Royal Ever After

chapter nine

I don't know how to react. This better not be another prank, because I've had enough of those in my life already. It pains me to have to put a pause on mine and Sander's lovely hangout, but I'd rather not think about how much my cousin would rage if I ghosted him. Right away, when I enter the room, I can sense something is wrong. Maybe it's the solemn look on their faces, or it might just be my imagination distorting my perception. I'm the last one to arrive, joining Juliano, Cyrus, Marvin and Kaiden.

"Finally, you're all here," Juliano is the first one to speak. "We are in kind of a dire situation," he winces.

"What did Peyton say? I swear I'll murder him if he ratted me out," Kaiden curses under his breath, but loud enough for the rest of us to hear.

"The good news is he hasn't said anything... yet. But he's demanding we find some sort of solution for him to not get expelled. Or else he'll tell on us."

"Are you kidding me? Does he even care about the Force at all?" Kaiden huffs, forcefully slamming his fist against the wall. Fumes rise from his cheeks like he's a riled-up bull ready for battle.

"Well, we have no choice. Either we figure something out, or all go down together," Marvin sighs.

"Okay, so then what are we supposed to tell him?" I ask while frantically biting on my fingernails. Anxiety really brings out the worst habits in me, but chewing on something is my coping mechanism. Although it may not seem like it to them, I'm freaking out right now. I can't afford any more drama. Last year was crazy enough as it was, and any more slander against my name will completely tarnish my reputation. 

"We could blame it on someone," Kaiden suggests. "That way our hands will be scot-free."

"Hmm, but how would we make it sound convincing? It's not like they'll just randomly believe us without a valid explanation," I reason.

"Sander," Juliano says all of a sudden. "We could blame it on him. Think about it, he's a non-boarder, and he was also technically the guy who gave us the drugs, to begin with."

"Wait, what? You're lying!" I shout in disbelief. How could he do something that idiotic? I will not let them spread these incredulous fallacies about him. 

"It's true," Cyrus nods. "He was the one that sold them to us, at a hefty price too." No, no, no. This can't be. They must be confusing him with someone else. I refuse to believe that my sweet, little, innocent, Sander was capable of doing something that absurd. Was this really true? 

"It's a solid idea. We could use Sander as our scapegoat until someone else comes up with a better solution," Kaiden says in agreement. I can't believe him. I can't believe any of them right now. They are not who I thought they were. How could they throw him under the bus like that and feel no guilt? Juliano is staring at me as if he's waiting for me to speak, but when I don't, he smirks and opens his mouth instead.

"He seriously didn't tell you? I thought you guys were like really close or something. It's odd how he kept that a secret..."

"Just stop talking," I cry, storming away. 

"Nicolas, wait! We aren't done!" Juliano yells after me but his voice fades away, as I'm long gone. I'm not coming back. I can't deal with this. Why can't I get a break from all this chaos? Why me? I never asked to be involved in such catastrophic situations. Yet it always seems like bad luck trails me around, wherever I go. I need time to process this information. I'll have to confront Sander eventually, since I need to find out the truth. But I need to calm down first. 

I run back to my dorm and hurl myself onto the bed. Sander is the last person I would have imagined to be selling drugs. Maybe he's not as innocent as I thought. This triggers a thread of unsettling thoughts, which creep up to the front of my mind. What else don't I know about him? What else is he hiding from me? I go about the rest of my evening in silence, alone. Fortunately, there's only a few more hours until my bedtime. I busy my mind with the homework that I've been putting off, and then slump into an unnerving sleep. I want to scream, but my voice is gone. I want to cry, but my eyes are dry. I can't fall asleep. There are too many nightmares playing in my head. I don't want to wake up tomorrow. I don't want to face another day.