C5 S05:Beast Tamer

*Warning: Contains Minor Violence*

"Stop! Both of you!"

The school counselor shouted while approaching us. She tried to pull Naura aside, away from me.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt?"

She kept asking, checking for Naura's condition.

Naura didn't give a reply and slowly looked up to face me. A look of hatred and fear appeared on her face as she was trying to keep it together. Her voice got silent because my grip was so tight, almost choking her. She then turned around and began walking away as far as she could. Genise being her true friend, followed Naura from behind while calling her name.

After they left, the counselor had her full attention on me.

"Why did you hurt her like that?! You could have injured her seriously!"

She wore an angry expression. Her hands balled into fists.

I just shrugged and looked towards the direction where they disappeared.

"It felt good to see how weak she is compared to me."

The counselor gave me a stern look.

"You're lucky you haven't been expelled yet or else..."

"Or else? Don't forget that I'm also a student. You're the one who must take responsibility if I was expelled."

I went closer, whispering to her.

"I've seen everything, teacher. You accepted the bribes from those rich parents. They must've paid you a large sum of money. I wonder. What would happen to you if I were to expose your crimes to the principal? Would you be fired?"

Her face pales, and her eyes widened as she stared back at me in horror.

"Wh... What are you saying? When did I do such things? Don't you dare run your mouth without any evidence."

"I don't but the school does."

I pointed my finger at the ceiling.

She looked up, seeing the CCTV camera above our heads. Her eyes widened even further.

To be honest, there was no CCTV when they were exchanging the envelope. I was just bluffing to expose what she had done.

She started to stutter out excuses as I continued talking.

"If you want me to not report this, then all you must do is to sit tight like a good lady. My words will guarantee more than the money you craved for. It's a matter of your life."

Her mouth clamped shut, knowing she'd lose any chance of getting away from this. She pulled herself away quickly and ran down the corridor. Leaving me with the other student who witnessed everything.

After she left, the student looked at me with confusion in his eyes.

"Hey! What did you just say to our counselor?"

I looked at him, crossing my arms.

"I told her to go f**k up herself."

He frowned.

"What?"

"Just act like you didn't see nor hear anything. And normalized try not to interfere with other people's business, would you?"

He scoffed.

"You think I'm going to act dumb after what you just said to her."

"Whatever."

I turned away, heading for my last class but he blocked my way.

"Apologized to her."

I glared at him.

"No."

He clenched his jaw, anger written all over his face.

"I've met many people with your personality and it still pisses me off. You think being arrogant can help you get the scholarship. You might get expelled for disrespecting our teacher."

I sighed.

'Why is everyone so obsessed about wanting me to get expelled?'

"My respect only goes to the one who deserves it. Excluding a b*tch like her."

Suddenly he threw a punch on my right cheek. My face turned to the side, almost losing my balance. My hands quickly held onto the window.

When I looked outside, my eyes automatically locked on Emily doing exercises with her classmates on the school field.

"And I don't give respect to arrogant people like you. Fair and square, right?"

I glanced at him, who wore a smug smile. My back hand wipes the blood on my side lips.

"You're protecting the wrong person, boy."

~ ~ ~ ~

"Now. Can you tell me what happened?"

The school principal looked up at the two students in front of him. There's bruises and a small scar on their face. Not to mention, they look disheveled in their school uniforms.

He glared at the male student.

"You again? How many times have you got in trouble when you're still in first grade? I already told you last time, this will be your last warning or I'm going to suspend you from school!"

Quietly, I glanced to my side.

The boy stood still with his head turning to the other side.

"I already called your parents. They will be here soon."

He turned, glaring at the principal.

"What!?"

"Yes, your mom is coming in a few minutes."

The principal repeated as if it was nothing serious.

"But I-"

A loud clatter made us both turn around.

The counselor who had just walked into the room stopped at her spot, looking shocked after seeing me. The silence stretched for seconds until she spoke.

"What happened here?"

Her voice, surprisingly, didn't carry the same tone that her words implied. The tone of worry but to me, it sounded like she was just faking it. She must've not expected that both of us are going to meet again sooner.

She stared at me blankly, then slowly moved past us to check the injuries. Pretend to show that she's caring for her students.

I observed her, feeling a bit suspicious.

Before her hand could touch mine, the door burst open once again and a middle-aged woman walked inside. Her eyes widened as she noticed my condition. Her gaze lingered a little longer before moving onto the boy standing beside me. Suddenly she hit him on the shoulder a few times.

