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Chapter 9

❖Anna❖

I slowly turn around, looking up in the eyes of my capturer.

Raphael looks down at me with questioning eyes. "I know I'm scaringly hot, but I've never had this sort of reaction before." I can only blink at him, my fear not yet completely gone.

"You should breath girly." Raphael says after a little while. "Purple isn't your colour."

I take a deep breath and look away. "Sorry, you scared me"
"Yes I noticed." Raphael answers, still looking at me. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I answer and start to walk away.
"No creepy guys following you?" Raphael asks while walking after me.
"Apart from you right now? No, no one is following me." Raphael snorts behind me and I turn around to face him. "First. I like that. Now I get what Gabe sees in you. E to sta lasciando andara via. Idiots."
I look at him, not understanding what he meant with that last part. But before I can ask, he speaks again. "Do you have a table free girly?" 
"There is on in the back. Go sit and I'll come to take your order in a little." I nod towards the table and then to the bar.
"Thanks girly."  Raphael walks towards the table, sending a wink to Christy when he passes her.
Christy sighs and gets a dreamy look in her eyes. I raise my eyebrows at her and she starts to giggle. "What? Even you must see how incredible good looking he is." Laughing I shake my head. "Only you Christy, only you."

❖Gabriel❖

Elliot tries to land a hit on me, but I'm to fast for him to even get close.
"Come on El, move faster."

After the 'talk' with Raphael and River, Raph disappears and I needed to blow off some steam. So I decided to start with Elliot's training.

"I'm trying." Elliot grunts and swings his fist towards me. Even though Ell is a fast learner, his movements are still to slow.
Mid swing, I catch his fist and pull it backwards. Elliot groans and with one more kick, he's laying on the ground. "Fottere." He mumbles closing his eyes for a second.

I grin down at him, "Take five." I say, walking towards the water bottles we took down with us.
I throw one over my shoulder towards Elliot and hear another groan coming from him.
"Maybe a heads up next time you're gonna throw something."
I snort and take a sip from my bottle. "As I said before, move faster."
Turning around to face Elliot, I see that he is already sitting up, glaring at me.
"No glaring, you're face might get stuck like that."
Elliot gets a mischieving glam in his eyes. "I would still look better then you." I laugh at him, ready to say something back, when the door opens.

"We need to talk." Raphael says as he enters the room.
"You came to apologize for your behaviour?" I ask while looking at him. He looks like he's been drinking. That usually doesn't mean anything good.
"Don't tell me you're drunk." I say and take a step closer.
"Cause we can't use that right now."
Behind me Elliot stands up from the ground, ready to jump in if needed.

"No to the first, maybe to the second," Raphael says, "but that is not why I'm here." 
"Then what do you want?" I drop my bottle to the side and look back at Raphael. "What is so important that you are willingly to come in here half drunk?"
"I saw Anna." Raphael says. Elliot eyes get a twinkle and I snort. "Good for you, was that all?"

I'm about to turn around and walk away when he starts talking again. "Something is wrong with her." 
I freeze in my tracks. Something is wrong? Did something happen to her?
What if someone saw us together or is following her. I decided to leave her alone, but was it the wrong decision?

"What do you mean?" Elliot is the first to react, as I turn back to face them.
"I was in the pub where Anna works," Raphael starts, "she was jumpy, watching the door as if she was expecting someone, or something."
"Maybe she was." I answer and get an eye roll from Raphael.
"That's the thing, no one came and she looked scared.
When I came in she froze and forgot to breath."
"Well you are scary." Elliot says and I snort. "You need to spend less time with the twins." I say to him. "They are starting to rob off on you."

"Guys!" Raphael comes in between. "I'm serious! But I guess you don't care."
I step closer to Raph, making him take a step back.
"You have no right to talk like that. Did you have to much to drink to remember what I told you last time?"
I push against Raphael shoulders and he stumbles backwards.
"Look at you, too drunk to keep standing. Get out of here and sober up! We can't use someone like this right now!"
Raphael turns around and walks off without another word.

"What now?" Elliot asks. I sigh and pick my bottle back up to take a sip.
"I'll go to the pub tomorrow, but for now," I look at Elliot with a smirk, "give me 50 push-ups." Elliot groans, and drops to the ground, starting his push-ups.

❖Anna❖

After I got the letter from my dad, I completely forgot that I had an exam today.
I'm sure I blew it. Not just because I couldn't remember anything I read before, but because I'm currently waiting outside of the principal's office.
No matter how old you are, it's still a scary place to be.
After a couple of minutes of waiting the door finally opens and an older woman stands in the door opening. Madam Dheal is your typical old principal; grey hair, small round glasses, always dressed in a head-to-toe matching outfit.
There are times where she resembles Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter books.
The only difference is that madam Dheal is always dressed in dark blue. I wonder if there are any other colours in her wardrobe.
"Miss Ward, do come in." Madam Dheal says and she steps aside, gesturing for me to enter.

Once I'm inside she closes the door and points towards a chair near her desk. "Please be seated." She says, making her way around the desk to sit on her own chair.
Once we're both sitting down she looks at me over the rim of her glasses.
"I am sure you know why I have asked you to come here today."
Without giving me time to answer she continues. "You are on of our 'special' students because you got in our college with a scholarship. That means that you are a smart lady miss Ward. But, I have noticed that your grades are starting to drop and that worries me." Madam Dheal takes a small sip from her teacup. She looks at me as if she is expecting me to say something, but as soon as I open my mouth, she goes on.
"You must understand that we have high expectations of our scholarship students. Bad grades do not fit in that expectation miss Ward."
I nod at her, showing that I understand this is going, though I'm getting a little nervous about what she might say next.

The scholarship I have covers most of the costs for my education. If I hadn't had this, I probably wouldn't be able to study here.
With the two jobs I have now, I make enough money for the rent, food and the usual costs. I am even able to save a little something.
But if the I might have to drop out of college...

"Don't worry." Madam Dheal says as if she is reading my mind, "We are not taking away your scholarship just yet. This is merely a warning. But I would listen to it very well miss Ward, because if your grades drop even more, we will take the scholarship back." She takes another sip from her tea and looks at me.

"I understand madam Dheal, and I will, do everything I can to get my grades back up. I've just had a difficult time the last few months, but I promise that it will get better."
Madam Dheal nods and puts her teacup back down. "That is all we are asking off you miss Ward."
She stands up and walks around her desk towards me, signalling that this conversation is over and that I have to stand up as well.
"I am glad we could have this lovely talk miss Ward. You know what we ask isn't that difficult, just study hard and give us some better grades, that's all we wish to see."
She opens the door for me and waits till I'm outside to say, "Now go on and makes us proud. Have a good day miss Ward."
And with that she closes the door right in my face before I have the time to even answer.

I sigh and look around the hall. Most students are already gone and the hallway is almost completely silence.
I get my stuff and start to make my way home.
There is barely time left to cook some dinner before I have to work in the pub, so I make some Mac and Cheese and get ready for work.