Infirmary

I slowly opened my eyes to the blinding fluorescent lighting. The smell of the antiseptic stung my nostrils and made me recoil in horror.

"How do you feel?" Mr. Chi asked, appearing at the edge of my vision.

"I am fine," I replied after a pause, surprised at his presence."

I'll be back in a minute..." he said a little hurriedly as he proceeded to leave the room.

"What is he doing here? What am I even doing here too?" I thought as I looked around in confusion. Then it came rushing back to me--I passed out in the Arts building...but isn't a drip too exaggerated for an aching head? I thought, glancing at the needle in my hand.

"Do you feel better now?" A voice belonging to an unfamiliar doctor broke into my thoughts, jolting me out of my reverie.

"Yes, I'm feeling much better," I responded, not wanting to spend another minute in here.

"Do you recall what happened earlier before you passed out?" He questioned.

"Yes, I felt a sudden painful headache and passed out," I responded.

"Do you often find yourself feeling disoriented and confused?" He asked again.

"No Sir," I replied, still trying to comprehend what was happening.

He nodded in acknowledgment towards the school doctor that I was familiar with before turning back to me.

"I'll leave my card in your medical file, make sure your doctor contacts me if any medical issues arise, and make sure you take your medications as directed," with a kind smile, he left the room with Mr. Chi Fu.

"You can be discharged soon; all of the tests have come back positive and it's been confirmed that you're doing well. Just make sure to pick up your meds and get plenty of rest," The school doctor said before walking away from me.

"Pssh." I sighed as I stared up at the ceiling, feeling like this was going to be the longest few minutes of my life. My mind started to wander as I let myself get lost in my own thoughts.

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Maldives,

Dhigu Island.

"A little more to the left," A blonde woman instructed.

"Like this?" Mrs. Parker asked, maintaining her pose.

"Yes, perfect, you're such a natural," the woman said seriously as she focused on the screen in her hands.

"Let's take some more photos with the palm trees in the background. let's create that *sky, sun, tree, and sea* ambiance we discussed earlier." Mrs. Parker said excitedly.

"Sure, let's do it." The woman said it again, clearly pleased with what she was doing.

Who wouldn't be happy to be paid a year's worth of salary for taking pictures at random times for just one month?

**After what seemed like an eternity of photographing, it was finally over**

"Thank you," Mrs. Parker said to the woman warmly.

"You're welcome, and don't forget I'm only a phone call away; I got you every time," the blonde woman said as she packed up her equipment.

"Let's get together for dinner later, the usual place; the bills are on me, okay?" Mrs. Parker offered genuinely.

"Of course, of course, I'll be there." the woman said, beaming delightfully.

"Goodbye, have a wonderful day." she waved as she got on a speedboat.

Mrs. Parker is in her late forties, but she appears younger than her age, thanks to her youthful air, clear beautiful skin, and status as a trendsetter among her peers.

Aside from the mafia business, she's a big-time influencer; after all, she was once a model.

"My, my, my, James, you came here for a vacation, why are you still working?" Mrs. Parker nagged her husband as she approached the beach canopy.

"It's not about the company," he said as he picked up a cup of orange juice.

"So, what is it?" She inquired, intrigued.

"It's our granddaughter; news came in that she had another relapse." He was clearly distressed. But she's fine now.

"I think it's high time we made things right; how long do they intend to keep her hidden from us?" Mrs. Parker expressed her dissatisfaction.

"Remember, you're the one who started this mess in the first place, and interfering again will only make things worse. Give them a little more time, please." In distress, he stated sternly.

"I was just trying to see my grandchild," she explained, her face etched with guilt. "Besides, this is a different situation and this time, it's for her own good. I don't want anything to get in the way of her receiving that treatment on time."

"Give them time, there's plenty of it." Mr. Parker said, leaving for his suite.

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Grey High School,

Outside the infirmary.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr," my stomach grumbled.

"What do you want to eat?" Mr. Chi Fu inquired.

"Nothing, I'm fine. I have snacks in my room." My face flushed with embarrassment as I responded.

"You just took a medication dose tonight; you can't eat junk food for dinner," he said convincingly. Now, please save me the trouble of wasting more time here and tell me what you want for dinner." He continued with a solemn expression.

"Yes, sensei, croque monsieur and orange juice will suffice," I replied, regaining my composure.

"All right, go to your room first, and I'll have the attendant bring them to you later." He muttered and walked away.

I walked calmly towards my dormitory, reminiscing about random things.

It still baffles me how Master Chi Fu can leave and enter the school whenever he wants.

I understand he has permission to teach me on Saturdays, but today is a weekday!! So how come?

Damien is another. Why did he call me Jennie all of a sudden? Perhaps it was a mistake or not? Jennie, huh?