"Oh my God! Asher Damian! What have you done!?"

"Ow! Why did you hit me?"

Asher rubbed his shoulder.

"I'm the one who is supposed to ask you. What do you think you just did? God knows how many times you got involved in fights and now you dare to pick up a fight with a girl?! This time, you won't get away with a one hour lecture, young man. I will triple it!"

Then she turned to me, examining the small damage on my face. I stared at her hand as it went up, caressing my face. The soft touch made me freeze.

She wasn't angry. Instead, her expression seems concerned for my well-being.

I had no idea why. I didn't know her, nor had I met her before. But there was something about her that I liked. Something about her warmth. Or maybe her kindness.

"Oh dear, look at your face. I apologize for what my son has done to you. He's always got in trouble. Oh, how am I going to explain this to your parents?"

She began to cry, tears forming in her large eyes.

Asher on the side, sighing.

He knew he couldn't get anywhere this time. And now, he'd gotten into an even worse situation, only because he couldn't contain himself.

He gave a side glance, wanting to see how the girl would react.

If she still shows her arrogant attitude to his mother, he will not tolerate it. He didn't even care if he got detention. However, it was not as he expected.

To his surprise, that girl didn't react or say anything. Instead, there's soft looks in her greenish eyes. The look that made him shiver ran down from his spine, feeling like the air around them had become much warmer.

From his point of view, that girl looks like a cold-blooded beast who got tamed by his mother's gentle touch.

Asher didn't realize that his face started to flush in heat.

The way she is looking at his mother makes him feel things he couldn't describe. It felt weird. As if a switch flipped inside of him, all sudden he could feel his heart beating faster than ever before. For some reason this only made his whole being wanting to turn red.

Quickly he turned, covering his face using his back hand.

Somehow, he felt embarrassed. He didn't want anyone to notice his face, and especially not the girl whose name he had yet known.

He tried to calm his breathing by thinking of nothing. It took a minute for him to get his breathing back to normal but when he did, he felt like a new weight had dropped off his shoulders. It was then that he realized what had happened and it hit him hard.

Was he... in love with her?

~ ~ ~ ~

"You should have taught your son how to behave, Mrs. Damian. He's always making a fuss at school and tends to look for problems with other students. I already gave him a last warning not long ago and he did it again. I had no choice but to suspend him from school."

Mrs. Damian gasped audibly and clutched at her chest.

"Please no! My son needs to attend school! The examination will be coming soon and if he fails his exams, he will fail the scholarship. Please give my son another chance!"

She pleaded as she took a step closer towards the principal. Her face was flushed, tears streaming down her cheeks while gripping onto his arm, begging him.

The principal shook his head.

"I'm sorry but I can no longer compromise with you anymore. The school has done their best to educate him and now the responsibility is in your hands. You should have done this months ago when he started getting into trouble."

With that said, he turned on his heel and was about to walk away.

"So, are you going to put the blame on his mother? Can't believe we have a principal like you who doesn't care what happens to his students. They probably paid you off to help them get rid of him... I mean, they must use some type of bribe to have one."

I scoffed, glancing at the counselor.

At this, the principal stopped walking and looked back at me.

"Pardon me?"

A small smirk spread across my lips.

"Oh, I was simply commenting about how nice it must feel to get paid to do nothing and just stand back and watch everything around you happen."

The principal clenched his fists, looking ready to lunge at me. However, he restrained himself. He let out a deep sigh as he rubbed his face with his hand.

"I guess I'll talk to you later, Ms. Hamarsya."

"There's one thing I'm curious about..."

I turned to the counselor.

"May I know, what is our counselor doing here? If I'm not wrong, isn't your counseling room on the first floor?"

She clears her throat.

"I have an important matter to discuss with the principal. You're just a student. Don't interfere with adults."

I raised my eyebrows slightly.

"Then, Mrs. Damian, if you don't mind. Can you ask our counselor, what is she trying to hide behind her?"

Mrs. Damian and Asher blinked in surprise.

"I'm sorry. Are you asking me to question her?"

Mrs. Damian pointing to herself. She doesn't have any clue what is happening.

"I believe you heard her. She said I shouldn't interfere with adults. And I guess you're the only one who can ask her for me."

