I can't say I do without you

Scholar

Lincoln then said something that encouraged me. I waited for Prince Augustus to enter his private room before heading to our meeting place.

I waved my hands so that Felipe and the others could see me rushing towards them. I was exhausted; thus, when I reached them, I sat down on the floor and clutched my knees, gasping for air.

As he offered his hand to help me get up, Elias said, "We told you, you didn't have to come inside."

"We're talking about saving the music club. I don't want to sit around doing nothing."

"Because you're the only woman in Borstal, it's risky to enter the scholar's building," Felipe added.

"Don't fret. I used to be Amarillo's school president; I know what I'm doing." I answered boldly, without letting on that I was terrified.

"Janus will be with you; you can't part with him." Felipe held Janus's shoulder.

"Hey, guys. Tal just texted me, Let's walk to the back of the building now that the guard has left. Tal's waiting for us." Jonah stated.

The five of us went to the back of the building Tal had texted us about. He unlocked the gate, and we entered one by one. Tal went first to show us the way, but instead of leading us to the cafeteria, he brought us to a room packed with students, which astonished the five of us.

"You don't have to distribute fliers or make a speech to persuade other scholars to join us. I was able to complete this task thanks to the help of my pals. "Tal pointed towards the three men standing on the side. "I've found several people that want to join."

"T-Tal..."

"This is the list," Tal said, holding out a piece of paper with the names of individuals who had joined the music club. "It's a lot more than we need,"

I was so ecstatic about the efforts that I couldn't help but throw myself around Tal; we nearly toppled by doing so.

Felipe, Janus, Jonah, and Elias all messed with him and even patted his head. "This is more than we expected. Good job, kid."

"You enjoy your time with them for a while. It's almost time for my class." Tal said as he stepped out the door.

I nodded. We had a good time and got to know each other, sharing each other's talents. Who would have guessed that these two groups were in conflict?

But it's just for a brief time; we thought we had come up with a solution until one man walked in and couldn't utter whatever he was going to say anymore due to shortness of breath. The man then finally said that someone yanked Tal out of his room and beat him to a pulp in front of everyone. He hadn't said everything he was going to say. I dashed off to Tal. I had no idea where I was going, yet I ran as though I knew this building. By following the voices of kids who were yelling, I found where Tal was. There were a bunch of students. To get ahead, I had to huddle with the students—a man brandishing a bat and smirking like a psychopath while Tal lay weakly on the floor.

"I don't mind whether you joined their useless club; I just don't want you to help them enter this building, you f***ing faggot. You're embarrassing not only yourself but the entire scholar community. So die TRAITOR!"

"Don't even think of hitting him with a bat again!" I stepped in before he struck Tal with the bat. "Beating innocent people does not make you cool; you should be ashamed of yourselves."

The man snorted.

I went down a little to see how Tal was doing. "I got you, Tal."

"Y-you need to get out of here, and I'll be right there with you." Tal feigned a chuckle even though blood was practically coming out of his lips. "I h--had to do something f--first."