I thought as I massaged my glabella.

"Ravennn," said a voice breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Huh? Why are you outside, Grace?" I inquired, surprised.

"What made you stay out so late?" You weren't there for dinner either; you really got me worried, you know What have you been up to?" Grace rambled on and on, asking questions.

"Now, now, give her a break, Grace; let's go in first." Tia arrived with two blankies.

'Hmm, guess we won't need those any longer." Grace whined, her gaze drawn to Tia's hands.

"You can stay out if you really want to feel the cold wind," Tia snorted.

"All right, start talking; where have you been?" Grace persisted in her inquiries as soon as we sat in our bean bag circle spot.

"The infirmary. I had a headache and needed to stay and rest for a while." I replied.

"How do you feel now?" Tia and Grace inquired.

"I'm totally awesome, as strong as a bull," I boasted, flexing my fictitious muscles.

"I see, that's good..." Tia was cut off by a phone call.

"Good evening, ladies." The voice of our room attendant could be heard.

"Mrs. Gracia, good evening." We chorused.

Miss Raven has a package, and my assistant is standing outside your door, so go get it. She then hung up.

So is our room attendant's way of addressing us, "Miss Gracia," as brief as possible.

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"Here, please sign," she said as she handed me the receipt book.

"Done," I said as I handed it back after signing.

"Thank you for your cooperation," she said as she walked away.

"Oooooh, a package. What exactly do we have here?" Grace made a squeak.

"Dinner," I said, opening the large takeout box and wondering how much of the crunchy monsieur was inside.

"Is Sensei trying to overfeed me?" I wondered as fragrant aromas and steam escaped from the box.

Perhaps my Dad was involved in this.

Wooow, can you eat all of these by yourself? Grace asked, surprised as I am.

"Certainly not, you don't mind joining, do you?" I responded, my gaze darting around the array of food.

"What exactly are those?" Tia inquired, intrigued.

"Certainly not, Raven," Grace responded. "Let me do the honors," Grace said as she faced Tia with a dramatic smug grin.

"You know your mother is the chef, not you, right?" Tia laughed.

"Well, I'm not far from it." You should know by now how versatile I am." She said with a smirk.

"Let's dig in," I said, wiping my cutlery set.

"Those cake salé are appetizers, and that's salad," Grace explained.

"Well, those are pretty basic things, even I know that much." Tia directed an eye roll to her as she selected one for herself.

"Here's the real deal, Tia, the chicken blanquette and mashed potatoes," Grace muttered with a dramatic dreamy look in her eyes ignoring Tia's remark.

"I see I'm not the only foodie here," I said in amusement as I picked another piece of cake salé.

"Hmmm, the chicken thingy is tasty," Tia stated as she scooped up another portion.

"Yes, it is, but that suffices. Remember, she didn't have dinner, so let's just have one little crunchy monsieur each and leave her to the rest." Grace said this while scooping another chicken blanquette.

"But these are incredible. This is definitely going on my "food to eat list. Tsk, tsk, speak of a pot calling a kettle black." Tia laughed as she stood up to get a bottle of water, holding a crunchy monsieur in her hand.

"Are you going to the celebratory party, Raven?" Grace inquired, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

"What party?" I asked in confusion.

"She wasn't in the cafeteria earlier, how did you expect her to know?" Tia

asked Grace.

"We're allowed to party in school?" I asked in surprise.

"Of course not, it's kind of a school party, but It'll be hosted outside the school, so we sneak out," Grace spoke in hushed tones.

"Whatttt? What if we get caught?" I asked, a little petrified by their guts.

"Raav, please stop being such a bore. It'll be fun, so don't worry about being caught. We'll be safe and arrive earlier; no one will catch us." Tia said in assurance.

"Yeah, it'll be fun plus you'll get to meet new people. I have a feeling this year's party will be so much dope. I heard a lot of cute guys enrolled in our other school branch, which makes me wonder just how unlucky this branch is." Grace said as she opened her bottle of water.

"Another branch? Why do I feel like I'm missing the bigger part of this puzzle?" I muttered, binning the food box.

"More reasons you should attend the party," Tia said, patting my back gently.

"Well, that's understandable since you don't stay around. Lucky for you, I have every piece of information you want." Grace said with a hint of excitement in her voice.

That's fantastic, I…

"Brnnnnnnnnnnng," the alarm for the light out went off, cutting me off.

"Way to go, killing my thunder, goodnight Tia, goodnight Raven," Grace said, walking towards her bed, head lowered, mockingly depressed.

"We'll fill you in tomorrow morning, good night ladies." She said retreating to her bed too.

"Goodnight everyone," I muttered as I also walked toward my corner of the room.