawberry in Ian’s bucket. I was done playing nice with him. I couldn’t ignore the fact that he had tried to fool me, and thankfully, I caught him in the act.
After a while, around 12:30, when we started gathering around the buckets again, we noticed Ian wasn’t in sight.
"Did you two argue?" Yorick asked softly.
"He stormed off. He was in a bad mood," I replied, skipping over the argument we had.
"Well, we have to go and fetch him," Yorick added.
"Why? I mean, we helped him with the buckets. If he’s gonna act like a child, he should be the one getting punished for it," Haiden disagreed, and Troy sided with him.
"Besides, that guy’s an asshole. We never know when he’ll throw tantrums. He keeps himself at arm’s length from us. Why do we need to get so close to him anyway?" Troy remarked with little body language, shrugging and rolling his eyes.
Yorick and I kept staring at each other. I’d noticed Yorick was usually quiet but more capable of acting like me than the others.
"He is sometimes a fool. Then I’ll go and find him. It’s okay, you guys stay here," Yorick said, making me clench my fists and look away.
He waited a moment, taking slow steps away. I guess he suspected I’d follow, because usually, I would.
If anyone was in danger, I’d be right beside whoever went to rescue them. This time, I wasn’t. It’s not like Ian was a child who didn’t know where to go.
The next fifteen minutes were hard to get through because I was worried about Yorick. He was supposed to be near his bucket when the clock struck 1 p.m., and I didn’t want him to get punished for Ian.
Thankfully, before time ran out, Ian and Yorick walked back. I noticed the two were whispering awkwardly before they came into view. Suddenly, Ian gestured at him, and Yorick stopped talking.
I guess I wasn’t the only one who caught it, because Troy instantly turned to look at me, making sure one of us had seen it too. From the way I looked back at him, I could tell he realized I’d noticed just as much.
As the clock struck 1 p.m., we started walking back to the academy. None of us had eaten breakfast. By the time we reached the room, Troy and Haiden were tearing into their lunch boxes.
Yorick sat by the window, eating quietly, while Ian had left his lunch box on the side table, empty. I guessed he’d already eaten before coming back.
I opened mine but could barely stomach anything. There were too many thoughts in my head.
"Okay, guys, we have to clean the entire academy," Yorick sighed, handing us another piece of paper that had been left in our rooms.
However, I noticed one more thing. Once again, I was paired with Ian to clean all the passages. I didn’t know if it was done deliberately or without thought.
Maybe they realized that when I was with the others, I caused trouble, and when I was with Ian, we were silent.
Ian came out of the bathroom, already showered. After that, we took our turns, then grabbed our mops to start cleaning the passages.
The others were assigned to the main hall and then to separate rooms to clean under the ringleaders’ supervision.
We started from my hall, and I noticed Ian wasn’t doing anything. He had put his mop down and leaned against the pillar, staring outside at the trees.
"Ian, a little help would be nice," I remarked after having enough of his attitude.
He only shrugged, not even responding to me.
"I’m gonna go and file a complaint against you," I threatened, watching him laugh without looking back at me.
"You’re so stubborn, Ian, and then you ask why I gave my other mates a chance and not you." I stomped my foot angrily. He was so unbearable at times that I wanted to claw at his face, his back, his chest, everywhere.
He looked at me, breaking his stare from the trees, and smirked.
"So if I behaved, would you have given me a chance? Is that what you’re saying?" he asked.
Before I could deny it or say something more hurtful, he raised his palm.
"Don’t answer. I’m not the one who stands in line and competes with others. I’m not the one who enjoys watching his mate get fucked by others while he waits for his turn. So go on, enjoy whatever you’re doing with them. I’m out of the equation, and I’m walking myself out."
He spoke harshly, his words laced with insult. I stared at his face in silence before I began to blink hard to get rid of the tears.
"What? You’re gonna cry about it because I told you the truth? Somebody has to tell you. Do you think these guys respect you after what you did last night?" he continued, making me clench my fists.
"All the respect I felt for you, Clementine– it’s gone now. You’re just like the others." His words caused so much agony that it became hard for me to breathe.