“Oh, my…” Skye gasped. She shook her head, smirking in amazement, “You really do have feelings for him.”
She only half-joked before but now, she could see it in Xandra’s eyes. Compared to their color earlier, they currently had a darker hue. The frown lines between her eyebrows also became deeper. It was the reaction Skye expected when she admitted to her schemes towards Xandra.
Instead, she saw it at the mention of Logan.
It seemed like her old childhood friend now had another cherished person.
Alex scowled, “Why would you think that?”
“And you don’t know it! How precious!” Skye exclaimed. She wanted to laugh but thought better of it, “And here I thought that I had serious competition.”
“So you admit that you wanted to transfer because of Logan?”
More questions popped up in Alex’s mind. Mainly how someone would think it possible to get back together after that kind of a breakup. Although Logan had stated his reasons for it, there wasn’t any guarantee that that girl wouldn’t have something up her sleeves.
“I admit to nothing…” Skye snorted, “Other than how I really do want to attend Woodlands Academy.”
She rolled her eyes. Then, a lightbulb lit up about her head. She tapped her chin while she stared up at the ceiling, “I, honestly, wouldn’t want to pick a fight with Logan’s new best friend. Maybe we can make an arrangement?”
“An arrangement? Are you kidding me?” Alex scoffed. In what world did her childhood friend live in? She was in no position to ask for demands.
“Why would I be?” Skye glanced at her. She smiled, adding a dash of charm, “After all, you wouldn’t want your parents to know that more than one person knows your secret and be taken home, right?”
Alex’s nerves froze. Her muscles solidified into ceramic. Those words hit home. Once her parents and relatives found out, she’d be done for. All the time and efforts she exerted would go down the drain. Not only hers but also everyone who helped her.
She had been complacent.
From here, it would be a race between them.
“And I would really love to transfer schools without a restraining order being held against me” Skye continued when she didn’t say anything, “We can help each other out.”
It was the perfect solution. With Xandra on her side, things might just go much smoother. If only she came up with it earlier, things could have gone a bit more different. She might have a better right to ask for her own terms in order to keep the secret.
Then again, things were also much better this way since Xandra seeked her out. If it had been her, that restraining order would have been slapped on her face immediately.
Alex raised an eyebrow. She pulled her hands from the waistband of her skirt and crossed her arms over her chest, “Didn’t you hear what I said? You think I’d let you near Logan?”
“And didn’t you hear what I said? About your parents finding out?” Skye fired back.
Imaginary electric currents ran between their eyes. Their heights didn’t have much of a difference. Alex locked her jaw. She kept her mouth shut but she would not surrender. She only needed Skye to think that she gained the advantage.
It was the only way Alex could strike her down unnoticed.
“Skye!” A shout came from outside.
Alex’s gaze flickered to the door on reflex. It wasn’t a voice she recognized so she could only conclude that it was someone Skye knew—probably noticed that she was missing. It wouldn’t look good if they got caught. The headmistress wouldn’t hesitate to call Skye’s family for her truancy from club activities.
It would only be a matter of time before the incident would be linked to Alex and her own parents would also find out about it.
“Skye! Where are you?”
“It seems like I need to go,” Skye sighed. They had so little time… too bad she couldn’t taunt Xandra more. The unsatisfaction made her crave. Maybe she could pull a surprise trick of her own.
Xandra couldn’t have all the fun, could she?
Skye took her phone and tucked it in her pocket. Then, she grabbed her blazer. Her arms looped through the holes and she shrugged it over her shoulders.
She took one last peek at Xandra, grinning pleasantly, “I’m glad we had this chat, Xandra. Please send me a reply when you can. I’ll be looking forward to our little game at Woodlands Academy.”
She patted Alex’s cheek, “No need to be scared. We have each other’s backs, don’t we?”
Skye headed for the exit, leaving a dumbfounded Alex. She placed a hand on the knob and waved her hand in goodbye. She took a deep breath before opening the door. Her face went back to its dainty look.
She stepped out of the storage unit.
