Chapter 4 | The Phone Call

Alice’s bravery against Candice spread like wildfire within the academy. Some students branded her as a kind-hearted person who stands for the poor, while some branded her as some goody-two-shoes who just wanted attention.

The latter rumor was started by Candice, of course. She was so mad at Alice that all she did whenever she sighted Alice was to flip her majestic, blond hair and roll her eyes.

Leia found this entertaining. “In the 1950s, eye roll was used to flirt with someone. Shakespeare used that gesture in some of his works.”

“That’s an interesting fact,” Helena intervened.

Ever since Alice took her side, she started eating lunch with Alice and Leia. The students found this set-up absurd; there was an unspoken rule within the academy that the wealthy should hang with the wealthy, and the poor should stay with the poor.

Their little group wrecked that unspoken belief.

“I don’t think Candice is flirting with me. If she is, it’s not working,” Alice joked.

“Her flirting does not seem to work with Thomas either,” Leia sneered, and the group laughed in unison.

It was evident to everyone that Candice had her eyes on Thomas Saint Clair. Everyone who tried to befriend Thomas always received either a death glare or an eye roll from Candice and her friends, Bea and Ivana.

Thomas, on the other hand, did not look interested. He always isolated himself within the comforts of the art room. He already earned friends, but he was always found alone with earpods on his ears or canvass and paintbrushes.

Alice could not care less, but she still felt annoyed by her first encounter with Thomas. She tried ignoring his presence every time they were in the same class, but she could feel his eyes watching her from a distance.

“I heard Candice planned to ask Thomas out for the fundraiser event of UNITY.”

“You listen to gossips now?” Alice asked Leia with a hint of confusion in her voice. Leia was the type of person to focus on facts rather than rumors and gossips.

Leia shrugged her shoulders. “Zia told me, and for the record, it’s not a rumor. It’s a fact.”

“There’s another fundraiser event?” Helena queried. “Didn’t they have one last month?”

“That’s for the expansion of UNITY across the world. Mom said they plan to build offices in third world countries first,” Alice answered proudly.

Alice may be too young to be a member of UNITY, but she could proudly say that her parents were the organization's roots.

When she’s old enough, Alice planned to continue her parents’ legacy.

Her adoptive parents, not her birth parents, to be precise.

Now that she was thinking about her birth parents, it slipped her mind to check the pictures in the hallway. Not that she was blaming Thomas for it, but she was blaming Thomas for it.

“UNITY is amazing,” Helena uttered.

“Do you want to come to the fundraiser event? We can show you around.” Alice offered.

Helena’s face heated profusely, her cheeks turning pink and then bright red. It was her first time that somebody invited her to a party. It was her first time having a real friend in the academy.

Helena’s mind quickly traveled to what dress to wear and what shoes would fit, but her imagination was shut down when she thought of her work.

“I can’t. I have a part-time job at Sally’s.”

Leia beamed. “Sally’s pizza? You work there? It was right up Pike Street, right? I love your pizzas.” It was one of her favorite pizza places; besides being inexpensive, it was also delicious.

“Yeah. Our delivery guy always traveled to the Browne’s house. I thought one of your staff liked our pizza; I didn’t know it was you,” Helena giggled.

When the night of the fundraiser event came, Alice was dressed in one of her evening gowns designed by Ashley Knightley, one of the most exquisite and famous gown designers. It was a dark blue and gold, floor-length, mermaid-style gown.

Alice was not comfortable in these types of dresses, but it made her mom happy, so she willingly obliged.

“Our donors want to meet you. It would help if you often smile, Al,” Meredith suggested as she put a reddish-pink shade of lipstick on Alice’s lips.

The event was held in Hotel Marcia’s conference hall. It was one of the most famous luxury hotels in the area. Due to UNITY’s frequent parties and events, Alice could confidently say that Hotel Marcia had been her third home. The second one was the comic bookstore.

Luxurious and automatic cars filled the driveway of the hotel. The pathway was glimmering with light and noise as they entered the lobby.

Alice was not surprised when she saw Thomas and Candice together; Candice’s hand was slung to Thomas’s arm. Before she could glance away from the pair, her eyes met Thomas.

She immediately averted her gaze and acted like she did not see them.

The moment they entered the conference hall, the handshakes and smiles started. Alice’s parents mostly accepted the handshakes, but she had to give a firm grip whenever Alice was introduced.

“This is my daughter, Alice,” George introduced. Alice’s fake smile was automatically plastered on her face.

When the formalities were over, the adults started to have their business conversations. Donations, plans, and expansion were passed all over the hall. Alice listened carefully, noting UNITY’s plans for her future reference.

It took an hour before she started to get tired of the conversations, so instead of listening, she went on to find Leia.

However, the Browne family was occupied with talking with Louis Saint Clair. She figured she couldn't just barge in there and steal Leia away. Alice decided to wait for her friend outside the conference hall.

It was too bad she did not bring an emergency comic book. This was the type of situation she was trying to avoid, but she could not even read, thanks to her mother.

“Tired from the party?”

Alice looked up and saw Thomas. He was wearing a black suit with a red tie, a shade of red that matched Alice’s evening gown. His golden hair was fixed cleanly, revealing his forehead. Alice could even smell his perfume even from a distance.

“Should I leave? Is this room not enough for you, Your Highness?” Alice asked in her most sarcastic tone after registering Thomas’s presence in her mind.

Surprisingly, Thomas gave off a deep laugh. “Sorry. I was rude to you. I didn't mean it.”

Alice calmed down a little. “Good to know that you’re aware.”

“So,” Thomas started. “How are you enjoying the event?”

“It was okay. You?”

“Bored.”

Alice chuckled. Fundraiser events were boring at first, but she knows enough that involving oneself in the plans and strategies of UNITY would make it less boring.

“You don’t have a date?” Thomas queried.

“Charity events like this do not require a date.”

Thomas grinned, and Alice could not help but stare at his dashing face. “It does require dates. Didn’t you know? I can go with you next time.”

Alice shook her head. “No, thank you. I prefer to be alone.”

The truth was, she preferred to stay out of Candice’s way. She doesn’t need those high school dramas; her life was already unlucky as it was.

Thomas was about to say something when a nearby noise caught their attention.  Alice knew it was the sound of a firm slap, not because she deduced it, but because she can see the reflection of two people in the glass wall.

An older man and a boy, just about her age. She was familiar with the adult, Li Jing Zhang. His face was all over the posters nowadays for the upcoming senatorial election.

She remembered her dad saying that Li Jing will be donating a massive amount of money to UNITY.

“If you pull that stunt again, I will make sure you won’t see your mother again,” Li Jing said through his gritted teeth.

“You can’t do that,” the boy argued.

It was not in Alice’s nature to listen to these kinds of conversations, but her gut told her to stay put. Her gut was usually correct, and because of her lack of a lucky keychain, she had to follow her instincts.

However, Alice instantly regretted listening to her instincts when her phone loudly rang.

She had to pull Thomas away from that hall and hide in the nearby washroom so that Li Jing would not see them.

“You should try using ‘silent mode’ in your phone,” Thomas suggested. Alice frowned.

She looked at her phone and saw a missed call from Helena. It was unusual because their friendship had not yet reached that kind of level where they would easily call one another without awkwardness.

The phone rang again, and this time, she answered.

“Alice…” Helena’s breathing was heavy and ragged before she spoke, “They did it.”

And then the call ended.