As soon as I woke up, I stabbed myself.
My eyes slowly opened, and my surroundings told me that I was nowhere near the grocery store- I was in a park, and could hear the sounds of children playing. The events that had occurred slowly came back to me, appearing from my foggy mind. I was slumped up against a tree, and Levi was crouched down in front of me.
“Good morning, sunshine!” he greeted. “Now, if you glance at your right hand…”
The instant my mind had processed what was in said hand, I used it, stabbing my thigh with the syringe and pushing the plunger. The medicine made its way into my system almost immediately, and Levi looked mildly surprised.
“Hm. I guess that’s to be expected. Still…” His features contorted into his signature twisted expression. “Don’t forget that you need me, Michael. I’ll be waiting.”
Slowly, he faded away like a ghost, becoming translucent, then entirely transparent. I gritted my teeth as I clutched my leg. No more hallucinations meant no more pain blocking, and while the anesthetic took care of some of it, it still felt like my injured leg was on fire. I pulled out my cell phone to check the time and realized the battery was dead.
Go figure, I thought, sighing. I hadn’t charged it last night.
The sun was starting to get low on the horizon- it had to be around three or four. With difficulty, I managed to stand up and started to limp home, trying to ignore the feelings eating me up inside.
As I made it to the front lawn, I stumbled, faceplanting into the grass. And opted to just lie there, unmoving.
Footsteps approached, walking down the front porch. I forced myself to raise my head as much as I could- and found myself staring straight at her. Her arms were crossed, and her familiar features, beautiful no matter how many times I saw them, were displaying an intense expression as her blonde hair was swept to the side by the breeze.
The girl closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them to address me.
“...Where is Isla, Michael?” Sophia Prentice demanded.
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Ramona hadn’t wanted Eurielle to come with her to the roof, but she’d firmly insisted on accompanying her, and Ramona couldn’t find it in her to argue. The two girls climbed all the way up to the top together, with Ramona opting to go first.
As Eurielle reached the top, Ramona noticed that her head had been so fixated on looking down that she reached up to grab a non-existent rung. Her face was flushed.
“Uh…” Ramona frowned as Eurielle climbed up onto the roof. “Are you okay?”
“Huh? Yes, of course!” Eurielle said quickly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Your face is red,” Ramona commented in concern. “Are you still sick?”
“No, that’s not…” Her friend shook her head timidly, looking at the floor. “I’m just being stupid. Don’t worry about it, okay? Let’s go talk to Sophia.”
The rooftop was pretty plain, with only a single entrance provided by a metal door. On the opposite side of the roof, leaning agains the railing, was a girl with long blonde hair flowing down her shoulders. Two thin braids of hair were connected together by a sky blue ribbon and continued down as a single braid. She wore a white blouse and a skirt that matched her ribbon, reaching just below her knees. Her feet wore simple black flats.
As the two of them approached, the girl turned to face them, and Ramona lost her breath for a moment.
Before Ramona had met Sophia, she’d thought she sounded pretentious from her nickname, the ‘princess’ of Northeast Academy. She was just another girl born with a silver spoon in her mouth. What was so special about her?
But then Michael had brought her home, and at first glance, it had all made sense- her vivid, big blue eyes, her button nose sprinkled with freckles, and a delicate figure. Not to mention, she exuded an air of elegance and charisma that you couldn’t find anywhere else. Even now, as tears rolled down her cheeks and her eyes were red from crying, she was easily the most beautiful girl Ramona had ever- no, would ever see. And that wasn’t even mentioning her personality.
“Holy shit, did he fumble,” Ramona muttered under her breath.
Eurielle frowned. “What did you say?”
“Uh- nothing,” Ramona dismissed.
Sophia quickly brushed the tears away and straightened her posture. “How in the world did the two of you get up here? Gosh, you jumped to the ladder, didn’t you?” Crossing her arms, Sophia put on a stern expression. “I’m certain you understand that performing that jump is incredibly dangerous, Eurielle.”
Eurielle looked sheepish. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t blame her. It was my fault,” Ramona corrected. “I really needed to talk to you about something.”
“I see.” Sophia frowned. “I don’t believe we’ve met before. Are you a friend of Eurielle’s?”
Eurielle’s confused glance made Ramona tense up. “W-we have,” she stammered. “It’s me, Ramona. Uh… you helped me with my math homework when we first met. Remember?” It was such a strange way of reminding her, but Ramona didn't exactly want to say, Hey, you know that guy you really hate? I'm his sister!
