Chapter 2

‎That evening, after Adelle had gone home in annoyance and frustration, I closed up my work place and decided to pay a visit to Devin College. She was mad because I didn't accept her invitation to go home with her, and by home, she meant my Uncle's house.

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‎When I ended up in the orphanage, I always wondered why my Uncle didn't take up the papers for me instead. He could've taken me into his care instead of sending me off to a place where I wasn't sure of my survival. Somehow, his act had confirmed this little notion I had within me at the time, that I really had no one to rely on.

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‎After that night, all the other relatives severed ties with me, except my mother's brother, a thug-like, burly brunet who'd served in the army once. He was the only one who had come out to represent them.

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‎While sitting there in the police station and staring up at the ceiling, red in the eyes with dried flakes gracing the corners, Uncle Samuelson had walked over to me and had placed a heavy, rough hand on my shoulder.

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‎At that time, I'd only stared at him while he made baseless jokes, which he probably thought was funny even though he was the only one laughing. He smiled till the corners of his lips hurt and more wrinkles grew around his eyes. He portrayed such a saddened facade yet there was nothing grievous behind those brown, beady eyes of his.

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‎After that, he took my family's properties, the house and everything and sent me to an orphanage. This was a year before Adelle was born.

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‎He'd come to visit sometime, bearing gifts and extravagant items for me, as if he was doing me a favor, as though they weren't in courtesy of my parent's money. I couldn't stand up to him legally, after all, what could a six year old do other than allow such trivialities in order to survive?

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‎I planned to cut ties with him and everyone else after I left the orphanage which was why I worked like an ant, doing everything I can so I could get through school and get away. Fortunately, the orphanage wasn't an unsuitable place and I dearly favored the connections and help I received.

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‎"You don't even want me to help you." Uncle Samuel said once, among multiple nonsense of his, "where do you think this'll take you? You think you'll make it through? You're alone and yet, you have a pitiful pride. That won't get you so far now, Allie."

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‎Life was fair to me when it proved him wrong after I left the orphanage and got into Winston University which was a state away, but then I had an accident and couldn't use my left leg.

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‎I remembered him brawling at me after the practitioner had left the hospital room. I don't keep up with him much but he always managed to find and skillfully annoy me.

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‎As I glared at him, he snickered. "Do you finally understand what I've been trying to say to you all these years? Your pathetic ignorance is going to put you in trouble one day."

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‎"Uncle. Ah, wait, you don't have any right to that title. You." I bit back my lower lip in anger. "Why do you think it's normal to be happy at my situation? You know what, you should enjoy swimming in your stupidity while you still have it. Mark my words, I will get my parent's inheritance, everything I own, back from you and watch you reap the consequences of your actions."

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‎His eyebrows suddenly drew towards one another as he approached me and took my hands, feigning sadness. "But Allie, you know I was the only one who stood by you on that unfortunate day. Everyone else left, only I didn't, and this is how you repay me? Really?"

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‎My anger boiled within me and my eyes heated up as I shook off his hands. "Are you planning the bucket you'll be kicking soon? Because if so, would this stupid, senseless behavior of yours be actually worth it? You selfish fool, you took everything my parents owned and turned it into your name and then you treated me like you were freaking doing me a huge favor, whereas, you scammer..!"

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‎"Oh, shut up Allie, that's no way to talk to your uncle."

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‎"You thugy, fat faced fool..."

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‎He snorted and picked his ear with his pinky. "Anyways, I sold the house and every other thing so they aren't really in anyone's name now. Plus, your parents didn't write a will so who would know anything?"

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‎For a second, the world around me stopped, the atmosphere seized in its gear. It wasn't possible. My parents did write a will. I'd seen my mother writing on something before, and she'd explained that it was a testament, something people loved adding to their bucket list.

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‎I looked up at my uncle, and suddenly I found myself throwing a pillow at him with all the strength I could muster while the sides of my head throbbed painfully. "YOU BASTARD!"

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‎He must've done something about it before anything could ensue. But what about the lawyer? We had personal attorneys who took care of my parent's cases.

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‎What about the police? They said investigation was going underway but they still didn't have any leads.

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‎What about my sister? What about my family's associates? No one was willing to come out and oversee what was really going on.

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‎No one was willing to help me.

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‎Was my Uncle that good in utilizing so-called connections and securing a strong hold in the society that no one wanted to take realistic actions or did they really not care at all?

‎But my parents were good people, they helped each and every one of them in the town however they could. Was this how they repaid that kindness?

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‎It wasn't fair.... it wasn't...

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‎"Ah, by the way, my daughter's having her eleventh birthday soon, you should visit. I will text you the venue. Have a good night, Allie."

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‎That was all he said before he left. I hadn't seen him since.

