//

[MC Tales: I warn y’all before hand, this chapter ain’t gonna be pretty.]

//

                Ella skipped through the hallways humming a random tune. Like any other day, the hallways were empty in the mornings. However, today wasn’t going to be ‘like any other day’. On a usual day, she would find Sandeul already in his seat, but the classroom was empty. ‘Huh, he probably has to run some errands.’ Brushing it off, she skipped over to seat. Students slowly trickled into class and soon enough, school was in session. Sandeul still hadn’t shown up to class yet and Ella began to worry. She couldn’t concentrate on the lesson and was constantly looking out the window for his familiar figure.

                “Ella, what’s the answer to Question 8?” the teacher asked.

                “Huh, what?” she jumped out of her daze and stared at the teacher.

                “Did you hear what I just asked you?”

                “Sorry, Teacher,” she lowered her head in shame. Ella’s not a keener, but she puts in the effort to try and listen to all the lessons, something the whole entire school doesn’t bother doing.

                “That’s too bad. I’ve never had to punish such a good student before, but there are firsts for everything. Outside you go,” the teacher pointed to the door and Ella dragged her feet out of the classroom. She kneeled outside and raised her arms above her head. “I’ll call you in for the next lesson.”

                “Aish, why was I so worried?” she mumbled and avoided the giggles of students passing by.

--

                “See you all after lunch,” the teacher erased the chalkboard as students raced out of the classroom, eager to meet up with their friends. Ella made her way to the cafeteria, something out of her ordinary. Usually, she packed her lunch and would eat out on the field bench, but she woke up late that morning. ‘Wow, I didn’t expect so many people here.’ The cafeteria was packed. Different cliques claimed sections of the room and right in the center was none other than her dear step sister, Haneul. Ella steered towards the lunch line and grabbed a tray.

                “Hey Ella! I’m really hungry. Can I cut in front of you?”

                “I’ve got practice soon. Do you mind if I budge in?”

                “Do you have extra change? I forgot my lunch money.”

                Left and right, students bombarded her with favours which she couldn’t ignore. Eventually, she made it to the front of the line and had just enough money to buy a bag of chips or a drink. She opted for the chips since there were water fountains in the school. Turning to the chaos of a cafeteria, Ella squeezed through the crowd and spotted an empty table at the back. Haneul’s hawk like eyes spotted her step sister and a sinister smile grew on her lips. Ella passed by the queeka’s table and in the blink of an eye, did a face plant on the floor.

//

[MC Tales: OH, NO WAY! That evil girl!]

//

                “Oh, so sorry. Didn’t see you there,” Haneul smirked and nodded at her laughing friends. Ella got up and bowed to her step sister.

                “No, it was my fault. I got in the way. I’m sorry. If there’s anything I can do for you in return,” Ella shook with fear. She couldn’t reiterate enough how powerful her sister was in the school. Even the faculty feared her. 

                “It’s okay~ you don’t have to do anything. Although, I’m a bit hungry…” Haneul’s voiced trailed off. She eyes the bag of chips in Ella’s hands.

                “Here! I wasn’t that hungry anyway!”

                “Thank you~” Haneul snatched the bag away and turned back to her friends, laughing in triumph. Ella bowed to nobody in particular and scurried out the cafeteria. She went to the bleachers on the field and sat down. ‘I’m still alive. I’m still alive.’ She wiped her brow and lay down on the bench. The clouds spun above her and the world went black.

//

[MC Tales: First the trip and now this?! ELLA! ARE YOU OKAY?!]

//

                Lights flashed into her eyes, disrupting her comfortable darkness. The nurse checked her pulse and jotted down his observations on a clipboard. She heard muffled voices in the distance, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Somebody grabbed her hand and shook it.

                “Ella? How are you feeling?” a familiar voice asked her.

                “Oppa, where were you this morning?” she coughed and tried to sit up. He lightly pushed her back down.

                “I had a doctor’s appointment. You don’t know how shocked I was to see you fall off the bleachers,” he fixed her bangs and wiped away the cold sweat. “The nurse said you fainted from dehydration and hunger. Also, he said your pulse was irregular; maybe caused by stress or something. What happened, Ella?” She tried to rub her eye, but her hand wouldn’t move. ‘Huh?’ she looked down and saw Sandeul’s hand still on top of hers.

                “Nothing happened, Oppa. I just missed breakfast this morning and forgot to pack a lunch. It’s no big deal,” she tugged her hand out of his and sat up. He scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat.

                “If it was no big deal, you wouldn’t be sitting here in the nurse’s office,” he stated.

                “I’m okay now. So let’s go to class,” she swung her legs over the edge and stood up. Blood rushed to her head from the sudden movement and she lost her balance. Sandeul caught her by the arm and sat her back down.