'She thinks I wouldn't notice she tried to hide something on her back after she opened the door. And besides, she wouldn't dare to oppose someone who's older than her. Especially not in front of the student who always helped her.'

I gave a short glance at Asher who was still standing in his spot, looking so clueless like his mother.

In the past, I always saw him helping the counselor by carrying her stuff while walking through the hallway. We've been passed to each other a few times and that's how I remembered him even though it was unintentional.

Mrs. Damian turned to the counselor.

"Uhm... May I see it please?"

The counselor looks a bit reluctant. She shot a glare at me and then at the principal who seemed not bothered with whatever was occurring. She slowly takes out the envelope. Like the one I saw earlier.

Mrs. Damian takes it and starts opening it to see the contents. Her eyes widened as she covered her mouth.

"Oh my, oh my... I've never seen such a big amount before. How...?"

Asher stood next to his mother. He also looks shocked.

Seeing the mother-son reaction is more than enough to confirm my assumption.

"What is inside the envelope?"

I went next to Mrs. Damian, pretending to be shocked as well.

"Seeing this much money, isn't this can be considered stealing or maybe bribes? I never thought our trustworthy counselor would commit such big crimes."

I looked at the counselor directly with an innocent expression.

"I can understand a thing or two about counseling and I think that you could benefit from having someone more experienced take over your position. I'm sure that the new counselor will prove to be most competent and trustworthy. If you don't want to accept, then it's okay but you will ruin this prestigious school's reputation. I'm really worried about the student's future. Don't you think so, sir?"

I continued while glancing at the principal. He didn't say anything at all. His eyes were glued to the envelope.

I put a finger under my chin, making a thoughtful gesture.

"When I think about it again. You punished this student for a small matter. It's not like every student that he fought with, getting them hospitalized. As you can see, I'm still standing here, healthy as ever. But should we let her go free when we know everything? Isn't that too irresponsible and unprofessional? I bet that many students will hate you once they hear that. And your reputation will sink to the lowest point."

I could feel Asher's eyes on me.

Honestly, I don't care what happened to him or what he has done to me before. However, it may be hard for his mother to face such things.

The room is deadly silent after my declaration. Not long after, the principal's laugh interrupts the silence, and it startles everyone except me.

It made me realize that he doesn't even care about the fact that this is a serious conversation. To him, it's nothing more than an entertainment that he enjoys watching. Somehow, I can see the similarities between him and my classmates.

"You really believe in what you're saying, don't you?"

He asks, looking at me as if I'm a lunatic or something.

I stared back at him.

"I only speak from my own perspectives. It's up to you whether you want to believe it or not. But I'm sure we will never overlook one thing."

I pointed at the envelope in Mrs. Damian's grip.

"The fact that she accepted that money is still a crime without question. This is my proof, and they are my witnesses. That is, if you also want to be included. And ONLY if you're not an accomplice, sir."

"If I were not an accomplice, do you think I would take part in this? I will never accuse my employees without any alibi."

"Then, you will be our alibi."

"I don't follow."

I look around.

"Why don't we try to check the camera footage. We can count how many times she met you after receiving the bribes."

His expression changed immediately when he heard my words. I noticed his eyes moving, maybe searching for the object I mentioned earlier.

'For 20 years he has worked as principal, and he still didn't know that there is a camera somewhere? That proves his old age very well.'

Suddenly the counselor grabbed my shoulder and pulled me away from the principal's table.

"You think the police are going to believe a mere student like you?"

I watched with amusement as she suddenly became pale as a ghost.

"His father did."

I shifted my eyes to the phone in Asher's hand. The screen shows the call were connecting, indicating that the person from the other side has been listening to this conversation. Rather they've been listening from the beginning.

Once again, I glanced at Asher.

This time, he looked back at me with an unreadable expression but there's determination in his eyes.

~ ~ ~ ~

Flashback before they entered the principal's room.

"Hey."

He ignored me but I still called him until he gave up.

"What do you want now?"

"Call your father."

He frowned.

"What?"

"I know you hid your phone in your pocket. You must call your father if you don't want to lose your scholarship."

"What are you talking about? Why must I call him when he's working right now?"

"A father will not ignore his child if they ever call for help. Not when he already knew that you're always meeting with the principal because of your problems. You're the same as your father. Both of you have a knack for justice."

Asher stared at me for a moment, before his eyes shifted to the ground.

"So, you knew...my father is a police officer."