A few days had passed at school, and eventually, it was Friday again, the last day before the weekend would roll around.
Abby found herself constantly walking down the hallways, each time hoping, just hoping, that maybe she’d see Max back in the room again.
But it never happened.
While her head was turned, distracted by her thoughts, she accidentally bumped into a student right in front of her. She nearly fell backward, her books slipping from her arms and scattering across the floor.
"Sorry about that," Abby said quickly. "I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking."
The student she had run into knelt down without hesitation, picking up her books and handing them back to her.
"Thank you," Abby said, slightly flustered.
"No worries. Just be careful."
"Yeah... I will. I’m sorry for bumping into you again."
"Not that," the student replied, his tone a little more serious. "You know the school’s dangerous. If you notice anyone following you... you should be careful."
In a school like this, it was rare to see someone act so nicely. With a polite smile, Abby gave him a quick nod and hurried off.
Behind her, the student, Jay watched her walk away.
"I have a weird feeling something’s going to happen soon," Jay muttered under his breath. "But maybe it’s for the best if nothing does."
It didn’t take long for Abby to meet up with Cindy in class. As she dropped into her seat, she let out a long, heavy sigh.
"What’s wrong?" Cindy asked. "Max not here again? You know you have his number, you could just message him and ask what’s going on."
"Our last conversation was just a little awkward, you know?" Abby said. "But... you’re right. I can’t just leave it the way it is. And on top of that..."
She hesitated, lowering her voice.
"I don’t know if it’s because of what happened that day on the high street, but... things have just felt weird. Strange. I feel like people are almost following me."
Her fingers fidgeted with the edge of her sleeve.
"Even outside my house... it’s like there are people just hovering around."
"It’s just your imagination!" Cindy said quickly. "You’re over-worrying as usual. Anyway, I’ll tell you what you can do, why don’t you surprise him this weekend? You know where he lives, right? Go and get him. Show him how much you really care."
She gave Abby a grin.
"I think any guy’s heart would melt if someone as pretty as you showed up like that, being all honest and sweet."
Abby’s cheeks flushed pink at the compliment, but the idea of seeing him this weekend... didn’t sound too bad after all.
She didn’t have anything better to do. And despite the lingering fear from earlier, something about the thought made her feel just a bit safer.
Later, when school finally ended, Abby was ready to leave. She met up with Cindy as the two of them headed toward the bus stop together. As they walked out through the front gate, Abby’s eyes were more alert than usual.
That’s when she saw him, across the street.
A sharp-looking man, standing still in a neatly pressed suit, just watching the school from a distance.
"What are you looking at?" Cindy asked, turning her head, then froze when she saw the same man.
"I thought you were already head over heels for Max," Cindy teased. "That man’s handsome, sure, but you don’t need two of them. And that is a nice-looking suit... maybe I should be the one going after him."
"Don’t you remember what I told you?" Abby replied, eyes still fixed across the street. "About the strange people hanging around lately... I think he might be one of them."
Standing silently on the other side of the road was Aron.
His eyes weren’t on Cindy. He wasn’t distracted.
Instead, he was watching all the students pouring out of the school gates, scanning them carefully, searching for an opening.
Lately, my head’s been filled with all sorts of thoughts, Aron mused. There are so many questions I want to ask the young master... but after everything I’ve failed at, I feel like I don’t have the right.
Still, today he’s trusted me with an important task. Maybe once things settle down in his life, I can finally do something... something that helps me make peace with it all.
He wanted everyone who had been involved in attacking him that day. And because of the situation surrounding the school, he needed to handle it all at once.
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