Chapter three: "Graduate with Honours"

As I sat down at the table, Alice pushed a burger in front of me.
"You bought me a burger?" I felt touched because she bought me food

She nodded in response and went back to eating her burger
"Thanks Happy" I said and ate the burger, she smiled at me in response

We ate in peace but Danny just decided to destroy that peace with her presence as she and her group of followers walked up to our table.
"I see that the school's idiot is still here" she leaned to me and showed me her smug smile

I didn't say a word because fighting would be stupid enough, I might embarrass myself even more
"She's quiet because what you said is true Danny" a follower told Danny loudly on purpose for everyone in the cafeteria to hear

"Danny stop it" Alice said as she smiled at her. people might mistake Alice's smile for Danny as genuine but if you spent time with Alice, the smile that she is giving Danny is the 'shut the hell up' smile

Danny looked at someone behind me and I didn't need to look to know who she was looking at
"Hi Cloud" I could feel death was trying to poke fun at me for even letting me hear her flirting with Cloud

Cloud did acknowledge her but didn't say anything as he sat down at our table. He brought out an orange that was packed in a lunchbox and ate it silently. Danny was not giving up that easily though

"Instead of sitting here you and Will can join us at the other table" Danny gestured them to the center table of the whole cafeteria, all of the preppy smart kids were gathered there studying together. In every school, there is always be that one clique that will be above the rest so in my school the preppy kids would be at the top of the food chain cliques

"No thanks, I'll just stay here with my sister" Will patted Jane's shoulder as he eats an apple with the other hand. We look to Cloud to know what his response would be.
"I'm not going if Will doesn't" he doesn't look up at us. He just looked down at his notes and ate an orange

Danny always asked these two to sit with them during our first year of High School but they wouldn't even try to sit with them even for a bit, Danny smiled
"Everyone will be welcoming you guys if you guys ever change your mind" she turned around and quickly shot me an angry look before she walked back to her table

As soon as she was far away from us, all of us at the table gave out a sigh of relief even Cloud too.
"I would rather be pointed at by a gun than sit with them" Cloud commented and Will agreed with him. Jane whispered something to her brother and Will looked at her funny

"Sis, I don't really like them in the first place so don't worry"
"Is Jane worried again?" Alice asked Will and he nodded a little. Jane is really a softie so she wouldn't mind her brother leaving her for a group that is his own kind but Will isn't that type of guy

"So guys, what are your plans for this School Year?" Jane asked in a quiet voice to try and change the topic. Alice, of course, was the first one to answer

"I would love to try out for the Dance Troupe," she said in excitement, almost jumping her seat kind of excitement.
"Isn't the dance troupe too harsh at the tryouts?" I asked her and she nodded

"The harder it is to achieve, you either give up or strive to work hard to get it" Cloud looked at us from his book. he shot me a look and I felt offended, like that sentence was meant for me

"It seems like some of us have enjoyed too much of their status" I purposely said it as a joke but Cloud seemed to catch on. I glared at him as I took a sip at my drink

Will just knew what was happening and just told his answer to his sister.
"I might go volunteer in the clinic" he said and grinned

We look at Cloud for his answer
"I just want to remain as an honor until graduation" he said proudly. they all looked at me next, waiting for me to tell them about my plans for this school year.

"I don't have any plans" I said casually.
"She'll always be a lazy person" Cloud mocked me and I stomped on his foot under the table, he hid his pain from the stomp and shot me an angry grin

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I was waiting for the van at the entrance of the school when suddenly I felt someone tap my shoulder.
"Will?" I saw his cute dimple smile, grey eyes and dark hair

He sat beside me at the entrance stairs.

