Chapter 148: Infamy
Chapter 148: Infamy
Hugh walked into the room not expecting the looks that he had. Somehow, they seemed to be more vicious than before, like Hugh had done them a great injustice.
Once again, Hugh ignored the looks and just went to his seat without any problem. However, the room remained silent as Hugh looked around the room.
Then, he saw Serena walk towards him with an awkward smile.
"Hey," Serena said as she waved her hands weakly. She seemed to be guilty of something that she had done.
"Hey," Hugh replied as he looked at her with uneven eyes.
The whole classroom watched as Hugh and Serena faced each other. There was a silence that was too stuffing for everyone. They all helped their breaths as they waited for their interaction.
"They don't seem to be in love," a random voice whispered. "Are they engaged to each other?"
Hugh heard the answer from them. He had almost forgotten about an insignificant event that fateful night. It had been overshadowed by Sebastian's death and everything else.
Hugh opened his mouth as he was about to defend himself and clear up the misunderstanding, but the door opened wide.
Everyone turned their heads towards the door and saw someone walk in. This was the person that they had not seen in a long time, a person at the top of the social food chain.
"Oh! Aric's here. I heard that he was the one who was supposed to be engaged to Serena," a random voice said. It only served the exacerbate the tension in the room.
Aric and Hugh's history was not exactly on the best terms. Everyone witnessed how both of them had grudges with each other and almost killed each other to an extent.
In their perspective, now that Hugh stole Aric's girl, they were going to see bloodshed like nothing before. They could not wait to see how all of this was going to unfold.
The students immediately made way for Aric as he walked towards Hugh and Serena. They made sure to be out of the fire zone so that they would not get involved in the crossfire.
As soon as Aric reached Hugh and Serena, he stopped in his tracks. He looked at both of them with an expressionless face and everyone thought that this was only the eye of the storm.
Aric raised his hand and everyone flinched. They watched as Aric put his hand near Hugh's face, and everyone immediately thought that he was going to slap Hugh.
However, they did not expect Aric's hand to slide past Hugh's head and went straight to Hugh's shoulder. The explosive slap that they were expecting turned out to be nothing more than a friendly tap in the back.
"Morning," Aric said as he looked at Hugh. There was even a hint of friendliness in his tone of voice, which made everyone more confused than they already were.
Hugh only nodded his head upwards in reciprocation. He and Aric both were on a suicidal mission that will be almost impossible to accomplish.
It would be better for their chances if they got along well together. Also, Aric was a changed person since he did not know any of his memories.
"What? They are all okay with each other?" a random voice said. They all seemed disappointed to know that Aric and Hugh were no longer enemies as they might even seem like friends.
Once they knew that no fight would break out, they all dispersed like dust in the wind. They all went about in their puny meaningless lives.
Serena heaved a sigh of relief as she knew that she was safe. She turned around to leave, but Hugh caught her hand before she escaped.
"I should have asked you this before, but what's this engagement thing?" Hugh asked. He tightened his grip so that she would not be able to escape.
"Hehehe," Serena laughed awkwardly as she scratched her head.
Remembering Hugh's strength that night, Serena knew that she would not be able to force her way out of this confrontation.
She moved closer to Hugh and whispered in Hugh's ear. "Please go along with it for now. At least until my parents call off my engagement with Aric."
"No," Hugh responded. He did not even have to think about his answer. Being someone's fianc was troubling enough, but Serena was part of the popular group which made things even worse.
"Please?!" Serena vegged as she put her hands together. She had sincerity in her eyes, but she also put on her cute face to try and sway to Hugh's favor.
"I said no, do you want me to say it in Spanish?" Hugh said.
"Please! I need your help in this one," Serena said as she continued to paster Hugh for his cooperation.
"Nope. Never. My pride would never let me do that," said Hugh as he closed his eyes and shook his head. It was clear that he was adamant in his decision and nothing would make him change his mind.
"Fine," Serena said with a depressed voice. "Looks like I would have to console myself with the endless treasures that my family gives me."
As soon as Hugh heard Serena say 'endless treasures,' he stopped Serena from waking away.
"Wait," Hugh said. "I just remembered that I am a generous classmate. Perhaps I can help you with your problems."
Serena had her head turned away from Hugh, so he could not see a smile form on her face. Her bait worked exactly as she planned.
"Really? That's a promise then!" Serena exclaimed as she took Hugh's hand and put it closer to hers.
Then, Serena took her pinky finger and Hugh's pinky finger together. "Pinky promise!"
Hugh shook his head as he got played by her. He was a sucker for treasures since he needed them if he were to advance any further in his powers.
Soon after, classes started. Hugh listened closely to professor Kain's wisdom, but he found that it was not useful to his current situation.
Hugh turned his head and saw Aric playing with his hands. It was clear that he was not listening to the lectures, and it seemed that he was even bored out of his mind.
With another look, Serena was also not listening to the professor. She was busy discreetly talking to her classmates about the new brand of clothing line that they wanted to buy.
Then, he looked at Jane who was intently listening to the lectures. She was taking down notes like the good student that she was.
Jane was completely engrossed in her studies, as she did not even notice Hugh looking at her. It was as if nothing had happened after that night.
Although they intended to never speak about the Sebastian incident, even Hugh found it hard not to change his perspective on different people.
However, Jane went about her ways without any problem. It was back to the way it was. She ignored Hugh, Hugh ignored her.
Soon after, the school bell rang and classes ended. Hugh walked out of the room and decided to walk back to his room. He needed to think about his current problems and how he would go about solving them.
"Hugh," a voice called out.
Hugh turned around and saw Ace leaning against a wall. He still had his uniform on as he looked at the sky.
Hugh took a big breath and walked towards Ace. He made sure to not let any of his emotions on his face as he faced Ace.
"How have you been?" Ace asked. He asked it nonchalantly almost as if he meant it. However, Hugh did not want any more pleasantries.
"What do you want?" Hugh said with a bit of an angry voice.
"Straight to the point, then. What happened to the black cat omen that I assigned you to kill?" Ace asked with a serious face.
"I couldn't catch it," Hugh replied. He was not worried that Ace could find his secrets, but he was worried that it was all in Ace's plan.
Hugh thought that Ace would be mad, but contrary to his expectations, Ace seemed calm. He still looked up at the sky as he walked closer to Hugh.
"No wonder. I'll give you a week to do it," Ace said as he patted Hugh's back and walked away without any hesitation. He did not give any chance for Hugh to complain about the time limit to his mission.
Hugh looked back at Ace's back and frowned. He was given a week to do it, but given the circumstance, he might never accomplish it.
If the black cat disappeared from the school, Hugh would never be able to find it again. He sighed and walked back to his house.
Once inside, he suddenly felt an itchy feeling in his feet. He looked down and saw Beru, his puppy, licking his feet and consoling him.
He immediately felt a sliver of happiness as he saw the dog again after a whole day. He could not let out the dog during class hours, so it could only get out now.