The Silver Crescent Prince

For the next few holes Dawn couldn"t focus on her game. She only kept thinking that if there was a breakup between Oscar and Mairin, how come he never mentioned it to her? Why did he keep his relations.h.i.+p with Mairin such a secret? That evening when she went home, she went to see Oscar"s social profile. Since it was set to public setting, she could easily access it and see his photos. There were too many of Mairin and him together. She wasn"t surprised to see that none of hers were uploaded because she had told him in the beginning only that she hated social presence. She thoroughly searched his profile that night and went off to sleep pretty late.

Next day when she went to the cla.s.s, she found Oscar waiting for her. He beckoned her to come and sit next to him. Dawn realized for the first time that a group of students sitting right in front had fallen silent the moment she entered. They observed her closely. Dawn looked at Oscar who had a huge smile plastered on his face. She nodded and went and sat next to him. Immediately that group of students broke into a whisper of gossips unaware that Dawn could hear them pretty well.

"She is so manipulative. She bewitched Oscar into liking her."

"Yes, I feel sad for Mairin."

"I also feel very sad for Mairin. They had been going on steadily in a relations.h.i.+p and now this has happened."

"Poor Mairin would be so heartbroken."

"But she is the daughter of a Professor of Sociology. I am sure that her father is going to get even with Dawn once he comes to know how malicious her intent is. After all he must be having some clout over the professors of our department too."

"Dawn is not only manipulative, she abused Cire when Cire caught her breaking the golf equipment."

"What are you saying? I heard that it was Cire who did it."

"Oh no! It was Dawn who framed her. This rumor is going wild on the campus."

"I don"t think so. Whom did you hear it from?"

"Everybody is saying it. Cire had gone to everyone and cried a lot in front of them. She said that it was Dawn who framed her."

"Did Dawn ever come out with an explanation as to why she did that?"

"Nah! I wonder if she even knows about the grapevine. She is blissfully spending time with Oscar. And if she would come to know there is nothing she can do about it. How many people is she going to shush?"

Dawn"s muscles stiffened. Her mind was in a tizzy. She felt like holding herself and rocking back and forth hoping that this was a dream. She held back a whimper as her body trembled. The web of lies was intricately woven around her. Her attention was diverted by Oscar"s question. "Hey, how about we go to the town after the cla.s.ses? I"ve heard of a new restaurant that has opened."

Unable to relax even for a moment next to Oscar, Dawn put on a false smile that didn"t reach her eyes. She rubbed the back of her neck and said, "I can"t. My brother will be coming home soon and I have to be there. Plus we have the finance quiz tomorrow, so it won"t be possible." There was a harsh edge in her words.

Oscar made a sad face and started to look in front. The Professor of Marketing had arrived. He whispered, "Then let us go this weekend, okay? I am going ahead and making reservations."

She didn"t answer. Every student in the cla.s.s fell silent. The topic of the cla.s.s was "How impactful is social media". The topic was so interesting that the cla.s.s was completely immersed. When the session was over, Dawn started collecting her notes, pen and paper.

"Dawn, I would love to take you to a place in the campus that I had discovered only a few days back. It is secluded and the two of us can spend time together," said Oscar holding her hand and squeezing it softly.

"No," she said in a flat voice. "I really have to prepare for tomorrow"s quiz. So I will go to the library."

Oscar"s face darkened. His lips turned down. "Are you avoiding me today?"

"No!" she replied. "I am just nervous about the quiz." She picked up her bag and walked out. She was avoiding him.

After hearing what the group gossiped about her, Dawn was in a fix. How did this all happen? She didn"t know that Cire could go to such lengths so as to speak lies about her. She didn"t know that she could stoop to this level. Her chest tightened at the thought. Moreover, how could she manipulate Oscar? It was him who came after her. She didn"t even know about his previous affair.

All the thoughts only added soreness to her throat. Her heart ached and her vision blurred. Her eyes became hot and she couldn"t see where she was even walking. Instead of going to the library, she went in the opposite direction to a small garden that was behind the Philosophy Block. It was an isolated area covered with dense foliage. She needed to calm down as she could feel anger rising inside.

She went and sat under a tree in the corner and removed her bag. Her mind became numb and drew her limbs close to her body as she bowed her back in front. She was framed so terribly that she couldn"t seem to come out. It was a perfect trap. It could lead to her suspension from the college.

Suddenly, a girl"s voice came from somewhere, "Why are you so late Niall?" She heard two girls walking in.

Dawn"s head jerked up. "Niall?" she thought.

"I am so sorry Mairin," came a nasal voice that Dawn remembered pretty well.

What was she doing with Mairin? Dawn"s mind reeled.

"Did you tell Oscar to bring her to the town today?" asked Mairin.

"Yes, Oscar tried, but she refused," Niall replied.

"d.a.m.n! That girl is way too smart," said Mairin pounding her fist in her palm. "I had come to give you my pen drive in order to shoot the video and save it in this."

"Oh! So sorry, but she refused," said Niall. After a pause she continued, "I understand that you are going through such a terrible phase Mairin. But keep strong. We are in this together. I am going to help you and Cire."

But Mairin ignored her statement and almost cried, "If Oscar comes to know about the main reason behind my miscarriage, he or his family would never accept me."

Niall replied in a sympathetic voice, "Tsk, tsk. I know about your medical condition dear. That is why I had told you about my plan to attack and trap Dawn."

"I hope she is as moron as you have stated earlier," Mairin said acerbically.

"Of course she is! She never tries to come clean if there is a gossip about her and leaves the matter when it is solved. She think she is some sort of a queen who won"t stoop to even talk to us. We have to take advantage of that. We should start creating more fake news about her. She doesn"t have social presence so that will only mar her image. At the same time this is going to generate sympathy towards you. Once it is proved that Dawn was behind all the negative things, Oscar"s family will accept you and then Dawn can go to h.e.l.l. Who is bothered?" The two of them laughed maliciously.

"But make sure that Oscar never comes to know about my medical condition," said Mairin. "I am doing this for Cire even though I know that what she did to Dawn was not right."

"You are doing it for yourself too," Niall pointed with a slight acerbic tone.

Mairin sputtered, "Y— yes." She changed the topic. "Let"s finish Dawn and get her out of the University. Once you prove that Dawn was the culprit, my father is going to create havoc with the Dean to expel her."

"What a lovely thing to hear," Niall giggled and the two girls left. "Before this weekend, she will be gone!"

Dawn"s breathing accelerated. She grabbed her chest. It was about to explode. Oscar was with them in the plan? Mairin had a miscarriage? What did it have to do with her? She didn"t even know Mairin. How would they blame her? A hurricane of unknown twirled inside her mind.