I waited for Emmet in the parking lot, exactly where he always parked, after entering the Borstal, rather than going directly to my homeroom. He got out of his car, a black Audi R8 V10, sober, but appeared to have a hangover from the amount of alcohol he drank the night before.
Since I anticipated the following morning's events, I made sure to buy hangover remedies before entering the building. "Here," I said, handing him the medicine. "To help with your hangover."
"How? Oh, yes, I do recall seeing you at the pub the last night."
"Yes, and last night you appeared extremely inebriated," I added.
Together, he and I walked to the classroom where we had our regular classes.
"The princess has disappeared; where has he gone? You're not with him."
"He will be gone for the next two weeks. You know, princely duties," I responded.
"Yes, I see. So, it looks like you can go wherever you want now."
"Also, Emmet. I was wondering if you could tell me your brother's name."
"Did he not tell you?"
"I wouldn't bother asking you if he told me," I remarked sarcastically.
"Well, if he doesn't tell me, I won't tell you."
I came to a halt and cast a suspicious glance."How come you seem to know something I don't?"
"Look, Gemma," he said, turning his gaze to me. "Even though I know something, I cannot say it. He is the one who rescued me from the orphanage, dressed me, and made sure I had food to eat. Even though he is not my brother by blood, I cannot turn my back on him because I owe him everything I possess.
"Emmet, I didn't say anything about betraying him. I'm just saying you seem to know something," I stated as my curiosity grew.
"Whatever, Gemma," he said, walking quickly, and to keep up with him, I sped up my pace.
We arrived in the room just as they were beginning the lesson. As we were 15 minutes late, the teacher did not admit us. As a consequence of being late, he made us stand outside and wait.
"You're the one who's keeping us behind schedule with all of your constant chatter,"
"It is not my fault that you refuse to answer my questions."
"Why are you so curious about everything when my brother has already told you enough about where your prince's mother is?"
"For the simple reason that I have a sneaking suspicion, your brother is hiding something important, why does he need to keep his identity secret if he is not an enemy? What was he thinking when he sent you here to spy on the prince?"
"He didn't send me here to spy on your prince; I'm here for a reason," Emmet responded, clearly lying.
"For what reason?"
"Can you please stop interrogating me, Gemma?" He raised his voice a little bit. "I'm starting to find you annoying."
Because of the volume of his words, Mr. Allan emerged from his room. "You both. You're late and making a racket in my class. Do you want to spend a week standing outside?"
"I'm sorry, sir," I apologized.
"To put it simply, Gemma, you are the prince's personal maid. Just because the prince is not present at this time does not permit you to act defiantly. Do you not understand your role in this world? You have a sense of duty." Mr. Allan scolded.
Mr. Allan's words made me look down. I had forgotten, in their eyes that I was not a student but rather the prince's personal servant.
"Mr. Allan, I believe Gemma has the right to behave in this manner. It's not right to call her the prince's personal maid. She is also a student at this school, so she should not be treated differently from the rest of us." Emmet said, causing Mr. Allan to erupt in rage.
"You should keep your big mouth shut. Emmet! I will speak with your brother, and I will see you after class." Threatening words were said by Mr. Allan just before he went back inside the room.
He did exactly what he said. Emmet was summoned to the principal's office. Walden came to get me, so I couldn't follow Emmet. As the car was pulling away, I looked back and saw Emmet's older brother standing in front of the gate and leaning against the vehicle as if he were waiting for someone.
I asked the driver to pull the car over. I hastened to catch up to him. "Emmet's brother!" I shouted.
"I do have a name," he said.
"Which you didn't tell me," I added. "Are you here to see him?"
"Yeah, that jerk got me into trouble again."
"The truth is, it was me who troubled him. Because of my stubbornness, he was the one who was called, so I beg you not to scold him. We were late because of my never-ending questions, and Mr. Allan became enraged because he spoke back, but only to defend me." I explained. "So, if you're going to scold Emmet, please scold me instead."
"Okay. "I scolded you," was his only response.
"Is that all?"
"Emmet speaks back when he believes what that person said is simply wrong," he said as he opened the driver's seat and took another envelope from inside. "I'm not here to chastise anyone. I have something I need to give you, which is why I'm here."
"Another envelope?"
"That will benefit both you and the prince."
He interrupted me just as I was about to open the envelope. "It's not safe here. Open it as quickly as you get back to the palace," he said while keeping a careful eye around us. Avoid opening it in public.
"I had no idea it was confidential,"
Before entering his vehicle, he stated, "You had my number, so feel free to contact me if you have any questions."
"Hey, uhm… there’s something I wanted to ask you," I paused. "Do you remember when you went to Borstal, pretended to be a student and then you said that he sang that song to Raeanna and he still loved her even after they broke up? Did he really…"
"What I said is nothing but to get your attention. Augustus never sang a song for Raeanna. Unlike you, Augustus never showed his talent to Raeanna." His explanation makes me want to hit him. But if he didn't say it, I'm probably still making a fool of myself and pretending that Augustus loves me even though the truth is he loves me because he sees Raeanna in me.