Lunch came, and the gang except for Giselle went to the cafeteria. Lillian didn"t eat her food and was saving it to share with Giselle.She wanted to share her father"s cooking with Giselle and so, waited patiently. As soon as the cla.s.ses got over, Giselle informed Lillian and Anna and then went to meet the princ.i.p.al.
Bridgette didn"t. She saw Giselle leaving and so avoided following her. Instead, she went to the cafeteria, where she sat with Ivy and ate her lunch in silence.
***
At the Princ.i.p.al"s Office:
It has been already ten minutes over. So far, the princ.i.p.al has asked her a variety of questions in regards to yesterday"s broadcast. To every interrogation, Giselle explained herself calmly. One thing she wanted to display is her steady state and being the usual self.
She didn"t want to explode in any emotions and make herself look like a crazy person.
With that resolution, Giselle vowed to clear her name to the authorities by using this opportunity.
With the harsh ten minutes of interrogation, Giselle kept her cool and replied honestly.
...
"To be honest, Ms. Giselle, we have received a word from the other party too."
Upon hearing those words, Giselle startled from her composed state.
The princ.i.p.al continued.
"Yesterday, after school, Lillian Grey, your cla.s.smate came up to me individually and revealed that it was you, who confessed to her and that Bridgette and her friends blackmailing you with their recording."
"I was confused at the beginning, but as Ms. Grey kept on detailing her explanation. I had no choice but to believe in her words."
"I spoke to your teachers to know what type of student were you in the cla.s.s, and I must say, I received a lot of remarks about you being a good student."
"After cross-examining a lot of information about the broadcast and the people involved in it, I made my decision."
Giselle worriedly waited.
"Ms. Giselle, I understand your position, and hence, I request you to meet Mr. Baron Tucker, our school students counselor and attend a session with him."
Giselle appeared dazed.
"All of this would have caused you unwanted stress. I want you to attend a counseling session so that you can move on from this chapter of your life."
"I can"t go to every single person who heard this broadcast and tells them not to ridicule you. However, I can help YOU get better and stronger. Having a label that defines you might be tough to care on, especially if you"re a high school kid. Take this opportunity and make the best use of it."
"In case of any bullying, I kindly request you to inform me directly. I"ll take necessary action to it."
"That is all to it, Ms. Giselle."
"I want you to continue to focus on studying and make your dreams come true."
...
It is the first time for Giselle to get this much of a support. As she kept hearing those words, Giselle felt her heart at ease and the humiliation that she carried for possessing such a label given by the society, all seem to be nothing to grieve and a sudden surge of strength appeared inside of her.
Thanking the princ.i.p.al for being kind and honest, Giselle left the place.
She returned to the cafeteria. Ivy saw the girl and then signaled Bridgette.
"Go meet the princ.i.p.al," she said.
Bridgette looked up and noticed Giselle. Her face appeared relaxed.
"So, I"m the bad guy now."
Bridgette mumbled.
"Stop it, Bri, go meet Mr. Chester right now."
Ivy raised her voice against the girl.
"So, you all are against me, right?" Bridgette faced her only friend, Ivy.
"It is not about that, Bri."
"Clear this up and come back."
"We"ll talk then."
Ivy declared and scattered away, leaving the blond girl alone. Bridgette regretted her actions and reflected upon the scene she created.
Ever since yesterday, only Ivy had been with her. Carmel and Sara stayed away and Ivy too, only cared for Bridgette since she fainted.
Mourning within herself, Bridgette exited the cafeteria to visit the princ.i.p.al"s office.
...
"Mr. Baron is quite good. I heard him helping out with troubled kids. Word around the corner, people say he does a good job at counseling."
Anna cheered for Giselle.
"Don"t think about it too much."
"Thank G.o.d, you didn"t end up with detention. Mr. Clarence is such a kind person. I"m thankful for him to be our school princ.i.p.al."
Anna boasted while finishing her lunch.
"Just a session?"
"Nothing else?"
Diego"s words. .h.i.t the nail on board like splashing water on a sleeping face.
At once, the mood around the table dropped low and intense. Lillian looked at her friend who seems to be behaving hostile ever since yesterday"s incident.
Anna noticed the change in the air.
"What do you mean by nothing else?" Lillian got disturbed.
Diego fretted.
"what do you mean by nothing else?" Lillian charged again.
"Nothing, I just felt like-"
Deigo"s words were cut off by Lillian,
"It wasn"t her fault."
"So, why the h.e.l.l she would face punishments?"
Anna felt the heat between her two best friends. Unable to speak up, she remained quiet and gently grasped Deigo"s shirt, signaling him to cut it out.
Noticed Deigo, gets up from his seat,
"I"m done here. I have something to take care of, so I"ll leave first..." Deigo said and walked out of the frame.
"s.h.i.t"- Lillian cursed inside after seeing his sulky grimace.
Lillian Grey might have shared all of the details with Anna, but never did it with Deigo. Maybe, it is the cause of Deigo"s strange behavior. Lillian felt heavy deep inside her heart as one of her best friends is being distant towards Giselle.
Giselle watched as the trio, who used to be all goofy and happy together, is starting to get different from each other. Plus, Giselle has been receiving indirect glares from Deigo since morning.
Inwardly, she felt heart-broken for intruding in-between these good people lives.
"Ignore him," Lillian said.
"Lilly!" Anna snapped.
"What?"
"I did not do anything he did that for himself."
When Lillian tried to argue back, Anna stopped her.
"I hope you realize it sooner or else he might keep behaving like that."
"Just saying."
Anna walked out, as she warned about the newly appearing distance in-between her two best friends.
Suddenly, it became still with only Giselle and Lillian remaining in the table.
...
"I"m so sorry," Giselle apologized worriedly.
Caught in distress, Lillian saw Giselle"s concerning look on her face which has gone pale from the tensed environment.
"Don"t worry. It is not your fault, mine."
"You don"t stress it out."
Lillian rea.s.sured.
"I"m guessing that makes you busy after school, right?" she asked.
When Giselle nodded, Lillian comforted her not to worry unnecessarily.
They both continued eating in muteness.