"What sounds weird?"
"None of your business," Avery already replied, even before she turned and saw the face of the person who whispered in her ears.
White hair, sculpted face, dark eyes...and a very familiar face...Orion Smith?!
"Why...Orion, what are you doing here?" she asked, curiosity evident in her tone.
"Arch didn’t tell you?" Orion raised his brows.
"Didn’t tell what? I hope you are not here to guard or do anything along that line."
"Guard you? Arch would only task with that if he wants you and I abducted," Orion replied. Standing half a head taller than Avery, she had no difficulties looking up at him like she used to with Archie.
"Then...are you here for Jodi, perhaps?" she asked again.
"Joe? No. I am to join a class starting in an hour or so. If I checked right, it should be your first class," Orion replied.
Avery narrowed her eyes at him, taking a step closer to stare straight into his eyes. "Owh...My first class; now that’s suspicious. You’re in the entertainnt industry too?" she asked.
"Wrong. I am here to sit in and take notes for a friend. I would have asked you to help if it was a female friend but no, it’s male and uh...I won’t want to risk my life when Arch finds out I am the reason you and a male classmate beca friends," he joked, raising his hand up in a dramatic manner. "Wanna co in with to take a seat?"
Avery replied, "No, you can go ahead. I will just et soone real quick and be back."
"Okay then. I will save a seat for you," he promised, to which Avery quickly muttered her thanks. She watched his retreating back as he walked into the lecture hall, and when she could no longer see him, finally turned away and walked back to the lion fountain she had seen earlier.
A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips when she saw there was soone sitting on the large rock right beside the fountain. The girl, who looked around Avery’s age had cropped hair that frad her small face perfectly and was wearing round glasses.
Avery stood still at a distance, taking note of how the girl completely avoided eting the eyes of passers-by while making sure her own eyes stayed fixed on the book she was reading. She continued watching the other girl for more than five minutes before sucking a deep breath in and walking forward.
She didn’t stop walking until she was standing before the girl, an overly bright smile on her face.
"Hey Charlotte! I didn’t know you loved this book too," she gushed in excitent.
The girl looked up imdiately, her face showing how scared she was until she saw Avery’s face.
"Hey...you look familiar," she muttered.
"Familiar? You can’t rember , Charlotte?"
Charlotte blinked once, twice, then adjusted her glasses and blinked again before slowly shaking her head.
"I am sorry but I can’t rember you," she whispered.
"Really?!" Avery scoffed, facepalming herself in mock embarrassnt. "We attended the sa secondary school and you sit in the second row while I sit just two rows behind you. You used to keep to yourself. You attended L.A Community High school, didn’t you?"
Charlotte nodded, the confusion on her face increasing. She had indeed attended the secondary school the lady before her ntioned, but she thought it was impossible for this lady to have attended that sa school. It was a school for the children of the low class or middle class earners, and the lady before her seed like she was high class for no particular reason. Was it the clothes, her perfect skin, or was it her refined tone of speaking? Anyway, Charlotte instincts told her the lady was high class.
"I did attend LA but... Maybe that’s the reason why I find you familiar," she stated. Her last sentence was not a lie. She did find Avery familiar but could not rember where or when she saw her last.
"That’s definitely the reason!" Avery smiled. "Fancy seeing you here. Your departnt?"
"Fresh man Mass Communication and dia studies," Charlotte replied. Noticing the slight crease on Avery’s forehead, she added quickly, "I know I’m a little too old to be in first year but attending an elite university such as this one required a lot of sacrifice from my parents and ti from ."
Avery nodded slowly, "I understand. We are in the sa shoes since I’m a freshman too," she inford. Her words brought a smile to Charlotte’s face, the latter seeing there was soone else who understood her.
Avery continued, "I’ve got to go. My very first class is starting soon and I can’t be absent. See you later!"
"Sa!" Charlotte replied. "It was nice eting you again."
Avery bead and quickly lowered her gaze to the book Charlotte was reading to check the title. She waved and said, "It’s wonderful that I’m seeing an old friend here too, Charlotte."
With that, she turned and began walking away, back to the lecture hall. The smile on her face had disappeared and was now replaced by a determined and pained expression.
She had been right.
The news had said she poisoned her grandfather through their family’s butler so the previous day, she had asked for Neil’s help on everything he could get on the old man and his family. She had expected to see the news that he was in jail or had left the McCallum mansion at least; if he couldn’t deny the news publicly for fear of antagonism, he could have his hands clean.
But no. The report Neil sent back to her told her their family butler was on Vacation! And his only daughter, Charlotte, had now enrolled in NEU. A sester tuition for that particular university was more than an average salary earner’s yearly inco. How then did the old butler get that much money?
The only way she could get the answer was by connecting with his daughter, Charlotte Ross. And that was exactly what she did.
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