64. Day 5 Part 3

Chloe slumped back forlornly onto her desk after an uneventful recess of doing precisely nothing, with much unwelcome stimuli occupying her swirling mind. Despite the always welcome boost of having made yet another friend to add to her ever-growing arsenal, and the blissful sensation of freedom given to the heiress ever since she'd begun wearing exactly what she wanted to school (if only the same could be said for the food she ate… darn that Zzubo and her magically hairy-feet-and-honey-obsession-inducing hugs!) the heiress couldn't help but feel kinda blue.

It wasn't hard for her to fathom out why: She still had a double detention to 'look' forward to later on as a direct result of her recent behaviour, she was absolutely starving after a certain glutinous bee kwami had polished off the remainder of the delicious nougats, and she'd just added even more weight to her ever-growing workload by agreeing to talk to Max's friend Kim about whatever girl troubles might be affecting his testosterone-addled brain. Then there was the mysterious disappearance of her potential stepmother Mrs Phillippes, her own father who she'd adored for so long seeming a stranger to her now, getting Alya to trust her again after his recent deceitful handiwork, dealing with an artistically tempremented stalker with a crush…

In fact, there was even more dragging Chloe's overburdened head down than that, but that was an issue her pride would never allow her to acknowledge openly to herself. Rather, the heiress's acceptance of it came in the form of her absent-mindedly digging into her bag, brushing a slightly snoring Zzubo out of the way en route, to retrieve a gleaming silver brooch from its inner depths. Rotating it carefully in her thin fingers, she twirled the object around without even really looking at it while staring at the whitened ceiling in earnest, wondering where this strange journey called her life would deposit her unsuspecting form next…

"I can't believed you haven't smashed that yet! Knowing you, I figured that'll be the first thing you'd do when you got home yesterday. Whatever reason could there be for you to still hang onto my old brooch? Are you planning on selling it? No, that can't be it… it's not like you need the money. You're the one with the toilet seat made from pure gold, after all. Maybe, just maybe, there's still a small chance..."

Chloe suddenly snapped out of her self-imposed daydream to glance to her right at the surprise speaker located there, which was of course Sabrina. The redhead was now scrutinising both her ex-bestie and the item of jewelry now present in the heiress's palms with curious eyes, which was a huge change from earlier that morning when the studious girl hadn't so much as uttered a word or peeked in the blonde's direction.

Firmly under the spotlight of Sabrina's reflective lenses as she was, Chloe began to panic slightly from the pressure, unsure of how to respond. It was true that her recent animosity towards her old friend had cooled a bit after talking with Max in the last session, and she was even half-tempted to say something a little more conciliatory now… that was, until she noticed the redhead had removed the old hairband Chloe had brought for her twelfth birthday, to brush her short ginger locks more forward with purpose.

A pathetic first attempt at emancipation from my 'coils', no doubt. Chloe bristled angrily, all potential attempts at offering a singular olive branch dispelled as she kicked into default 'stubborn bitch' setting. Well, two can play at that game. Let's see what you think of this, Little Miss High-And-Mighty…

"Oh, Sabrina. Poor, innocent, naive, deluded Sabrina." Chloe chided her deskmate in a condescending voice full of mock pity, which caused the redhead to visibly wilt. "I still fully intend on breaking this wretched piece of junk into a kazillion pieces, but did you really think I'd be selfish enough not to share such a wonderful occasion with the rest of the world?! Later on tonight, I plan to set up an online stream live to the nation where I'll not only reduce this last worthless token of our previous worthless friendship to rubble, I'll also rip apart every single photograph taken of the pair of us together in my album. If we're not overrunning, I may even burn them for good measure. Hope you enjoy the show! I'm expecting plenty of hits, so arrive early to avoid over-buffering! It all begins at eight p.m sharp. Don't forget to bring popcorn, though I detest the cheap stuff myself..."

Sabrina's face dropped like a grand piano off the edge of a fifty-story building, and she didn't even reply with words, she lowered her head at her desk depressingly with a singular lonely teardrop running down her cheek. For a few seconds at least, an intoxicating feeling of triumphalism gripped Chloe's psyche to lift her out of the doldrums… that was until she heard a frenzied buzzing from her bag which just couldn't be ignored.

Smiling apologetically at those nearby disturbed by the intrusive racket while subtly implying it was her phone on vibrate making the noise, Chloe quickly opened up her holdall, not shocked at all to see a very agitated Zzubo inside as the source of this impromptu ruckus. The bee kwami had evidently woken up in the last few minutes, and had witnessed firsthand the majority of the brief venomous exchange between the former chums. Judging by the four firmly crossed arms and the incessant shaking of her insectoid head, it was pretty obvious who's side the magical creature was on, leading to the heiress sighing and rolling her eyes in annoyance as she attempted to stare the petulant minature being down.

