TWELVE

While Claire sang with the feeling of pâro, she didn't realize that there was somebody else hiding behind her back, listening to her song.

[UNKNOWN PERSON'S P.O.V.]

Finally.. I got elected as the Vice President! This feels so good. After a whole year of preparation, I finally succeeded. I have to admit, Areum was a tough competition... But I'm glad that I won.

It's pretty late, I should head home.

[END OF P.O.V.]

The Vice President of the Student Council was standing alone in the hallway, packing her belongings from her locker, ready to head home.

She turned around, ready to walk away. Just then, near the staircase, she heard a faint voice from upstairs. She halted, and quietly made her way towards the flight of stairs.

'Someone's staying back? I thought we were the only ones staying back.' she thought.

Someone was singing. But due to the distance, the voice wasn't clear. So, the vice president went up the stairs. As she climbed further, she realized that the person was on the rooftop. She slowly went to the rooftop and stood behind its door, listening to the song carefully.

It was a girl. By the tone of the song, it sounded like a sad one. The vice president tried recognizing the song but was unable to do so. She came of the shadow of the door and looked at the girl. She couldn't see who it was as the person's back was facing her. There was so much pain in the girl's voice. It could be understood.

As the vice president heard the girl sing, she realized that none of them should have gone to the rooftop in the first place and that the girl was breaking rules.

Now that she was the vice president of the Student Council, the sense of responsibility but her hard. She decided to inform the principal about the girl the next day since it was pretty late then.

The girl turned around and walked away.

Next day, after reaching school, the first thing that the vice president of the Student Council did was going to the Principal's office.

"Sir, may I come in?" she asked with her tone extremely respectful. The principal looked up from the stack of papers on his desk and glanced at her.

"Oh, Nailea. Please come in." he smiled at her inspite of being confused because of her unexpected visit. She walked in and he kept the pen he held, firmly on the desk.

"Good Morning." Nailea greeted the Principal sweetly. "Actually, I came to inform you about some things that have been going on."

"Before that, congratulations on being selected as the Vice President."

"Thank you." she smiled.

"Now, what did you want to talk about?" the Principal inquired keenly.

"Someone stayed back without the notice of any teacher, yesterday. Also, she went to the rooftop. Which is not allowed. So, as the Vice President of the Student Council, I thought this was the best thing to do."

"Good job, you did the right thing, Nailea. I'll make sure appropriate actions are taken against this student." The principal was evidently proud of Nailea, the vice president. "You should leave now, or else you will be late for class."

•••••

After a busy day, Alex and his friends joined Jessi and her friends for lunch. Over just a few days, their friendship had grown so much. It was almost unbelievable.

"We should all hangout after school someday." Amelia said bringing up another topic to spark up their conversation. It has just been just a few minutes into the lunch break, but for them, it felt like hours. Because they were so engrossed within their own talks. All of them were truly having a good time.

"That's a great idea!" Antony replied excitedly. "What do you guys think?"

"Yeah! It's awesome."

"Great!"

"Amazing idea!"

Everyone said with equal amounts of enthusiasm as all of them walked up to a table in the cafeteria.

Claire caught Alex's eye for a second. She was playing with the food as if she had no appetite. Alex quickly looked away when he saw her looking up from the plate.

Soon, the whole cafeteria was filled with students. Everyone settled down to eat. A teacher entered and went towards Claire. Alex got curious and kept looking in that direction, missing out on the conversation going on between his friends.

On the other hand, Claire had no sign of emotion on her face. Even when the teacher called her name. He informed her that she had been called to the Principal's office. The teacher walked away. Claire got up with her food and gently threw it away in the disposal bin. She went of the cafeteria and walked towards the Principal's office as instructed. Her facial expression remained unbothered.

Alex was confused but decided to focus on what was in front of him. He looked towards his friends and tried to catch up.

For a good five minutes, he was as clueless as he was before. Then, another topic popped up and he could finally take part in the conversation actively.

"But, where should we hang out, today?"

Jessi's voice made him smile. There was something very positive about her bubbly personality that he loved. As he heard her, his enthusiasm returned and he suggested, "What about the amusement park? It's a Friday anyways."

"Perfect! So today we gather at the central park at five." Vernon exclaimed.

"Absolutely great!" Troy replied.

All of them agreed and had an amazing time. The lunch break ended shortly after and everyone headed back to their classrooms, excited about the rest of the day.

It didn't take long for the classes to end along with school for the day. The group of friends let together and parted ways after some time. They were all looking forward to meeting again. All of them walked back home happily.

Time flew quickly and it was almost time to go the central park.

Jessi wanted to impress Alex and so, she dressed up prettily. She wore a cute blush overall dress with a black sweater. Her beige skin and black eyes complimented the outfit beautifully. She styled up her hair into double buns that were half up.

She left for the amusement park with her friends. The boys and the girls had decided to show up separately. All of them gathered at the central park and then walked to the amusement park together.

When Alex's eyes first landed on Jessi, it seemed as if he was spellbound. She was the most beautiful girl he had seen. For Alex, she was the one for him. It felt like time had stopped. The spell that blinded him from everything except Jessi, wore off when Cole nudged him, indicating him to start moving.

Jessi on the other hand was too shy to look Alex in the eyes. As soon as she saw him, she looked away and smiled sheepishly hoping that she was successful in impressing him.

All of them went to the amusement park while sharing a little conversation. They were all happy and at that moment, no worries stressed them.

•••••

"Good Afternoon Ms. Simpson, please have a seat." the principal greeted Claire and gestured her to sit down. By the look on his face, he seemed undisturbed. Claire looked at him blankly and did what he said.

"What do you wanna talk about?" Her voice as for as always, she spoke with no emotions expressed at all. Arms crossed against her chest and one leg over the other, Claire looked rather unmoved. The principal was very well aware of the position she held in the school's administration. So, he thought not once but twice before everything he said.

"I was informed that you stayed back without any teacher's notice. And that you went to the rooftop. I'm sure that you are aware of the rules Miss." he answered her.

"Is that why I was called?" She raised an eyebrow. Wicked thoughts started pooling in her mind. An eerie smirk was plastered on her face. "If that's so, you're fired."

The Principal's eyes widened as those words left her mouth. Claire got up from her seat and hovered over the desk. He was panicked, he spoke up, "I apologize, Ms. Simpson, I'm sorry for questioning your authority."

"But, Mr. Clarke, I'm sorry. Your apology isn't accepted." she showed as if she pitied him. He begged her not to fire him with his eyes. But he knew that once she made a decision, no one could change her mind.

"Please forgive me, I will correct my mistakes." He requested her. He tried one last time.

Claire smirked, "Time to get a new principal." Then she walked out of the office leaving behind the old man who was once the principal, devastated. She didn't attend any other classes and went back home.

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