Chapter 31 - The Rising

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*3 weeks later…*

Ahoy, Renn here. It's been 3 weeks since that whole fiasco. So, I'm just here right now taking up my remedials for the 4th Quarter since I just got my expulsion revoked.

You might be asking: "Renn, what happened? You know… About them?"

Well, it's all over the news. The papers, the media, the televisions. News got out last week of what happened to those 2 individuals.

Apparently, they're now both proven to be falsely accusing an innocent boy, me, for "violating" them. The Principal said that falsely accusing people even with made-up bases is too much. He decided to just let the court settle this one and they ended up with a fine of $2,000,000 along with expulsion in their respective schools.

But wait, there's more. Feliciana Desmond was found guilty of abuse of monetary power. She used money to bring herself to the top. Feliciana ended up with an additional $75,000,000 fine plus the amount of money she used to gain power.

Did she not realize how stupid her thinking is to use money for her personal gain?

And apparently, Hotel Gigante decided to not rely on the Desmond family business anymore due to the incident. Oh, and the employee who posted those pictures was fired.

Sucks to be that employee.

Oh, and the Desmond family as well. They're no longer rich due to those charges. The last of their money was used to pay for their daughter's fine. They are now broke. What's even worse is that the fine was so much that the business had to shut down to make up for the money Feliciana used for corruption.

Like I said, I love the strawberry-flavored karma being smothered all over their faces.

And now, I'm reading my modules happily. I also began answering the post-lecture activities afterward. The only difficult thing about modular remedials is that the post-lecture exercises are plentiful, consuming 1-2 hours of your time ASSUMING you're knowledgeable of the topic.

An average student would spend HOURS finishing a single module, enough to give a certain dumb student PTSD.

But I managed to finish it in an hour and a half.

"Done." I put my pen down and handed the papers to Ms. Alba and she began checking my paper.

"I have a question, Alrose… Why didn't you ask the principal to skip your remedials and go straight to 10th Grade?" Ms. Alba was curious as to why I didn't go for that opportunity. I know people think highly of me, so I probably would use this knowledge to skip ahead. Some schools do this, I know.

But the thing is, I already said to myself that I am not a genius. I'm a hard worker. Geniuses have already learned what they needed to learn and can skip certain grade levels, I am not one of those privileged people.

"Ma'am, it's simple. I wouldn't be humble if I skipped this. It wouldn't be fair for the people who struggled so much just to advance. That's why I didn't think to ask." I answered.

She smiled, proud of my answer.

"I already had a feeling of relief when my eyes were set on you that day when you transferred. I suddenly remembered a student of mine…" Ms. Alba looked at a picture frame. And in that frame, was a picture of her and a short girl.

"Who is she, if I may ask?" I was curious about the short girl, and why Ms. Alba said that she was like me.

"She was one of my students, 4 years ago. She was short, but was underestimated. She's one girl who took remedials, just like you. She was a genius but got left behind. Despite that, she was answering every module quickly. That was the first time I've seen someone answer the modules so quickly, so I asked the question on why she didn't do the same effort when she was in her usual classes or thought about skipping the grade if she was this smart. She wasn't someone who was okay with the class she was in, and she didn't want to put her hard work to waste. I was pleasantly surprised how hard she worked and stayed true to her word during the remedial session. We kept learning the modules together, she was having so much fun with the time spent here. She was like no other..." So it appears I triggered a past memory of hers, I hope the student is well somewhere.

"I'm glad about that memory… So, will that be all for the remedial modules? I still have 3 hours before I go." I asked. I wanted to spend more time finishing up my 4th Quarter.

"Go home now, Mr. Alrose. I don't want my students to feel drained when they get home. It's summer! Try and spend the rest of the time off. I'll be seeing you on Wednesday." Ms. Alba insisted I go home. She stood up to leave.

Even after all this, I am still cursed with "Erliberdyitis".

"I'll see you then, Ms. Alba. Be safe on the way to your home." I politely bowed to her as we walked to our respective homes.