It's just typical. The one thing I do all day which brings me the slightest scintilla of satisfaction, and this pesky little buzzkill has to try and ruin it for me. Well, I won't stand for it. I'm going to do exactly as I please with this tacky piece of tin later, and you can't stop me. Now, cease bothering everyone with that irritating noise, and s-settle d-down…

Unfortunately for Chloe, whereas before she met Zzubo she could've just brushed off any hint of criticism, no matter how pertinent, to blithely continue on her disruptive path unabated, that predictable past chain of events repeated so often would probably never happen again. For you see, no matter how much she tried to deny it, her beloved bee kwami was pretty much the heiress's entire world now, and even as she tried gazing back defiantly into those caring bug eyes full of love and concern, all gladdening thoughts of victory and 'winning' were quickly dispersed.

They were instead replaced with shame. Shame that she'd broken her solemn oath to her tiny foster mother, and engaged in the type of thoughtless abuse of others she promised she wouldn't. Shame that, despite their most recent disagreements, she'd just needlessly treated the one girl who'd stood loyally by her side through thick and thin like a piece of excrement on her shoe. And most of all, shame that she'd disappointed the precious kwami she'd grown to love, yes love, so much so that she could barely even think about life without her…

"Er… Miss Bourgeois? Are you feeling alright? Whatever could the matter be…"

"H-Huh?!" Chloe abruptly whipped her line of sight away from Zzubo and zipped her holdall shut (the bee creature suddenly looked happier at the heiress showing some contrition for her actions, for some reason) to stare through watery eyes at an obviously worried Miss Bustier, who'd somehow managed to creep over to her seat undetected to lay a gentle hand on her shoulder.

There was no mystery as to 'why' either: suddenly overcome with guilt, the heiress had been unconsciously sobbing up a storm ever since the true extent of Zzubo's disapproval of her callousness had been revealed, and the unwelcome re-emergence of long suppressed memories of Sabrina's mistreatment arriving at the forefront of her mind weren't exactly helping her torrid mood, either.

Now, even those classmates who'd apparently hated Chloe's guts were looking at this pathetically blubbering wreck with concern. Even Alya, in the midst of her perpetual loathing of the one who allegedly ruined her mother's chances of meaningful employment, was raising an anxious eyebrow. Nathanael and Adrien seemed like they wanted to rush over there simultaneously to swaddle the heiress in warm embraces, but like any good teacher it was Miss Bustier who took command of the tenuous situation as only she could.

"Now usually, I'd say you can take some time off before your next session to compose yourself until you feel better…" The educator relayed to Chloe gently, while lightly squeezing her arm. "...But I get the distinct impression that the next person up to spend time with you will improve your state of mind just by sitting in the same room. Isn't that right… Rose?"

The sweet girl in the pink dress and with the pixie cut paled slightly upon hearing the revelation that she'd be up next into the 'lion's den', but one glance at the distraught heiress and an encouraging nudge from Juleka dispersed all her misgivings permanently, and she knew what she had to do.

Standing up with a sense of determination, she scooted over to where Chloe still stood crying non-stop, almost hugging her side as she gently manoeuvred the heiress towards the open classroom door, all the while attempting to whisper encouraging things to the distressed girl as the two of them made their slow but steady exit.

"Come on Chloe, this isn't like you at all! Whatever happened to the strong and confident girl I know so well?! If something is bothering you, we can talk about it if you like. I know just the place we can go, lovely and private so we won't be disturbed. Just lean on me… that's right... let me support you… don't worry, everything's going to be fine…"

As loathe as she was to be comforted and manhandled by the biggest 'wimp' in the entire school, Rose's soothing words and caring big blue eyes seemed to have an oddly relaxing effect on the sniveling heiress, and she found herself somewhat reluctantly accepting her companion's cloying yet heartfelt gestures of sympathy. She allowed herself to be the one controlled for a change, and let her fellow blonde guide her to wherever she was being led.

Unbeknownst to the sobbing and distracted Chloe, Rose was casting a nervous glance around as they left together to one girl in particular, unsure exactly how to proceed with comforting someone who'd bullied her so mercilessly for such a long time. Whether she required a bit of helpful advice or motivation for the big task that lay ahead she didn't know, but she was certain that if anyone could handle Chloe, it would be this particular individual.

Sabrina appeared flummoxed by the attention she was getting momentarily, but quickly responded to Rose's meaningful look over with a firm nod. As angry as she was at the heiress, no girl deserved to endure such an emotional breakdown in full public view, and so the redhead gave her full endorsement to whatever methods Rose might use to cheer Chloe up, as well as hoping against hope that some of the pink-loving girl's pure goodness would rub off on her ex-bestie.

...Hey, it could happen. Right?!

….

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, I haven't exactly got a great deal of excuses for my absence this time. A lack of interest in the story? Maybe. A growing frustration with how delayed the next season will be? Perhaps. All I know is I woke up this morning feeling like I wanted to carry on with it, so… here you go.

As for when the next update will be… who knows? Hopefully soon. I can't control my writing whims, after all. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this most recent instalment. Toodles! :)

Also I noticed a lot of you didn't get my little in-joke in the last chapter. Here's a hint: Reverse the title of Max's 'Swahili' board game, and all might be revealed. ;)