Elsie woke up in the morning with pale skin and chapped lips. She blinked as the rays of the sun struck her face. She rubbed her weary eyes and darted them to the person beside her, snoring softly. Stan was handsome, but at that moment, he looked like a baby. Elsie took the chance to stare at him for a minute, swallowing her saliva.
Stan’s face looked exhausted, with his brows still knitted together. Elsie was about to stand up when she felt his hand on her wrist. He awakened and roamed his eyes.
“Good morning,” he said.
“G-good morning.” Elsie sat on the bed and brushed her fingers through her messy hair.
“Let’s have breakfast first and talk about what happened last night.”
“Okay. Let me wash up for a moment.”
At breakfast, Stan prepared chicken soup. Elsie was wiping her hair when she came out of the shower.
“Aren’t you going to school?” She asked.
“School is not important right now,” he said and gestured for her to sit down.
“I’m sorry. I am such an inconvenience to you.” Stan pulled the chair and held her back to assist her as gently as he could. “No, you’re not. Besides, I enjoy doing this.”
Her lips formed a straight line. She scooped the soup and sipped it, feeling its flavor and hot sensation. After the nightmare she’d been through, the soup made her at ease. As if telling her that she was safe now.
“How was it?” Stan asked.
“It’s good. Just like how granny does it.”
“Your grandma.” Stan thought deeply. “About her… I’ll talk to her later and convince her to live with you here until those jerks stop bothering you. You can also help me with that. She’s old. We can’t let those guys take her as bait. Don’t worry about the bills. It’s on me.”
“They won’t probably come back to take me, would they? Kidnappers don’t do that. They can’t ask for ransom money from me. I’m not rich.”
Stan clasped his fingers together, changing the mood into a more serious one. “It’s not a simple kidnapping incident, Elsie.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I can’t tell you now. I need to talk to the boys first and secure your safety by all means. Do you remember anything? What did they do to you for three days?”
“I… I can’t remember anything from the moment the accident occurred. All I can recall was waking up in a white room and texting Lily before they continued to put some tubes on my head. I felt an electric shock in my entire body until I lost consciousness.”
“You are clearly under an experiment. Tell me when you feel something weird, alright?”
Elsie nodded.
“Let’s finish the food before it gets cold.”
***
It was another lively morning in Machalmmond High School. The students rushed to the main hall to see the updated ranking. They rumbled into the lobby, crowded the elevators, and raised to the perfect spot where they could have a clear view of the leaderboard.
“Stan is officially ‘The General.’ The only one in the position.”
“This quarter is quite more challenging than last time.”
“Because they replaced the old teachers with the new ones. Their generation exerts so much effort in molding us.”
“This is great. More misery, more learnings.”
Stan, Theo, and Cade gathered in the gaming room. Since Stan got the highest position in the ranking, he held the key to the gaming room and he was allowed to take anyone with him. He received all the benefits of The General.
“Oh, God! This is amazing!” Theo muffled while using the VR headset. He was holding a fake machine gun that felt like a real one, with its detailed design, weight, and texture. He kept moving around, avoiding something the other boys couldn’t see.
“We aren’t here to play games, Theo,” Stan said.
“Is this called a gaming room to conduct important meetings?”
“Let him be. He needs that,” Cade said.
“I don’t need a word from you about this,” Stan replied.
Cade kept quiet, clearing the idea of becoming their friends for the second time around.
Stan stood at the whiteboard when Theo finally finished his game.
“So, what do you have for us, Cade?”
“According to the gathered data, they invented the machine that reads all the memories in your brain, turns them into a video, and stores them in a flash drive.”
“So you can basically watch your memories like a Netflix show? Sounds cool,” Theo commented.
“It’s not cool when they tried it on Elsie,” Stan said.
“Maybe they need some personal information about Elsie’s parents. Something related to the mafia group,” Cade said.
“Maybe the machine isn’t ready yet. And they need to keep her with them,” Theo added.
Stan sat on the couch and rested his feet on the table. “How can we make her stay close to us with no one spreading some nonsense rumors?”
“You know what? I watched a rom-com movie last Saturday. The boy and the girl got closer because she was his personal assistant. He is a rich boy, while he is a poor girl,” Theo said. He used his fingers to reenact the scenes. “They kept on battering all the time and nobody gives a fuck about their closeness. In their eyes, it was purely business. But guess what happens next?”
Cade looked at him with boredom written on his face. “They fell in love.”
“Oh. You know, huh?” Theo bantered, surprised.
“Where is this going, Burton?” Stan said.
“The gist of this is… make her your personal assistant. She gets paid and you get to keep her safe.”
“My personal assistant… Hmm.”
Cade raised his hand and said, “I’ll do it. This is my mission. Dad entrusted her to me.”
“A mission you failed to do,” Stan said.
“Why do you even concern yourself with this matter, Stan? You study at Mchalmmond because your parents allowed you to. While me? Dad gave me this condition. You are out of the picture. Though your help was much appreciated.”
Stan clenched his jaws. “Those words are a bit rough, Cade. Are you sure about that? Elsie is my friend. I know her dreams and her eagerness to achieve them. And you. What do you know about her? Face it. You weren’t fond of her in the first place. Why the sudden change of heart?”
