Chapter 25- Bye Bye Crushed Dreams

Monday morning, I stood by my desk and found a neatly folded paper in my Language class. I sat down and picked up the paper, unfolding it to read the contents. I wasn't expecting much from it and I was right. It read, 'Die, you homo.'

I felt indifferent to it. Mainly because it was too early for this. All I did was fold the paper right back up and tucked it away in my pocket. My first thought was that it was Lady Alexis's doing. After all, it's her fault that I'm getting harassed like this. I wonder how long I can last? So far the abuse was light, but I guarantee it's gonna get worse.

In fact…

"Hello?!" I called out as I knocked on the door. "Anyone out there?! I'm gonna be late for my Math class!"

…It did get worse.

I sighed, I can't believe I got locked into an empty classroom. As I was making my way to my next class after lunch, I was suddenly shoved into a classroom. The door seemed to be blocked by something, so I couldn't escape. Maybe I should have gone to class early like Alex. Never thought anyone would pull a stunt like this. Don't these halls have teachers patrolling for delinquents that might skip class? Teachers were always roaming the hallways in my high school.

I banged on the wooden door, hoping to catch anyone's attention. "Can anyone hear me!? I'm locked in this room!"

I huffed in annoyance and turned back to the wooden clock on the wall to see the time. I'm now five minutes late for class. Alex must be worried… Now that I think about it. I'm pretty sure Alexandra was locked in a classroom once by Lady Claudia. And the one that saved her was…

I suddenly heard the doorknob turning. Looking back, the door opened and I was met with the one person I did not expect. "Lady Claudia!?"

"So this was where you were."

"L-Lady Claudia, how… why? W-What are… Shouldn't you be in class?" I decided to ask.

I was half expecting to see Prince Leonhardt when the door unlocked because that's who saved Alexandra from the locked classroom, but I forgot, I'm not the heroine, so of course he wouldn't come to my rescue. His appearances are only saved for our lovely heroine.

"I was looking for you," Lady Claudia answered.

Her? Looking for me? I gave her a skeptical look.

She sighed, "Class had started and Alexandra began to cause a scene saying something had happened to you as you would never be late to class."

Oh, Alex… I guess I should thank her though, otherwise, I'd be missing the entire lecture. But why was it Lady Claudia that looked for me and not Alex?

Lady Claudia seemed to have read my mind as she said, "Sir Oscar asked me to look for you as he was just randomly picking. To think he picked me of all people. Alexandra wanted to tag along, but Sir Oscar said that only one person was needed."

Ah, that makes sense. "Sorry to have caused you trouble."

Lady Claudia flipped her hair and crossed her arms. "If you understand then let's hurry."

I nodded and walked out of the room to see a wooden chair on the side with a stack of heavy books on it. That must have been jammed beneath the doorknob to stop me from leaving.

"Do you need to see the academy's doctor first?"

"Hmm?" I looked at Lady Claudia to see her glancing away with a worried expression. I smiled at her caring nature. Even though she said she wasn't fond of commoners, she still cares for my well being. Honestly, if Lady Claudia wasn't so obsessed with wanting to be loved by Prince Leonhardt, she wouldn't be in a terrible spot in the future. "I was shoved, but I didn't gain any injuries, so I'm alright. Thank you for your concern."

"I was not worried!" she denied. "Don't get the wrong idea! I do not care about you one bit!"

I giggled, "Yes, yes, of course, Lady Claudia. You don't have to care for me, but I care for you a lot."

"As long as you understand… And don't go saying you care for me, you degraded commoner!"

I smirked and took hold of her hand into my own. Lady Claudia tensed up from my action, but she didn't pull her hand away. Looking straight into her lovely blue eyes, I gave her warm hand a gentle squeeze and said, "Thank you for looking for me, Lady Claudia."

At first, she showed no emotion, but then her face slowly turned red. Her eyes widened and she hastily ripped her hand away from me. She turned around so I couldn't see her flustered expression and stuttered, "I-It… It was b-because I was told so! T-There's nothing to thank me for! Let's hurry back to class! Y-You're wasting my time!"

Lady Claudia quickly began walking away with me following. I couldn't help but giggle at her behavior. "Lady Claudia, you're walking too fast."

"Quiet!" she snapped. "You know where the class is, you don't need me guiding you!"