Realization dawned on Sophia, and her expression immediately brightened. “Oh, my gosh!” She ran over and immediately smothered Ramona in a warm hug, pressing her face into her blouse. “I completely forgot you became a freshman this year!”
“Can’t… breathe…” Ramona gasped.
“Oh!” Sophia pulled away, leaving Ramona red in the face. “I apologize. I was just so happy to see you. And surprised- you’ve gotten so pretty! I mean, you were plenty pretty before too, but you’re even prettier now. I barely recognized you.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Ramona noticed Eurielle pouting slightly. She cleared her throat. “Um, yeah, thanks. Still as short as ever, though.”
Sophia giggled. “Don’t worry. You’ll surely have a growth spurt soon. Is your brother…” She paused momentarily, her expression flickering. “How is Ken doing? And your parents?”
“They’re fine and stuff. Same as ever.” Ramona took a deep breath. “Let’s catch up later, alright? I really need to talk to you before lunch ends. It’s about Isla.”
The eyes of the other girls widened in shock at the mention.
“You know where she is?” Sophia was immediately panicked. “Is she alright?!”
“She’s fine,” Ramona reassured her. “But there’s a situation that we need your help with.”
Explaining the circumstances took a few minutes, but once everything was explained, Sophia had solemn expression on her face as she thought everything through. The three of them leaned against the railing, looking out over Northeast’s campus.
“I believe I understand.” Sophia exhaled shakily. “That explains the reason as to why Isla refrained from contacting my mother or myself. But then, why are you informing me of all this now? Is that not risky?”
“I was confused about that part as well,” Ramona admitted. “But I think… Michael trusts you to keep things as secret as possible. I wanted to call or text you, but he insisted that I talk to you in person, which means…”
“There’s a potential risk there, as well.” Sophia shook her head. “Lord… if I’m being honest, all of this is quite hard to believe. But there’s no time to waste.” The older girl straightened, looking determined. “Let’s head over to your house right away. Eurielle, could you please inform your brother I won’t be able to accompany him today?”
No answer. Ramona looked past Sophia to observe Eurielle, who was deeply lost in thought, looking upset.
“Euri?” Ramona prompted. “Earth to Euri, hello?”
“Huh?” Eurielle snapped back to reality. “I’m so sorry, I-I wasn’t paying attention.”
“It’s okay,” Ramona reassured her as she pulled away from the railing, intending to head towards the rooftop’s exit. “Just tell your… oh, great.”
Sophia and Eurielle both turned around to see what Ramona was looking at- a freshman on crutches and a bandaged leg, wearing a black leather jacket and a red T-shirt. Behind him was a group of burly students staring them down.
“Sorry, ladies.” Vincent flashed a vicious yellowed grin. “Can’t have you leaving so soon.”
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After school, Jacob headed straight to the mall, planning to put Quentin’s advice to full use. He browsed the shops, looking for something he thought would sentimentally symbolize their relationship, but after looking at all sorts of gifts, he didn’t feel quite satisfied with any of them, and a feeling of defeat slowly built up in him as he reached the final shop of the mall.
It was a small shop, tucked away in the corner selling all sorts of things. He lazily glanced the items in the window up and down- and then he saw it. Exactly the kind of thing that Quentin had suggested and that Quinn would love.
He rushed into the store and ran around, looking for it. It had aisles upon aisles of odd trinkets, none of which he was interested in except…
“Excuse me?” Jacob asked the shopkeeper, ecstatic. “Where can I find that?” He pointed directly to his right at what he was aiming to purchase- an adorable fox plushie, completely with black eyes and whiskers.
The shopkeeper, a muscular bald dude with arms covered in tattoos, snorted as he looked up from his phone. “Sorry, kid, not for sale.”
“Wha- then why’s it in the window, then?” Jacob questioned, confused.
The shopkeeper didn’t bother to answer and went straight back to his phone.
“Uh, hello?”
“I said, not. For. Sale.”
“Do you have anything similar at least? Or could I buy the display one?”
The shopkeeper gave a hefty sigh, reached over towards the display window, and grasped a cardboard sign besides the fox, turning it to face Jacob. The sign read: Exclusive plushie- requires a special voucher. There wasn’t even a price listed. Jacob squinted to see if maybe there was any sort of fine print or further information, but that was it.
