Expectations

"You are surely joking, right? Right?!" She asked with a shaking voice.

"Do I have any reason to joke about it?"  He replied.

"Umm- but you...you are not like him, not even a little bit! He is a total bully and you-you-"

"First of all, how do you know that I am not a bully? We've barely spent ten minutes in the same classroom! Secondly, is it written somewhere that two brothers have to be exactly like each other? No! Right?"

He completed his sentence and looked back at the girl, who was still trying to process the information that she had just received. He understood that she was finding it hard to digest the facts of reality. 

'Reality is cruel and expectations give nothing more than pain, hence his theory was proved correct once again.'

He smiled ironically to himself, but then he saw the innocent and cute face of the girl sitting in front of him and his heart melted.

He said, "Hey! Just chill. You were right, we are not similar and there is nothing in common between us. Well, apart from our house, which I will be leaving very soon...once I get a stable job that would enable me to regularly provide a good meal and shelter for myself."

She looked up from her hands with a look of confusion, and spoke, "But why do you want to leave them? Aren't they your family? How can you even think about leaving your family?"

"Now you are asking too many personal things, which I don't think you have the authority to; but I will still give you an answer- it won't exactly be about your questions, but it will solve your multiple doubts."

He paused and glanced at David once before turning back to her.

He continued, "The person whom you claim to be a bully can be a devil sometimes, but it doesn't mean he doesn't have good qualities."

He then looked at Louis and spoke, "The happiest person in the class is Louis, but nobody knows why he is so happy."

She was extremely confused by his words now, and her cluelessness about what he was trying to say was evident on her face.

He was amused by her bafflement and  proceeded again, "They have nothing in common, apart from one thing- they both have many expectations from many people, according to their own relationship with them. And mark my words: expectations are meant to give one thing only, and that is Pain, Disappointment and Anxiety."

"Those are three things, mister." She remarked with a smile.

"Yeah- but-" 

"Nora Rovery! Come to the teacher's room." A voice echoed through the classroom.

She abruptly stood up from her seat. 

"Do you want me to come with you?"  Robin asked, whispering.

She smiled, "Weren't you the one who was just lecturing me about not making friends and keeping expectations a few minutes ago? Then what is this?" She whispered back with a teasing tone. 

"Nothing! I just- you are new, what if you didn't know about the route, and got lost?"

"Don't worry, I will manage on my own."   She tapped his shoulder as she said this, and moved out of the class.

***************

She was unable to attend the classes after Archery Arithmetic, as all the time was consumed in carrying out the formalities and deciding her topics of interest in the teacher's office.

And the irony lay in the fact that they had still not been completed. When she had never been allowed to do anything without permission, then how was she supposed to know her habits!?

She was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the day and analysing the events that had taken place that day.

She remembered how scared she had been while returning home, knowing that the news of each and everything that had happened at school would have reached her father much before her arrival. But she couldn't do anything, apart from thinking about the punishment that he would be definitely meting out to her, on the way.

But when she reached home, the entire setup was different than she had expected. Every servant was rushing from one corner of the mansion to the other, working happily and enthusiastically.

'Was her father not at home? Because if he had been, then whatever had happened in school was enough for him to punish every single person who dared to come in front of his eyes.

Or was this a trap?'

She shuddered as she stepped foot inside her own house.

'Yes, this was her own house. At least, that was what she had been told since the time she was able to recall things. But it was also true that this big mansion held no emotion, no attachment and no warmth of her share, within its cold walls.

She had been deprived of a home, a family- was she even supposed to get one? Ever!?'

She was lost in her thoughts, when she heard the resounding thud announcing the arrival of an Alpha, making everyone shudder again. And yet again, she was standing there, unbothered.

Within minutes, her parents were standing in front of her.

"You did well today, I am happy because of you! I heard you solved the question of Archery Arithmetic; I guess I should reward you with something. So you can tell the servants what your favourite dishes are, and have them prepare that. But don't think that just because I am praising you today, you will be allowed to do whatever you want. Always remember where your limits are. I guess you have understood me.

Do you understand!?" He roared again.

"Ye-yes, father."

'She was not afraid or scared, but the fact that her father was talking so normally to her was a huge deal. He had never done this before, never praised her before. Maybe, she was not completely useless.'

"One more thing, I forgot to mention that there is going to be a grand party and a ball organized at the end of the month, on your birthday. And I guess you already know what you are supposed to do."

"Yes, father."  She knew what her responsibilities were, and how she was being allowed to stay in this house only because the blood coursing through her veins was theirs.

Her happiness disappeared within minutes, and she rushed to her room, without telling the servants her favourite food. 'She felt pathetic at the realisation that she didn't know what her favourite food was- she had never gotten the opportunity to find that out, she had only been allowed to eat whatever was decided for her, by her father. She didn't have anything which she could claim as her favourite.'

She wanted to jerk away all the thoughts from her mind, but now they were haunting her. She was once again trapped in the fear of the horrifying past experiences of her life, which were far from being left in the past. On the contrary, they were a continuous aspect of her life. And still, she only knew the struggle behind them, and no way out. 

A voice pulled her out of her thoughts again.

"Nora! My child, how are you? Aren't you going to share the experiences of your first day of school with me?"

"Moon goddess!" She whispered, with surprise and enthusiasm.

***************