Chapter 68: DAY ONE

**THIRD PERSON'S POV**

Xinmei hadn’t noticed anything was wrong—not until she heard the soft thud of something hitting the floor.

Her brows furrowed, glancing toward the floor, expecting her to grumble about dropping her phone. But she was silent.

Too silent.

Her eyes snapped fully to her friend, and what she saw sent her heart slamming into her throat.

Blakely’s body was limp against the seat, her head tilted slightly forward, her arms hanging loosely at her sides.

"Blake?" Xinmei called, stretching out her hand to tap her awake, but no response came.

"Blakely!"

Nothing.

A wave of terror crashed into her, and without thinking, she slammed on the brakes. The car screeched to a halt, tires skidding against the rough ground, slightly raising dust.

Behind her, the vice principal’s car swerved, barely stopping in time to avoid rear-ending them.

Xinmei barely processed the sound of his honking, the angry slam of a fist against a steering wheel.

Her hands trembled as she reached over, shaking Blakely’s shoulder, harder this time.

Still, nothing.

"Shit, shit, shit," she whispered under her breath before unbuckling her seatbelt. She threw the door open, practically leaping out, sprinting around to the passenger side.

Just as she reached the door, she caught the sight of the gate closing in her peripheral vision. The heavy, final-sounding clang echoed in the distance, and something about it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, but she forced herself to push the eerie feeling aside.

Something has happened to her friend.

She yanked open the passenger door, voice shaking as she called out, "Somebody help!" She barely registered the sound of the vice principal quietly cursing inside his car, likely stepping out of it.

"Miss Addams, what in the banana fudge was that?!" he snapped, rubbing the side of his head as if he’d nearly smacked it against the dashboard. "If you can’t drive, you should’ve just stayed in the bus!"

Xinmei ignored him, still trying to rouse Blakely, lightly patting her cheek, then pressing her fingers to her wrist like she’d seen people do in movies.

Still no reaction.

She felt sick.

"Sir, she’s not waking up!"

That got his attention. His face twisted into something between concern and irritation, and he moved forward just as the men from the gate approached.

The one in charge, the same man who had spoken to them earlier, stepped past the vice principal, kneeling beside the car. His face was unreadable as he reached for Blakely’s neck, pressing two fingers to the side of her throat.

Xinmei held her breath, her hands clasped tightly together, fingers twitching.

After a moment, the man exhaled, nodding slightly.

"She’s fine," he said. "Just fainted."

She released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, but she went back to holding the breath when she realized that he might not be a medical personnel so was that just a guess?.

"Are you sure?" she asked, voice hoarse.

The man nodded again. "Her pulse is steady. Probably just stress. Has she been overworking herself?"

Xinmei hesitated. "I… I don’t really know. Finals were just over, so maybe? I mean, every time I called her, she always said I called too early, so maybe she’s been sleeping late too."

The man hummed thoughtfully before standing up.

"Take her to the castle gate," he instructed. "She'll be fine. I’ll meet you there."

He then turned to the vice principal, nodding in apology.

"Sorry for the trouble, sir. The boys will check your car to make sure there’s no damage before the end of today."

The vice principal sighed, rubbing his temple. "Fine."

Xinmei gulped, turning back to Blakely.

She hated how lifeless she looked.

Shaking off the lingering fear, she climbed back into the driver’s seat.

The vice principal returned to his car too, this time keeping a decent distance behind her—probably in case she decided to pull another pause like that again.

Xinmei gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles turning white, as she took a deep breath. And exhaled.

She then started the car.

They drove forward, deeper into Eden, heading towards the heart, Hera castle itself.

……..

Once she reached where the bus was parked in front of the castle gate, she killed the engine and climbed down the car. Taking the last suitcase from the trunk, adjusting her grip as she turned to see the men had already gotten there, she'd have asked how that was freaking possible but she has something else in mind.

She opened the passenger's door and let him carry her in a bridal style walking to the gate, one of the boys pressed the button on the side, and slowly the gate opened.

Xinmei looked away and focused on get their stuff out of the car, when Blanche, Frankie and a teacher approached her "Wait, what happened to my sister?" Blanche asked.

Xinmei turned, barely sparing her a glance.

"Inside," she said, closing the car door. "She fainted because of stress, I think. The security guy took her in to rest."

Frankie turned to look at the retreating figure of the man carrying Blakely, but she said nothing.

The teacher let out a relieved breath. "I’ll check on her," she said. "In the meantime, the vice principal, the EASLD reps and the guide will take you inside.” She then turned and walked to a fair-skinned

woman standing near the entrance—a woman Xinmei hadn’t noticed earlier.

She wore an off-shoulder, sweetheart neckline Victorian-style dress, cinched at the waist, and her blonde hair was swept into a loose updo.

The teacher gestured to her and called out to the students, "Everyone, gather around!"

Xinmei adjusted her bags as the group formed a loose semi-circle.

"This is Evangeline," the teacher introduced. "She’s close with the owners and will be your guide. Please follow her instructions carefully. Do whatever she says, don't stray away, don't touch anything you shouldn't touch"

Some students exchanged quick glances, but no one said anything.

"You’ll be taken to your rooms to rest and change," the teacher continued. "We’ll discuss the tour later. I need to check on a sick student, so behave, alright?"

With that, she turned and left, the vice principal following behind her.

Xinmei sighed, tucking Blakely’s phone into her purse along with her own before picking up the suitcases.

Blakely’s in one hand. Hers in the other.

She ignored the difficulty to drag all at once, falling in line with the rest of the group as they followed Evangeline toward the entrance.