Chapter 63

Claudia's POV
I tapped my fingers against the table and counted the seconds until class ended. It was the last period of the day and after it, I could go and meet Clara. She and I had agreed to meet outside of the school and go to her dorm to have some 'girl' time, as she called it. I wasn't the type of girl that overly enjoyed that kind of thing, but maybe it would give my head a break, thinking about someone else's problems instead of mine.
I groaned silently, as a thought popped into my head that I had forgotten. Today after school I was scheduled to train with Yul, and if last time was anything to go by, I knew it would be both frustrating and fatiguing. How could I be so stupid and forget that I already had plans? I put a hand on my forehead and sighed in regret. I guess the trip to Clara's dorm would have to wait until later.
The bell finally rang and everyone stood up, collecting their stuff off the desk and shoving it into bags. Some were rushing to get somewhere, anywhere, more exciting, whilst others dragged behind, as though dreading what they had to face next. And I understood what they were feeling if they had to head to detention now; I just wanted to get out of this cement prison.
However, just as this idea flitted across my mind, so did the image of Clara's face as I broke my unfortunate news to her, and suddenly, the idea of detention didn't look so bad. I got up quickly though, putting the notebook that I'd been doodling on for the past sixty minutes in my bag, and ran out of class, not wanting to make Clara wait.
"Claudia!" I heard Clara's voice holler.
I turned around and smiled when I saw her walking in my direction, a smile lifting the corners of her mouth. This wasn't the first thing that I noticed, however. Instead, it was her bright neon green t-shirt, with a pair of red jeans to match. And yes, she did look like a giant walking, talking elf.
As she continued walking towards me, I noticed her catching the eyes of other students around her, and to be honest, I didn't blame them. I mean, she was practically glowing. She had her golden locks pulled up in a bun, making her look even more beautiful than her wacky outfit did, and that was a pretty hard feat to accomplish.
"And look who's glowing today." I teased, winking in her direction when she was finally within hearing distance.
"I know, right?" She giggled.
And before I even had a chance to respond to her comment, she was off and away talking about how a guy named Martin started flirting with her. I didn't know what had made Clara this boy crazy, but sometimes it astonished me how there they were never far from the front of her mind. I expected her to have grown out of it by now, but hopefully, she just had a bit more growing to do. However, even though I always told myself that Clara was just unique, my assumption was proven to be a bit too right when she told me that she actually knocked the guy out cold.
Yeah, sure, whatever you say, Claudia, the voice in my head snickered.
So after my meeting with Clara, I finally went to met Yul for our training but he suggested I punch a bag to calm my nerves.
"You can do better than that, Claudia!"
My second punch was harder.
"Weak, so weak, and here I thought you'd surprise me."
Whack.Whack.Whack.
"Harder, Claudia. Think about anything that angers you. Unleash all your anger on the punching bag."
Well I have plenty of that, where even to start. My past, I thought.
Whack.Whack.
Yul had to lean all of his weight against the bag to stop it from swinging, and it just riled up my determination even more, as I became able of what I was capable of. Until that moment, I hadn't realized that I was angry at my past. But I guess there really is a silver lining to every cloud, because right now, it was providing me the drive I needed to centre my energy.
Crying over my parents!
Whack.Whack.
Every time I think of them, tears start to spill.
Being bullied at school.
Whack.Whack.
No one knows how hard it is to be called a freak.
I punched the bag until I could no longer lift my arms, even though I tried, still feeling the stirrings of anger inside of me. So it wasn't until I stopped, gasping for breath, that I realized I was crying and so exhausted that I didn't even want to move. I felt the gloves being unlaced and pulled from my hands, but could only barely make out Yul's face in the blur of tears running down my face. He pulled me into his chest, drawing soothing circles on my back as I continued crying, over so many
"It's okay, princess." He said, trying to calm my nerves down. After he had somewhat succeeded in this, he pulled away, wiping the tears off my face and taking a step back to give me a little bit of space.
"Feeling better?" Yul questioned after I had had a moment to regain my breathe a little bit.
I nodded in response and knew that I just needed some time to understand the raw flow of emotion that had coursed through me. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before, and I didn't even realise so much was hidden beneath the surface, until provoked to find out. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned around to see Clara with a sad smile on her face.
"Are you okay, Claudia?" She asked me, her tone laced with sorrow after witnessing the depth of my despair.
I once again wished that I hadn't allowed her to come with me, not wanting her to feel guilty or think that I was miserable all the time. Because really, I wasn't. I didn't hate my life nor did I wish that it was any different to what it was now. Only when I was forced to think deeply about the past, did I even notice the slightest bit of resentment I harboured.
And just like that, with a snap of my fingers, it became so all-consuming that I knew I had to get it out of me before it ate me up inside. It wasn't healthy to not let such desolate feelings out, and that was my chance to do so without hurting anyone or anything bad resulting from it.
I nodded with a small smile, becoming more confident as I stood there. Yes, I was perfectly fine. I was great, in fact.
"I did that on purpose, you know." My head whipped in Yul's direction, who was smiling all 'knowingly'.
"From the moment I saw you, I noticed the anger in your eyes, so I wanted you to let it all out on the poor punching bag." I looked at Yul, with a big smile on my face, grateful that he both noticed it and offered me an opportunity to release it. And as cliché as it sounded, I really did feel like a big weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I could breathe easy for a while.
"Thank you. I feel much better right now. Relieved." I said, making Yul nod.
"Shall we proceed?"
"Yupp." I replied, popping the p.
"I gotta say, Yul is one hell of a hunk." Clara gushed, as soon as we have.
"Thank you. I feel much better right now. Relieved." I said, making Peter nod.
