My Golden Life

Chapter 45

It was crazy to think that my first term at Worcestershire was coming to an end. I can undoubtedly say it was eventful, to say the least. Who knew boarding school could be so much fun. With classes finishing for the holidays, that, of course, meant the last jousting tournament of the term, and it was one that everyone had been looking forward to. I would have been excited as well, but knowing what Artie was planning afterward had me on edge. 

He was pushing way above his game, and I was super worried about what was going to happen as a result of his bold approach to Gwen. After school, as students began to fill the arena and take their seats, I was gazing around to find where Artie was situated, but I could spot him anywhere.

"Katie relax," assured Merida. "I'm sure everything will be fine. Artie is old enough to know what he's doing."

"That's the thing," I sighed. "He doesn't. He's going to make an absolute fool of himself in front of the entire school."

"It won't be that bad," Lucy said. She then pondered for a short moment before scratching her head. "Actually, it might, knowing how Gwen acts."

I groaned a little, rubbing my hand across my forehead. They weren't actually the words I wanted to hear to calm down my nerves. The thought of Artie getting his heart broken was scaring me, and I had every right to be. If there was one person who could rip your spirits to shreds, it would be Guinevere. 

My worrying thoughts were then put on hold when the tournament began, and it was as always a spectacular experience to watch. I would have put myself up to rechallenge Lancelot, but I don't think he would be happy if I humiliated him for the second time, so I just decided to sit back and watch other people try their luck at it. 

Every now and then, I would scan the crowd to locate Artie, but I wasn't able to spot him, that is until the tournament ended. People were congratulating the winner (which surprisingly wasn't Lancelot.) on the arena field when I spotted him a few metres away from where Gwen was. She was busy talking and giggling away with Lancelot. Artie was twiddling his thumbs, and the look on his face said it all. He was a bundle of nerves.

"Guys, I found him," I said, pointing him out.

"That's good," Isabel said. "Maybe you can try one last attempt to stop him from going through with his crazy plan."

"I-I don't think you will be able to," Lucy uttered.

"Why?" I asked.

"He's walking up to her now."

The rest of us looked on in shock as Artie shuffled his way through the crowd and made his way over to Gwen. It was almost too painful to watch. I say 'almost' because I did actually want to see what was going to happen, and as I expected, it didn't go well at all. I was still seated up on the bleachers, so I didn't know what was being said between Gwen and Artie. However, from the disgusted look on her face and from Lancelot laughing hysterically, I knew Artie's plan had utterly flopped.

"Hey everybody," Lancelot cried out, causing everyone to turn and see what was going on. "Artie over here just asked Guinevere to the Winter Ball. How sad is that."

It wasn't long before people started to roar with laughter. I could see Artie's face growing sadder by the second.

"Eww, why would I go to the ball with a loser like you?" Gwen snapped. "I don't hang around with low lives such as yourself."

The laughter around me grew louder, and I was getting more and more outraged by what was happening. No one seemed to care about Artie one bit, even the teachers were joining in with all the madness.

"Looks like you'll be on your own for another Christmas again dork." Lancelot chuckled.

I watched as Artie turned and pushed through the crowd and out of the arena, being laughed and mocked at as he went. I seriously felt tears in my eyes as I watched him leave, it truly broke my heart, seeing what had just taken place. Once he had gone, everyone went back to what they were previously doing, talking amongst themselves or slowly heading back to the dorms.

"Well," Lucy began. "I don't want to say I saw that coming, but..."

"He never gets a break," Isabel sighed." "I mean, did he honestly think that she was going to say yes?"

"I'm going to go look for him," I stated, grabbing my bag.

"Do you know where you'll find him?" Merida asked.

I nodded. "I think so. I'll see you guys later, yea?"

"Ok," they all said at once.

"Remember, we're helping each other with our dresses this evening," Isabel called out to me as I headed down the steps.

"Yea, I know. I'll be there, don't worry," I yelled back to them. 

Once I had walked out of the arena, I pondered on where Artie could be. There were so many spots he liked to go to be on his own, besides the secret area in the woods. One place then came into mind. It was worth a shot, so I hurried down the path to where I needed to go. I just hoped that he was going to be there.