Part 9

Someone clutching my shoulder stunned me, making me even more terrified. "Newbie," said the man with long hair, who appeared out of nowhere. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," I replied, gasping for air.

"You sure?"

I didn't wait for him to finish and ran away, farther and farther, until I reached the gate. I want to get out of the gate, to run away, to return home. Squeeze Mama, squeeze Allerick and tease Blythe. But I can't, even if I wanted to.

"Where are you going?" the guard queried.

"Umm… ah, I'm going back." I stumbled.

I first took a walk around campus to be calm and not to think about what happened earlier. I arrived at the old building. I did hear a beautiful tune at the building's entrance, so I followed the sound and was led to the far end of the building, where there was a large door. I saw one guy as I peered through the entrance that was filled with numerous instruments. That's why the sound was familiar to me because he was playing the violin, and as a result of that sound, I became calmer.

At the time I started hearing somebody approaching, I moved away from the door. When I realized who it was, I jumped in excitement. "Miss Janna!" I called out.

"Mendoza?" Miss Janna glared at me to make sure she was not hallucinating. "How come you are here?" 

"I'm delighted to see you." I wrapped my arms around her. "Thank you, miss. You're here."

Miss removed my hand from hers. "Can you explain why you're here in Borstal?" she asked, surprised. 

"All right," I said, nodding.

We entered the room where I saw the man playing the violin. "So you left Amarillo because of Bortal's offer?"

"Yes." Miss Janna nodded.

"Well, it's better to go to a well-known high-paying school than a low-paying one," I added.

"How's Adie, by the way?" She changed the subject by asking how her ex was doing.

"Who? Miss, your boyfriend?" I said teasingly. "Same as his brother, flirting with Amarillo students." 

"Ex-boyfriend." she corrected. "That cheater hasn't changed. Why haven't those two brothers been expelled from Amarillo yet?"

Mr. Adie's ex-girlfriend, Ms. Janna Reyes, used to teach in Amarillo. She is our favorite teacher, the most genuine of all Amarillo teachers. Miss taught me music. With her, I learned more about the violin; she and mama used to be in the same school. Mama is her junior; they once played violin together. However, mama doesn't remember.

"By the way, Gemma, this is Wyatt." Miss pointed to the guy playing the violin earlier.

"It's Tal."

"Tal, right." Miss chuckled. "This is Gemma, Tal." She made a gesture toward me. "She was a former student of mine in Amarillo, and she also plays the violin."

"You must be the girl everyone is talking about," he said.

"What do you mean?"

 "You're probably aware why. You are Borstal's first female student." He paused for a moment. "I'm curious why you choose to study here because Borstal is a man's school."

"Um ... well ..."

"Tal, you're making her uncomfortable. Could you, please, leave us first?"

"All right, sure."

"I'll see you after class," Miss said, waving her hand in the air.

"All right, all right." Tal walked out the door with a smirk on his face.

We watched him walk out, and once Tal was gone, Miss asked me immediately. "Can you tell me now why you're here?"

"It's a long story, miss."

"I'm all ears."

I sighed. I started telling Miss Janna when Tara and I got into trouble at school since she already knew about papa, then when I met King Augustus, that I lived in the palace that she envied, as well as the reason I came here to Borstal.

 "Oh, sh*t!"

"Shh," I shush quietly to her. "It's bad to curse."

"Don't shush me; I'm still your teacher," Miss Janna said with a furrowed eyebrow.

"Sorry." I chuckled.

"You're too young to be involved with these things, Gemma; instead, focus on how to pass the class."

"I'm afraid I'm out of options, miss." I shrugged.

"You have Gemma. It's not easy being a prince's personal maid. How long are you going to keep doing that?"

"Until I get papa out of jail, miss," I replied.

"Haist," she sighed. "You know you're insane!"

"Yeah, I'm aware."

"Then you came in here, where everyone is a man. There are still a lot of crazy people here, particularly among the scholars." She expressed her concern.

Miss was also stressed because of my presence, but I'm super happy that Miss is here. Somehow, I see a familiar person in Borstal. "Thank you for moving here."

"No, you don't have to thank me." She locked her gaze on me. "Join my club now that you're here."

"Even if you don't say anything, I'll still join." I nodded with a smile.

The sadness on my face returned when lunchtime ended. I bent down as I went inside since I didn't want to see the prince's eyes because thinking about what had happened earlier made my body shake with fear.

The bell rang to signal the end of the previous class. When I came out, I followed the prince five meters away and didn't say anything to him because what he did had traumatized me. While walking, I saw there were many cars in the parking lot. All of them were too expensive and special for regular vehicles.

"How was your day, Prince Augustus?" Mr. Osiris bowed before opening the door for the prince.

"Hell." Prince Augustus replied as he got into the car.

"How about you, Miss Gemma? How was your first day?" Mr. Osiris asked.

I forced a smile. "It was great, Mr. Osiris."

"Miss Gemma... w-what's on your arm?" He asked, pointing to my left arm.

I glared at what Mr. Osiris was talking about and didn't realize that Prince Augustus' hand had left a mark on my arm where he had clasped me. "It's nothing." I shook my head. To hide the bruise, I drew the sleeve of my uniform down.

"But that doesn't appear to be nothing."

"Perhaps something just bumped into me that I didn't notice."

"We'll see the nurse when we get home."

"No need, mister," I refused. "I'm fine; I didn't even feel the pain."

As we approached the palace, Mr. Osiris directed me to the king, asking me to report what had happened to the prince today. "No, your Majesty," I replied, "But don't worry, I'll ask our classmates for the guy's name."

"Thank you, Gemma; I hope he's not torturing you."

"No, your Majesty, he is quiet, and the prince appears to be kind." I tried to put on a brave face.

He was enraged as he glanced at me. "ARE YOU STUPID?" he said aloud. To the shock of his yell, I felt myself shrink at the very notion. "STUPID! Is the phrase don't talk to me difficult to understand? 

"I doubt it," King Lucien snickered. "You're free to leave, Gemma; you're tired of watching Prince Augustus." 

"Thank you, your majesty," I said as I bowed down to him. 

I went inside the washroom to wash my face over and over, rubbing my face and running a hand through my hair before laying my back against the bed. "I want this to be over," I said to myself and then took a few deeper breaths. 

I got up from lying down when I heard my phone chime and took the phone out of the bag. I swipe the screen to open up my inbox which has the following new messages. 

Mishelley Alvez:

Hey, I've been thinking about you lately. How did you find your first day? Did someone finally ask you out? 

Gabriel Cooper:

MARIA GEMMA MENDOZA! Who told you to leave without even informing me? You called Mishe but not me? Where are you now? 

Lil' sis Blythe:

Ate!!! How's your school trip going? Is it fun? By the way, don't forget to buy macaroons!! Allerick is OK with anything as long as it's a toy, hahaha. 

I laughed despite myself at the time I read all their messages. Even if such messages from them only make me alive, Because of that, I can no longer wait for tomorrow. I've lost my fear and decided to face Prince Augustus without any trace of fear.