The Academy

Chapter 5

Alicia's POV

I was seething mad when Nicola dismissed me and left the lunch hall. I abruptly stood up and headed to my usual lunch table. I ignored the stares from the onlookers. I sat down and disregarded my friends' questioning gazes. After a while,they realized I wasn't going to speak about it so they fell back into their usual conversations. I felt glares on the left side of my face. I peeked in that direction to see Tamsin sending me death stares. Ugh! She's not going to shut up about this when we get home. Yasmine noticed Tasmin glaring so she gave me a comforting smile and gently rubbed my arm. I gave her back a soft smile. Astrid must've noticed my dismay because she leaned her head on my shoulder. I smiled back as I rested my head on top of hers.

X

I entered my house and made a beeline for the kitchen. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gemma sitting on the island. She was swaying her legs back and forth while eating strawberries. Zara was seated on a barstool while scrolling through her phone. I grabbed one of our chef's prepared smoothies before shutting the refrigerator door. As I turned around to head upstairs, the devil incarnate advanced in my direction.

"What the hell happened at school today?!" Tamsin raised her voice. I rolled my eyes at her while sipping my smoothie. "You embarrassed our entire family!"

"And how did I do that?"

"She dismissed you, a McAllister. That nobody is gaining popularity! She's the poster child of not conforming to OUR status! She'll start an uprising and soon usurp our power!"

"Yeeeeah, we're not in the Middle Ages anymore, so you don't have to worry about her assassinating you in your sleep." I snarked.

"She'll take over!"

"With what army?" I humored her.

"The point is that she disrespected a member of our family and has no remorse. We are the most powerful family at that school and she doesn't care! In fact, she walked all over you and you didn't do anything!" Tamsin nudged me with her finger.

"And what did you want me to do?"

"PUT HER IN HER PLACE!" Her nostrils flared. I'm sure if it was possible, steam would be exiting her ears since her face was redder than a tomato. "That's it! I'm going to find out who her sponsor is and force them to rescind her scholarship. I'm kicking her out! And if it's one of us, then we'll no longer support her finances!"

"I think you're being a bit dramatic." I narrowed my eyes at her.

"WHAT-"

"Will you SHUT UP!" Zara entered the argument. "Just leave her alone. It's not like it was you who was embarrassed. Why don't you go and run along to Laurens so that you can plan your glamorous wedding." Zara plastered on an obviously fake smile. Tamsin huffed before stalking out.

"Thanks." I directed at Zara.

"Don't thank me yet. This is entirely your fault. You need to fix it and give us our reputation back." She exited with an attitude. I groaned and rolled my eyes all together.

"Strawberry?" Gemma sweetly asked while holding one. I groaned and headed for my room. The first thing that caught my eye when I entered my room was my tennis racket. I grabbed it and walked to our private tennis court. I saw a few canteens of tennis balls. I set them up at various locations on the court. I then grabbed a couple of balls. I bounced the first one a few times before striking it at the closest canteen. I continued serving until I knocked over every canteen.

"Well damn. You didn't miss a shot." I glanced to my left to see Yasmine and Astrid. Astrid picked up the nearest canteen and traced the outline of the dent I made in it. "Were you imagining the canteen as Tamsin or Nicola's head." Yasmine chuckled. I rolled my eyes at her before heading over to my friends. Astrid popped the canteen back to its natural figure. She smiled and then handed it to me. "What did Tamsin say?" My groan caused Yasmine and Astrid to laugh.

"That I basically humiliated my entire family and brought shame upon them."

"Did my Asianess rub off on her?" Astrid joked.

"Maybe." I smiled. "Zara also said that I need to restore my family's reputation since it's damaged."

"In all honesty, that scene spread through the entire school like wildfire. Guess your family is no longer above reproach." Yasmine smirked.

"Am I supposed to care?"

"You know you do." Astrid teased. I rolled my eyes since she knew me so well.

"Tamsin also threatened to remove Nicola from the school, but I stopped her."

"She was really that mad?" I nodded my head at Yasmine.

"Well, I don't know how you're going to restore honor back to your family-"

"Okay, Zuko." I interrupted Astrid.

"Buuuuuuuuuut, can we get sushi? I mean... you have to treat us since Yasmine and I bore that terrible traffic to find out if you needed anything and to comfort you if needed." She gave me puppy dog eyes.

"Sushi it is."