Chapter 78: Chapter 78

Ellie walked through the fields. She was searching for Crystal. She could not believe what she heard in the recording. She heard her voice and it was hers. Definitely. She saw one of her close friends, Betty under shade. She hurriedly walked towards her. “Hey.” She gripped her hands, making Betty take a pause. Betty looked at the person that had held her hands. “Oh, hi.” She greeted. Not like she has some hatred for her anyways. Only Shawna and Tessy did. “I was thinking if you had seen Crystal anywhere.” Ellie asked politely. “Oh, Crystal. I saw her last at café though.” Betty stated. “Oh, thanks.” Just as Ellie was about to turn on her heels, she saw Crystal coming towards them. Not actually her but Betty. As she got to them, she acknowledged Betty with a smile while she looked at Ellie. “We are finally done with the exams. What's up with the mood?” Crystal asked. Ellie yanked her hands and dragged her away from Betty.

“Hey, you are hurting me. Slow down a bit.” Crystal begged. Ellie halted suddenly, making Crystal who has been trying to get her to stop dragging her to come to a stop, almost bumping into her. “You knew Shawna was the one who put the paper in my answer sheet, why didn't you tell me?” Ellie queried. She definitely was not expecting this from her. Crystal stared at her, not expecting the question at all. And besides, she did not know Shawna did it. It was just an assumption. “I did not know if it was true. I just said to see if she would admit it or not. And she did not, so I literally left her. And besides, I can't say something like that without evidence or witness.” She explained with pleading eyes, hoping she would understand. A large amount of air escaped Ellie's nose as she closed her eyes tightly. That was a good reason anyways. She opened her eyes and looked Crystal in the eye. “I thought… never mind. Glad to have you as a friend.” Ellie said with an open smile. Crystal beamed at her and pulled her into a hug.

After a while, they released from the hug. “You know Shawna and I have been friends for a long time now. We had good and bad times. We did everything together that even other students were envious of us. We fought against each other and for each other. Heck! I considered her as my best friend. But then, she suddenly changed. She became more insatiable. Obsessed. Rude. She was actually rude before she came but it was not as much as it is now. I tried my best to advise her. To help her. To prevent her from getting deep into this shit. But unfortunately, she is so adamant and has gone deep into it beyond redemption.” Crystal explained. Ellie could detect sadness from the way she talked.

She walked towards her and held her hands. “I will say you are lucky to have someone that was a close friend to you that much. I grew up without friends. The only ones I had were those who collect goods to sell from the woman I collect goods to sell and pay her back. We grew striving for ourselves so I…” She breathed out as they walked. “We will be going home tomorrow. Hope we still stay in touch. Give me your phone contact.” Ellie requested. “Sure.” Crystal said and smiled.

~•~•~•~•~•~

“So will you care to tell us why Jake was so moody earlier on?” Jeremy asked as they sat down under the shade. He knew that they would love to know. What is there anyways, they are his friends also. “He met his old man,” Jayson announced. “Old man?!” Jace exclaimed. Everyone looked at him to explain better. “I thought his dad is dead,” Jeremy affirmed. Jayson glared at him and hissed out. “His dad is not dead, just that he and his mom are divorced.” Jayson clarified. “So he met his dad?” Jasper asked. Jayson answered with a nod and hummed a positive answer. What else can they expect, the both of them were the closest even though they all appeared to be close. “How many years have they been separated?” Julia spoke up after listening to their discussion. Jayson looked up and saw her seated beside Jasper. He cleared his throat and said. “Maybe like eleven years.” He answered as he kept his gaze on Jasper's hand that draped around her waist. Jasper scoffed when he noticed Jayson staring at his hand, he even tightened it even more and pulled her close. Jayson faked a cough and Jace including Jeremy burst into laughter. “I have said this before, dating your friend's sister requires a lot of patience.” Jace muttered, laughing.

**At night**

“Bye.” Ellie waved at Crystal. Crystal waved back and went towards her dorm.

Crystal stepped into her dorm and went straight to her room. She saw Shawna crying. She chuckled silently. She looked around and saw Tessy with her mascara smeared all over her face. She tried keeping the laughter from coming out but it was bubbling hot in her. She burst into laughter. Making Betty she did not know that was there look at her. “I warned you, right?” She asked.

Shawna looked up at her with red and puffy eyes. She sneered at her and hissed out angrily. She stomped out of the room. Crystal's laughter roamed every where in the dorm and room. She indeed made the right choice.

Give up.

She realized some things that are not meant for her.

They are preserved for other people. Not her.

She will not push the buttons of fate.

**

“I will miss you guys.” Ellie said to Aria. She had gone to look for them after she followed Crystal to her dorm. Jake's lips curved into a smile. “Will see you tomorrow.” He pecked her on her cheeks. Taking her by surprise, she gasped. Aria giggled at her. She knew that even though he denied it, he has fallen for this little lady that was standing here.

“Have a peaceful night.” She wished them and headed to her room. She held her cheeks, blushing hard.

‘Why was she blushing?’ She thought.

Aria looked at Jake and started laughing. Jake stopped and gazed at her. “So will you tell me why you are laughing?” He asked. Aria stopped laughing for some time. “Did you just realized that you just gave Ellie a peck on her cheeks?” She asked, knowing fully well that he did it without thinking. He wrinkled his eyebrows and held his lips. “I did?” He asked. Not getting what was going on. “Bro, you must have been staring at her lips. But you missed the target and pecked on her cheeks instead.” Aria said before bursting into laughter and running off. Jake stood there, like did he peck her?. “You…” He trailed off and ran after her.