Chapter 231: 231-Locked In A Room With My Mate.
Clementine:
The way he looked at me so anxiously, I decided to help him instead of throwing a tantrum like he was. The moment I held his hand between mine, I noticed him suddenly taking a deep breath of relief. Just one touch, and he seemed like an entirely different person. His body relaxed, and even the frown on his brow disappeared.
"I didn’t pick him, okay? I was sent here as a punishment by the headmaster to stay with a completely different set of people and suffer because of my dad’s actions," I uttered, finally realizing myself why the headmaster thought sending me here would be a punishment.
"So you didn’t come here by choice?" he asked, and I shook my head. I also started laughing.
"I guess it sounds weird that I think spending time with Haiden is a punishment, but trust me, the headmaster just wanted to punish me for using the phone booth," I added, and his frown started to reappear again.
That’s when a little knock on the door started to bother us.
"Guys, open the door. It’s me," Haiden’s voice came from the other side. I tried to go, but Troy held my arms, forcing me back.
"Come back later. We’re talking," he responded to Haiden.
I gave Troy a look, but he gestured at me with his hand to let him deal with him.
"But why? What are you guys doing in there?" There was urgency in Haiden’s voice, and his knocking started to turn anxious too.
"Troy! He’ll create a whole mess with so many people out there if we don’t let him in," I hissed at Troy, trying to make him understand that not opening the door was making Haiden raise his voice.
Somebody would see him, and then the rumors would start. And I wanted to stay away from rumors. The big reason I was okay with my mates not taking me with them was that somehow their families would start a rumor, like they always do, and I would hate to hear all these things about myself.
"Well, then you tell him to stop making noise. He can’t act like a child. He does all these things and then gets away with it. Now he’s acting like a stubborn kid. And because of that, you want to open the door for him. But I guess today he’ll learn that he can’t get whatever he wants by acting ignorant and being loud," Troy hissed in one breath, making me snap my head back tiredly and slap my forehead.
I was so tired of them not focusing on the main issues and always making it about who had to spend more time with me.
"Then how about you two get inside, quarrel all you want, while I go out and call either Yorick or Ian to discuss the main matters with them. Huh? What do you say?" I asked Troy, finally getting annoyed.
I noticed how he started to calm down. This was the thing about these mates of mine, when I raised my voice, they started to lower theirs.
"Fine," he grunted, his fists clenched. "But when I’m leaving, I’m taking you with me," he hissed.
And I started to shake my head no.
"I came here making up a lie that I was missing my mate. And before you complain—" I instantly put my hand forward because I noticed he didn’t even like me hypothetically saying I was missing Haiden.
"It was a cover-up, so I don’t get punished harshly. And I was sent here by the headmaster. I can’t just get up and go anywhere I want," I grunted at him, hands on my waist.
"Fine. We’ll talk about it later," he grunted before stepping away. It was his way of letting me know I could let Haiden inside now.
As soon as I opened the door, Haiden rushed in, like he was here to catch a monster.
He walked straight to Troy, even putting his hands on him and pushing him. Troy retaliated, instantly regaining his balance and pushing him back.
I strolled casually to the side, standing next to them before sitting down in the bed.
"Can we get some popcorn here?" As soon as I said that, the two, who had been holding each other by their collars, stopped and looked at me.
"No, please continue. Don’t mind me. I’ll just sit here silently," I uttered, putting one leg over the other.
The two awkwardly stared at me for a brief moment before they looked back at each other and let go.
"What happened? Why did you two stop? We were having fun, weren’t we?" I teased, pouting sarcastically.
"Fine, you made your point," Haiden said, lowering his eyes.
"No, I didn’t. I was literally having fun. Why did you two stop? Come on, give me some," I insisted again, but this time my jaw was clenching so hard that the two started to look around.
"If you two are done acting like children, can we talk about business?" I muttered, glaring at them like a teacher would at a student.
They awkwardly looked away, scratched the backs of their necks, and then walked in and sat on the bed in front of me.
"The ringleaders are doing something sketchy," I started.
"We need to find out where they go every once in a while at night and where they come from—how they know about the monsters that were never even mentioned to them before." I suggested, watching the two nod their heads determinedly.
We would have never been so confused if we’d thought they knew about the monsters but didn’t tell us because, for whatever reason, they wanted to put pressure on us.
But the minute I realized they knew about the Wendigos, I was certain they knew about North more than they were telling us because no other squad has ever returned to tell the story of the Wendigos before.
"There’s only one way we can find out the truth, and it’s by staying in the Academy longer without going to the North. You know how we can do it?" Troy asked, snapping his fingers.
"By doing something so reckless that our vacations end and they’re forced to take us back to the Academy, while the others, like they promised them, get to enjoy their vacations."
He finished, and honestly, it could be the best idea.