Prince Augustus and I were already on good terms, but I was exposed to another round of torture since they were already aware of the type of life I had led. The hateful glances and gossip I experienced again when word of my father's imprisonment circulated throughout Borstal.
I took the chance to find Felipe and the other people while Prince was training. They were in the same room when I spotted them.
"About the video, sorry..."
"Gemma, please don't apologize; we aren't bothered by the video," Janus said.
"We're not the kind of people who will pass judgment on you based on a single piece of news. We didn't simply welcome you because you can play the violin; when we accepted you, it included the unpleasant aspects of your life." Elias added.
"Thank you very much," My face was flushed with tears. "Since last night, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you guys. I assumed you would shun me now that you are aware of my father's imprisonment."
"It's her!" Unknown males approached, each clutching an egg in their palm.
"Thief!" exclaims one of the guys. The guy with the hat began by throwing the egg at me, followed by the others. Upon witnessing Elias being pelted with eggs, I intervened and took on all the eggs myself.
"You have no place in Borstal!"
"Thief!"
"Get the fuck out!" says the guy wearing a glass.
"How could a crook like you get inside this place?"
I had no choice but to take the eggs that were being thrown at me. "Enough! You're all behaving like little children!" Jonah screamed as he attempted to halt the men in our tracks.
"Get out of here!" Janus screamed angrily.
"Thieves are not permitted to enter Borstal."
It was as if I had suddenly run out of strength; I didn't feel strong enough to stop them, so I turned around and soon walked away from them; even though I was far away, they didn't stop hurling things at me. After that, I went on as if nothing had occurred.
"Gemma..."
I proceed to my bathroom and enter the second cubicle. I covered my face with my quivering and sticky palm, and there my tears spilled down, one after another.
My voice broke into a moan; I couldn't hold it in any longer. I don't mind the stickiness of the eggs in my body, but all those hateful words continue to wound me. Even though I say I'm used to it, I can't pretend I'm not affected.
"It's OK to weep for a time; after that, you'll resume your usual life as if nothing had occurred."
As my father said, everything will return to normal as if nothing had occurred. To cheer myself up, I tried to make a big smile. I took several deep breaths before exhaling softly. As I walked out of the cubicle, I was surprised to see Prince Augustus enter the comfort room.
I sprang backward in shock. "P- Prince Augustus?"
"Are you done?" he queried.
"Can you tell me how you got here?" I responded to his query with another question.
"Does it seem like eggs are falling from the sky?" He took a few steps forward. He took the eggshells off my head and clothing.
What he did didn't shock me, but rather left me speechless. And here's my heart beating faster, as if someone was racing after it, but this time it wasn't because I was scared or afraid of anything.
"And finally," he showed me the last bit of shell he had.
"T- thank you," I stammered as I shifted my sight away from his gaze.
"What are you planning to do next? Do you have any spare shirt stashed away in your locker?" He inquired.
I shook my head. The Prince of Augustus flicked me across the forehead. "Aww! It's not my fault; I didn't expect that people would shower me with eggs."
Prince Augustus took my hand in his and dragged me inside their players' locker room. He unlocked his locker and took something out of it.
He handed his p.e. uniform to me. "Even from a distance, I can smell how nasty you are. Make sure you shower; I don't want the car to smell fishy either."
"But..."
"Can you just take a bath?" he asked, pointing to a bathroom.
He is, in fact, a pretty moody person. I couldn't figure out whether anything about him had truly changed or not. But, luckily, he was kind enough to lend me a shirt. It's becoming more viscous, and the stench is becoming unbearable.
Prince Augustus' p.e. uniform is a little too large for me, but I'll put up with it since it's fine and, at the very least, it keeps my body from being sticky. It's just that it's still smelly.
"As soon as we get home, I'm going to wash it straight away," I said.
"There is no need." He turned his head. "I don't want to wear something that has already been worn by others, so I'm giving it to you."
At times, he is unable to keep harsh words from coming out of his mouth. But I should still express my gratitude to him since this shirt saved me from shame. "Thank you."
-----
"Umm... Gemma? A- are you there? I know you're listening; you just don't want to speak to me right now, but I'm delighted you finally picked up the phone. I'm calling to see how things are going for you. You know, I... I heard the news, well, actually no, I saw you on the news. What you did throughout the interview surprised me. So, guess what? Everybody at the racing track has been talking about you since that bold interview; they think you're awesome. Gemma, you did a great job there."
