Author's point of view... “Don’t fall too far behind, okay? And if you need help, just call us... We will be slow to keep up with you...” Aaron said while wearing his own backpack. Thea was amused at how much Aaron underestimated her but played along. Is that because she was a girl?? she scoffed internally. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep up.” She didn't want to show off but it didn't mean she wasn't offended. Soon the school buses arrived at the first camping spot after them. Though the same mountain, there were several routes to hike. Aaron had planned a special way to go up, different from the other usual one that the school authorities had planned to take. The group began their hike. Kevin, full of energy, kept darting around and calling out, causing Thea to stifle a frustrated laugh. He had been picking up small pebbles and throwing them at Thea and Mark. He was getting on her nerves. Heaving a sigh, she stopped. She wanted to play with him. “Stop yelling, Kevin!” she
Author's point of view... "Help!" Several cries for help came from the forest, that sounded like women. What the hell...! Who is that? Could it be some animal chasing after the other students? Everyone thought except for Thea, who was busy arguing with Mike. "Did you just say cat? Then why are people shouting out there?" "You'll get to know soon"Mike replied casually. Thea rolled her eyes in irritation. He never gives a reliable explanation. But if that was a wild animal as what she thought, this would be dangerous. Thea stepped forward, ready to attack whatever was coming but Aaron rushed to her and stood right before her as if shielding her from any danger coming their way. "You all stay here, I'll go check it..." Aaron stood ahead and was about to go take a look. "Help..." "Help...!" someone cried again. Kevin immediately grabbed a stick from the ground. "Who's calling for help?" Mark tensed up as well, looking around with wide eyes. "I don't have an
Author's point of view...! "You are really something." Thea scoffed, "You actually mistook a plastic bag for a giant beast or cat or whatever?? Lily, are you so bored or really that scared, or were you just looking for an excuse to jump into Aaron's arms?" Thea taunted. Lily’s cheeks turned bright red, and she glared at Thea furiously. "What are you implying, Thea?" Thea casually threw that plastic cover aside and brushed her hands. She didn't say anything else but that look on her face gave it all. "Exactly what I said," Thea responded calmly, meeting Lily's angry gaze without flinching. Kevin started giggling. Lily’s embarrassment deepened, and she quickly tried to defend herself. "So what if I thought it was something dangerous? It was dark inside those bushes and I was genuinely frightened. Who wouldn’t be scared of a wild animal?" She threw a glance at Kevin, who was equally rattled earlier. "Didn't you see that. Kevin was scared too," she added with a smirk.
Author's point of view... Thea stood up and strolled towards the nearby stream, seemingly bored but her eyes widened as she looked down on the wet ground nearby."Oh my..." She had noticed something alarming, a set of fresh foot marks of the same beast that she saw earlier, near the water’s edge. Unlike the other one, this print was clear and fresh. It was clear that something was present in those woods and that animal was in the area, possibly even close to their planned route. She slightly bent over to take a better look. "It must be a Leopold or a Panther...! It's huge..." Thea mumbled while studying the print. "What are you looking at, Thea?" Kevin asked, coming over with his plate, still in his hands. She jolted awkwardly and frowned. "Can't you be normal just for once...!" she smacked. Kevin grinned. He couldn't...!! "Are you looking for fish? There's probably no fish in this stream, right?" he said peeking into the stream, oblivious to what Thea was truly o
Author's point of view... Lily gave her friend a look, and her friend immediately understood. Serra made a gesture with her thumb, then took the bag off another girl and walked up to Thea. She didn't need anything, Thea is always easy to bully, anyway. "Hi, I'm Serra," Serra said forging a fake smile. Thea, who was walking in the lead, turned around and looked at her from top to bottom, scrutinizing. "What do you want? Do we know each other?" Thea asked nonchalantly. Serra's smile faltered momentarily, but she kept her act going. "Yes, of course. I know you. Don't you remember me? We're all classmates, after all. We played together a month ago." Serra's eyes flickered as she collected the memory; even a playful smile tugged on her lips. "We had quite the fun back then," she mused. Thea narrowed her eyes as the flashes of her past entered her brain. During one of the sports periods, these Class A girls had forced Thea to crouch before them and howl like a dog. Ever
Author's point of view... The sky gradually darkened, and the forest’s dim light became even fainter. Thea glanced at the sky and hoped that everyone would remain safe through the night. "This is the spot," Aaron announced as they reached a small platform, studying the map. "It’s a transfer point and the best place to set up camp. There’s a town nearby where we can resupply tomorrow. Everyone, find a good place to pitch your tents now before this area gets crowded." Soon the other hikers joined them to set up their camp. The teachers, however, had big tents whereas all the others brought small ones. Their tents occupied almost the entire platform. Mark and Kevin had already taken out their tents. Mark approached Aaron and Thea, saying, "Kevin and I will head to the town to buy supplies. You two stay here and set up your tents." Kevin hurried to them and asked, looking at Thea in particular. "Do you need anything? I will buy it for you" "No need. I have everything t
