; to the golden guard ღ

Chapter Six

Apparently, Edric didn't run fast enough, because he ended up being late. So much for waking up early, huh?

With his head hung low, he made his way to Principal Bump's office to retrieve a tardy slip.

The silence of the room was only broken by the sound of Bump's pen scribbling against paper as Edric glanced around the office. His eyes shifted from picture frames, an odd-looking statue and eventually his own reflection in a crystal ball. His expression was blank; almost emotionless, aside from the way his perfectly plucked eyebrows ever so slightly furrowed into something that resembled a frown.

"Mr Blight,"

Edric's gaze turned to meet the Principal's, who had been patiently holding the slip out towards the boy for a few seconds longer than he should've needed to.

"Oh-" He took the slip from him and looked down at it briefly, "Thanks."

With a sheepish smile, he made eye contact with Bump again, "So... I'm guessing this is the part where you tell me you're gonna have to call my parents?"

"I'm afraid so,"

"Ughhh!" Edric groaned and tilted his head back, closing his eyes and gripping the paper tightly in frustration. He really couldn't afford to piss off his Mom again. When the anger was directed at both him and Emira, it was easier to deal with. When it was directed at him alone... He didn't want that—Not again.

"I understand your frustration, Edric. Really, I do," Bump offered an apologetic frown, "But you remember what I said last time... This can't keep happening."

"I know... I know!" The boy reached a hand up to rub his temple, "It's just... I honestly didn't mean to be late this time! I just lost track of time."

"Oh?" Bump raised an eyebrow, Edric took this as an indication to elaborate.

"I woke up really early this morning— Or, well... I couldn't sleep, so I was already awake. I didn't want to get to school too early, so I went to The Market instead. Time passed by fast, I guess."

The Principal watched as Edric shrugged and bit his lip, "Please don't call my parents," He began again, "Just let me off with another warning, in return I'll... Uh, I dunno... I'll help clean the classrooms after school."

Principal Bump sighed and shook his head, linking his hands together and resting them against the desk in front of him, "There's a lot of classrooms to clean, Mr Blight, you'd surely finish late. Won't your parents be worried about you returning later than usual?"

"Not really. They don't really care about me staying out late as long as I do my work and make our family look good." He froze when he realized he over-spilled a little bit, "Uh, I mean, they usually work very late too, so... Yeah. They probably won't notice my absence, anyway." He forced a smile.

Despite the look of concern on his face, it seemed that Principal Bump decided not to ask further questions, which Edric was grateful for.

"Very well. If you're that willing to give up your free time, I see no reason not to give you another chance."

Edric smiled again, genuinely this time.

"Just don't let it happen again, please. Now, hurry along." Bump waved him off and Edric stood up, taking his slip and leaving the office.