“Like I said, it’s not for sale,” the shopkeeper reinforced. “So buy something else, or do me a favour and buzz off.”
“Special voucher…huh.” Jacob anxiously drummed his fingers on the countertop. He could begin to feel the ‘itch’ growing and growing, and that wasn’t good. “What if I offered to pay you extra for it?” He’d have to resign himself to skipping a few lunches here and there, but he’d manage.
“Ha!” The shopkeeper gave a mocking smile at the suggestion. “Sure, bud. One thousand dollars, no more, no less. That good with you?”
“One thou-” Jacob’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”
“Very serious.” The shopkeeper leaned forwards, grabbing Jacob by the collar. “So either pay up front, or get the fuck out of my store.”
Jacob pulled away, swallowing hard. “Fine, whatever.”
As he left the store, he glanced around at different places on the ceiling, then paid closer attention to the entrance as he made his way through it, passing by a few customers entering the store. He watched as those exact same customers went up to the shopkeeper and handed him a small slip of paper.
The shopkeeper examined it thoroughly, then went to the back of store, a fox plushie in hand, and handed to the customers. Jacob couldn’t help but give them a spiteful look as they left the store with the plushie in their arms.
The itch in his hands was unbearable.
No, I can’t, Jacob thought, trying to reason with himself. This is Quinn’s birthday gift we’re talking about. It can’t be something I stole.
But it was perfect! Both cute, high quality, and had a lot of sentimental value. Quinn was sure to love it. And the store had absolutely no security measures- no scanner, and not a single security camera. It would be incredibly easy to just take it from the storage area that he’d spotted at the back of the store…
No! Jacob chided himself, walking away. Bad! You made a promise.
It wasn’t like he couldn’t just find another, similar plushie at another store without an asshole working at the front the desk. Yeah, that’s exactly what he should do. He would go and buy a plushie just like it, somewhere else.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
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Not even three minutes later, as soon as the shopkeeper was distracted with a few customers that weren’t carrying a voucher, Jacob found himself at the back, jamming a lockpick into the keyhole of the storage area’s door. Thankfully, the shopkeeper hadn’t invested in a Futurebound lock, so it only took a few seconds for the door to be opened.
“I hate myself,” Jacob muttered under his breath as he entered the storage room.
It was full of shelves packed with miscellaneous goods, which Jacob thoroughly scanned for signs of the plushie. Eventually, tucked towards the back corner of the store, he stumbled upon a lone wooden crate with the lid partially off, labeled ‘Fox’.
Gingerly, he lifted the lid off the crate and peered inside. It was stuffed with fox plushies.
“Jackpot.” He reached inside and grabbed a plushie, but as soon as he grasped one, he heard the sound of someone fumbling with the storage room’s door.
The shopkeeper entered the storage room, yawning as he walked towards the crate. The sound of his phone buzzing made him visibly recoil.
“Yes, sir?... That big of a shipment? It’s way too sudden… Is it because of that… situation? Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean… I’m sorry, sir. Let them know I’ll be ready.” He ended the call and sighed heavily, slipping the phone back into my pocket as he approached the crate.
“Hm…” The lid was off way more than he’d left it. The shopkeeper glanced around, then reached into the depths of his pocket and pulled out a small snub-nosed revolver. With his other hand, he reached towards the lid of the crate… and yanked it off, brandishing his weapon towards the inside of it.
Nothing was inside the crate except the plushies themselves. He glanced around briefly, then scratched the back of his head and placed the lid back on top of the crate.
Click! A metallic sound was produced from the door behind him. Whipping around, pistol aimed, he waited briefly… and then nothing.
“Shit…” The shopkeeper sighed again. “Better get ready for that shipment.”
----------------------------------------
Ramona knew who Vincent was from the moment he saw him. Up against rough odds, with two people she had to keep safe, most people would be angry, anxious, or scared. But as she remembered all the times Michael would come home bruised or scarred, reminding her not to get involved, she couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Eurielle looked at her incredulously. “Uh, Ramona?”
“Sorry, sorry.” Ramona couldn’t get the smile off her face as she stepped forwards. “I’m just glad that it came to this.” She raised her fists, entering a fighting stance. “I’ve finally got an excuse to knock out those nasty ass teeth.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Vincent brandished a small pocketknife. “I can’t wait to see the look on that fucker’s face when he sees you all cut up.”
