XXI

“Jah Neeva! Good evening!” greeted an elderly man the moment Neeva walked into the reception of the hotel. His smiled widely at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “What brings you here?”

Neeva rushed to the man and bent down low, her head bowed. “Good evening Jeh,” she greeted with a light voice.

The old man balanced the basket in his hands on his waist and placed his hands on her back. “Bless you child.”

“Teyro.” She stood straight and gestured to the school with an outstretched arm. “Jeh I’ve brought visitors. Mr. Jaeger’s people.”

His eyes widened slightly and he dropped the basket on the receptionist’s desk that was behind him. “So these are the visitors that ate up all the rooms in my hotel.” He spread his arms wide, the billowing sleeves of his shirt flapping around. “Walia!”

The students didn’t know how to reply. Some of them made confused faces, scrunching up their noses at the way the word came out in a cracky manner. A few of them looked up at the intricately designed ceilings, while the rest looked at themselves, scratching their heads in confusion.

“They don’t understand Jeh,” Neeva said with an amused laugh, her buckteeth peeking past her lip.

The old man threw his hands to his back and clasped them together. “Oh, my bad. I meant to say ‘welcome’.” He grinned widely, his yellowed teeth becoming visible. “Better get used to the dialect or you’ll all get lost in a sea of foreign words. Right Neeva?” He turned to her and she replied with a dip of her head.

She smiled warmly and turned to the school. “Um... Please I’d like to know who’s in charge?”

“I am,” Tobe and Lydia answered in unison, Tobe in his deep, lazy voice and Lydia in her loud, authoritative one.

They spared each other bad looks, their eyes narrowed in slight distaste. Students smiled at themselves knowingly, like they were sharing silent, public secrets.

Lydia raised a brow, placing her hands on her cocked hips. “Since when were you in charge?” she asked sharply.

“Since Jioazi started taking care of our sick principal. And”—he pushed up his glasses with a finger and narrowed his eyes at Lydia—“who left you in charge?”

She rolled her eyes, scoffing as she said, “women rule the world glasses. Beyonce said—actually wrote a song about it.” And then she sassily flung her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder, looking away from him.

“Like I care,” he droned quietly, his shoulders slouching slightly.

Lydia turned her head to glare at him, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at him. “Look here four eyes, I’m...”

And just like that, Tobe and Lydia started fighting for dominance, Jaozi facepalming at them with a tired sigh. The students just quelled their snickers with a fist to the mouth, their teeth holding down their bottom lip. Apparently they were finding their teachers’ bickering funny, because in the next few seconds, they started snickering.

But Kimi raised a brow at their childish banter, folding his arms over his chest. Is this how teachers are supposed to act?

He scoffed softly, rolling his eyes as he looked to the side. In a flash, his gaze caught sight of the back of a figure who walked into another hallway, flanked by bodyguards. The person was dressed in a black coat and black hat. A shiver spiked his spine at the sight of the person. Kimi bristled in fear, looking the other way with frightened eyes.

What was that?! he thought, sharply raising his hand to cup his mouth. Who the heck was that?

Neeva and the owner of the hotel watched the two bickering teachers with confused looks. When Neeva felt that their quarrel was getting too far, she stepped closer to them in order to calm them down.

“Um...” As they ignored her, Neeva put her fingers in between her lips and whistled loudly. Both the students and the teachers, giving her their attention. Lydia and Tobe looked away from each other, embarrassment in their eyes. “Good. Now... who’s the Principal?”

“That would be me,” Aardvark croaked, her eyes puffed up and her back hunched. Jaoizi had stuck close to her in assistance.

Neeva’s eyes widened at the sight of her. “Are you alright Dear?” she asked hastily, her brows knitting in concern.

Aardvack hummed lowly, and held her throat. Her throat felt like she had swallowed a dry desert, and she was burning badly. Sweat had covered her face and soaked her cloths to her skin, causing her to look like she had swam through a swimming pool while putting on her cloths.

The old man rubbed his white, round beard that shone against his dark skin. “She doesn’t look well at all.”

Lydia snorted loudly, the sides of her lips quirking up in into a smirk. “A sick boar even looks better than her,” she snided in a haughty tone.