Her black eyes widened at the group that greeted her.
She spotted Emily first. She leaned back on a window and smiled smugly at Skye, twirling a piece of her hair. Jae stood beside her. He had a stoic expression and his posture also exhibited the same. With his arms folded over his chest, Skye noticed his hands clenched into fists.
But at the sight of her stepbrother, she closed the door immediately.
“Neal, doing your rounds?” Skye asked politely, “I didn’t know you were the student council member assigned to this place.”
He was the only one who didn’t seem unusual. He still had the same stiff disposition. Against the sunlight behind him, he looked like the ice sculpture at garden parties.
His brows knitted slightly when she appeared. The only sign he gave when he disapproved of something.
Skye merely brushed it off, thinking he’d just let it go eventually.
Marisa suddenly jogged over to her side. She grabbed Skye’s arm and shook it with a worried face, “Skye! What were you doing there? I thought you went back to the club but didn’t find you there. I thought you might have looked for someone to open the restroom. We couldn’t call you so I got really worried that something happened to you.”
“Oh,” Skye gasped, blinking her eyes in surprise. She checked her phone and showed it to Marisa, “It seems like I ran out of battery. I’m sorry. I helped out with the school’s band. They wanted to move some stuff to the storage unit and a few of them tumbled down. We were still arranging things when I heard you scream.”
“It’s okay” Marisa replied and shook her head. She directed a stinky eye towards Emily, “I’m just glad that you’re okay.”
Emily held up her hands, feigning innocence. Inside her smugness rose up. They already gone over this with the Marquis… and she won the battle.
Victory tasted so sweet.
“Both of you should go back to your club activities” Neal interrupted. His expression still had the minor scowl, “If you stay out here longer, I wouldn’t have a choice but to place a formal reprimand.”
Marisa bowed her head in his direction, “Apologies, Marquis Neal. We’ll head back now. Thank you again for all the help.”
She tugged Skye towards their clubroom. The two of them fled the scene. Emily fumed in her place, dropping her hands. She really wanted the chance to hit the conniving bitch like stand near the door with her leg stretched out so Skye would trip on it.
But with Neal around, it was impossible.
The ice statue just had to ruin everything.
All in his day’s work, Emily guessed.
The Marquis turned towards the remaining people in the hallway, “I should say the same thing about you, Emily. Don’t you have cheer practice?”
“I have permission to be here” she answered with a shrug, “The headmistress asked me to finish the school tour for Alex and Jae. I already informed my captain about it.”
“Hm,” Neal hummed in a low pitch. He would need to confirm it when he went back to the staff room. His gaze swept up the empty corridor, “Alexandra is still not back?”
“Why are you even looking for her?” Jae interrupted. It was the second time Neal mentioned her. The two girls wouldn’t tell him squat. It started to bug him.
The Marquis glanced at him. His face relaxed to his default apathetic one, “If I understood right, the school tour is meant for her benefit. She also hasn’t been here before. It wouldn’t be good if she got lost.”
“I’ll go check the restrooms upstairs. She might be having a number two” Emily informed him. Was it really that unusual for a girl to take her time? And how could someone get lost from going to the toilets? This part of the building looked the same on every floor.
Neal didn’t move. He kept his turquoise eyes on her. It irked Emily. She almost demanded what he stared at her for—but she figured that he was waiting for her to leave. She pressed her lips together. An ominous feeling washed over her.
“I’ll be going now then” she mumbled. She turned on her heel and smacked Jae’s arm. She looked at him with a sarcastic expression, “Don’t go anywhere or you might also get lost.”
Then, she walked over to the staircase.
“Your name is Jae, correct?” The Marquis inquired. He faced the staircase Emily disappeared to. His head tilted to one side, eyeing the only person left, “I wasn’t able to introduce myself to you earlier. I apologize for my rudeness.”
He shifted his feet until they stood across each other. He raised his hand, offering it, “I’m Neal Conary, the Student Council’s Marquis. If there’s anything about the school you are interested in, don’t hesitate to contact me about it.”