Cade didn’t respond.
“I think Curtis Fleming is getting into him,” Theo said.
“If a bad person does good things, it doesn’t mean he’s good,” Stan remarked. “Besides, you don’t have a penny to pay her. You left your wealth in London. In New York, you are nothing.”
***
A piece of classical music played inside the theatre. The dance choreographer’s voice was loud and clear as she kept on counting repetitive numbers, guiding the dancers to sway to every beat. The actors watched them, waiting for their time to take the stage. The crew applauded them when they finished their rehearsal.
“Alright! Very good!” Mason shouted. The dancers cleared the stage. “Elsie and Jayden, it’s your turn!”
Elsie came back to school as if nothing happened to her. She desperately convinced Stan to attend school. She already missed two sessions of practices, and Mason wasn’t glad about it.
“You are the princess of Rotopia?” Jayden said. A mixture of shock and worry was evident on his face.
“Yes,” Elsie replied.
“Let’s not see each other again.”
“But why? You confessed your likeness to me. Why are you turning back now? Is it because I’m a princess and you are a lowly peasant? I don’t care about that. I will defend you from my family and the people who will question our relationship. For what you are, I love you.
“You don’t understand. We can’t be together.”
“Then make me understand.”
Jayden revealed the red ring, the symbol of the Northern Kingdom, an enemy of the East. Elsie was petrified.
“I am Prince Everard Bizeveron of the North.”
“Cut! Outstanding performance, Jayden!” Mason turned to Elsie. “Elsie, I am very disappointed. You were absent for two days, and you’re giving me a shitty performance?” Elsie bowed her head. “I can’t see the terror in your eyes. The sound of deep passion and the face of regret. Show me, Elsie. Show me! Or I’ll replace you with someone who does the job right. The judges were mistaken about you. You don’t have the talent. You are wasting my time!”
“It seems to me that you do not know the meaning of a rehearsal, Mr. Mason Moore.” They all looked at the man walking down the red carpet toward them.
“Pres,” Mason uttered.
“Tone down a bit. You’re scaring her,” Stan added.
Mason was star-struck. It was his first time staring at Stan up close and standing next to him.
“Elsie is a newbie. But she won the judge’s heart. Doubting her means insulting the judges, the people who know better than you. Guide her properly. If she fails to deliver an excellent performance, you fail as the director too.”
“O-okay,” Mason replied.
“Elsie, what time are you going home?” Stan asked.
“I’m not sure. It depends on the director,” she replied hesitantly.
Stan looked at Mason. “What time, Mason?” The way he called his name was seductive.
“W-what time do you want?”
“Can you release her now?”
“S-sure. Let’s wrap this up!”
“I’ll go fix my things,” Elsie said while pointing backstage.
“Sure. Take your time,” Stan replied.
Elsie went to fix herself—she combed her hair, retouched her makeup, and sprayed some perfume.
“Hey, Elsie,” Hazel said while passing by. She was one of the dancers and also her classmate.
“Hi.”
“Are you okay? Mason never stops criticizing your every move.”
“It’s his duty. I’m fine. Hard work pays off.”
“Don’t let his foul words get to you.” Hazel whispered into her ear, “He’s just jealous. He has eyes for Jaydon.” They chortled.
“Thanks, Hazel.” Elsie hugged her.
“It’s not your fault, alright? Your acting was good. You only need to feel the emotion of the character. Think of someone you treasure deeply. When you found that emotion, imagine him revealing himself to the real person he truly is. When he puts down his mask. Feel the confusion and regret,” Hazel said while hugging her.
“Do you have someone in mind?” Hazel continued, pulling her away.
“Ugh. I’m not sure.”
Hazel peeked through the red curtain and glanced at Stan. “What about him?”
“What about him?” Elsie repeated.
“You seem close.”
“Perhaps.”
“You know what I think? He cares about you. It starts with that, Elsie. The subtle gestures, stolen gazes, and secret smiles. That’s all part of developing feelings for someone.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Look at you. You’re blushing!” Hazel pointed at her cheeks.
Elsie touched her cheeks. “That’s nothing. I put some blush on.”
“Go on. Your prince charming is waiting,” Hazel teased.
Elsie shook her head, suppressing a smile.
Stan held her bag when she approached him. The students followed their actions.
“Are you two going out?” Mason blurted.
Elsie was left dazed by his statement. Her heart was beating rapidly for the first time. It was the loudest thing she could hear in the theatre. She focused on his lips, expecting a sugary romance.
“Her…” Stan uttered while looking straight into her eyes. She gulped. “She’s my personal assistant.” To the astonishment of everyone, Stan led the way out.
Elsie was paralyzed. It was a catastrophe. Her sparkling imagination shattered into pieces. He dropped a bomb on her heart, leaving it burnt and devastated. In her opinion, it was the most intense and indirect way of rejecting someone. Stan used that chance to draw a line between them. So thick that there was no way she couldn’t recognize it.
Finally, when her shame subsided, she gripped her bag behind him. Stan halted and looked down at her.
“Is something wrong?” he asked in his usual worried tone. She couldn’t get fooled anymore.
In her most angelic voice, she asked, “Stan, what am I to you?”