But I decided to go somewhere. I went to the café I frequented. I ordered myself an iced mocha latte. I sat down outside as I looked at the cloudy skies. It seems to be about to rain. How unfortunate that I didn't bring my umbrella today, I envy the tables out here… At least they have umbrellas.

"Ah! I found you!"

I noticed Lisa. She was running to me.

"Lisa, you needed something?" I asked her.

"Ah… I just wanted to sit here for a while with you… Is that alright?" Oh, so she wanted to hang out with me.

"Sit here. I'm just here relaxing for a while." She was full of joy as she sat down on the chair adjacent to mine.

"So… What do you want to talk about?" I asked her. She came all this way, so I better not let this get awkward.

"I came to tell you about a situation… If our plan didn't end up being successful, what would have happened then?" So she was picturing that moment and was curious about what I was going to say. I guess it has been lingering in her mind ever since.

"They would have been honored even more, Jessie would end up being enrolled in that university Feliciana was in along with her still using her money for her personal gain. It will be the beginning of a corrupt world. And along with that, I would stay isolated in my own house for the rest of my life. I wouldn't be harmed, but I'll be creating a butterfly effect. Along with my isolation, I'll bring the feeling of despair in the hearts of Serra, Fey, you… And Syrra." I answered. I didn't want them to be downer than how down I was… I'd be devastated.

"I see… You'll have nowhere to go and you'll be left alone for good…" She looked down on the ground, disappointed by the thought of it.

"Mhm. That's right, Lisa. I can see potential in you… You'll grow up to be smart." I smiled at her.

"You think so? You're in a whole other league than me…" She thought she couldn't reach me. I chuckled.

"Hey, listen. You can grow up and stay yourself. I want you to improve what you're good at. You'll be in a whole other league of your own, a league that even I can't be in." I encouraged her.

"T-Thanks…" I took another sip of my mocha latte as it started to rain.

"Another question… Since you mentioned Syrra last in your answer… I can't help but wonder… What are you to her? She told me that you two are friends. But the way you two were acting back then in the stadium… I wanted to know what you think about her." She looked at me with a serious face. She wanted to know that badly, huh…

"Well, Syrra and I had a history together. Even if I was able to spend time with Jessie back then for 4 years… My 3 years with her felt more worthwhile. She has been my bestest friend. I didn't want her to struggle so much. Look at her now, sitting down on the wheelchair. I really feel so bad…" I bluntly answered her with a small smile.

"I definitely can see you two have gotten stronger together. Syrra doesn't want you to worry about her, but she needed help back then. I have a feeling you saved her once before, do you want to tell me about it?" Lisa continued.

"I saved her from bullies 3 years ago. That was the first time I helped her. And when Serra told me what was going on… I couldn't take it… It almost felt like the situation back then... Not to mention, I almost lost Serra..." I felt frustrated and gripped my fists shut.

"In the end, you saved us all… You're really becoming a hero in our stories…" I was in slight disbelief as I took another sip. Hero? Me? That's a bit much...

"Lisa, I'm no hero. I'm just someone trying his best, looking for a way to go. While I was isolated, you all were the ones who saved me. You guys are the real heroes, I'm not one deserving of that title." I looked down, at my reflection in the latte. I may have saved them, but I still ran the risk of having nowhere to go… The principal was just feeling bad I got falsely accused, and I got lucky.

"You do. In my eyes, you're a hero…" She opened her umbrella and stood up.

"And I expect even greater things from you, Mr. Alrose… I'll see you soon." I watched her walked away, and I just sat there, finishing my coffee.

As I finished, my phone rang. I checked and it was Vance.

"I had a feeling you'd forget your umbrella again…" Vance sounded disappointed that I got stuck in the middle of the rain.

"The weather forecast was wrong. It said sunny skies for the rest of the week. I don't get news stations sometimes…" I sighed.

"Well, I'll be on my way to assuming the café you keep going to… By the way, you're supposed to visit Syrra today, right?" Ah, my eyes widened and a memory clicked on my head. I almost forgot about Syrra. I have to check on her condition since Jenna is taking her summer job.

