Puppet Under Strings (unOrdinary)

Episode 13

He bit his lip. "Fine. If that's what the Queen desires."

"Good." I could hear taps on the ground and her leaving. "Oh, and by the way, I'm not Queen anymore, so you can stop with that royal charade."

I tried to run from the scene, but got caught by Vanessa walking up the corner. 

Shit.

"Oh, it's you." she said with a more gentle tone. "The boy from earlier, right? Sorry about that. I didn't mean to get so worked up. It just came up from within, I guess..."

"Uh..."

Neither of us knew what to say. Welp. This is awkward.

"You're a freshman, right?" she finally said something.

"Yeah." I replied. "I'm William. William Doe."

"Vanessa. Though you've probably already heard who I am. Since I'm Queen and all. Or was." I could see her smile turn into a sad frown. She quickly perked up though. "I'm Headmaster Fotia's daughter. I know you might think that he's a bit scary at first, but you'll see that he's a good guy. He has good intentions. I think."

"You..think?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure. He's one of the strongest people I know and holds a lot of authority. Yet, he's never done anything about the academy. The low tiers and the mid tiers, I mean. They're always getting bullied and beaten down by stupid elites. I try to help whenever I have free blocks, but can't always deal with it because I have class most of the time." Vanessa explained. "I hate everything about the hierarchy." she muttered under her breath.

Well. That's not something you see everyday.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to say that out loud." she quickly apologized. "I really need to cool off. Geez, how embarrassing. Here I am, overreacting as usual."

"I don't think you're overreacting." I said. "I've been a cripple for all my life, so I understand. It sucks to be at the bottom. You feel helpless, scared, and honestly that's it. Even though I can fight hand-to-hand, it still hurts to be in the infirmary."

Vanessa looked at me in awe. Whoops. I got carried away. She chuckled.

"Huh? Why're you laughing at me? Wait. Don't tell me you were joking about all that!"

"No, that's not it. It's just that, I've never had someone who's actually taken my side before. Usually after hearing something like that, most people just call me a delusional little girl who hasn't seen life yet. 'You're making such a big deal about it.' 'Why are you like this?' 'Don't think too much of it. You're a high tier, aren't you? Be grateful that you were born powerful.' These were words that people have all said to me. Even Leroy and the Royals think I'm crazy." she turned to me. "But, you're the only one who gets it. You get me. I really like that about you."

I could see a tint of red from her cheeks and a soft smile.

"Could we perhaps be friends? I really think that you could help the school become a safer environment." she suddenly asked.

"Uh, me? Really? You want to become friends with a low tier?"

"Well, yeah! You seem really nice. And you're certainly easier to talk to. With Blueberry and the other Royals around, the atmosphere is so tight. You have to be formal all the time."

I laughed. "Pfft! Blueberry? Is that what you call Your Majesty?"

"If the crown fits." she joked.

DRRRRRR.

Oh my god. What time is it. I looked at a clock on the wall. Shit.

"Ah, it's 1:30." Vanessa stated. "Well, good thing I have a free period next. How about you?"

"AHHHHH." I put my hands on my head, freaking out. I'm so dead. "Sorry, Vanessa. I have to go. I still got my physics class next. Could we talk later?"

"Sure! Let's meet at Anastasia's tomorrow after school for lunch, okay? It'll be my treat!" she waved.

"If you're okay with it. Okay, gotta go!" I quickly rushed to my next class.

Jesus. 

Does the physics room have to be on the third floor at the end of the hall?!

~~~Flashback End~~~

Seraphina's POV

"And that was our first meeting." William concluded.

Volcan was a high tier who thought low tiers and mid tiers were treated harshly? Interesting.

"So she wasn't all that cruel..." I said my thoughts out loud.

He turned his head and looked away, his smile disappearing.

"No. She was kind. At the time, I thought she was the kindest girl in the world. I seriously thought that no one would ever care about us low tiers. They would always view us as someone who got in the way or simply a nuisance. It was frustrating. But she showed me that there was actually someone who was worth something."

Worth. 

I turned to look over at John, who was listening quite intently to William's story. As much as I hate it, I can see the Volcan inside of him. And it wasn't their looks that made them similar. It was their opinions and beliefs.

"The stronger person isn't always right, you know! To have to use force to back up your claim..." John's words echoed in my head. "It's so pathetic!"

"They're always getting bullied and beaten down by stupid elites." I also reflected on Volcan's past self and her own words. "I hate everything about the hierarchy..."

I sighed. Even I can see William acting a bit like John when mentioning that word. Worth.

"That doesn't seem that bad." I finally heard John talk. Took him long enough. "You made a high tier friend as a freshman. That's a huge accomplishment. And she seems pretty chill, too. So how has her personality changed? From what Sera and I have seen, she's completely cruel and ruthless. So how did things escalate to that point?"

William turned his head to the side, frowning.

"Things weren't supposed to get so complicated. But when Vanessa took things too far..."

"I had to step in..."

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