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‎ That night, I had curled up on the bed and cried out for so long, so much, that my throat ached and my chest burned, and my head throbbed painfully, till I didn't know when dawn broke.

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‎It was as if everything I'd bottled up since that night, since my sister's abduction, every situation I'd experienced, had exploded and streamed out in abundance.

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‎Of course, Adelle didn't know about this. She was only told about what had happened that night. It was better that way. I wouldn't want to involve such a lively girl in something that clearly didn't concern her and shouldn't serve as an hindrance to her.

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‎Most times, ignorance being a bliss lived up to its name.

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‎I'd sworn to take back what was mine from my uncle, however, these days, I couldn't quite give a damn about it all. I was more concerned with putting that effort and strength into finding my sister first.

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‎The police still didn't have anything on her, not even a single corpse that they'd found to match her description. Twenty whole years since that night and she was still missing.

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‎They were useless. I may as well start rearing poultry while waiting for them.

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‎So, I decided to find her myself.

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‎She was still alive. I was so sure of it. At least, that was what I convinced myself to believe. I didn't want to be alone in a world with no one to call on.

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‎"Brawns!"

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‎I halted in my tracks and froze for a couple of seconds. Then, slowly, I lifted my head and found a slim, golden-blonde with bright green eyes. She was dressed in a beige silk blouse and black, knee-length pencil skirt, and was beaming right at me with a tall, thin hand waving in the air.

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‎As always, I was being taunted. The gesture, the bubbliness aimed at me, her hospitable behavior around me. They were all pretentious.

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‎Loralye Diaz was a close associate of mine during my years in school. She was my dorm mate but she wasn't the best. I wouldn't wish her company on even my enemies. She was loud, insulting, emotionally manipulative and very disrespectful, especially to the poor and disabled. I was only one of the many victims of her demeaning discrimination and tyranny.

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‎And now, she was a professor in Clinton Devin College.

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‎I approached her before she could leave the terrace of the college grounds. "Loralye, hi." I began with a thin smile. I couldn't bother to match her energy.

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‎A disgusted expression replaced the cheerfulness in her demeanor when she glanced at my legs, then it disappeared in a second, and she was back to smiling. She hooked an arm around mine. "Brawns, it's been quite some time, what are you doing here?"

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‎I switched my cane to the other hand. "I decided to pay a visit, as you can clearly see."

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‎My gaze swept over the campus. Devin College was huge and vast, in all respect. The students were placed like stars all over the place. They were trees and flowering plants taking on the role of interestingly defined decorations. There were various buildings in cream and light brown with different sizes and shapes at each corner you turned to.

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‎It was definitely fascinating, I wondered what it would be like to just spend few hours under a shade, alone with a book in hand and...

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‎Focus, Alyssa! That's not why you're here.

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‎I spotted some girls under one of the trees. I just needed one to talk to and be sure of the college's authenticity before Adelle's freshman year commenced.

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‎Loralye pulled at my arm and I almost collided with her bosom. She snorted, helping herself to a handful of my hair. "Is it also obvious that you have no business here so you wouldn't be here if you didn't have a reason, that's what I'm asking you for. Your eyes keep wandering."

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‎I shot her a narrowed look. "I don't see any issue with visiting some of my patients to see how they are doing, why are you bothered by it?" Her fingers coiled and recoiled along the strands of my hair. "And will you at least borrow some common sense to get your hands off my hair?"

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‎"Oh, heh", she chuckled with a lift of her nose tip, "I didn't know you treasured such a," she eyed it, "bird's poop mesh." Then she let me go.

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‎I watched as she pulled away. "Well, I'm off, Brawns, I have important things to attend to. Don't lose your stick now, or your chicken leg won't be the only thing that might lose it's essence."

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‎I nodded, my hand tightening over the tip of my cane. "Why are you announcing your departure when you aren't at the airport though?"

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‎I didn't wait to see her reaction before I walked away. I didn't need to. I didn't want to waste anymore of my time with her. Not everyone deserved that thoughtfulness. "Stay safe." I added.

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‎The girls under the shade were up to four. One was a curly, redhead. Two had long brown hair and the other had short wavy black hair.

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‎I approached them with a smile, shifting the cane to my other hand, and vice versa. This was an habit I did occasionally, most times it was when I was about to be deceptive, and other times I was just uncomfortable.

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‎"Hi, hello." They stopped talking and looked at me passively. "Yes, hello. Uh, may I speak with you for a bit?"

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‎The redhead nodded vigorously. "Yes sure!" Suddenly, she was around me, guiding me to a spot between them. "Please, take a seat. Watch your cane! And your leg! Are you okay now? You sure?"

