𝐇𝐄'𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄

ᴇɴᴛʀʏ #35 | ʙᴜʀɴᴛ

035 | Burnt

After (Y/N), Kana, and Amar had left back to their respective classes and Roselle had been taken home by a very angered father, Mr. Orval let out a sigh as soon as the door to his office closed and he was alone again. Never in his life did he imagine he would be put into a situation where he had to engage with a psychotic student, yet every day was full of new surprises as he found out. Rubbing the bridge of his nose in exasperation, he only wanted to sigh once more when the door was slammed open with no care whatsoever.

He knew who it was.

He just really wished he wasn't right.

"What the actual hell!?" Nicolai slammed his hands down onto the wooden desk as he glared down at the man, feeling no fear or respect at all to the one he called 'father.' "What was that shitty announcement!? Why did you call (Y/N) here!?"

"(Y/N)?" At that, Mr. Orval looked up, confused by his son's sudden erratic behavior.

"Yeah, why the hell was she called!?"

"It had something to do with a harassment and blackmail incident with another student," he raised a brow as he continued to search Nicolai's gaze. "Why you feel that that concerns you though is beyond me. So. is that all you came to talk about? Why (Y/N) was called to my office?"

"Was it her?" He asked lowly, his eyes then dropping to the ground at Mr. Orval's questions.

"Excuse me?"

"Was she the one fucking targeted!?" He seethed in a display of rage, throwing his hands up as if Mr. Orval should have immediately known what he was talking about. "Was someone fucking harassing her!?"

"No..." his eyes narrowed in distaste at his son's behavior. "She was merely a crucial witness."

"That's all you had to fucking say," Nicolai scowled before walking out and slamming the door once more shut behind him.

Mr. Orval propped his elbows up on the desk and leaned forward with his fingers laced together. He stared at the spot where his son had been standing just moments earlier, his lips twitching into a frown. Even though Nicolai had gotten upset with many things over the years, never was it about someone else, and never was it about a random girl. Then again, (Y/N) wasn't random. He recognized her as a student at Florens, while also being the one who was working at his house on a group project.

I wonder what it is about her?

I really do, because...

Not just anyone can make Nicolai react so violently like that.

And especially to me.

I never tolerate this kind of behavior, but while at school, it's different since there's a public image that we must maintain.

But I wonder...

As Mr. Orval's intrigue in (Y/N), her situation, and how she impacted his son grew, said girl trudged through her day with little effort and with almost nothing else worthwhile happening. She avoided Valen, she chatted with Silvius, she briefly went over plans to return to Jian's and Nicolai's house with them to work more on their project, and she rejoiced with her friend group now that Roselle was gone.

But for some reason, she felt drained.

When the last bell finally rang, she wished she could have just gone home, but when walking out of the building, Jian caught sight of her. He was leaning against the hood of his car where Nicolai was already inside, gesturing for her to hurry up. Trying to mask her tired expression with a smile, she thanked the boy when he opened the door for her slid in her seat, then sandwiched between him and Nicolai when he too got in the car.

As their driver turned out of the school lot, Nicolai then said, "What was up with today?"

"Huh?" She glanced at him, puzzled.

"Why the hell were you called by the old man?" He questioned once more, his arms crossed over his chest and his lips downturned into a scowl. "I heard it was something about harassment from another student. Is that true?"

Jian's eyes widened at that, his hand protectively settling on (Y/N)'s shoulders as he too asked with concern, "Who the hell was it?"

"Nothing physical was directed toward me," she waved off his worries before turning to Nicolai. "And yes, that's true. The person who inflicted everything on my friends is now expelled, though."

"Good," he huffed as he leaned back and closed his eyes. "My shitty old man did something right for once."

She sighed.

Yep... his hatred for his father is very clear.

Pulling up toward the boys' grand house, (Y/N) trying not to gawk at it again, they descended into the den where they got to work on their assignment immediately, having to put some finishing touches on it before having to present it the next day. Unfortunately, just as they were wrapping up, Mr. Orval entered the space with his hand loosening his tie and the other in his pocket as he gazed at the teens.

"Good evening, Mr. Orval," she and Jian greeted respectfully while Nicolai just scoffed.

The fact made Mr. Orval's eyes narrow, however he brushed his feelings of aggravation off as he smiled at the two and said, "Yes, hello. I'm surprised you're still working on that project. It's already after six, you know?"

"What!?" (Y/N)'s eyes widened in alarm before digging through her backpack and wincing, the screen displaying many missed calls from Amar and Shreya.

"Is everything okay?" Mr. Orval tilted his head.

"Y-Yeah, I just need to make a phone call real quick," she hurried out of the room as she dialed Shreya's number, praying to anyone above that the woman wasn't angry with her.

Finally, she picked up.

"Hel—"

"(Y/N)!" Shreya screamed into the phone with pure vexation and worry. "Where have you been!? Amar and I have been calling you for hours since you didn't pick up and you didn't come home on time! Are you okay!?"

"I'm fine, Miss Shreya," she sighed as a wave of guilt crashed over her, leaning against a nearby wall. "I made plans to work on a project after school at a friend's house. I'm so sorry I forgot to inform you."

Talking with the woman and trying to calm her down, (Y/N) didn't notice Mr. Orval creeping close to where she was having her conversation.

Nor did she notice him take a picture of her.

__________________________________

To be continued...