“Lydia,” Jiaozi warned stiffly, her brows knitted.

Neeva placed a hand on her chest, her furrowed eyebrows twitching as she felt empathetic with Aardvark. “Since you’re not feeling too well, I suggest that you choose someone to stand in for you.”

“Tobe,” she whispered in finality, her eyes drifting to Lydia. She watched as Lydia gasped silently in shock.

Tobe nodded and sideglanced sharply at Lydia. She stuck out her tongue at him and turned away from him.

“I’m very certain that they dated in the past,” Dae-yang muttered, students turning to smirk at her.

“Who said that?!” Tobe and Lydia asked in unison, their faces pinched in embarrassment.

Dae-yang ducked and rushed to the back of the group, her cheeks flushed.

Tobe sighed and cleared his throat. “I’m in charge.”

Neeva nodded as she turned to the old man and asked, “Jeh, their rooms? I’m sure you’re extensively packed because of the concert tomorrow. So—”

“Don’t worry. I had discussed  with Mr. Jaeger about the situation and he had said that he trusted my hospitality. So”—he shrugged—“it’s up to Sir here to share the rooms.”

Raja groaned loudly and dropped his head. “Again? Why the fuck? Why?!”

Tobe raised a brow and turned to look at the students. He frowned in thought, narrowing his eyes at Kimi. How do I share the rooms without brewing a catastrophe?

The man turned to the receptionist and retrieved a box of keys from her. He turned to Neeva and shook the box, the keys producing a clinging sound. “Here are the keys to the rooms,” he said, handing the box to Neeva.

“Teyro.” Neeva took it with both hands and walked to Tobe.

The old man turned and collected his basket. “If you need anything just call.” He shrugged and casually mumbled, “you can yell if you want to. I’m here to ensure that you are all satisfied to the fullest.” He turned and walked away with an aged gait.

Tobe finally sighed, his decisions made. “Right I’ve made my decisions.”

“And?” Lydia asked with a raised brow. “How did you do it?”

“According to surnames.”

“WHAT?!” Raja yelled, his eyes wide in fear.

*

“Woah!” Dae-yang and Raja said together in awe, their gazes glued to the rural-themed interior of the gigantic room that was in front of them.

“They really do love their animals,” Silver muttered, his fingers slowly tracing the miniscule elephants that were carved into the wooden doorframe. “I wouldn’t mind living here,” he said as he walked into the room.

Kimi raised his head and looked at the handprints that were painted onto the room’s silver walls in shimmery golden paints. The way the handprints looked made it seem like everyone in Ashville had placed their paint-coated hands against the wall, marking it as their own.

Kimi sighed and tugged the straps of his backpack as he walked into the room. His gaze was instantly drawn to the huge strawberry-shaped bulb that was fixed into the ceiling. It casted a warm light on them, and bounced off the handprints, creating a reflection of them against the rug.

Silver walked in last and politely shut the door that was left ajar. The sight of five, large canopy beds made him shudder in disgust and fear. He gasped and rushed to wrap himself in his arms, his eyes darting from one corner of the room to the other, like his nightmarish past will suddenly lunge at him out of a hidden corner. He swallowed thickly.

“Woah, this people sure know how to fucking take care of their guests,” Raja said happily, his hands dancing through the transparent, printed curtain of the bed, a toothy smile on his face.

“They sure do,” Silver said, his voice coming out small and cracked.

Dae-yang nodded in agreement and jumped onto one of the beds with her back. She sprawled herself on the bed and sighed in comfort. “This. Is. Life.” She started squealing as she rolled from side to side, sticking her nose in the bedspread that smelled like vanilla.

“Annoying,” Kimi grumbled under his breath at her happy squeals and then walked to the bed closest to the window.

When he got to the bed, he just dumped his bag onto the floor and pulled down the hood of his sweatshirt. He knotted his eyebrows in thought and observed every nook and cranny of his corner.

Those things better fucking not come near me, he thought as he lunged at the bed and crazedly tugged the neatly tucked bedspread out of the bedframe.

Raja and Dae-yang exchanged sceptical looks and turned to watch Kimi as he threw pillows off the bed and over his shoulders, his frown deepening with each second. Silver worriedly stared at him, his eyebrows drooped in concern for his cousin.