Even though she said that I noticed how her pace slowed down a bit. She isn't honest at all. But I guess that's one of her good points too. Really? How did my love for my favorite character grow to this extent? Maybe when I realized that she was her own person and not some character following some role? However I came to love Lady Claudia, I'm just happy to have these feelings. Even if they hurt from time to time.

Admiring the girl before me, I couldn't stop the warm feeling from spreading throughout my body. I love you, Lady Claudia. Not because you're my favorite character and not because you're a tsundere. I love you for your strength. A strength you always had, but don't even realize you have.

"Lady Claudia…"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

"Stop being gross…"

"I mean it…"

Lady Claudia didn't say anything else and I respect her lack of response, so we just walked in peaceful silence until we made it back to our class.

- - - - 0-0-0 - - - -

I hissed as I limped down the hall while a tall boy supported me. He held me up by my waist, keeping my weight off my left leg as we slowly moved down the wooden floor.

"I got you, we're almost there."

"Thanks for escorting me to the medical room, Hayden."

The brown-haired boy smiled, "What are friends for?"

Hayden Miller was once a commoner like me. His family was promoted to Baron two years ago so he still knows the pain of being part of the lower class. He and I are in the same Swordsmanship class and we became great friends after ranting about how terrible some of the nobles in this academy were. I'm glad I'm still able to make friends on my own without having Lady Rium's help.

"I can see the office. I'll be fine on my own now. You should get back to class before that monster teacher chews off your hide."

Hayden chuckled, "Alright. After you get your ankle checked out, you might just want to skip today's lesson. It's better to not overwork your ankle and just let it heal."

"I understand. Thank you."

"I'll see ya around, Reiré."

I waved back as I watched him jog away. I took a deep breath and limped into the medical room. I'm glad to see the place neat and clean. It was my first time here because I never thought I'd get a serious injury where I'd needed to see the Academy's doctor.

Today isn't my day, but what was shocking was when I entered the room, I found Alex sitting in one of the chairs that are lined up against the white wall. She was also in her outdoor clothes, signaling that she was just taking a class that involved outdoor activity. I sighed and took a seat next to her. That's when I noticed that her hands were covered in bandages and it piqued my interest.

"What happened to your hands?"

Alex let out an exhausted groan. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Did someone try to run you over with a horse again?"

"No. I got pricked by needles," Alex said.

I gave her a confused look. "Needles?"

"When I went to grab Angel's saddle, I got pricked. Someone put needles on the saddle. I'm just glad I noticed before I placed the saddle on Angel."

"If you did put the saddle on Angel and got on, you would have been thrown off. You could get a broken bone. I rather have you pricked than get a broken arm or leg."

Alex huffed, "But getting pricked still hurt you know. Both my hands were bleeding, Reiré. I had to get stitches! There were at least a hundred needles stuck on that saddle."

"I'm just shocked that the people that manage the tools in the stables didn't notice the needles unless it was planted right before your class. They should think about the horses, what if someone else accidentally took Angel's saddle by mistake and used it on another horse. That poor horse would be injured and so would their rider."

"Bullies never think about the consequences, but isn't this going too far? This time, I shed blood. Next time I might get a broken bone."

I chuckled, "I'm beginning to think that our bullies are more dangerous than Lady Alexis."

"I think they are. So? Why are you here? Did something happen during Swordsmanship class?" Alex questioned.

I nodded. "We were running laps and a boy tripped me. I ended up straining my ankle."

Alex winced, "Oof, you alright?"

I leaned back against the chair and nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright. It wasn't strained too bad. I just want it to get iced as fast as possible to slow the swelling."

"Dr. Media is busy with another student, he should be done soon," Alex informed.

"Wait. If you're already checked out, why are you still here?"

"Dr. Media wanted me to stay for a while to see if I'm still feeling pain. He rubbed some kind of numbing ointment on my hands."

"Must be the lidocaine. So are you feeling any pain?"

"You sure know your medicine," Alex responded. "It doesn't hurt as much as it did before. I still feel the stinging, but nothing I can't handle."

I smiled, "Well, that's good. And I studied a lot of medication."

Once our conversation died down, I heard two voices from the back room. It must have belonged to Dr. Media and the student he was checking on as Alex said.

