Volume 1 - Chapter 2b: The Fairy Tale as Told (Part 2)

Cathedra had high hopes today. She was looking forward to knowing how the fairy tale ends: will Beauty look past the Beast's ugly face and see through his kind heart? With a skip in her step, she walked all the way towards their classroom door, eager to see her classmates. Maybe they'll give her a chance today. Maybe they'll overlook the tiny mishap they have had yesterday, considering they all enjoyed the story together. Maybe Cathedra will even make a friends today! Cathedra squared her shoulders, twisted the knob of the classroom door, and ushered herself in.

"Good morning, everyone!" She greeted cheerily. 

As she saw the cold, condescending looks on her classmates faces, the momentary outburst of courage she had earlier ebbed away. She looked around the classroom, the embarrassment flushing her cheeks as she desperately searched for a place to hide. Instead of finding one, what she saw instead made her blood run cold. 

Graffitied on the blackboard was her name. All the classroom decorations on top, beside, and below the blackboard was mangled beyond recognition. There were haphazard scribbles in permanent red marker all over the walls with sentences like "Why would you do that to me?" and "This is the class' punishment for treating me badly!" 

In panic, Cathedra rushed to the blackboard, grabbed the eraser, and began furiously erasing her name. If she could somehow clean this up before Miss Yumi arrives, maybe she won't get into trouble...

"Good morning, class!" Miss Yumi's voice echoed throughout the classroom and made Cathedra's heart thump so wildly in her chest it feels like it would jump out of her body.

One of the girls cried and ran towards Miss Yumi's legs, hugging her tightly. "Cathedra did that to the room all of a sudden, we're so scared!"

"What do you mean—?" Miss Yumi's voice faltered when she saw the mess her classroom has become. Cathedra froze on the spot, like a deer in the headlights, her presence near the scene almost screams the admission of her guilt to a crime she didn't even do.

"Miss Yumi, I can explain," she began, "I-I didn't do—"

To Cathedra's amazement, Miss Yumi crouched down and hugged the girl clinging to her tightly, patting her in the head. "Who wants to listen to the story from yesterday again?"

The whole class couldn't believe their ears. They expected Miss Yumi to scold Cathedra and get her into trouble. Not this.

"But Miss Yumi," one of the girls stepped out of the crowd and put on her best acting face, "We're not sure we can enjoy the story beside a wild girl like her. She began ripping off the posters and tearing off your classroom decorations the moment she entered the room. She's dangerous."

Miss Yumi's expression darkened as she stood up and vaguely, Cathedra could hear her counting softly under her breath. But all of a sudden, her face brightened as she faced the class that Cathedra wondered if it was just her imagination. "The punishment can wait. For now, your education is of utmost importance."

Whipping out her storybook from her bag, she grinned, "Now, who's ready for the ending?"

All tension in the air dissipated at the sight of the storybook. Miss Yumi purposely stood at the back of the classroom so that everyone would have their back turned from the disfigured blackboard and forget about Cathedra.

"So as you can remember, the merchant went back home, bringing all the gifts given to him by the Beast to his children. While the whole family was blinded by the sight of lavish fortunes in front of them, Beauty was more fixated on how her father had changed since she last saw him. She grew suspicious of her father's troubled expression and relentlessly pressed him to tell them what's wrong. At first, he denied his troubles but eventually the poor man gave in and told them the truth."

The storybook on the next page showed a picture of Beauty leaving their humble little abode in the middle of the forest and set off for the castle.

"The moment Beauty heard of the deal, she decided to sacrifice herself for the sake of her father without any hesitation. The Beast received her into his castle and tended to her every need, even going so far as to saying that she owns the castle now, and the Beast was just her lowly servant."

One of the children raised his hand and said, "Why would he do that, Miss Yumi?"

"Of course it's because he loves her, silly!" The girls sighed dreamily.

Miss Yumi chuckled and said, "Yes that's right, the Beast fell in love with Beauty's love and loyalty for her father. And because the Beast knew that Beauty's heart was kind, it hoped that one day, Beauty would look beyond its ugly face and love it back."

"Why would anyone love an ugly guy like him?" One of the girls exclaimed, "If I was Beauty, I'd only marry a strong and handsome prince!"

One of the boys took offense and retorted, "And that's why your name is not Beauty! Your heart is uglier than the Beast's face!"

Hell would have broken loose if Miss Yumi didn't stop the two from fighting. 

"Now, now class! Settle down or I won't finish. Would you like that?"

The threat seemed to do the trick. The noises and screaming melted into deafening silence. When the children were ready to listen, Miss Yumi continued.

"Day by day, the Beast would ask Beauty to marry her but she politely refused him every time because to her, the Beast was just a friend."

Sniffs echoed throughout the classroom. A few of the girls were holding in tears while most were as miserable as the Beast in the picture, crestfallen at Beauty's rejection.

Miss Yumi flipped the storybook, the next page showing Beauty tossing and turning in her sleep, lost in a strange dream. "After every rejection, Beauty dreamed of a handsome man with platinum blonde hair and royal blue eyes with tears running down his cheeks, begging for an answer why Beauty would reject the Beast's love. Beauty had no idea who the blonde stranger was but kept seeing him in her dreams."

The next page revealed Beauty talking with the Beast. Cathedra figured that their topic must have been very unpleasant because the Beast had its back turned on her, with its eyes glued to the ground. Its monstrous ears and tail drooped, which strongly reminded Cathedra of Sushi, the orphanage dog, every time Cathedra left and set off for school. There was a melancholy in its eyes that Cathedra couldn't quite understand.

"Growing homesick, Beauty begged to be allowed to go home, even for a short time. The Beast agreed under the condition that Beauty should be back within a week. It gave Beauty a magic mirror which allowed her to see what was going on inside the castle, and a ring that can transport her back to the castle if she turns it over her hand three times."

The story took a dreadful turn. The entire class edged in their seats as Miss Yumi narrated how Beauty prolonged her stay at home due to her jealous sisters' deception. They saw how well-treated and well-off Beauty was under the Beast's care and so they pretended to feel miserable if Beauty leaves them, begging her to stay at home longer in hopes that the Beast will be angry with her delay and punish her. Despite Beauty's reluctance to break her promise with the Beast, her sisters' pretentious act won her over. The Beast, heartbroken at the thought of being abandoned by Beauty, visited the bed of roses day by day, praying for her return.