Zavier's primary concern was this University officiate. He wasn't too dense or emotionally unintelligent to see that her intentions had been nothing but good. But that didn't in anyway change the outcome. The fact still remained that due to her interruption, and friendly/familiar attitude to him, she had created the illusion that she was doing him a favor because of his family's connections!
To further complicate matters even more, the high school student had declared this in front of the already hateful mob, thus sealing his reputation in stone! Fuck! Zavier cursed in his thoughts. The boy had won, after everything, he had won! The way the guy had exited the situation had left Zavier in a very unflattering light in the presence of all the others. His statement said to the crowd; "You see? I was right! He is a privileged brat after all!"
If there had been any doubts before now, Mabel's willingness to save him had crushed them completely. Zavier was now in a much deeper ditch. He had lost his opportunity to explain himself, and landed in a much bigger problem.
Nevertheless, Zavier wasn't too stupid to turn his own frustration on to an innocent person who only wanted to help him. Of course he was annoyed, frustrated, and maybe a little irritable even. But he kept all of that to himself and decided not to exacerbate the situation further by making any enemies. Zavier remembered who this lady was. She had made a pretty big impact on the high school students when she had introduced herself at the beginning of the contest. Her name was something that started with an 'M.'
Mabel! Yes, her name was Mabel. She was a high ranking officiate of the highest order. This probably didn't make him look good at all. How could a boy with terrible scores be chummy with a high ranking university official? How does that even happen if it wasn't for his family' wealth and connection? It was all just a coincidence, but no one would ever believe that. It was just way too convenient.
Zavier decided not to dwell on the negative. There was no point in making the Mabel lady feel bad for coming to his rescue. It was the right thing to do given her status and position. Also, to put it frankly, Zavier had been in a bit of a fix, and he really looked like he could need some help. It was her duty to make sure all things went smoothly with this tryouts. The best thing for him to do was to express his gratitude to the woman and hope that she would not make a fuss about it.
Putting on his best 'good boy' face, he turned to the lady and bowed slightly;
"Much obliged ma'am. Thank you for stepping in when you did."
Mabel waved him off. "It's nothing, don't worry about it. It was the least thing I could do anyway. Are you alright? Do you need medical assistance or counselling?"
This was exactly what Zavier was trying to avoid. He simply wanted to thank the lady and quickly disappear. But here she was, making a fuss over him, and worsening an already volatile situation. This wasn't helping his case at all. He simply wished she knew that. But it was clear she didn't. And even if she did, she obviously didn't care. Trying to hide his impatience, Zavier replied her politely;
"No ma'am. I'm all good here, thank you."
Mabel was impressed. Just as she had expected, he was a self-sufficient young lad and he didn't seem to be fazed at all by the boy's uncivilized actions and speech.
"Good. As you probably know already, I am always available. Just in case you need anything at all, just come to me alright?"
At this point, in Zavier's, mind, he was virtually screaming at the lady to go already. He couldn't count just how many pairs of eyes were still locked on to him and Mabel. There was that suspecting and accusing look in their eyes. Like they couldn't believe Zavier had the guts to flaunt his family's privilege and protection in their faces. Of course they kept their spite hidden so Mabel couldn't see them. The hate was still very much there.
Zavier shifted uncomfortably on his feet and answered her;
"Alright ma'am. I will definitely consider that, thank you for taking me up on the offer. Good night."
"Goodnight Zavier."
With that, she left. Zavier didn't notice that it was the first and only time she had used his name in the entire conversation. He was still too busy trying to recollect himself and leave without any more drama.
As Mabel retreated into the distance, Zavier finally exhaled deeply. There was simply no denying it, he was relieved. It was now time to get the hell out of there. He turned around to get hold of Shiranui so he could take her back to her dorm, before lights out so she wouldn't miss her curfew. Mabel's shadow was barely fifteen feet away when another trouble resurfaced.
"WHAT IS THIS?! WHO'S TRYING TO BULLY MY ZAVIER!!!"
The voice was angry, the voice was loud, and the voice was totally obnoxious and free of any kind of shame or regard for anyone's opinion. Zavier's heart sank immediately he heard the voice behind him. He didn't need to turn to identify the owner. It was a voice he was all too familiar with. It came with a very homely ring to it, and a very self-assured confidence. It was no one but the obtrusive Nadia.
Zavier finally turned to acknowledge Nadia with a sunken look in his eyes. Never in his life had he been the center of so much attention. Within the span of an hour, he had had to deal with the exuberant high school student and the attention that came with him. He had actually dealt with being seen publicly with a university officiate mooning over him (publicly!) and in the full sight of all his hateful enemies.
And now, Nadia had so gracefully added herself to the list of things that people were going to talk about. Maybe someone had put a spell on him earlier on. Maybe the spell was that he would attract drama all the hours of the day. It was very unlikely, but it seemed like it. Zavier couldn't help but feel like he was being trailed by a bunch of invisible harpies, (haggard mythical creatures of the underworld) who were singing and dancing in troupes over his head, attracting different characters.
Nadia had stormed into the cafeteria guns blazing. She had the appearance of one who was itching for a fight. But not for herself, but to defend the one she cared for. Because gossip flew around faster in the girls' dormitory than anywhere else, news had reached her that Zavier was going through something at the cafeteria at the hands of some unfortunate lot. Thinking the worst, she immediately rushed at top speed to Zavier's rescue.
On arriving at the cafeteria, without even checking to see if all was good, she had shouted at top of her voice, announcing her presence in the crudest way possible. No one seemed to care who she was and what she had to say, the only thing they had heard, or chosen to hear was Zavier's name in her mouth. Zavier was the air they breathed now. A fresh pair of eyes locked on to Nadia, the newcomer on the scene, and a fresh wave of gossip started all over again, bringing Zavier's issue to the forefront of things.
Nadia scanned the room with angry eyes, hoping to catch the unfortunate fellow who was trying to mess with Zavier. When she eventually set her sights on him, her eyes lit up and she beamed a smile;
"ZAVIER!! There you are? Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?"
At this point, Zavier gave up. This was one too many coincidences. If this was a spell indeed, then whoever had done this to him had succeeded in making his life miserable. He sighed deeply surrendered himself to his fate of an evening long embarrassment. Zavier bowed his head, and covered his face with his palms. He didn't know what to say, there was nothing to say.
About an hour and a half later, finally alone to himself in his dorm room, Zavier sat on his bed with his hands holding up his head, and with his elbows on his knees. He had been seated that way for about five minutes straight. He hadn't moved, he hadn't adjusted, he was just there like a statue that had been pinned down by fate.
Within the space of just twenty four hours, so much had changed in his life. It had all started like a joke when earlier on, back at the stadium, just before the competition, some random stranger had called him out as a privileged bum. Back then, it hadn't seemed like a big deal at all. After all, he had much darker secrets to hide. But the series of events that had followed right after had been something of a nightmare. The matter had escalated so quickly within a short period of time!
His reputation was in shambles! All he had wanted was a quiet evening with Shiranui, and then maybe some light making out that would later lead to some animal- like lovemaking. It wasn't too much to demand given the state of things. But unfortunately, things had taken a very violent turn for worse. Like a dream, Zavier watched as the public tore into his life, and threatened to make things difficult for him.
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