Heiress in Distress

•Chapter 18•

"I mean.. I'm a grown up now, and I can manage on my own.
All my life, my whole family had a role in serving your family; my mother doing the chores, my father helping out sometimes, Aurick driving, and Adam being the devoted gardener.
And then there's me. The little prince who did nothing to help his family, but thrive in the life of luxury," He says, poking the top of his drink with the straw.

"My mother deconstructed the bridge to self-reliance with the wrecking ball that is her pampering. I don't feel 17 anymore" He finishes with a sigh, his chin resting on his hand as he twirls a french fry in the mound of ketchup on his tray.

He tosses the ketchup-capped french fry into his mouth, "It's exactly why I have been adamant on moving out for high school, demanding to stay at a dormitory, where I can cook for myself, do my own laundry, and just... breathe" He says with a mouthful.

The way Armin speaks about his mother stirs up a series of emotions that manifest in continuous poking in my chest, difficulty in swallowing, and a distant prickle in my eyes.

Does he have any idea how lucky he is?

"The monotony in this school lengthens the academic year; an iota of drama to spice things up would suffice for a good distraction," Armin comments with a wrinkled nose, pretending to yawn.
The fact that he's trying to cover up isn't lost on me, so I pretend his rant doesn't affect me the way it did as I plaster my 'I'm listening' smile on my face.

I mean, I did plan to smile, but since yawning is contagious, my jaw involuntarily splits on a yawn too -a real one.
Armin laughs in response, leaning forward on the table.

There's a stretch of silence as I take a bite of my sandwich, scrolling through my phone with my other hand -a typical moment during recess.
The raucous cafeteria tunes out the tapping on my phone as I shoot Joe a text, asking where she is.

She doesn't text back, so I lock my phone and place it on the table, deciding to focus on my meal.
My hair loss issue takes the game to a new level, I realise, as I pull the sandwich away from my mouth, slightly nauseated at the sight of my blonde hair in the layers of the sandwich I prepared this morning. Gross.

With difficulty, I swallow the bite I was chewing before plucking the hair out of the soundwich and wrapping it back up, deciding I'm full.
Something catches my attention from a distance, which turns out to be someone once I lift my head up -Joe.

She's standing in the line for lunch, waving her phone at me, and a few seconds later, my phone's screen lights up with a ding.

~Joe: Drew is waiting for me outside; you wanna come and meet him ?~

Drew, her fiancé. A smile creeps onto my face at the endeavour to commitment.
Instead of replying, I look at her and nod, to which she gives me a smile and a head cock towards the cafeteria exit.

I pack my unfinished sandwich with the intention to give it to the homeless man across the street from our school.
My mom taught me to never throw away food unless it's spoiled, because somewhere, someone else is looking for a meal among spoiled food -sometimes in the garbage.

Armin pushes back from his position on the table, looking at me with a frown, "Where are you going ?"

It occurs to me at that second that he thinks I don't want to sit with him because of his complaints about his parents not giving him the space he needs. In spite of his inconvenient rant, I can't bring myself to judge him.

So, I plaster a genuine smile, "To meet Joe's fiancé, I'll be back in a bit"

"Alright, I'll meet you in the parking lot by dismissal" He says, checking the time display on his phone.
Since Armin is a Junior, we only meet pre or post school stint and of course in recess.

On my way to the cafeteria exit, I spot Armin walking to the table where his group of computer geeks are sitting, at the very back of the cafeteria.
If this is where Armin sat for lunch everyday, then I'm not surprised I haven't seen him here before.

With the not so pleasant memory of my slipping and almost falling a few weeks ago, I tread carefully in my wedge heels against the spotless marble floors of the school's hallways, deciding to meet Joe by the gates.

But when I spot the homeless man dressed in rags napping against a lamppost, I immediately cross the street over, retrieving the unfinished sandwich and the pudding I know I won't be able to stomach knowing that it could be the last proper meal this man might have, from my bag.

Kneeling next to him, I place the food on his lap, watching as he stirs slightly before looking up at me.
At the sight of the mixture of obscure emotions swirling in the haze of sleep, I immediately stand up and cross the street back to the gates, with my eyes glued to the floor, unable to say or do anything with the recent picture of the man's eyes glued to my mind.

"Mira" A familiar voice calls. I whip my head so fast in the direction of the voice that something in my neck strains.
The pain splits all the way to my head and towards my ear, forcing me to turn my head back immediately, before even getting the chance to see who's calling.

I'm nursing my seemingly sprained neck when the sound of Joe's heels clicking grow closer, and she swings her arm around my shoulder, "Eager much aren't we ?"

"Thought I'd meet you by the gates" I say, wincing at the growing pain in my neck.

Joe loses her playful smile and frowns in assessment of my features,
"What's wrong ?"

"I think I-"

"Sir Elias" She acknowledges, eyes wide as she stares straight ahead.

Her acknowledgement causes my head to whip around once again, only to be met with the same force of pain, which makes me involuntarily shut my eyes with a grunt, teeth gritting at the ruthless throbbing.

••••

I'm sorry it took me a while to get this out but yeah, I've been attacked by one of the many obstacles that hinder my desire to write.
Anyhow, what do you guys think of this chapter ?
What do you think of the riddle answer ? Does it seem plausible?
Rate its difficulty level if you might (=

Oh and next chapter is gonna be the first taste of real drama so buckle up! ♥️

-Asia