“You’re pretty confident for someone on crutches,” Ramona commented. “Plan on hiding behind your bitches this whole time?”
“Eurielle.” From behind her, Sophia spoke, sounding entirely calm and collected. “Call campus security and the principal immediately. Tell them to come to the roof from the student council office. Ramona, please protect her.”
“What?” Ramona protested as Sophia brushed past her. “That’s bull-”
“Do as I say. You must prioritize her safety.”
“But-”
“What’s more important to you?” Sophia queried. “Eurielle, or your revenge?”
Ramona opened her mouth to speak, then took a deep breath and grabbed Eurielle’s hand, taking her back towards the railing. While it technically was more dangerous, it would be easier for Ramona to play defense if she only had to focus on what was in front of her.
She watched as Sophia took a step forward, her hands held together in front of her.
“I’m well aware of who you all work for,” she began, addressing them all. “And I understand why you’re trying to stop us. But carefully consider your course of action. You’ll likely be expelled when campus security arrives.”
“Huh.” Vincent snorted in laughter. “I guess we’d better make this quick, huh?”
“Not only that,” Sophia continued. “My mother will be incredibly displeased. She tends to take matters quite seriously when it comes to my safety. She’ll likely push this case for you all to be tried for adults on attempted murder, considering you’re wielding lethal weapons.”
Hesitancy spread amongst Vincent’s group as they exchanged glances. Vincent himself, however, wasn’t shaken at all.
“Did you forget who we’re working for, you idiots?” Vincent snapped. “You think expulsion or jail is anything compared to crossing Mad Dog?”
“...Mad Dog, is it?” Sophia’s eyes narrowed. “Did he directly order you to do this, Vincent? Or was this of your own initiative?”
“The hell are you saying, ‘princess’?” he snarled.
“Nothing in particular.” Sophia shrugged. “But you know, I’m quite familiar with people who love to boast and throw around names. When in reality, well…” Sophia gave a mock smile. “You just happened to remind me of those sorts of people.”
Ramona was genuinely impressed. In a matter of seconds, she’d planted and grown a seed of doubt in Vincent’s group. Another wave of hesitancy rippled through the boys, and one of them even crossed his arms in confrontation.
“She raises a good point, Vincent.” The older boy, a foot taller than Vincent, stepped forward. “As far as I know, you’re not even working under Mad Dog anymore. Who the hell gave you approval for this?”
“Approval?” Vincent whipped around and grabbed the boy by the collar, glaring into his eyes. “I don’t need approval. You follow what I say, when I say it. That’s all.”
The upperclassman smacked Vincent’s arm away. “Fuck that. I’m not your mutt.” He began to walk away, and three others followed him, cutting the group down to five total.
“Whatever,” Vincent muttered. “We can make do with this many.” The remaining boys nodded, choosing to stay loyal to their leader as they readied themselves to attack, advancing forwards.
“Don’t do this,” Sophia warned. “It isn’t too late to correct your decision.”
The freshman flashed a yellow toothed grin as he raised his knife, stepping forwards on a single crutch. “Yeah? What exactly do you plan to do, pacifist? Talk us to death?”
Ramona gritted her teeth and took a step forward, getting ready to intervene, when Eurielle grabbed her sleeve, pulling her back as she shook her head. “She’ll be okay.”
“But… her promise-”
“Have faith,” Sophia reassured her, straightening her posture. Her hand drifted up towards the ribbon in her hair.
The boys rushed forwards, weapons raised.
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Crunch!
“Ow!”
The glass pieces and pickled contents of the shattered jar fell straight into the kitchen sink as Quinn sucked in air, blood dripping from the cuts on the hand that had been holding the jar. She cautiously began picking out the pieces of glass still stuck to her hand.
“Are you okay?”
“Gah!” Quinn nearly jumped out of her skin from the voice that had appeared to her right- Jacob, still wearing his school bag. “I told you to stop doing that! Is it really so hard to come in through the front door, loudly?”
He scratched the back of his head. “Sorry.” While taking his bag off his back, he glanced at the massive sandwich that Quinn had been making for lunch, multiple layers tall and stuffed with meat, vegetables, and sauces. “Wouldn’t it be way easier to eat if you just made multiple smaller sandwiches?”
“It looks more filling that way,” Quinn rationalized, feeling a little embarrassed. “So I don’t feel the urge to start snacking later.”