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‎Ah, she was the energetic one. "Yes, I'm okay," I smiled with a nod, her whole personality reminding me of an hamster.

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‎"Stop it, Canya," the short, black haired one said, "you're all over her." Then she turned to me. "We apologize. She just really has this burst of empathetic energy."

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‎"If it's what makes her who she is, I don't think it's anything to apologize for."

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‎They all went quiet and stared at me, and suddenly I was burdened with the thought that I may have said something I shouldn't have and blown my cover.

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‎Then, Canya giggled and the others leaned in. "You're amazing!"

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‎"What is it you wanted to talk to us about?" The one with the bob asked.

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‎I furrowed my brows as I leaned in. "It's about your college giving out scholarships to high school students through food competition?"

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‎One second and something was off about the atmosphere. It was as if an iciness had passed through. The girls sat up straight and suddenly looked serious. One of them gave me a strange, disapproving look.

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‎Then, they went back to normal like as if their demeanor never changed in the first place.

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‎The one with long brown hair blinked at me innocently. "Yeah, what about it?"

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‎Canya leaned forward with a sweet smile. "Say here, what did you say your name was again? I think we should all introduce ourselves first. It's weird starting off something just like that."

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‎I really did not like that suggestion. I preferred going straight to the point, and I wasn't here to start something with them. "I..."

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‎"What do you mean?" Black bob imputed. "Nothing ever started. She's here to ask a question, not to befriend us."

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‎"I'm Canya, sophomore year in the music department." Too late, the curly redhead was doing what she wanted. She gestured at the Bob, who had her eyes narrowed at her, "Her name's Layla, we call her Laelae or Lae." Pointing at both brownies, she said, "these are Crimson and Dylala, but we call them Crim and Dyla. They're twins but you can use their eye colors to differentiate them. As you can see, Crim has heterochromia while Dyla has turquoise. They're not from around here." She grinned softly. "What's yours?"

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‎I nodded, accepting my fate. "Alyssa Brawns."

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‎"Oh" They chorused, then paused, and chorused longer. "Ohhhh."

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‎Of course, I wasn't surprised. My past was like an entertaining folklore for people to pass down to their kids.

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‎"Do you have a problem with them giving out scholarships this way that you had to go out of 'your' way to confirm?" Lae asked.

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‎Her gaze was dark as she held mine, but they didn't hold any resentment whatsoever. "Yes." I answered simply. "I know how the school has worked over the years so it's kind of a shock to me. I'm used to it being more traditional, or did the Vice Chancellor end his tenor?" And there was another on the seat? I only needed to be assured, that's all.

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‎The girls exchanged quick looks which didn't go past me unnoticed. They were deciding whether or not to hide something they knew about.

‎My intuition was not wrong again.

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‎I glanced at the main gate. Or should I just leave?

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‎"I think it's a way to attract more students to join, plus they make admissions easy. It helps those kids who find it hard to enter school." Canya said. "That way, no one is left behind. Isn't it amazing?"

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‎I frowned confusedly because one word stood out to me. "You think? Why should you settle on assumptions? You've stayed here for a long time, shouldn't you be sure?"

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‎Her smile dropped, but it didn't affect her demeanor. "Do you want to visit the VC's office? You can take it up to him so you can ask these questions." She shrugged, shaking her head at me. "We're just students here, we don't really know what goes on with the administrative."

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‎"But he's the VC, no one can just enter his office without appointment."

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‎"Oh," she laughed and waved a dismissive hand, "our VC isn't like that, he's ready to meet anyone who wants to discuss with him. He doesn't like the stress of going through appointment and stuff like that."

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‎"You seem to know that much about him and not your school admissions."

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‎The twins hummed worriedly as Canya nodded firmly, remaining playful and cheerful. "I admit that."

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‎I gaze upwards. "It seems the night is closing in. I should come tomorrow to speak with him then, since you've said so."

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‎She nodded again.

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‎There were a lot of unanswered questions and a build up of new ones within me, so I decided to ask. "Who is your current VC by the way?"

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‎Canya blinked, giving me the impression that I'd just asked a stupid question. "The one everyone knows. His tenor hasn't ended. Don't you know him?"

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‎She was avoiding the question. I shook my head. "I don't."

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‎"Oh, but shouldn't you? You just made it known that you're used to the school being traditional. And you immediately thought something was off because of the change in the admission style, isn't that because you know who the VC is and want to be certain that it's him?"

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‎She didn't use past tense when addressing him. She was careful and guarded.

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‎"Yes, I admit that." I nodded. "So, can you tell me if it's him so I will be assured?"

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‎She gave me a closed-eye smile. "Wouldn't you like to find out yourself when you come tomorrow?" Then it dropped. "That's what you intend to do, is it not?"