Initially, Nina hadn’t planned to co early. That’s why she lingered at the hospital. However, she also hadn’t planned to be late or to arrive exactly on ti. She had wanted to walk around the campus, maybe help Lily if needed, or just catch up with everyone.
If that had happened, Nina wouldn’t have felt like she had co too early. But now, with Jonathan around her, it felt like she had.
As she helped with the sash of the mascot while standing behind it, Nina peeked at others who were finishing up the final touches. Jonathan was helping Lily set up a bulletin board with the basketball team.
’Why am I worried?’ she wondered to herself, sighing as she hid behind the mascot. ’He seems to get along with everyone.’
But then, why was Nina so surprised by that? It wasn’t like Jonathan was a bad person in her eyes. If anything, he had been the most considerate and humble man. With Lily’s personality, she and Jonathan would surely get along.
’Still, what a coincidence,’ she told herself, shaking her head. ’Our partners were technically each other’s exes.’
Although technically, Nina was also Finn’s ex-fiancee. Nina shook her head, telling herself she shouldn’t focus on this part for now. Perhaps it was what had happened to Finn that made Nina feel tense about everything.
’I should focus on... this reunion, or rather, on Penny. She’d freak out when she sees everything,’ Nina sighed, hooking the pin as she finished attaching the sash to the mascot. ’Back then, she told she couldn’t stand the posters of herself, but now there’s even a mascot.’
Nina slowly walked in front of the mascot, studying it for a mont. Of course, the mascot didn’t look exactly like Penny, but there was so resemblance. For instance, the pink shirt and orange shorts with a purple backpack—the outfit Penny wore on her first day at the Summit School of Excellence.
"It’s also cute," Nina whispered, finally smiling genuinely for the first ti in a long ti. But her smile faded when she heard a voice from behind her.
"Oh... what a cute mascot!"
Nina’s entire body froze as her shoulders tensed up. Her eyes slowly went wide, and she held her breath, recognizing the voice even before she turned to see who it was.
Patricia Miller.
Everyone in the gymnasium paused what they were doing when they heard Patricia’s voice echo through the space. Lily, Yuri, Jonathan, and so forr varsity basketball players turned to look, catching sight of Patricia as she stopped a few steps away from Nina’s vantage point.
"It doesn’t look exactly like Penny, but it’s still cute!" Patricia remarked, crossing her arms under her chest. The corner of her mouth curled up into a smirk as she watched Nina slowly turn to face her. "Hello there, Nina."
"Pa—Patricia," Nina stuttered, her complexion paling as she t Patricia’s eyes. "What are you... what are you doing here?"
"I should be the one asking; what are you doing here?"
"Hey!" Lily quickly jumped from her spot, storming to Nina’s side. When she reached Nina, she faced Patricia with a look of displeasure. "Patricia, what a surprise! What are you doing here? You weren’t part of the reunion party! You weren’t even a fan club mber!"
Patricia arched a brow, darting her eyes between the two girls. "Lily, if you’re questioning why I’m here while not being a mber of the fan club, then should I ask why Nina is also here? She’s not a part of the fan club either."
"Even if she isn’t a part of the fan club, she’s invited," Yuri chid in, standing on Nina’s other side. "Are you invited?"
"I’m sorry, but I don’t know you," Patricia said to Yuri, blatantly ignoring her as she cast Lily a look. She pulled a ticket from her new designer bag, holding the pink ticket between her thumb and index finger. "I received this. So before you tell I’m gatecrashing the party, think again. I aminvited."
Lily, Nina, and Yuri furrowed their brows as they gazed at the pink ticket in Patricia’s possession. Nina and Yuri then exchanged a look, both intuitively turning to Lily. But when they saw Lily’s confused expression, they realized it wasn’t her who had invited Patricia. There was no way Lily would do that, knowing Patricia’s troubleso nature.
"What?" Patricia retrieved the ticket and placed it back into her bag, glaring at the three of them. "Don’t tell that even though I was invited, I shouldn’t be here?"
"Patricia, who gave you that ticket?" Displeasure was written all over Lily’s face.
"Does it matter?"
"It does matter to , because whoever gave that to you probably wants to stir trouble today," Lily said, taking a step forward. "And it doesn’t matter if you have the ticket—I’m the president of this club. I can still kick you out if I want to."
Patricia laughed maniacally. "Oh, my goodness. This role surely went to your head, didn’t it? But let’s forget about that. The Penny fan club always claid it was focused on doing good causes, but I guess it’s not all about that."
"How could it be? When the president of the fan club herself is abusing her power?" Patricia mocked. "I was invited here, and I even dressed up for today. Yet, I’m being judged right off the bat! How hilarious!"
"You—" Lily hissed, but she stopped when Nina held her arm. Nina shook her head slightly, silently telling Lily that there was no point in arguing with Patricia.
Nina knew how it was to argue with Patricia. The latter was skilled at provoking others and twisting things. Nina had learned to ignore this malicious person because even if she were right, there was no point. Otherwise, they would all just ruin everyone’s mood.
Yuri, on the other hand, gazed at Patricia with sharp eyes. ’So, this is that Patricia Miller, huh?’ Yuri opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Jonathan’s voice reached their ears.
"Miss, I think if you’re not welcod here, it’s best to leave," Jonathan advised, now standing near the girls with a few mbers of the forr basketball team. "Miss President and even Nina aren’t comfortable with your presence. Please leave."
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