Author's point of view... "What reward?" Thea asked, curiously. She had been given many special abilities as her rewards so far. She could talk to animals, sense dangers and she was now so curious to know what next. But no matter how curious she was, Mike wouldn't give her any clear explanation as ever, would he? "You'll get to know when you complete the task," he said lazily. Thea rolled her eyes. She wanted to smack that annoying little dragon with her bare hands. "You became so lazy, Maria. Come on, go ahead and complete the task..." Mike urged. Heaving a sigh, Thea was about to stand up, but suddenly, a thought occurred to he,r, and she smiled. She then turned to Aaron and said, "Forget about the bet. As long as you promise me to go and find those troublemakers now, I promise to give you a good challenge in the coming exams." Aaron thought that he had misheard, "What?? Who are you talking about?" "Lily and her minions...." Thea said dismissively. She woul
Author's point of view... Thea was the first to stand up. Lily didn’t expect that it would be Thea out of all who would believe her, and neither did the rest of the group. Thea stood right beside her and said very seriously, "Let's go, show me the way..." Everyone was dumbfounded. "You really want to go back? Lily probably saw something and thought it was a leopard like last time. She was scared silly. When she yelled, we all got freaked out and ran, only to realize later that we were lost. If Aaron hadn't come looking for us, we’d probably still be stuck out there," Serra said. "So, there is no leopard?" Thea said, raising her eyebrows. Her words triggered Lily and she instantly smacked back. "There is a leopard in there!" Lily was getting frustrated and said to Thea, "If you don't believe me, let's go, I'll show you!" Thea replied calmly, "Okay." Lily was determined. She wasn't about to back down when it came to proving her point. Bravely, she led Thea toward the
Author's point of view... In the classroom of Class A, Mark was so curious about the commotion outside. He wanted to see what exactly was happening but unfortunately the crowd outside was blocking his view. "Is this related to Thea?" He said to Aaron, who was standing next to him, frowning, still staring at the question paper that Mr. Yates had given to him. "This is insane...!" Aaron murmured to himself, completely ignoring the excited boy beside him. "Hey, Aaron!! Are you listening?" Mark smacked Aaron on his arm and continued, "If Lily really runs around school naked, it would be so bad both for her and for Thea." If this young girl from the respectable Charles family ran naked on the street, she would surely make the headlines in the news tomorrow. Then, all the disciplinary departments and educational institutions would come to the school to investigate. Lily's parents would be furious, and Thea would be blamed for everything. Everyone would turn against Thea
Author's point of view... The class was booming with excited chatter when Thea returned. Everyone but Amelia was trying to get friendly with her. Britney was over the ninth cloud as if the one who got a hundred percent score wasn't Thea but she. "Boss, I knew it. I know you will beat them all to it..." Britney said in an excited voice while looking at Amelia, who obviously was not so happy about the outcome. Thea smiled at Britney and ignored Amelia completely. They walked towards her desk and the other students gave way to her with respect as she passed by them just like a queen was treated by her subjects. Aaron and Mark returned to their class as well. Dave, however, was busy dealing with his team, who had come to the school after receiving a call from him. Just as the crowd settled, Mr. Yates came to the classroom to personally hand over Thea's answer sheets and also to congratulate her. He was so proud and happy. He couldn't stop himself from smiling all the way. "Mi
Author's point of view... Aaron and Mark searched the entire campus whereas Dave went straight to the CC TV room to check the footage. With his authority, no one stopped him from getting in. He checked all the footage available including the one from outside of the school yet there wasn't any sign of her. At last, the one in charge of the CCTV cameras opened the folder with the footage with the cameras near the restrooms. Dave's eyes lit up at the sight of Thea walking towards the restrooms in one of the footage. "So she indeed went to the restroom. That boy wasn't braging unnecessarily" He continued seeing the footage but even after a few more minutes, she didn't return. The position of the nearest camera was a few steps away from the bathroom as it was a rule to leave that space unsupervised because of the privacy of the students. Dave saw her walking in but she never walked out. "Is there any other way out of that place?" he asked the security personnel sittin