"I gotta say, Yul is one hell of a hunk." Clara gushed, as soon as we had our first moment of privacy.
"Looks like someone has a crush on Peter." I teased in a sing-song voice, humor in my eyes.
"Oh shut up." Clara pushed me playfully whilst laughing, and the fact she didn't deny this statement didn't go unnoticed by me, that's for sure. And who was I to judge Yul and say he wasn't good enough for Clara, because he really had helped me, and without me asking him to. So if she wanted my help to get to know him better and he felt the same way, I kind of owed him the favour to help.
After the break down I had with the punch bag, Yul decided to focus on body fitness. We ran for half an hour, wrestled against each other, leaving me with a few bruises, and then he taught me some basic steps to defend myself. I was beyond tired at this stage and wanted nothing more than to crawl up the stairs into bed, but before Clara and I could escape the gym, Yul told me that my uncle wanted to see me.
Clara and I were making our way to my Uncle's office now, as we had our little conversation, Clara whispering even though Yul was nowhere in sight. He said that he couldn't accompany us because he had some work to do, which was fine by me, but Clara's downfallen face portrayed her thoughts weren't likewise.
Arrgh, I can't believe that I actually forgot about Uncle Mark. I hadn't seen him in a whole week, so he had slipped my mind for the time being. Now though, he was at the front of my mind again. I knocked softly on his door before walking in when he commanded. He was staring at a bunch of papers spread before him, looking deep in thought.
My brain sneakily took advantage of his momentary distraction and I walked behind his desk to kiss his cheek, making him jump and snap out of his thoughts. I worked to keep in my bubble of laughter at the expression on his face when he had been startled and instead smiled, saying hello.
When he saw me, he gave me a weak smile in return and ushered me to sit on the chair in front of his desk. We all said our hellos and talked for a bit, not leaving Clara out of the discussion of course, until my Uncle brought up the one discussion I still had anguished feelings about.
"So we are having a ball on Sunday, in the Witch Kingdom, which is only a few days away now, as I'm sure you're aware. Tomorrow, you and Clara will meet me here in the morning as I have arranged for both of you to go explore the witch kingdom. The reason I have invited Clara to come with you Claudia, is that firstly, I don't want you to feel lonely. I know it has been hard on you and I wish for you to keep your true friends close to you so The second is to provide you with encouragement and support, as tomorrow may prove to be a tiresome day. You will learn everything that a princess should do and all that her duty involves, from keeping her head held up high and sitting at a ninety degrees angle, to the important political factors behind making decisions about the kingdom.
It will be a lot to take in, for any person, no matter their age, and I want to help you as best I can." He finished, looking at me with a smile. I couldn't find the right words to say, with so many different thoughts and feelings running through me, so I only nodded in response. My uncle seemed pleased by this, and ushered us out of his office as he had a lot of work to get through yet.
On the trip up to my dorm, Clara and I remained silent. I think she noticed my discomfort with the princess subject, and knowing me as she did, she squeezed my hand and didn't utter a single word.
"Bye Claudia" Clara waved and I smiled, hoping the dramatic events of the day hadn't scared her away for too long. But Clara was resilient, sometimes annoyingly so, so I knew she would come back tomorrow, whether I wanted her there or not.
I opened the door to my room and was surprised to find that no one was in there. This made me sigh in relief, as it had been a long day, and my eyes closed of their own accord every time they got the chance. I went to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of water, thirsty after my training, when I heard someone talking on the phone.
"Yeah, as in a date, date. So, what do you say Laurel? Are you up for a good night out together?"
My ears immediately tuned into the conversation, knowing it was Maxwell due to the smooth texture of his voice, a voice that sent shivers up my spine every time I heard it. My jaw dropped, as my brain slowly processed what I had just heard, almost not wanting to believe it. A date?
"Okay then, be ready tomorrow. Bye."
He ended the call and stayed standing where he was, not noticing I had come into the room yet. I clenched my fists. Is he serious? He's going out with a girl after he kissed me yesterday? I barged into the room, knowing I looked royally pissed off, but I couldn't help myself.
And there he was, looking sexy as ever, with his tight black shirt and a pair of ripped denim jeans hugging his masculine figure, looking as though he was expecting my arrival. I shook this paranoid thought from my head, knowing that the jealously must have been clouding my judgement and rational thought. Actually, I
"Are you serious? You're going out with a girl after you kissed me?" I yelled, outraged. Guess what Maxwell did, he smirked. That mother f_cker actually smirked!
"Why? Want to be in her place?" He asked, putting both of his hands behind his back. I stared at him in disbelief, not understanding how he could be so calm and collected. However, what I said next made me want to kick myself.
"Ha, me, in her place? No. And I'm actually going on a date with Westley tomorrow." Of course. I just had to make myself look stupid. As I stated this out loud, I realised how hypocritical I was being, being outraged about Maxwell taking someone else out on a date, when I already was doing the same thing. And I had done it first. Shit, I was just making things worse for myself. I wanted to slap myself.
"Splendid, so it's settled, we'll go on a double date." I stood there, frozen in shock, as his words failed to translate. WHAT?
He got up from his seat and walked in my direction, until he was standing in front of me.
"Can't wait for tomorrow, dear Claudia. Oh and by the way, you look sexy as hell." He whispered, pressing his lips against my ear, his voice making me shiver. I blushed crimson as I wondered if I had missed his eyes leave mine, but I was sure I hadn't noticed him glancing at my clothes. I was about to retort with something along these lines, when he suddenly vanished.
I pulled myself up to sit on the kitchen counter and slapped myself on the forehead, not knowing how I could be in such a similar position, so soon. I'm such an idiot. What will I tell Westley now? Ugh, I'm such an idiot.
What the hell had I gotten myself into?