Jacob frowned. “I guess that makes sense? Anyways, lemme look at your hand.”
After applying disinfectant and band-aids to her hand, the two kids sat at a coffee table while Quinn chowed down on her sandwich. Jacob began drumming his fingers on the tabletop, and alongside the sandwich, a feeling of anticipation was filling up in her. She gulped down the last bite and glanced over at him, waiting.
“So…” Jacob’s drumming sped up a bit on the table. “D- How was your day?”
“Pretty good. Almost all of my friends wished me happy birthday and stuff. Gave me presents.” She gestured to a pile of wrapped gifts on the floor nearby. “One of them even got me a chocolate cake! It was pretty awkward eating it all by myself, though.”
“I… I see. Um… so… um…”
Quinn glanced towards Jacob’s backpack. “So?” she prompted.
With startling speed, Jacob snatched up his backpack, unzipped it, and took out something orange and black, presenting it to her with outstretched arms. Looking away, he spoke. “I’m sorry it’s not wrapped or anything.”
Carefully, Quinn took the gift out of his hands- an adorable fox plushie with black beady eyes. She stared at it for a few seconds, her brows furrowed. “A fox?”
“I-I’m sorry!” Jacob stammered, looking at the floor. “I just saw it and thought, you know, it reminded me of when we first met and we saw those foxes, and I saw it in a shop window and I thought you’d like it, and…” He glanced up at Quinn and faltered. She was looking at the plushie with a soft expression on her face, one he’d never seen before.
“I love it.” Quinn smiled, squeezing the plushie. “Thanks, Jacob.”
“No problem.” Jacob let out a small sigh of relief. “Glad you like it.”
“Wait, did you put something inside, as well?” She felt around the plushie’s stomach gingerly. There was definitely something inside there, something firm. “Sorry, was I supposed to find out later?”
“What?” Jacob looked perplexed. “Are you sure it’s not just plastic or something?”
Quinn shook her head. “No, there’s definitely something in here…” Flipping the plushie around, she observed the back until she found a small zipper hidden underneath a flap of fabric. “Huh.” Unzipping it, she reached inside the plushie.
Jacob flinched. “W-wait, Quinn-”
She felt soft plastic. Grasping it, she pulled it out- a small plastic bag, filled to the brim with a white powder. A white label attached to it had the words ‘Batch 75’ written on it, along with the weight in grams and a hefty price.
Both kids immediately turned pale.
“...Jacob.” Quinn took a shaky breath. “Where the hell did you get this?”
“Uh…” Jacob swallowed nervously. “A bakery?”
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Sophia didn’t want to fight.
Vincent seemed convinced that if she got to Isla, the Demons would never be able to touch her again. And he wouldn’t be wrong. Even with the other factors Ramona had mentioned, Sophia would never give her best friend up to them. Not while she was still breathing.
Regardless, she still had a promise to keep to that old man. Which definitely made things a little bit complicated if she wanted to keep breathing in this situation.
As the attackers lunged forwards, Sophia pulled the ribbon out of her hair and braced herself. Sidestepping carefully to avoid the first attacker’s grab, she stuck out her foot and tripped him, making sure to grab the back of his shirt so instead of slamming into the ground, he fell onto his hands and knees.
Another boy slashed with his knife, cutting off a strand of her hair as she yanked her head backwards.
“Better take this seriously,” the attacker growled.
“I assure you, I am,” Sophia replied. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the other two attackers headed towards Ramona and Eurielle, though she wasn’t worried. He would have taught her to fight…
Don’t get distracted, Sophia scolded herself. They were circling to her sides, looking to pincer her from the left and right.
As they rushed forwards, Sophia decided to head to her left, towards the attacker she’d tripped. The attacker went for a low stab, but with speed and precision, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him forwards. Losing his balance, he slammed into the other attacker, and as both attackers fell, Sophia didn’t miss her chance. In seconds, one of the attackers had their hands tied behind their back.
When the kick came towards her jaw, Sophia barely dodged it, stumbling backwards as she felt the air move. The second attacker then jumped on top of her, pinning her wrists to the ground with his hand, his body weight on top of her waist.
“What now, pacifist?” he taunted.