“Uh...” Raja raised a brow and turned to Dae-yang, his eyes asking her for answers.

She simply placed a finger to her lip, a warning look in her eyes. Raja rolled his eyes, sighing as he shifted his attention to unpacking his bags. He didn’t want to get into another fight with Kimi.

Silver placed a hand to his chest—a sigh escaping his lips—as he walked lightly to Kimi’s seething form. He did a hopeful preparation in his mind and cleared his throat to get his attention.

The muscles in Kimi’s shoulders tightened tensely, and he looked over his shoulder, squinting at Silver. “What?” he hissed through his teeth, his eyes dark in anger.

Silver fiddled with the sleeves of his shirt that rolled past his wrists and heaved a painfully slow sigh. “Kimi, I know—”

“No, you fucking know nothing,” he said slowly. He raised an accusing finger and pointed at Silver, his eyes stiff with a sour mixture of fear and anger. “Don’t ever fucking talk to me like you understand me you fucking betrayer. Mingling with those fucking murderers.”

Silver’s shoulders fell in disappointment. “Kimmy—”

“Don’t ‘Kimmy’ me.” He scoffed bitterly and said, “you even actually went as far as fucking with one.” His face twisted into a grimace and he hissed, “you’re fucking disgusting.”

Dae-yang gasped sharply and whispered, “this isn’t going well.”

Raja rolled his eyes angrily. If that idiot doesn’t stop spouting nonsense I’ll fucking kill him one day. Human or not.

Silver’s eyes welled and he shook his head in objection. This made a few tears roll down his face. “Stop saying what you don’t know,” he said with hushed tone.

Kimi sneered at him, his tiny nose crinkled in distaste. “What I don’t know?” He raised a brow, stepping closer to Silver. He peered up at his pale face and hissed, “fuck you and your words Silver. Fuck. You.”

Silver choked on his pending tears and swiped at them in a haste. He shook his head. “Kimi I will never ever do that. So stop—”

“What? Condemning you?” He shook his head and folded his arms over his drumming chest. “I’m only saying the truth you betrayer. Unlike you, I know who to fucking jump into bed with,” he hissed through his stiffly clenched teeth.

This drew the last straw and Silver’s eyes flinched before they went cold. He hung his head, his curly hair falling over his eyes. He clenched his hands into rigid fists, his knuckles turning so white that they matched the colour of the sleeves of his shirt. His eyes stung like they were being pierced by a thousand needles as the bright grey colour of his eyes slowly turned into silver.

Dae-yang winced when she sensed a shift in the air. She instantly shut her eyes, praying for a better outcome. Oh my. Please, whoever is close by, come and stop this before Silver stabs somebody.

Silver shook his head—his hair bouncing around—as he tried to quench his growing anger. Because he couldn’t control it, he gave in and released his tears. They rushed down his face like a running river, his eyes stinging in pain. His face flushed deeply in anger, his lips tugging upwards into an irritated snare.

“Kimi?” he said hoarsely.

Kimi raised a brow. “What?”

He gritted his teeth and slowly said, “you were gone for more than a decade. Things happened, I lost a lot.” He raised his head, and the lustrous glow in his eyes made Kimi take a careful step backwards. It made him take an angry one forward, his eyes slowly narrowing.

What the hell is wrong with his eyes? Kimi’s eyes widened, his eyebrows furrowing in a panicked confusion. Is he... He gulped quietly, his throat suddenly feeling dry as he thought, is Silver one of them? Is my cousin a cadaver?

A dark and heavy emotion sat on the room like a greedy man who held everyone in his fat grip, bridling their already tensed emotions. Dae-yang and Raja rushed to their feet, the emotions that rolled down Silver’s body tugging at their concern. Raja’s eyebrows were raised, his fingers already curled into fists, ready to hold Silver down if he did anything rash. Dae-yang’s eyes were round in worry. She knew very well what could happen if Silver wasn’t calmed down. Kimi wasn’t an enemy.

