111. First Exchange Gift

“What?” Alexandra gasped breathily. The words sounded foreign in her ears. They just made up a few weeks ago. It had only been two months since she gained a friend. Why would the word want to take that away from her now?

The girl whimpered. She really didn’t want to do it but she also couldn’t stand by. She briefly and clumsily explained her reason. It sounded even more foreign than the previous one.

The young miss shook her head, “Skye is my friend. She wouldn’t do something like that.”

For the first time since she started school, she had someone to spend time with her. She had a companion. They did have a fight but she knew it was part of any relationship—family, friends and significant others. Her friend wasn’t perfect like she wasn’t too…. But her classmate just seemed like a fool.

“I’m only telling you because I think you deserve better than that,” the girl explained, “Please think about it?”

Alexandra stared out the window like she usually did on her way home. Her classmates’ words echoed in her mind like a broken record. She peeked at Skye from the corner of her eye. She had the same cheerful smile on her face when the young miss met up with her before hopping inside the car.

The second she saw it, she knew the girl must have been lying. Maybe she didn’t like Skye so she told Alexandra those things but… the longer time passed, the more the young miss wondered if she should ask her friend about it. She deserved to know about what the girl had said about her, right?

When they went to her room, Skye hid her hands behind her back, smiling, “I got you something too, Xandra.”

“Me?” The young miss raised her eyebrows. She hadn’t expected to get something today since hers had been a surprise. It wasn’t like the school had arranged for them to exchange presents.

Skye giggled and revealed her gift, “Ta-da!”

It was a book but not just any book. It was the one she had been waiting for, the last book of a series she’d been reading for the past year. Alexandra considered herself quite lucky that she stumbled upon it when it already had several books out. Instead of waiting for years, she only needed to wait for a few months.

“Oh my gods” she gasped, taking the book, “I can’t believe it. This is—this is just—thank you so much, Skye.”

The young miss couldn’t contain it anymore and leaped. She wrapped her arms around her friend who laughed and hugged her back. What the girl said couldn’t possibly be true. It was clear Skye cared about her. How else would she remember about this book? Even she had forgotten its release date.

Later that night, Alexandra planned to spend the night reading her new book. Her eyes swept page after page, adrenaline keeping her energized and awake. Her legs tucked under her blankets and her back snuggled against a pillow, she was in bookworm heaven.

Suddenly, her door opened. She set down the book as her mother marched inside in her dress. Angeline and Ethan had a party to attend to. During this month, they had a lot of them due to business relations.

“Have you seen my brooch?” She asked her daughter, her hands on her hips.

Alexandra shook her head, “I haven’t seen it mother.”

“Are you sure?” Angeline walked around the room. She checked the dresser then, the drawers. She glanced at every table and open surface.

“I really don’t know, mother.”

“Hmm,” her mother exhaled sharply, “Alright, it might be at one of the study rooms.”

The young miss quickly went back to her book but the house had been engulfed with angry screams and hasty footsteps. She placed the book down and hopped off the bed, exiting her room. Her ears could hear her mother’s loud voice better while her father’s was a bit softer. She tiptoed to the stairs and peeked over its barrier.

Her mother paced around the first floor, fuming with anger. She barked at every servant that passed if they had seen the brooch. All of them shook their heads in dismay. Her father tried to calm her down but to no avail. The young miss hadn’t been exaggerating when she told Skye that her mother loved that brooch.

Skye…

Alexandra gasped softly. She had a thoug. When she wasn’t convinced, her classmate’s words echoed in her head again. It used this chance to enrapture her mind.

“Are you alright, young miss?” Jeffrey spoke beside her. She had gone completely white. It made him worry if she was even breathing.

“I… I…” the young miss stammered, “I think there’s another place mother’s brooch could be.”

“Where is it?”

Jeffrey quickly relayed the information to the Master and the Mistress of the house. They both glanced up at their daughter shivering on top of the stairs. Ethan gave instructions to Jeffrey and kissed his wife’s cheek, promising to come back soon. Both him and the butler headed out of the house, asking the chauffeur to take them to where Skye lived.

Angeline sat on the couch with Alexandra in her arms. The warmth her daughter gave calmed her down more than anything. It had been an hour since her husband left the house. They had no news yet of what happened.

Just then, her phone rang. She answered it immediately.

“Hello, dear” Ethan greeted through the receiver, “I’m sorry I haven’t called until now. I’m at the police station.”

“The police?!” Angeline yelled, startling Alexandra. She cooed and rubbed her daughter’s back, “Why are you there?”

“The girl took your brooch.”

“And so? It’s one brooch. Not to mention that the kid is a minor” she replied, “Is it really necessary to go to this extreme?”

She heard her husband sigh heavily, “Yes.”

Angeline hardly believed what she was hearing, “But why?”

“My dear, our wealth is being exploited.”

“What ever do you mean?”

“The girl didn’t want to confess about the gemstone. She denied us entry to her room for a routine check. Her mother also threatened to call the police since we came without a warrant. We had to force our way in. When we came inside, we found drawers and drawers of jewelry inside. Not only that, they were all from Alex’s room.”

Angeline gasped, covering her mouth. Her daughter blinked her eyes, tilting her head from her mother’s reaction.

“She explained that they had all been gifts from Alex but the amount of them, Angeline… even I hadn’t given that much jewelry to a friend. Neither had Lilly. I’m sure you haven’t either. Jeffrey called the police to help with the investigation. Now, we’re at the station giving our statements.”

“What about Alex?” His wife finally asked.

Ethan rubbed his forehead. He really didn’t want to but they had to do it.

“You need to bring her.”

===

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