CHAPTER 165: 165-MERGING

Clementine:

The way Joshua stepped back just to look at Suki and then at Jack on his left was the highlight of the day. We were no longer the center of attention.

"What are they saying, Suki?" Mr. Rick asked, his jaw clenched.

"I’m pretty sure you heard it loud and clear."

Then Miss Rue arrived and finally took a stand for us. The way she faced Mr. Rick, now that should be the highlight.

Yorick placed his hand on my waist and pulled me away to stand on the side, diverting all attention to the White Squad.

"They are lying," Suki said.

"Babe, there’s no way," she then turned to Joshua. "Just because they see me being friendly with Jack, they are accusing me of bulshit? We’ve been friends since we were kids." Suki’s voice held so much confidence, not once did she stutter.

"Right, we’ve been friends a long time. Of course, she’s friendly with him." Joshua instantly nodded, coming for her defense.

I noticed a little gulp run down Jack’s throat. I had caught them too, but of course, I stayed silent.

"That’s not true. If by friendly you mean putting his charging device in her portal, sure," Oriana mumbled. The others behind her laughed at her choice of words.

The fact that everyone forgot about the Green Squad so quickly shook me to my core.

"Miss Oriana, you need to choose your words wisely," Mr. Rick warned. Miss Lenora squeezed past everyone and stood beside Oriana.

"I think she did. She could have used far worse words," Miss Lenora said. Oriana started to smirk.

"Actually, you said you have cameras everywhere. So you definitely have cameras near the kitchen. That’s where I caught them sneaking in and fucking each other behind Joshua’s and everyone’s back. So while we’re talking about immorality, let’s focus on the ones we know did something wrong. And don’t accuse Clementine as she’s single, and there’s no proof she did anything wrong," Oriana stated.

I stared at her with a small, broken smile of appreciation. I would never have been able to prove I saw Jack and Suki together, and I wouldn’t have said it out of guilt for what would happen to them. Even when Oriana looked like the villain to some ringleaders and the White Squad, she was a hero to everyone else.

When Oriana spoke with such certainty, Suki’s eyes widened. She turned to Jack, who looked like he had met his death. The one person standing between them noticed it.

"Well, we’ll look into this matter and deal with it. For now, everyone should return to their rooms. Three lives were lost, so let’s not divert attention from the main subject," Mr. Rick said.

Now that Mr. Rick’s squad was under scrutiny again, he remembered it wasn’t fair to shift attention from the deaths to a scandalous topic.

"Right, now that your squad is under attack, suddenly you remember the rules, Mr. Rick?" Miss Rue said, folding her arms.

"Of course, he always does that," Ms. Lenora sided with her. I didn’t understand how the ringleaders suddenly turned against each other. Mr. Brian and Ms. Anna didn’t look very confident anymore.

"We’ll talk about it. Let’s just finish for now. We have to deal with the dead bodies, face the headmaster, and prepare a report," Mr. Rick said firmly, not letting anyone hold him accountable.

With that, we were all sent back to our rooms with broken hearts and so many questions in our minds.

We returned to our dorm room feeling very low. For the next two hours, we tried to comfort each other. Ian kept reminding us that the Green Squad’s deaths had nothing to do with us.

Still, we wondered if what the ringleader said about the North, about there being no mysteries and the ones paying too much attention not dying, was true. It made me think about the time all the Crusaders died on the first mission.

We went to bed before being woken for dinner. I remember when we first arrived, we had such different energy. Midway through, we were full of energy because we had slayed some monsters. And now we were defeated.

We all went to the hall where the ringleaders stood in a line. They wore the capes of their squad colors like always, but they didn’t start eating immediately. We knew an announcement was coming.

"Everyone, after this meal, things will change," Mr. Rick said.

I noticed Ms. Anna looked very emotional. Mr. Brian looked defeated too, but I didn’t understand why Ms. Anna was so upset, her squad still had three members.

"Anyway, let’s begin the food, and then we’ll make the announcement that will change the dynamic of the squad mates and the ringleaders," Mr. Rick added.

Hearing that made it hard to swallow our food. Everyone else seemed the same, except the White Squad. Their punishment had ended, so they could eat, but they were distant.

Suki seemed emotional, her eyes heavy with bags. Joshua’s face was red, and he grabbed his plate and sat at a table alone. Jack looked guilty. The other two members were just there, and I’m sure they felt awkward.

After we finished the meal, we waited curiously for the announcement.

"As you all know, we have lost many Crusaders. The Black Squad now has five members, after losing one in the initial testing stage. The White Squad has five members, having recently lost one. The Red Squad has three members, and the Blue Squad has three members. The headmaster has reached out and said we need to merge the squads."

As soon as that announcement was made, heads snapped up. I already knew what would happen now.

"With sadness and grief, we have to say goodbye to Mr. Brian, whose squad mates had all been wiped out. He would be heading back home until the next Crusaders arrived," Miss Lenora said goodbye, and everyone watched silently. They all hugged Brian. Anna sniffled and straightened her back.

"And we will also say goodbye to Ms. Anna, because her team will now be shifting to the Red Squad, making them six in number," the announcement continued.

The Blue Squad looked up, staring at the Red Squad, then at Lenora, who had delivered the announcement with a smile. Now it all made sense why Anna and Brian were the only ones upset.