Chapter 43 LET'S BREAK UP.
SLOANE'S POINT OF VIEW.
I stared at the email on my phone with trepidation.
SLOANE BISHOP, You are expected to be at the office of the principal the moment you see this email. Default attracts a sanction.
It was vague, but enough to send me spiraling, as my mind played different images.....what could this be about?
The bell rang, signaling the end of Literature class, and I got up on shaky legs.
Heading out the door, the voice of someone calling my name stops me in my tracks. Turning around, I grip onto the strap of my bag with tight fingers and clutched my books to my chest as my glasses slipped from my face slightly. I was sweating so much, my palms shook with the force of my tension.
"Sloane, dear, come here. I have something to tell you about." The literature teacher, Ms Vale, said, and I walked to her plush desk with feigned control.
"Yes, Ma'am," I answered and stopped in front of her desk.
She looks up at me with a warm smile, as her eyes shone with something I could not decipher yet. She hands me a paper, with the same smile on her face, and says;
"This is a script that the literature club will be organizing in the next two to three weeks. And since you're the club's president, I have decided that you will be the lead for this project. Study it, and rehearsal starts tomorrow at four in the evening."
My eyes run over the script, even though the lines barely registered in my troubled mind, before I look up at her. With a strained smile on my face, I nodded and turned to walk out. My tongue felt tied, as fear gripped me like a vice.
"Sloane, wait!" She called, stopping me in my tracks again.
"Yes?"
"Are you okay? You don't look so good." She said, walking over to me, as her eyes shone with worry.
"I'm fine," I said, my voice sounding high-pitched, as I placed a fake smile on my face.
She shook her head slightly, her eyes sweeping over me as she pursed her lips. "That's a lie. I don't think so. You know what? Come here, let's talk." She says, pulling me along, but the fear of facing whatever punishment the principal included in the mail gripped me, so I shook my head and gently placed her hand away from my arm.
"I need to leave now, Ms Vale. Maybe next time." I said, and walked out of the classroom speedily, the fear of having to wait behind for one more second too much.
In no time, I made it to the door of his office. The memory of the last time I'd been in here flashed through my mind as I gripped the door handle tight. The cold steel against my hot skin sent another wave of fear and panic, as Lucien's absence from school today dawned on me.
He had said his father needed him for work, so he couldn't be in school today. The horsemen weren't here either. All of a sudden, I felt truly alone; the strength Lucien provided was no longer on my side, as I stood on shaky legs.
With a deep breath, I knocked on the door and waited for a response. A large part of me wished there would be no one on the other side, and I could easily slip away to face this another day. But luck wasn't on my side, because the voice called from within;
"Come in."
I pushed the door open and walked into the office. It still smelled like leather and luxury, as Principal Whitley's eyes focused on his laptop. His AirPods were in his ears, as he listened with rapt attention to whatever was on the laptop.
Clearing my throat loudly, I paused with the feel of my heart in my throat and waited for him to acknowledge me. He looked up at the sound of my throat clearing, as his eyes swept over me with disapproval.
His lips thinned as he directed me to take a seat. I plopped on the leather seat before him and gripped the seat with my clenched hands.
He turned the laptop away from him, after nodding to whoever was on the screen, and looked at them with sharp eyes;
"Miss Bishop." He started, spitting my name like it was a bother, "This school was built on one thing, and its legacy. The legacy of the founding fathers who created an elite ground for learning and development for their kind. It is a place of prestige, of honor, and the current fathers have decided to extend a hand of support and kindness to the less privileged of our society, by giving them a chance to learn at the feet of the very best teachers and scholars this world has ever seen. It is not a place for scandal, games, and foolish tricks people of your kind have pulled." He said, walking around the office with slow steps.
His words slammed into me with a force sure to leave nothing in its wake, as shame and worry swallowed me whole.
Scandal.
My stomach twisted and coiled inside me. I didn’t need him to spell it out; I knew exactly what he referred to.
My mother’s break in and melt down at prom, I knew the incident wouldn't stay under wraps. Everyone there had witnessed it firsthand, and now, even though Lucien warned them all not to spread the news, it had gotten to the principal's desk.
Principal Whitley steepled his fingers, his gaze sharp and cold as he pinned me with his harsh stare. “Your mother’s… outburst has caused irreparable damage to the image of Ravenscroft Academy. It reflects poorly not only on you, but on the institution itself.”
My throat closed tight. “I-I didn’t-”
“You,” he cut in immediately, forcing my words down my throat, “were admitted into this school on scholarship. That is a privilege. Not a right. And privileges can be revoked.”
My pulse pounded in my ears as I mused over his words. He didn’t have to say it outright for me to hear the threat.
But before I could even process it, the voice I dreaded most joined in.
Expulsion is the least of her worries.”
Eldric Ravenscroft’s voice slid through the room, deep and commanding. The laptop was turned to me, and the video screen on the principal’s desk flickered, and there he was: Lucien’s father, towering through pixels, with his sharp cheekbones, silver-threaded dark hair, and eyes that were grey and piercing, forcing me to sit up subconsciously.
“You’ve shamed my family, girl,” Eldric said, every syllable deliberate as he pinned me with a stare that said I was nothing but gum beneath his designer shoes. “Dragging the filth that is your pathetic mother into a place that was never meant for people like you, staining the prestige that this school was built on and maintained by. What do you think this is, girl?” He said, spitting out the word 'girl' like it was acid in his mouth, as his lips curled in a vicious snarl.
My lungs burned, as my body fought for air, but I didn't know how to breathe again, his stare was too cold, too direct, too strong for me to even remember I was human, as my body coiled tight with tension, and fear..
Eldric leaned forward, the screen capturing the cruel curve and sneer of his mouth. “Do you know what you are? Unstable stock. A bad influence. A blemish on the Ravenscroft name. And my son is parading you around as if you’re worthy.” He said, before leaning back in his seat, "You were given a chance to make something of your youth by being admitted into this school, but you have messed up by thinking you were ever one of us...you will always be the runt of the litter, especially because your kind is meant to serve us. You do as we say, and you ask no questions about it. But I see you have aimed high by sinking your claws into my son like a cheap whore."
His words slapped me across the face viciously, as I clenched tighter on my seat.
"I know it was you in my house yesterday, parading yourself like a whore for a few bucks, but I'll do you one better. It's a chance to be out of this place once and for all."