CHAPTER 3

Katherine sat on her bed, gazing at her mirror, her uniform neatly arranged on her blue-themed bed. Her silky, curly hair cascaded down her shoulders.

"Kathy, may I come in?" a lady in a black and white uniform asked from the door.

Kathy nodded, and the lady entered.

"I've finished my chores and am about to leave. Do you need anything else?" the lady asked.

"No, I'm good," Kathy replied with a smile.

"I'll leave then," the lady said, turning to exit.

"Madam Fei?" Kathy called out.

"Yes?" she responded.

"Can I share something with you... informally, like my counselor?" Kathy asked.

"Of course, I'm all ears," Fei said, sitting beside her.

"I did something horrible, and I regret it," Kathy said, her voice filled with remorse.

"I got my friend expelled, and I received a minor punishment. Now everyone hates me at school." Madam Fei listened attentively, her expression supportive.

"Why did you do it?" Fei asked gently.

"I wasn't thinking... I was stupid to do that to my friend. There are no excuses, but I feel terrible." Kathy's voice cracked.

"Even Xavier hates me."

"He doesn't hate you," Fei said reassuringly.

"He does! He doesn't even want to see my face again, let alone talk to me," Kathy replied, her annoyance evident.

"Yes, we were close, but now I've ruined it. It's better I was his best friend for the rest of my life, secretly having feelings for him, than being hated by him for confessing my feelings," Kathy said

. Madam Fei chuckled.

"You did something terrible for a crush you had," Fei said with a hint of a smile. "Correction, not a crush," Kathy corrected her.

"Katherine, you are too young to love someone. What does it mean to you?" Fei asked, her eyes locked on Kathy's. Kathy stared back, pondering the question.

"I'll give you time to figure it out. Get ready and go to school," Fei said, patting Kathy's back and standing up. Kathy took a deep breath and scratched her hair with a grumpy look.

"What's wrong?" Fei asked

. "My punishment starts today," Kathy replied, annoyance evident in her voice. Madam Fei laughed.

"I'll leave. Davis will be here soon." With that, she left, closing the door behind her.

____________

KATHERINE'S POV

I walked out of the house content , but not too much , the question that madam Fei asked still bothered me .

- what's love?- to me?

I hate myself for being so stupid and selfish

How can I solve this, gain my friends trust back.

Well not that I care , Ivy already forgave me , Carmen will probably hold a grudge against me till she dies or maybe carries the grudge to the after life , The one person I really need back in my life is Xavier .

I got in the car and brought out my phone

" Morning " I greeted Davis

" Good morning ...you seem better." He said stari g at me.

" Well I hope today would be better" I said putting in my ear plugs listening to my favourite song

• Tattoo by Loreen •

....

In no time I was at the school gate.

" Thanks " I said getting ready to get off the car.

Davis turned to look at me .

" Your mom told me to inform you that she's going to Paris today for some issues to be handled" he said.

I never really wondered where my mom would be , she's always too busy to even talk to me. The last time I saw her was at an event she hosted... on TV!, Sometimes I wonder is she my mom?

" mmm " I nodded and got out.

All she does is getting public attention and what she loves is getting public attention , but what I need most is my mom's full attention and I can't get that , I feel useless to her she only needs me at some point but I don't even know which point , they only love Elizabeth , my half sister.

My entire family is complicated , My dad Governor Backster had an affair with my mom and she got pregnant while being married to Mrs Annabel who was also pregnant , it was a crazy moment foy dad , but through it all ,Elizabeth was born first and two days after I came through .

She was in the limelight and I was hidden from the public until I was 5 when my mom made a public appearance and I was claimed as the illegitimate child of the Governor.

Mrs Annabel died a year ago from lung cancer then my mom used it as an opportunity to be closer to my dad.

I got to the school hall and took large steps to get to the principal secretary's office quicker , I heard whispers and murmurs , I know they were talking about me but it's better to ignore.

I took deep breaths before knocking at the door gently.

" Come in " I heard and walked in

" Morning " I greeted

" Morning " the middle aged lady with her glasses returned the greeting looking up.

" Miss West right?" She asked me.

" Yes " I answered

" You can drop off your school ID over here" she tapped on a basket.

I sighed and took it off from my school badge and placed it on the spot she tapped and stood back again .

" You know It was quite hard to cover up this incident from getting to the media " She complained and I pursed my lips.

" I know " I stared at the floor.

" You'll start with picking up trash from the field , then clean the hall in Year 10's section .."

- seriously?-

".. clean the staff room at Year 12's section and the girls bathroom at your section"

- are you done with the toture?!!!??.... Wait! , did I just hear ,The girls bathroom !!!!!-

I gave my widest smile and nodded .

" Sure " I whispered.

She looked at me and I froze she had this looks that got me confused.

_ can you stop staring!!!!_

" Ma'am is something wrong?" I asked

" Why are you still here?" She asked .

" Oh" I was shocked

" Take this and get out ..." She gave me an overall , students on punishment normally wear this . I never thought I would be on that uniform.

"Make sure you complete your work , Janitor Cheng will check your areas and give feed back if you don't do them properly you'll be given an extra day of labour"

" mmm" I nodded

" Shoo!!!.." she chased.

I took my overall and rushed out.

" What a grumpy woman " I muttered.