"We'll stop there on the way to check up on her. Her recovery has been going smoothly." The physician doesn't stop with the good news, Syrra sure is something else.

"Way ahead of you. Just wait for me." He hung up.

I looked at the raining sky.

Although I'm happy, I feel like the world is doing something cruel today. I don't know why, but I can feel it. Something doesn't feel right.

It didn't take long before Vance arrived, so I didn't get too immersed in thought for long. I went in the car and we immediately headed to the hospital where Syrra is.

I requested the physician to let a head surgeon repair her broken shoulder, hip, and spine. It was quite expensive, but my parents took care of the remaining cost their insurance couldn't afford.

I went down as we arrived at the main entrance and immediately ran to the front desk.

"I'll visit Winters today." I requested.

"Ah, Alrose! Great timing, the physician is with her as we speak. They're looking for you, please proceed up!" The woman behind the front desk instructed.

"Thank you." I quickly ran up the stairs to the 3rd floor. As I arrived at Syrra's room, I stopped and knocked.

"Come in, Mr. Alrose!"

I opened the door and I saw the physician guiding Syrra as she was getting used to her recovering bones.

"Ah, Mr. Alrose. She's good to go tomorrow. Today will be her last day here." I'm happy every time. Like I said, it never stops.

"You're great with your work, doc… Syrra, good to see you're alright now." I approached her and patted her head.

"Hey! Take it easy, this head is fragile!" She giggled.

"Fragile? I wouldn't exactly call you that~" I giggled.

"What? But I am fragile, stop lying…" She pouted.

"But I'm not lying, Syrra. You're stronger than you look." I pulled both of her cheeks with my fingers.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Let go of my face, Mr. Renn Alrose!" She was trying to pull herself away from my fingers. I giggled at how this fragile girl is also a fierce one. I let go of her cheeks and laughed.

"Hmph." She pouted and punched my shoulder hard.

"AH!! That hurts…" That was one strong punch… And that was the same shoulder Serra hit me on!

"You shouldn't have grabbed my face, you idiot." She turned away from me.

"Any more force and you could have cracked my shoulder… Doc, could you check if my shoulder is okay?" I looked at the physician, she chuckled.

"I don't know… Your shoulder looks okay to me~" I was upset hearing her answer. Damn, she's good at toying with me… I did several left shoulder rotations and stood up straight.

"Anyway, tomorrow I will be fetching you. I wonder why Jenna is having her summer job instead of summer vacation…" She should focus on her sister too. I sighed at how busy she is.

"What? You're saying you don't want to fetch a pretty girl like me?~" I… Wha… She just leaned her body forward, her hands covering her mouth, along with her doing the puppy eyes... Is she trying to be a cute girl in front of me?!

Is she teasing me? She has it bad from Jenna, I suppose.

"Not that I don't want it, I'm just concerned that she isn't going to fetch you… She's your sister after all." I looked away, slightly embarrassed. Jenna could even at least call… How long is that shift of hers even? She didn't even tell me...

"True, but…" She then suddenly hugged my neck. I was surprised at her action.

"I have you to take care of me~"

My face was stuck in a surprised expression, but my entire head turned red. Like a tomato.

"Alright! Fine!" I quickly pulled her arms away and headed to the door. I can hear her laugh slightly.

Clever girl...

"Doc, what time tomorrow?" I opened the door.

"10 am-" I left as soon as she told me the time. I walked out of the hospital as eyes are on me seeing how red I am.

WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THAT, SYRRA?! NOT ONLY DID THAT COME OFF AS A SURPRISE BUT IN FRONT OF THE FUCKING PHYSICIAN?!

"(I have absolutely no idea how to feel about that… I'm not her type and I already know she isn't my type.)" I quickly went to Vance with a tomato head. He quickly drove us home.

"So... She'll be discharged-"

"10 am."

"And she-"

"Yes."

"And you-"

"Shut it. I have no feelings for Syrra."

I now have a tendency to interrupt people quickly when I get flustered. Or it's just this one time and it will never happen, who knows...

I just hope she can take care of herself...

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