Chapter 41: Tensions and Apologies

"Sorry I'm late," Sarah quickly apologized when she came to us.

"Sarah, you're finally here." I greeted Sarah first and then nodded my head toward Thomas, who was standing behind her. Anna, on the other hand, did the opposite.

"Hey, you! I thought she already told you guys to stay away from her. Why did none of you listen?" Anna's voice was so loud that the moment she screamed, every student around us stopped talking and turned their heads toward us.

Just by listening to her voice, you could tell that it wasn't the first time she was mad like this. Her voice was filled with annoyance, so much so that even someone like me, who didn't know the full story and was just listening from the side, could feel that irritable vibe.

Ignoring Anna's words, Phillip just stood there in front of Sarah. With a flattering look, he gazed at her and said, "Miss, just listen to my young master's proposal. With all the things he promises you, I'm sure you know how you'll benefit from it."

When I heard Phillip saying that, I realized that it indeed had something to do with Mr. Smith I had met that day. For sure they had a connection here but what is it? Thinking back to the attitude Mr. Smith had toward me, I tried to piece together what was happening. It seemed like I might be in the middle of a drama here.

Feeling that her words were being ignored, Anna's temper rose, and she confronted Phillip directly, face to face. "Hey, I'm talking to you! How dare you ignore me? Do you think I don't dare to do anything to you right now?"

"Miss Anna, forgive me for being rude, but it seems like I don't have any business with you right now. Besides, I'm now under the orders of Young Master Arthur. Can you really stop me right now?" With a confident look, Phillip stared back at Anna without any fear on his face. In terms of strength, I doubted Phillip was stronger than Anna, but when the name of that young master was mentioned, Anna seemed to freeze, hesitating about what to do next.

"Enough, you two. Can't you see we have become a public attraction right now?" Right as the situation was about to become awkward, Sarah interrupted and broke the silence.

It seemed like this time, Phillip actually listened and stepped back. At first, I thought it was over, but it turned out I was wrong. Instead of looking at Anna, Phillip changed his stare and looked at me. Then, with a smile on his face, he locked his gaze onto mine and said, "William, as someone who was once your friend, I think you know what you should do, right?"

Questioning me with that question, I had no idea what he was trying to do now. Something that I should know? How the hell was I supposed to know something he hadn't told me?

Seeing my confused look, Phillip's expression changed to disappointment. "I thought you were a smart guy, but it seems like I was wrong. Just a few days ago, you were warned, and now, you're still doing the same things."

Ah! He was talking about that. True, that incident might be an unforgettable memory for me, but that didn't mean I had to follow everything they told me, right?

Just as I was about to argue with him, Phillip said something that shocked me and everyone else. "Okay, just by looking at your face, I know that nothing would change like this. So here's an idea from me: William, switch teams with me. I have business with Miss Sarah here, so you need to move away. Don't worry, even if you enter my team, I'll make sure they take good care of you. How about it? A brilliant idea, right?"

Huh! What the hell was this guy talking about? With that self-righteous attitude, as if he was doing me a favor, it really pissed me off. If I could, I really wanted to beat up this guy right here, right now, but I held myself back. It was forbidden for students to cause trouble before the exam, and if caught, they could be excluded from the test. I didn't want something like that to happen, so I could only restrain myself for now.

Though I was doing a good job of holding myself back, someone else was thinking the opposite.

"That's it, I've had enough of this bullshit! Just listening to you spouting this nonsense really makes me want to puke. You dare to call that a brilliant idea? Hah! What, do you think anyone else is like you, betraying their friends just for the sake of some so-called benefit? Dream on, you idiot!" Without pausing for a breath, Anna unleashed her anger towards Phillip.

"What, do you think I'm wrong here? Everyone knows that he is in your team just because of Miss Sarah's kindness. Since he's leeching off your team's points, then it doesn't make any difference even if he changes teams, as long as he can keep on leeching that team, right?"

"You!!"

"Sarah, stop!" For the first time in my life, I saw Sarah, who was usually calm, change her expression. In this moment, she no longer seemed like the Sarah I knew, but rather a dignified woman in power. This time, she was definitely angry with Phillip.

"And you, Mr. Scarlet, I've also ignored all of your previous rants, but that doesn't mean that I don't care. If you keep up with that attitude, I won't hold myself back any longer, and when that happens, you better be ready, understood!"

Under Sarah's piercing gaze, all of Phillip's pretentious attitude disappeared. "Miss Sarah, I didn't mean to make you angry. This time, it was me who was in the wrong, and I apologize for that. Now, if you'll excuse me." With that, Phillip walked away with his team.

"I'm sorry for involving you in this, William." As soon as Phillip and his team disappeared, Sarah changed back to the person I knew and apologized to me.

"It's okay. I don't mind." I knew that this wasn't her fault in the first place. What made me curious, though, was her relationship with that young master I had met before. But I wouldn't ask her if she didn't want to talk about it, and I would just keep this question to myself.