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... Thea tensed up. If that leopard were to attack Aaron instead of chasing after her, it would be a disaster. Aaron could be in dire danger. Just as the thought occurred to her, she instantly turned around to run back but spotted the beast ahead. Thea heaved a sigh of relief. At least, it wasn't after Aaron.But wait...! Was she faster than a leopard? How come she didn't notice that her running speed had increased so much?Thea then realised that this was her reward. Speed...!! "You are so concerned about that young boy...Hmm..." Mike sneered inside her mind and Thea gritted as she could sense disdain in his tone. "Of course, he is my friend after all. I do care about him. Now just shut up and let me deal with this one" Mike didn't talk after that. Thea climbed up and stood on a tree branch, gazing down at the black leopard prowling below, with a confident smirk. She could talk to it but that leopard was too furious to understand anything.
Author's point of view... Aaron pulled away and stood there flustered. His eyes, wide and a flicker of shyness in them. Thea looked at him and his flustered face. What's wrong with him? Wasn't that just a friendly hug? What's that big of a deal...! This boy is really weird. Thea thought to herself. As Maria, she often hugged those little elves who followed her everywhere. In fact she sleeps hugging them as her pillows. Wasn't it similar to that? Don't tell me, he never hugged a girl like that... Exhaling deep, she broke the awkwardness between them. "Why were you so worked up, I have some tricks up my sleeves. Many wild animals can’t climb trees like we humans can." Aaron narrowed his eyes, forgetting about the embarrassing moment just now. "Leopards *can* climb trees," Aaron replied coldly, still a bit flustered. Thea moved aside and added, "Actually, not that one, as it was injured" Thea said with a teasing smirk, making him frown but ultimately let it go. He took a d
Author's point of view... Thea opened the mirror in front of the passenger seat and checked herself. Cherry was very good at his work...! She thought. The more she looked at herself, the more she recognized her old face. It was strange that after applying just a little bit of makeup, she was looking like herself, Maria. Did they look alike from the beginning? Dave noticed her puzzled expression and tried to start a conversation. "Ugh, I'll definitely be in the newspaper after today," As if smacking her out of her thoughts, Dave sighed. "Why is that?" Thea asked. Dave shot a quick glance at her direction again and said in a low tone, "There will be many reporters there. I am sure that they'll write that Dave, the richest man in the city has finally brought a mysterious woman as his date to the event" Thea raised an eyebrow. There was a glint of amusement in his eyes. Was he actually stressed? He didn't look like that at all. "After this, my parents will know
Author's point of view... After getting ready, Dave walked out of the male's dressing room. He picked a black color plain suit for himself but even in that simple suit, he looked like a Greek God thanks to his well built body and deadly handsome face. He was about to go check on Thea, to urge Cherry to hurry up when his phone buzzed in his pockets. He took it out and stared at the screen, his handsome face frowned replacing his earlier cheerful expression to an irritated one. "Hello my little boy..." a cheerful voice echoed in his ears but he squinted his eyes shut, in frustration. "Mom..." he bellowed, "Will you please stop calling me that!!" he yelled and Louren giggled in satisfaction. She loved teasing her son, especially when he is angry with her. "I will call you that" she stated, matter of factly, "until you get a girl for yourself, you will be my little boy..." she added in an amused tone. Dave clenched his jaws but was speechless. His mother can be so annoying som
Author's point of view... "Okay, then I'll leave her to you..." Dave walked out of the room to get ready and Cherry escorted Thea towards a seat not far away. This was his personal space where only his VIP clients were allowed and Dave's family was one of his regular clients. "Sit here, kid and please remove that mask of yours off from your face." Cherry said. He dramatically put his hand on his chest and added, "I braced myself. Don't worry I won't panick this time..." Though he was just joking around, his tone was more like mockery. He was an over dramatic and humourous person who can taunt you without being noticed. He laughed and Thea raised her eyebrows. "So...he thinks I am ugly...!Huh??" she thought and smiled to herself, "Let's see what his reaction would be when he sees my real face!" She slowly reached out for the mask and removed it. Cherry was busy arranging everything that was needed for this session, with his back facing Thea. "What products do you
