The day after the sports festival, something changed.
Before class began, Tulip, Iris, and I were chatting amongst ourselves as usual. But from the corner of my eye, I saw that Angel was surrounded by a few girls. This wasn't abnormal—girls usually always surrounded him. However, I could hear them making a ruckus.
It was no secret that they all would've been extremely concerned after yesterday's events. After all, the girl who had pushed Angel was part of their friend group. They all exclaimed how awful they felt about the whole situation, but it all came off as so fake.
I could tell he was bothered by this. Assuming that he had had enough of their petty concern, he swiftly stood up from his seat. The classroom went silent. Angel calmly made his way to the back of the room, where the three of us were, and sat down with us.
"You're Iris and Tulip, correct?" He smiled.
The two of them, with their mouths agape, looked at one another as if to say: is this actually happening? They both smiled and nodded, immediately conversing with Angel. I couldn't help but smile as well. He had taken my advice after all. All of the other girls just gave us dirty looks but I paid no mind to them.
During lunch, I introduced him to Poppy, who nearly fainted just by being in the same room as him. I made the assumption that she might just see Angel as some sort of idol.
Nevertheless, it seemed as though we had established a new friend group. Never in a billion years would I have thought of Angel as my friend. Slowly but surely, he was growing on me.
°°°
As I was on my way to the biology club, I came upon the bulletin board of school events located in one of the many hallways. Aloud I read, "The Academy presents... prestigious musician... concert of Angel Lunacrest."
I stopped at his name. He was having his own concert. I remembered someone had mentioned that Angel played the violin, but why hadn't I heard of this performance?
Angel obviously wasn't someone who would tell me anything that went on in his day-to-day life, but still, I considered us friends. No one had brought it up either. I wasn't sure why I was so fixated on this. Just something about getting to see him play in a professional setting was awe-inspiring. That much I would admit.
I paid little to no attention to what had gone on in the club meeting. Iris and Tulip would fill me in on the details later, anyway.
When I got back to my room, I found it empty. Angel was more than likely practicing his violin. I wondered what his sound was like. For some strange reason, I couldn't seem to get him out of my head lately. It wasn't like how I previously felt—despising him with every fiber of my being—it was rather a feeling of curiosity. Instead of remaining unfocused, I decided to distract myself with homework.
A few hours had gone by when suddenly the door opened. I turned around and watched as Angel closed the door behind him. My eyes continued to trail his every move until he took an exhausted sigh.
"Why do you continue to stare at me like that?"
Me and my idiotic tendencies.
I stuttered, "Uh- I-I just wanted to ask you about the concert you're performing."
He raised an eyebrow in interest. "How do you even know about that?"
I scratched my cheek and replied, "I saw it on the bulletin board."
It was silent for a moment. Finally, Angel said, "It's a charity event. Invite only."
Slumping down in my chair, I whined, "What?! But I actually wanted to see you play."
He scoffed. "Why? You would probably find it boring anyway."
Truthfully, I had never attended a concert before. It wasn't something I had a particular interest in. However, I responded, "No, not if it's you. Plus, it's something I would like to experience at least once."
Angel stared at me for a moment. He then reached into his backpack and took out a small rectangular slip, handing it to me.
"What's this?" I asked as I was about to take it.
He then snatched it away from me and turned his head, "If you don't want it then-"
He was as bratty as ever. I stood up and quickly took it from him. "No! I want it, I want it!"
Looking down at the ticket, I smiled. The concert would take place tomorrow evening.
"A bunch of old people will be attending, so if anyone asks you're my very very very distant relative."
I rolled my eyes. It was obvious that this would be an elegant event, so I realized I had absolutely nothing to wear for it. I couldn't wear my uniform or they'd kick me out.
During lunch the following day, I asked Iris and Tulip if they had any nice dresses that could possibly fit me. I wasn't going to bother asking Poppy as she was way too small. I would just end up stretching her clothes out and I'd look like a walking bafoon.
"Sorry Camellia, but you're too tall to fit into any of my clothes," Tulip confirmed the undeniable.
Iris nodded in agreement. "I'm afraid the same goes for me."
I lowered my head in disappointment. What was I to do now? I couldn't show up to a fancy event with jeans and a shirt.
"Why don't you ask Zinnia?" Iris suggested.
A bulb lit up above my head. "That's right! She looked a little taller than me but I'm sure we're close to the same size!"
But my bulb quickly dimmed. I wasn't entirely sure if Zinnia considered me a friend because we had only met once. It didn't hurt to ask, though.
I received her room number and quickly made my way to it. Angel's performance would be starting soon. After knocking, her voice comes through.
"H-Hey! It's Camellia from the sports festival. I was hoping you could help me with something?"
Zinnia didn't say anything after that but to my surprise, she opened the door. "You're that walking disaster!" She bellowed a laugh.
I simply gave her a fake laugh and smile. Was I that much of an idiot? Zinnia was, more than often, a very blunt person. And that was putting it nicely.
She leaned against the frame of the door and asked, "What's up?"
I fiddled with my fingers. "Um, I know we barely know each other, but I was hoping you could lend me a dress or something nice that I could wear. I-If you have any."
Her eyes gazed up and she placed a finger on her lips, appearing to be deep in thought. I felt like such a train wreck. Zinnia finally spoke, "Yeah, I think I might have something."
My face brightened. She led me inside and showed me her closet. It seemed as though she was much more fashionable than I would have ever imagined. Why she would need all these clothes for a school that wears purely uniforms, I would never know.
She took out a navy blue dress and shoved it to my chest. "Here, take this one. Oh! And these heels," she said as she crouched down to slide out a box of matching stilettos.
"You never know when you might go on a spontaneous date." She winked.
"N-No, you're too generous!" Zinnia hadn't even asked what I needed it for, yet she gave it to me without a single hesitation.
"It's no biggie. Think of this as a thank you for making me crack up so hard the other day!" She gave me a slap on the back.
The people I've come to know here are one of a kind. I had never known people this friendly before. I never wanted these moments to end.
I smiled. "Thank you, Zinnia."
She returned the gesture. "Be home by midnight! Now go on," she said as she pushed me out the door.
Zinnia was as right. I had to get a move on! Running back to my room, I threw the dress onto my bed and placed the shoebox on my desk. I stumbled back and forth trying to put on the heels and dress.
Looking at myself in the mirror, I realized how nice I could look if I put in some effort. "Oh shoot! I'm gonna be late!"
I rushed out the door and sneakily headed straight for the theater.
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