"So you really didn't have any plans?" He raised a brow at me

I chuckled at him and his curiousness.
"To be honest.." I couldn't continue with my absurd goal since it might make him laugh

He was waiting for me to finish my sentence and I sighed and look away
"My goal was to graduate with Honors this year" I was waiting for him to ask me why and how on earth am I gonna achieve that kind of goal based on my standing right now, I glanced to see what his reaction would be

His face has that smile.
"Anything else?" He asked me and I was left speechless.
"You're not gonna ask me why?" I questioned him and he patted my head

"I know you can reach that goal" his eyes were looking straight into mine and a smile formed on my lips.
"Thanks Will" I said and he was still staring at me. I heard a honk and the van was now in front of us

I saw Natalie at the driver's seat as she open the passenger seat door.
"Hey Penelope, wie läuft die Schule?" (Hey Penelope, how's school going?) She asked me. I swear when she talks German her tone is like a gangster

"Natalie, warum sprichst du gerade Deutsch?" (Natalie, why are you speaking German right now?) I replied her from her question and she rolled her eyes at me

"Aunt Laborè will be visiting us today, I got a call from dad" she threw me her phone and I read the conversation, I gave my sister an annoyed look.
"ok gut, wir können ein kleines Aufwärmen für die deutsche Sprache machen" (ok, fine, we can do a little warm-up for the German language)

"That's the spirit Penelope"
I forgot one thing while I was talking to Natalie, I was with Will and I don't think Will has heard me speak any language except English before

I turned to look at him and he looked at me with shock and amusement
"Woah" he let out, I felt a bit awkward now so I patted him on the shoulder and waved him goodbye

"See you tomorrow Will" I said to him and closed the passenger seat door

"So tell me why the heck didn't Aunt Laborè give us a heads up about her visit?" I asked Natalie as I put my hands on my eyes and rub them, I slept so much at school that my eyes are a bit blurry from waking up right after the last period

"She just followed her boss here Penelope" she turned the van around a curb.
"You mean that famous designer Sophia?" I asked.
"Yup"

I didn't know that Aunt Laborè was working for a famous designer. I only heard this from Mom a few days ago that she works for a designer but I didn't know it was a famous one. I should've known she was going to visit us. As we got closer to our house I could see a Mercedes Benz in the parking.
"Oh wow" I said breathlessly as I got out of the car

"Wow indeed, Aunt Laborè did get a high salary from her boss" Natalie put on her body bag as soon as she finished parking the car and went out. I jogged into the house and I saw a petite woman with Bob grey hair and icy blue eyes.
"Aunt Laborè!" I greeted her with a hug

"Hello Adeline" she said.
"It's Penelope Aunt Laborè" I corrected her and she gave me a hearty laugh.
"ah, natürlich albern ich" (ah, of course silly me)

"Also, wie war die Reise nach New York, hast du etwas für mich besorgt?" (So how was the trip to New York, did you get something for me?) I asked her with puppy eyes

"Penelope you don't have to speak full German with me if you want, English is also my second language too you know" she said smoothly and she grabbed something from her bag

"While I was in New York I don't know what I should get you as a souvenir because I forgot to ask you so I just asked my boss and she recommended me this" she gave me a small blue velvet box

"She designed it by the way. it was in her jewelry season collection, you could open it later since your sisters got their presents" she whispered then winked at me

I saw my sisters squeal in delight at their presents from Aunt Laborè, I was curious to see mine so I went up into my room to see what's inside the blue velvet box

I closed the door and put my bag on my desk as I slammed my body on my bed, I sat up cross-legged and open the box slowly.  What I saw was a silver ring. I was confused so I pulled it out of the box

There was a red string engraved inside the silver ring, a red string?

I tried it on my thumb, index finger, middle finger and even ring finger but it wouldn't fit. The only finger that it fit though was my pinky finger, I guess that should be ok too.

I walked down and asked Aunt Laborè about the ring. "The ring was supposed to be on your pinky finger Penelope, my boss said she designed it based on a Japanese myth when she visited Japan" she grinned at me as she held my hand to admire the ring that was in my pinky finger

"A Japanese Myth?" I repeated it in a quiet voice to myself as Aunt Laborè passed by me to help Wendy in her new dress