Author's point of view... Thea was taken aback to know Dave's identity. Dave stepped out of the car and opened the front passenger door for Thea. She didn’t care much for formalities and got in without a word. The interior of the car was luxurious and stylish, different from what she had seen before. Dave got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. "By the way, Where are we going?" Thea asked and he hesitated before answering. "A very important charity event..." he said looking ahead. "Charity event!!" Thea exclaimed in shock and looked down at herself. She wore her usual hoodie and paired it with a knee-length skirt. No matter which angle you see from, she doesn't look like someone who attends a charity event. She sighed helplessly. Though she was still a student, at least she would have dressed well if she had known in advance. Looking at her expression, Dave chuckled. “It’s about 5:30 now,” he said as they drove off. “The event officially starts at 6:0
Author's point of view... "Why did you ask him for two days when we already have evidence against her?" Thea asked Mike annoyed by everything. Just recalling Lily's smirking face boiled her blood. Mike yawned lazily and said, "You will get to know" She stepped out of the office room and stomped her foot in irritation. He never gives a proper answer. "You are so annoying. You just don't talk to me anymore...!" She was just about to go to her class when someone grabbed her hand and pulled her away. Out of caution, she twisted that person's hand and was about to flip him over when Aaron finally spoke up. "Thea it's me..." she then looked at him. Mark stood there gawking. "What was that?" he exclaimed in surprise. She was so quick that the boys didn't get the chance to dodge. Aaron opened and closed his hand and twisted back his wrist. "That was painful," He thought. "You were so fast..." his handsome face contorted with pain, yet he complimented her. They walked
Author's point of view...! "What is going on here?" Mr. Yates walked in with two other teachers following him. "Mr. Yates, Thea is bullying Lily..." Serra rushed to him immediately. Mr. Yates looked around. Many of the spectators returned to their classes. His scrutinizing gaze swept across everyone and landed on Thea but he averted them soon. He then looked at Aaron and shook his head. "Aaron, Mark, I never expected you guys will be involved in something like this too..." he looked disappointed. Thea wanted to scoff, something like this!! "Mr. Yates, it's not..." Mark wanted to explain but was cut off as Mr. Yates added, "Alright... Alright... whatever it is, that could wait. It's time for the examination. We will discuss everything after the examination in the office room" he said dismissively. Thea controlled the urge to roll her eyes. He clearly knew what was happening and was dismissing them all just to hide something. "Mr.Yates" Thea spoke out but Mr. Yat
Author's point of view... Because of the sudden splatter of water, Thea tilted her head and covered her face. Even so, the cold water splashed on her entire body. The hoodie that she was wearing was all wet. The bottle she used to throw at Lily had just a little bit of water in it, barely splashed on her face but Serra deliberately used a full bottle to pour that on Thea. "Are you okay?" Aaron and Mark immediately rushed to her aid. Mark grabbed some tissues from the teacher's desk and handed over to Thea. Thea closed her eyes. "Do you want my help again??" Mike asked in a mocking tone. He was capable of pausing the time with his magic but Thea was not at all in a mood for his help. She inhaled deeply before smacking him away. "No need" So this is how it had to come out...! She thought and grabbed the tissues from Mark's hands. She wiped her face clean and removed the hoodie. Her face was radiant as some kind of artwork. She looked so beautiful, just like a fairy desce
Author's point of view... Thea's gaze was firm and her eyes narrowed. Anyone who looked at her at that very moment would shiver. She held an air of dominance around her that seemed to be emitted out of her foreboding soul; unlike how timid she used to be, she was now not that timid girl anymore. As Thea rolled her eyes everywhere in the classroom, at last, her eyes stopped at one person. As if someone had just splashed a bucket of cold water on her, Lily shivered. Lily knew immediately that Thea had come for her. She froze, unsure how to react to this sudden confrontation. The only thing she could manage was to stammer, “W...what… what do you want?” Thea stepped closer, her eyes blazing, and simply bent forward and grabbed Lily’s long hair. Lily shrieked in pain. Everyone was so shocked that their hearts lunged into their throats. “Ah, Thea! What are you doing? Let go of me!” Lily screamed. The students around them gasped in shock. This was an outright provocat
Author's point of view... "Do you guys even know what happened in the park?" Thea asked and everyone shared puzzled glances. Wasn't she beaten up by Logan? Why is she bringing that up again? Could it be that she wanted to say it out loud to gain sympathy from them all!! That was hilarious. Even if they felt pity on her, that doesn't mean that they would tolerate Logan's wrath for her. Why would they? But before Thea could continue, Mr.Yates walked in to the classroom with a gloomy expression on his face. "It's you again!!" he roared. Everyone took a breath of relief. "I just got a complaint about you and now you are causing a disturbance in the class, also disturbing the other classes. I vaguely guessed who that might be the trouble maker and it was indeed you" Mr.Yates was furious. Everyone thought that Thea would be reprimanded and would get back down after apologising, but surprisingly no, Thea wasn't going to back down that easily. She glared at the teacher with the