Bridget had enough. She headed back to her dorms, trying to get Isabelle off her back.

Before Bridget entered the dormitory, she stopped to snap around and face Isabelle.

“Uh...” Isabelle didn’t expect her to get her friend’s attention so soon and tried to muster up the courage to speak. “Hey, Bridget.” Seriously? Is that the best I can come up with?

“I don’t have time for this.”

“I’m aware, and I’ll get to the point.” Isabelle cleared her throat before continuing. “I know you and your sister don’t have the best track record, and I don’t know what it’s like having a sibling.”

“Ok, and your point?” Bridget asked, crossing her arms.

“But what I do know is this: Although your anger might be justified, I don’t like that you’re taking your anger out on Lauren.”

“But I’m still mad at her. Do you know what she did in the past?”

“Yes, I do.”

Bridget blinked. Is she serious?

“However, she’s not the same person as before. I think Lauren is really—”

“What? Are you saying you’re on her side?”

“That’s not it.” Isabelle held her hands up in defense. “She’s trying to change for the better, but you’re not giving her a chance—”

“No, you listen here! I’ve been giving her chances in the past, and she betrayed all of us! You don’t know what it’s like, and you’ve never met Lauren in the past, either!”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“Just leave me alone already!” Bridget thundered, throwing her arms out at her. In her fit of rage, she let out bursts of flames from her fingertips.

The flames spread out of control, hitting Isabelle in the stomach as she let out a painful cry and collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain. The flames in her stomach kept burning up inside her. Isabelle didn’t know whether to keep clutching her stomach or get up and find help. Her brain couldn’t process anything at the moment. Her throat was too stuck to even speak, much less cry for help.

Bridget didn’t control where they pointed. She didn’t even know she had that ability. Her expression changed as she froze and covered her mouth. Her eyes turned glassy as she looked down at her friend, squirming and sobbing on the ground.

Oh no, what have I done? “Isabelle—”

Lauren and Brandi ran over to check up on Isabelle as fast as possible.

“What happened?” Lauren asked.

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“I don’t know!” Brandi exclaimed.

“I’m so sorry!” Bridget cried, catching the two off guard.

Lauren turned to her with her mouth gaped open. “Bridget, how could you do this?”

“I didn’t mean to...”

Lauren picked Isabelle up from the side and rushed her to the infirmary. Brandi shook her head and made a side glance toward Bridget.

“So, this is how you treat your friend, huh?” She muttered before running to catch up to the others.

Bridget stood there, tears streaming down her face. She turned and ran back up to her room.

.-.-.-.

Later on, after hearing about the incident, Glenda joined Brandi and Lauren in the infirmary as they waited for the nurse to finish tending to Isabelle’s wounds.

“This will take a while,” the nurse told them. “Good thing the damage wasn’t too severe, but she’ll need time to heal.”

“The poor child.” Glenda lowered her head and muttered.

“Do you guys know where Bridget is?” Lauren asked, glancing at the group. Nobody replied, as they all hung their heads low.

“I’ll go find and talk to her. Hopefully, she’s not too grieved by what she did.” Glenda said. “You two should get back to whatever you were doing.”

“Right.” Brandi and Lauren nodded as the teacher took her leave.

“I hope things work out...” Lauren said as she glanced at Isabelle, lying on the soft bed.

“I’m surprised you care, considering she seems to dislike you, and it’s her fault Isabelle got into this situation.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lauren inquired. “How would you know? You weren’t there.”

“She’s the only other person there.” Brandi retorted, throwing her arms up in the air. “Knowing her, that brat won’t listen to reason, even if Glenda talks with her. I hate when she acts like that.”

“But blaming someone else when you don’t know the context? You’re just as bad as—”

“Bad as who? Were you about to compare myself to the likes of her? At least I’d never—”

“I haven’t known you for long, but even I can tell you’re not like Bridget!”

“Really? Why don’t you name me a couple of things then?”

“Well, for starters—”

“Quiet!” the nurse hissed, prompting the other two to jump back in response. “Isabelle can’t rest with you guys going on and on.”

Lauren and Brandi lowered their heads and sighed. “Sorry.”

“Guys, please don’t fight...” Isabelle said, her body wincing.

“Isabelle?”

“I don’t want to see friends fight like this. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. You should get going, though...”

Brandi’s eyes widened. Does that mean you consider me a friend?

“You heard her,” the nurse told them. “If you want to fight, take it outside.”

“Alright.” Lauren and Brandi bowed and took their leave.

Isabelle rested and waited for the treatment to heal. Eventually, the door opened and closed. Isabelle struggled to move her head and spotted Bridget and Midoricha walking inside.

“Hey, Isabelle, how are you doing?” Bridget asked, squeezing her arm.

“I’m feeling a little better. Thanks for checking up on me,” Isabelle replied with a weak smile.

“That’s great to hear,” Midoricha replied. “Don’t you agree, Bridget?”

Bridget nodded. “I’m sorry for what I did to you,”

“It’s fine,” Isabelle told her. “It was an accident, after all.”

“Really? I don’t deserve your kindness.”

“Funny, Lauren said something similar.”

“She... did?”

“Yeah, not too long ago either.”

“I see...” Bridget stared at the palms of her hands. She clenched them tight and looked away.