Her legs were still free. She leaned back into the floor and hooked her legs under his armpits with a flexibility only a gymnast could have. Pushing back against him with her legs, core, and arms, she managed to reverse the situation and slam his back into the ground, stunning him. Reaching into the pocket of her skirt, she produced another ribbon, taking advantage of his temporarily incapacitated state to restrain his hands.
“Phew,” Sophia exhaled, rising to her feet and stepping away. The two attackers struggled to break free of their ribbons, but it would be next to impossible without their knives, which Sophia scooped up calmly and stuck in her pocket. She looked to her right towards Ramona and Eurielle, but the fight was basically over.
Ramona began sprinting, and at first Sophia thought it was towards her, until she ran straight past- towards Vincent, who was hobbling away on his single crutch as fast as he could. Ramona yanked the crutch away from him and he immediately fell to the ground with a yelp.
Rearing back the crutch like a baseball bat, Ramona sneered. “Batter up!”
Vincent shrieked, but before she could put her full force into the swing, Sophia grabbed the crutch and held it firm. “Enough, Ramona.”
The younger girl was in utter disbelief. “You can’t be seri- he just jumped us!”
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you…” Sophia pulled the crutch away from her and dropped it to the floor. “Your Heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
Ramona gritted her teeth. “...Fine, whatever.” She glanced back towards Eurielle, who was walking up. “Are you okay?”
Eurielle nodded. “I’m fine, but Sophia, you’re not hurt anywhere at all? They had knives.”
“Don’t worry, I’m unharmed.” Sophia exhaled. “I’m only missing a lock of hair.” She glanced at Ramona, who was eyeing her closely. “Is… something the matter?”
“You didn’t actually hit any of them, huh?” Ramona realized. “You even tied them up.”
“I did not,” Sophia confirmed. “I’m strictly opposed to violence, you know that.”
“Can you teach me how to fight like that?”
“Well…”
Vincent laughed from where he sat on the ground. “You want to know something stupid as that? Are you fucking serious? All that’s going to do is get you killed.”
“I mean, it seemed to work just fine against you all,” Eurielle pointed out.
Vincent gritted his teeth, struggling to get up. “You-”
The door to the rooftop slammed open, and multiple campus security guards all burst through the opening, running over. Behind them trailed the principal, a plump, balding man in a suit with a stern expression on his face.
“I would be more concerned about yourself now.” Sophia loomed over the Demon, coldly staring down at him. “It’s time to face the consequences for your actions, Vincent. And I promise that they’re going to be severe. I’ll cross my heart on it.”
“...Tch.” Vincent looked away. “Like I give a fuck.”
“Miss Prentice.” The principal rushed over as a campus guard grabbed Vincent and hauled him off with the others. “Are you all okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Principal Caldera.” Sophia removed the knives from her pocket and handed them over to him. “These belong to the students that I restrained with ribbons. They used them to attack us.”
The principal glanced back at Vincent and the other boys for a few seconds, then turned back to Sophia and shook his head. “I absolutely can’t believe this. I don’t even have the words. I promise I’ll do my best to punish them accordingly.”
“Do your best?” Ramona muttered under her breath.
“Please do, principal,” Sophia said quickly. “I may contact my mother to consider pressing charges as well, but as for right now, Ramona and I urgently have somewhere I need to be, so we’ll be taking our leave.”
“Wha- absolutely not, young lady,” the principal refused. “We need to discuss this incident in detail. All three of you will be coming to the office.”
“That isn’t necessary!” Eurielle protested. “I can tell you exactly what happened.”
“I’m sorry, but rules are rules,” the principal declined. “I need all three of your perspectives on this matter, and there will not be any exceptions.” The principal looked to Sophia. “You’re the face of this school and the vice president of the student council. You have a responsibility to see this incident through properly, no matter how long it takes.”
“Hey, she said it’s urgent, didn’t she?” Ramona tried. “As a principal, you have to be understanding of student’s private… stuff.”
The principal’s eyes narrowed. “More important than a violent armed assault? Don't worry. I'll get you all excused from your classes. Figuring out what's going on here is what's most important.”
The girls all exchanged looks with each other, then turned back to the principal. Ramona sighed in exasperation and Eurielle twirled a strand of her around her finger anxiously. Sophia clenched her fist tightly for a few seconds, then released it, looking directly at the principal.
“You’re absolutely correct, sir.” The princess of Northeast Academy flashed a friendly smile. “We’ll do our best… so we can get to the bottom of this whole situation.”