7th chapter! I won't be around for three days, so I decided to post this one quickly. J Enjoy!
Chapter 6
It was her third burger. He watched her wolf it down in between sips of Coke. They hadn't spoken at all since she came back with the tray of food and joined his booth. He had finished his tofu a long time ago and now sat quietly with the glass of ice lemon in his hand.
She dimly became aware that he was looking at her. Did he have to look? She was acting like an animal that had not eaten anything since birth. "Sorry," she said after successfully swallowing the huge chunk of beef she'd stuffed into her mouth. "I'm pretty hungry."
He didn't say anything.
He was making her nervous. Now that her belly was almost full, her senses were growing sharper and more acute. She was starting to notice the way he was dressed, casual and comfortable. The way he sat, all grace and style. The way he was looking at her, those piercing blue eyes quiet and shrew.
What did he see when he looked at her? She'd like to know.
"I'm done." She announced, her voice low to match the atmosphere that hung over them.
He started to get up, vaguely thinking of how much the entire dinner would cost him. He paid the rather startling amount at the counter, and then exited the place with her.
She turned to say thank you and bid him good night but was surprised to see he was heading the same way she was. "You live somewhere there too?" she asked curiously.
"No. I'm just walking you home."
That stiffened her proud spine. "You don't have to," her tone turned icy as she remembered what he had said to her earlier on. "I can very well take care of myself. I'm not stupid."
He closed his eyes, sensing the beginning of a fresh fight. Couldn't that girl think?? It was practically ten o'clock. Gangsters are crawling all over the place at times like this. He himself had faced them more than a few times. He'd gotten a few bruises and scars from that. He didn't think bruises and scars were all they'd give Akima should she stumble into their paths.
He shrugged and stepped away. "Fine." He said just as icily.
She didn't say anything, but turned around and walked away stiffly.
"Are you coming to school tomorrow?" he asked behind her. She bit her lip. She had pushed school a couple of numbers down her priority list and had not even thought about it for the past week. She frowned, remembering an upcoming test.
Work or school?
Work or school?
"I don't know," she answered him. "Maybe."
He watched her disappear after a turn and then started to follow her. Somebody had to make sure she got home alive and in one piece.
Her mother had gotten a job as a shopkeeper somewhere. She had been persuaded to go back to school. She had listened and complied, thinking it would be a shame if she stopped. Now, she didn't think so.
"Akima," the headmaster was looking intently at her. "We found this in your bag." He held up a gold-coloured wallet in her face. She stared at it, confused and startled. "This happens to belong to Ms. Kirani, containing a huge amount of money which she had lost only this morning. Care to explain yourself?"
She could've sighed out loud if only she had the energy to do so. Ika strikes again, she thought dully, closing her eyes against the frustrated tears that threatened to come out. "I didn't do it." That was all she could say.
"We have more than five witnesses. They all agree that this wallet was indeed in your bag." The headmaster stroked his thick glasses thoughtfully. And I bet all five are D.U.L.Ls, she thought bitterly. "Listen, Akima. I know it's financially hard for you with your mother being fired by the Kirani family, but you didn't have to do this. This is not the way to take revenge. Following your mother's footsteps will not bring you any good."
"My mother did not steal," she snapped quietly, the first signs of her temper showing. "And neither did I."
"Akima…"
"It's a subterfuge!" she burst out in rage. "Can't you see? Someone put it in my bag and accused me! I don't need the Kirani's money! What I need is to be left alone!" Tired, she slumped back against the hard chair.
"Akima…"
It was no use, she decided. The headmaster's convinced. Why now? She sighed. Why me? Closing her eyes even tighter, she sucked in a breath. "What are you going to do to me?"
The headmaster looked at her. "Suspension, Akima. For three days as soon as the exams end."
She looked back at him with absolutely no expression. "All right." She nodded, suppressing a miserable sob. "All right."
Okay, this time, I won't use the word 'Review. I'll use:
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