Ethan Greenwood revealed an arrangement he made with Principal Parker. Alex had no knowledge of it and neither did his wife. It had been a last minute idea. He didn’t think it would be needed.
“We had talked about informing the staff. The negotiation had gone smoothly. We both agreed on a proposal but… I had another idea. What if a student would be informed? Unlike the staff, a student could turn the tide directly or prevent it. It would be the first line of defense before consulting a staff. That way it would be less conspicuous as much as possible. The catch was… the student had to be well-informed about the other students–someone socially active and a person they looked up to. The student’s voice needed to have power.”
Alex, Emily and Logan looked towards Jae.
He nodded dejectedly. He didn’t think Alex would find out about it this way, “I’ve known who you were even before you came to the school. I have watched and listened around in case anyone came close to the truth.”
Alex held her head, “This is… this is… this is a little too much to take in. You never told me about this? You kept this from me?”
Angeline hinted Emily with her eyes to leave. The discussion only involved Alex and her father.
She got the message immediately and grabbed Jae’s wrist. She dragged him out of the hallway and to the lounge where people could wait to be seated.
She purposely left Logan behind. Alex may need some emotional support.
Emily chose a secluded table near the wall. She let of Jae and walked around, keeping the table between them. She paced around while Jae sat down and watched her. Her heels thudded on the carpet. The sound of it reminded him about her kick. Her frame may be small but that hurt more than any injury he had out on the court.
Finally, Emily reached for the table and held its corners. She looked at Jae dead in the eye, bowing her head.
“How many?”
“How many what?” Jae asked, a nonchalant tone in his voice.
The glare in Emily’s eyes intensified, “How many students know about Alex?”
Jae pointed a thumb over his shoulder, “So far, that one has been the only case. Your cousin is really diligent.”
When his father came to him about a special case student, a cross-dressing female never occured in his mind. Jae didn’t know what to expect from it. When school finally began, he kept searching around for her. Alex kept such a low profile that the whole day could have gone by without him seeing her at all. He only managed to do so when he passed by the faculty lounge.
“You think they would be okay?” Jae gestured towards the hallway that led to the restrooms.
Emily followed his line of sight. She sighed, “They’ll be fine. Alex just wants to know why they haven’t told her about it.”
===
“Alex dear, your father did it for your own good” Angeline tried to explain. Oh, Ethan would still get a good scolding from her later but even she knew he only had good intentions.
“I understand that, mother” Alex spat slowly, “But how is withholding that information good exactly?”
Logan stood by while the Greenwood Family sorted out their misunderstandings. He peeked at the exit. The temptation to leave felt strong.
“If you had known, you would have approached him and his popularity will put you in the spotlight. Isn’t that the opposite of what you want?” Ethan told her.
“Then, if it was, I wouldn’t even approach him!” Alex argued, “I know better than that!”
“Not even out of loneliness?”
“Just because I like to spend time alone doesn’t mean I’m lonely, father!” Alex paused, taking a few deep breaths. She reminded herself that what happened… happened. Now, she needed to get a point across, “Father, I appreciate your good intentions but this was something I needed to know. What to do or not to do with that information is my right to decide.”
“I understand” Ethan answered softly, “I just wanted to be sure. I did everything I could to eliminate almost all risks even if it meant I’d have to take this secret to my grave.”
“I guess we’re even now, hm?”
Ethan raised an eyebrow, “Even?”
“Yeah, about that time I almost left home without telling my plans” Alex smiled and blinked innocently. She knew her father still didn’t get over that one. Like she predicted, his face turned into a tomato.
“This and that are two diff—”
“Oh, isn’t this wonderful?” Angeline gushed, wrapping an arm each on her husband and her daughter, “My, my, my, we’d be the envy of other families with how we settle our arguments.”
Alex snorted but chuckled after. Her mother did have good timing whenever her father was about to go ballistic.
Logan cleared his throat and averted his eyes. The family moment seemed private for a third party to witness. He slowly tiptoed out of the place and looked for their other companions. As much as he wanted to stick by Alex, she clearly didn’t need him at the moment. That meant he could move on to more pressing matters.
Like confronting his twin.
Emily’s blonde hair stood out among the dark brown interior of the restaurant. It also stuck out more when it had another blonde hair next to it. He headed her way and clapped Jae’s back.
“Let me get this straight” Logan began to say, “You knew who Alex was from the beginning?”
Jae nodded, unsurprised to see his twin, “Yeah, I did. Why?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be accompanying Alex?” Emily demanded.
Logan shrugged and took the seat next to Jae, “Things looked okay now. I don’t think there is a need.”
“How about you, Logan? When did you find out?” Jae asked. He had previous suspicions but none of them had been confirmed until tonight.
That question led Logan to a trip down to memory lane. If he could write it down, it would take about 90+ chapters, “It’s a long story.”
Jae grinned and placed a hand on his shoulder, “I’ve got all night.”
“Why are you even here?” Logan shot back, shrugging the hand off.
Emily remained standing on the other side of the table. It was almost like she became invisible. When she met the eyes of a waiter, she mouthed, “Water, please.”
“I followed you” Jae shrugged. He averted his eyes, hoping Logan wouldn’t notice.
“What?”
“I followed you.”
“I heard you the first time!”
Jae snorted in amusement, “Could have fooled me since you asked twice.”
Logan shook his head, “Why did you follow me?”
“I seem to recall you disappeared for a night.”
Logan raised his eyebrows, “So you borrowed dad’s tux?”
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Then, I saw you with Alex and her family… so I kept a bit of distance” Jae explained. He prayed to the heavens Logan accepted it.
Logan sighed. Did that mean if Jae didn’t know about Alex’s secret, he would have found out today because of him?
Guilt flowed into his veins. He decided to change the topic, “Did you drive here?”
“Nah, took a taxi. You would have known my car in a heartbeat” Jae replied, oblivious to the sudden change in Logan’s demeanor.
“Well, I’ll go get the car” Logan excused himself and left the table.
The waiter served a tray of water glasses and a pitcher. Emily took one and filled it to the rim.
“Liar.”
Jae gave Emily a confused look, “What?”
“You came here because you thought Logan is with his Cinderella.”