                “Are you okay?” Sandeul he asked. Ella held onto her throbbing head and nodded.

                “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little head rush, that’s all,” she smiled at him and stood up slowly. He held out onto her arm, just in case she got dizzy.

                After school, she was on cleaning duty, yet again. Sandeul couldn’t stay behind.

                “I have rehearsal Ella! I’m sorry I can’t stay,” he pouted and held her shoulders apologetically. Ella lightly laughed and shook her head.

                “It’s okay, Oppa. I can handle it,” she gave him an okay sign and ran off to the janitor’s closet. It was like the classroom knew she was cleaning by herself. The floors were dirtier than ever and trash littered the floor. Ella sighed at the sight and rolled up her sleeves with determination. ‘I can do this! Hwaiting!’ she grabbed the broom and started cleaning. An hour later, she was finally done. The floors were sparkling clean and everything was in its place. Ella wiped the sweat off her brow and breathed out with satisfaction. “KEUT! Time to go home~” she picked up the bucket of dirty water and made her way to the girl’s washroom. She waddled from the weight of the water and tried her best not to spill any. “Just around the corner, Ella. You can do this,” she told herself. In a flash, she was on the ground and a scream echoed through the halls.

                “YAH! LOOK WHAT YOU DID!” she flinched. Water soaked through her skirt and drenched her socks. She carefully got up off the ground and finally looked at who she bumped into. Her heart dropped. ‘I’m doomed…’

//

[MC Tales: Aigoo, why is this day not treating her right?]

//

                “I said, look what you did!” Jin Young glared down at the girl in front of him. His pants were soaked from the knees down and water flooded his brand new shoes. She was in no better state. Her skirt was soaked from the fall and her socks were a murky brown from its previous white colour. “Aish, you ruined my brand new shoes! What are you going to do about this?”

                “I…I’ll pay you back,” Ella whimpered. She drew back from his raised voice.

                “You think you have the money to pay to these? Don’t make me laugh. These are worth more than you can ever afford,” he sneered at her, taking a step closer. Ella backed away until she bumped into the row of lockers. “You know what, you don’t have to pay for anything,” he smirked at her.

                “Really? Oh, thank you,” she bowed and picked up the bucket to leave. He slammed his hand against the locker, blocking her from leaving.

                “I said you don’t have to pay. Instead, I’m going to make your life a living hell,” he flicked her cheek and walked off.

//

[MC Tales: WHAT, NO! Damn you, Jin Young. What are you plotting against Ella?]

//

                Ella stood paralyzed with fear. He just threatened her and knowing the Kingka of the school, she was definitely going to get it. She slumped down to the floor and felt tears forming in her eyes. ‘I deserved it. I ruined his pants. Whatever he does to you, just take it.’ She wiped away the tears and picked up the empty bucket. The janitor walked by and saw the mess.

                “Aigoo let me take that. Why is a young lady doing all the heavy work? You go home, I’ll clean this up,” he led her away from the spilt water and she went back to the classroom. Sandeul was sitting on his desk swinging his legs back and forth. He turned at the sound of door. His eyes widened in shock.

                “What happened?” he rushed over to her and examined her face. She smiled weakly and pulled his hands away.

                “I’m fine. Just spilt the water, but it’s okay. The janitor is cleaning it up for me,” she wiped her hand on her skirt and grabbed her belongings. “Let’s go,” she said and skipped out of the classroom. Sandeul closely followed, paying extra special attention to her, just in case she fell again. They reached the front of the school and said their goodbyes. “Sandeul oppa, thanks for helping me earlier when I, you know…fainted,” she bowed 90 degrees and held it. Sandeul straightened her up.

                “Don’t worry about it. That’s what friends are for,” he smiled at her and patted her head. “Anyway, you better get going, it’s starting to get dark.” Ella gave him her familiar toothy smile and ran off, waving behind her. Sandeul turned around and started walking home as well. He stopped when she called out his name.

                “Oppa! THANK YOU!” she waved her arms over her head and he gladly returned it.

//

[MC Tales: And so begins the wrath of Jung Jin Young. Let’s hope he doesn’t do anything too mean. Bah, who are we kidding? He’s got an evil plan up his sleeve and we all know it. Please play nice Jin Young. *No promises!* HEY! THIS IS MY BLURB!]

//

Ah, it's been a while~ Now that I've finished my other story, I can finally focus on this one! It probably won't be as long, but it'll be fun! I'm liking this plot since it's planned out better XD

I think I'll start comment replies in the next chapter...yet again. It's only because the comments I got were from so long ago. I feel guilty >_____<

Anyway, see you in the next Chapter!

-greenninjapanda GNP-