Author's point of view... "That's all rubbish...!" Mr. Lawrence yelled as they were sitting in his office. The officers were turning his entire office upside down just to find any evidence against him but unfortunately there was nothing. "You just got a fake call and rushed all the way here to humiliate me...Officer, you messed with the wrong person. I won't let it slide so easily..." Lawrence continued his ranting and the officer, ignoring him, continued his search. However, there wasn't the slightest shred of concern on Lawrence's face. He was sure these people won't get anything. After searching the entire office for more than half an hour, the officer finally gave up. "See, I told you that you are accusing the wrong person. But listen to me very carefully, officer, I am going to let you pay for this humiliation. Now just leave and wait for my lawyer's notification..." Lawrence sneered. The officers felt embarrassed. If it was someone else, they would have just ignore
Author's point of view... Ray allowed himself a small chuckle, looking down as if the question amused him. There was no way he would show his panic before anyone. Wouldn't that make him look vulnerable? How could a rich businessman like him be panicked by just a mere assistant! Ray narrowed his eyes before explaining, though that smirk still tugged on his face. “My sister is a student here,” he said, glancing back up with a steady gaze that betrayed no fear. “I stopped by to check on her. Is that a crime, officer?” The official hesitated, shifting uncomfortably under Ray’s piercing stare. He couldn’t risk offending someone as influential as Ray Charles, especially without solid evidence. As a mere assistant, he had to bow down before breaking. “No, sir,” the official replied, his voice losing a bit of its edge. “But we need to conduct our investigation. I request you to wait outside.” Ray inclined his head slightly in acknowledgment and rose from his seat with deliberate
Author's point of view... After eating the lunch with Dave, Aaron and Mark, Thea left to use the restroom while the others return to their classes. Dave, however received a call and went out to attend it. Thea pushed the restroom door open, she was entirely out of the place, her thoughts clouded with the events of the day. The results were about to be announced though she wasn't bothered about it. Just as she stepped out of the girls restroom, a sharp voice froze her in her tracks. “Well, look who’s here.” Lily strutted in, her entourage of ten girls filing behind her like soldiers awaiting orders. Thea’s sharp eyes flicked over the group, immediately sensing trouble. Lily’s smirk was venomous, her hands crossed over her chest in mock authority. She looked so confident as if she owned this entire campus. “You lost the bet, didn’t you? Shouldn’t you be running naked around the school now? Why are you even here?” Lily sneered, her voice dripping with malice. The minio
Author's point of view... Mr. Lawrence walked out of the grand hall, his confidence radiating as he joined Ray Charles at the VIP section set up for spectators near the monitoring room. This hall was often used for conducting indoor game competitions or other cultural activities including proms, or sometimes even seminars. And so it was built in the middle of the school building so that anybody could see what was happening inside it from their respective floors. It was huge with a lot of space inside, enough to accommodate the entire school but today, other than Thea, only five of the invigilators who were there to supervise her were present. A desk was arranged in the middle of the hall with four different seats in four different directions. Thea was asked to sit on the seat in the middle whereas four of the supervisors were sitting on the other seats. One of them had to move around to keep an eye on her every move. That doesn't look like an examination hall at all. Instead
Author's point of view... Mr. Laurence smirked confidently. "Evidence? Young lady, you have none. Stop this nonsense and accept your punishment." Thea crossed her arms, her chin tilted up defiantly. “How do you know I have none? Evidence, right?” she scoffed, her tone dripping with mockery. “I am the evidence.” The room fell silent. Mr. Laurence froze mid-smirk, his face contorting in confusion, while Ray Charles blinked in disbelief, the sneer momentarily wiped off his face. The audacity of this girl...! His patience thinning every second. “You’re delusional,” Ray spat, regaining his composure. He shot a look at Mr. Laurence and added sharply, “I don’t have time for these games. If you can’t resolve this matter immediately, Mr. Laurence, I’ll have to reconsider our company’s funding of this institution.” Mr. Laurence paled. “No, no, Mr. Charles, please! There’s no need for that. I assure you, this will be handled promptly.” He turned to Thea with a scowl, his
Author's point of view... "Mr. Laurence, did you get that girl?" Thea was surprised to hear that familiar voice coming out of the principal's office. "Ray...!!" she muttered to herself. "Ray Charles?" He was sitting on the chair, leaning back so arrogantly with one of his legs crossed on the other. Mr. Laurence was a ln elderly middle aged man. Though he wasn't one of those prominent families in the city, he was respectable. "I thought this was a reputable School but it seems like you don't care about your reputation anymore" Ray continued and Mr. Laurence flinched uncomfortably. "Mr. Charles...that's...not the case..." he tried to explain but Ray cut him off, "You actually admit such outlaw students into your school and you are trying to explain it to me? You let me down, Mr. Laurence" Thea raised her eyebrows. Outlaw...! What are they trying to do? And what the hell is this all about? Mr. Laurence wiped the sweat on his forehead. Thea was trying to unders