I couldn't ignore Deacon any longer; I felt sorry for him as a result of what I was doing to him. "How about Bullet? What was her opinion of me?"
I could hear him sigh with relief over the phone. "She thinks you're the coolest person on the planet."
"Deacon, thank you for your concern, but there is no need for you to be concerned since I am OK."
"By the way, is Sebastian all right now?"
"What is it that you want to know? Are you concerned about him now after you have abandoned him..."
"I saw him being beaten by Maxx and his friends; in fact, I helped him. I realize it's too late, but I've finally chosen to help him since he is, after all, the prince. To be clear, I still despise him, and the fact that he has chased me away does not lessen my feelings against him."
I cracked up laughing. "If you say so,"
"Gemma?" Walden came into my room without knocking and walked right in. "I'm sorry for interrupting... I didn't intend to..."
"Sorry, Wal... I mean, Deacon, I'll get back to you." Then I hung up the phone.
"I'm sorry for entering without knocking; I'm just used to doing it for my sister." Walden apologized.
"Well, I'm not your sister." I fixed him with a stern expression. I saw he wasn't wearing a suit anymore, which was a good thing for him. "Why aren't you in your men-in-black suit?"
"Is that what you're calling my uniform?" He inquired, his arms folded. "Today is my free time; there will be no keeping an eye on the prince, no gathering. I'm coming to ask if you'd like to see a movie with me."
"Of course," I replied straight away.
"Wow, that was quick; I thought you'd have second thoughts."
Before we headed to the mini-theater, I went straight to the prince's room to ask him to come with us. "What are you doing?" Walden seemed perplexed as he asked.
"You mentioned you wanted to see a movie, so I'm inviting the prince," I replied. "The more the merrier."
"But... I'm talking about just the two of us." Walden rubbed the back of his neck, clearly perplexed.
The two of them were squabbling over who would sit next to me; instead of fighting, I decided to sit between them. Walden has no option but to put up with the prince's presence in the end. They both frowned and stared at each other while I was selecting the best movie. Since Prince Emmanuel returned to Spain, I've had no one to enjoy the show with. Fortunately, I have those two who add to the theater's craziness.
At the start of the movie, there are no words between the two. Walden's hand touched mine again in the midst of the movie, which surprised me. Walden continues to touch my hand until popcorn is tossed in his direction, at which point he stops touching my hand.
"You..." Walden would have tossed the popcorn back, but the prince scowled at him.
Walden couldn't retaliate since he was the prince. Walden chose to eat the popcorn instead of tossing it to the prince, who flashed him a snarling smile as he did so.
Walden returned his gaze to the screen again. Then my gaze was drawn to the screen as something cold touched my other palm once again. Upon looking closer, I discovered it to be Prince Augustus's hand. His gentle, cool palm stealthily snatched my hand and cradled it in his. I was speechless as I stared at the prince. My hand is folded into his, and I can feel him doing so. What is it that makes it seem so overwhelming? Why do I get the feeling that I wanted this to go longer?
"Argh!" Walden yelled, which completely caught us off guard, and we both let go of each other. "This movie is terrible! I despise the character."
"I-I can change the movie if you want," I said, my gaze still fixed on the prince.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Walden said.
The prince was merely looking at him with his brows wrinkled.
"Don't give me that look," Walden said while attempting to evade Prince Augustus's gaze. "You're giving me the creeps."
"It's you who's the creepy one," I said, with a teasing grin.
"W- what did you say?" Walden's eyes were drawn to mine as he spoke.
"So you've gone deaf now," I said, a laugh in my voice. Walden cradled my head in his arms and rubbed my hair repeatedly. "Stop, you're ruining my hair."
"Stupid negie!"
"Enough!" We came to a halt as Prince Augustus rose from his seat. "It's a bore to spend time with any of you." Prince Augustus let out a long, deep sigh. "I should have just stayed in my room instead."
Before he eventually walked out of the theater, he turned to face us one more time.
"Another thing, Walden, you are not permitted to address her as such. Only I can call her negie. You realize that you are not the prince, but rather my personal bodyguard."
Walden snorted. "Yes, I get what you're saying. It is not necessary to say it out loud."