“Let me tell you something Kimi.” He knotted his brows, his eyes a bright silver. “If you ever say such moronic things ever again I will slap you so many times so hard that your tongue will fall off and YOU WILL NEVER SAY THOSE THINGS EVER AGAIN!” he said rapidly, each word tumbling out through his gritted teeth. His voice rose slowly with each word he spoke, his emotions bleeding through them.

Silver is this you? Kimi thought with a flinch, surprised at Silver’s furious outburst.

Silver breathed slow but harshly, his shoulders barely rising with each breath he took. He wiped at the snot that ran down the sides of his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt and turned around. As soon as he raised his head, the alert looks that Dae-yang and Raja gave him instantly made him remorseful, and it made him wish that he could erase those last few minutes.

He slowly turned to look back at Kimi and saw Kimi’s pale look. He dropped his eyes in sadness, afraid that Kimi will not forgive him. “Kimi... I’m... I—”

“SIL!” Illiad yelled as he kicked the door open and rushed to Silver. He swiftly turned Silver around, his hands holding tightly onto his shoulders. “Silver?”

Silver eyebrows shook and he started crying. His shoulders shook as he weeped silently, his face pressed into Illiad’s chest.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Illiad said slowly, his fingers running through Silver’s fluffy hair.

Kimi looked away with a frown. He looked away because he felt like he was intruding on a private moment. He looked away because the very sight before him reminded him of a certain person’s cold but comforting arms. It reminded him of the pain and fear and anger that Aurum had magically fished out of his body with just a smile or a word. The aching feeling that hollowed his chest made him subconsciously wrap his arms around himself. He dropped to the tattered bed like a doll that was too broken to be put back together.

Raja groaned and turned his back to them when Illiad started pecking Silver’s lips, a weak smile slowly forming on Silver’s flushed face. “This feels too fucking yucky.”

Dae-yang blushed lightly and turned to stare at her bed. She looked to the door when Raja walked to it. “Where are you going?”

“Forgot something on the ship.”

“Oh.”

Raja blew a breath out of his mouth and walked out, noisily kicking the door shut with his booted foot.

Silver smiled weakly, his eyes swollen and red. He turned to look down at Kimi, his eyes heavy and puffy. His eyes held a deep remorse in them and he sighed inaudibly, not knowing how to explain himself.

“It’s nobody’s fault Sil,” Illiad said softly, feeling Silver’s lack of words of explanation.

Silver moved closer to Kimi. He crouched before him as he quietly said, “Kimmy... I’m so sorry.” He looked to the side in shame, a worried frown on his face. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what that had come over me. I... I’m sorry.”

Kimi simply looked down at his clasped hands with a blank expression, Silver’s words flying past his ears like tiny wobbles. Specks of anger danced in his dull, grey eyes as he dug his fingernails into the back of his hands, his face contorting in fury.

Dae-yang watched quietly as Silver reached out to take Kimi’s hand, but Kimi moved his hands out of his reach and shuffled onto the bed.

“Please... don’t speak to me again,” Kimi whispered as he hugged his legs to his chest. Being in that position made him look like the broken boy he was all those years ago, and it made pain swirl in Silver’s chest.

Dae-yang turned fully to face them and she took a step towards them. “Kim—”

“Even you too.” He placed his head in between his legs. “All of you. None of you should ever fucking talk to me ever again. I’m fucking done with talking with all of you,” he seethed quietly.

The three of them pitifully looked at him, but they had no choice but to concede with what he said. Silver stood up and Illiad rubbed his shoulders in assurance. Dae-yang sighed and sat on the bed, pulling off her beach hat.

Tears of pain and fear stung Kimi’s eyes and blurred his vision as he thought, I’m freaking tired Aurum. Let this fear just chew me up and spit me out however it likes. The tears fell, running down his face like a creak. I’m really tired. So, so tired. I can’t take it anymore. I’m sorry Aurum.

Author’s Note: please if you’re reading this know that I am grateful for reading through this chapter. Thank you for all the show of support. And I will do my best. Please vote and share, and please air your compliants or thoughts. I’m very happy to remove things that may seem racist or sexist. Thank you!

P.S: ‘walia’ means ‘welcome’ in the man’s dialect. ‘Jeh’ and ‘Jah’ is like a honourific like ‘-san’ and ‘-ssi’. :D