"Thank you, Dr. Media." A blonde boy walked out into the lobby with a bandage wrapped around his head. He looked like he was in his third year.

"Just be happy you didn't get a concussion. Watch where you're going next time." This time, a man with rough black hair and a chiseled chin walked out. He looked to be in his fifties. I could only conclude that he was the doctor since he was also wearing a white coat. I always dreamed of wearing a lab coat, but that's impossible now.

Dr. Media saw the student out and turned to face me and Alex. "So who's my next patient?"

I raised my hand. "That would be me."

"Alright. Give me a second. Alexandra, how are your hands?" he inquired.

"I only feel some stinging. But I can't really flex my hands without feeling like I might rip the stitches."

"Try not to clench your hands for a few hours. I'll give you a couple of bandages so make sure to change them later. Have your roommate help you out once you return."

We watched Dr. Media moved over to his desk. He pulled out a few rolls of white bandages and handed them to Alex who cupped them gently.

"Thank you, Dr. Media."

"You should take the rest of class off as per doctor orders. I'll write you a note to your teacher. You said you were in Horseback Riding, right?"

Alex nodded. "Yes."

Dr. Media wrote a small note on a piece of paper and gave it to Alex. "You're good to go, young lass."

Alex bowed, "Thank you, doctor." She then turned to me and waved her hand. "Bye, Reiré."

I smiled and waved back. "See ya."

I watched Alex leave the room and I was left with the doctor. "Alright, cursed child. What's wrong?"

Even the doctor is calling me a cursed child. I could only sigh. "I sprained my left ankle."

"Is that so." He walked over to my side and kneeled. "Do excuse me." He gently took my left foot and moved it, causing me to hiss. "It's sprained alright."

No shit, Sherlock! It's not like I was lying to get out of class! Do I sound unconvincing?

"It doesn't look to be serious so it should heal in a day. I'll bandage up your ankle and get you some ice, but for the rest of the day, don't move. Understand?"

I nodded, "Yes."

"I'll also write you a note to your teacher to excuse you from the rest of class. What class were you in?"

"Swordsmanship class," I answered.

He wrote a quick note on a piece of paper and handed it to me. "Alright, let me get you some pain relievers and bandage up that ankle first before getting you some ice."

I watched him walk to the back room and came back with a small pill and a cup of water. "Swallow this with the water."

I nodded and did as told, taking the pill with the water. He knelt down to take off my shoe and wrapped the white bandages around the injured area.

"Now let me grab that ice." I watched him leave to the back and looked back down at my ankle. I frowned and slightly rotated my foot and hissed in pain.

Dr. Media came back with a bag of crushed ice. "Here you go and you're all set."

I took the bag into my hands and I stood up shifting my weight onto my right leg. "Thank you, doctor."

I limped out of the medical room and headed back towards the training field to give my note to that monster teacher. Every step I took, a shot of pain zipped through my leg. When is that pain killer gonna kick in? I just need to hurry and be excused from class, so I can lie down on my bed with the ice on my ankle. I don't want to agitate this injury any more than I already did or else it'll take longer to heal.

I can't believe both me and Alex had to visit the academy's doctor. What terrible luck we both have when Lady Alexis has a target on our backs. Maybe I can use my injury as an excuse to hide for a few days? I like the sound of that. Missing a day or two of classes would be fine right? Wait… Crap, I have a stupid history test tomorrow.

I'm a diligent student, so if there's a test there's no way I'm missing it. I don't know how important grades are in this world, but they make for a great boasting material. There's no way I'm gonna get into a college since I'm a commoner and I have no money. I doubt the Bazanine will keep paying for my tuition after I graduate and there aren't any good jobs for commoners. All the good jobs go to the rich kids.

In my past life, I wanted to major in biological science since I was interested in being a neurologist, but that isn't a thing yet in this world. Maybe I should just aim to be a normal doctor like Dr. Media, but that's a hard choice since the academy doesn't teach about science and the human body. The only future I see is being a baker or chef because that's what I'm skilled in currently. Welp, I internally cried, bye bye to my past dreams. I forever loved you.

Dreams change sometimes and I do enjoy baking. Isn't finding a job means doing something you enjoy? I'll just stick to my original plan for the future. Once I save Lady Claudia and graduate from the academy, I'll take over the Norman Bakery. That'll make my parents happy, right?