Chapter 58: A Public Confrontation
The hallway fell into a tense, suffocating silence. Every now and then, Ruby would lift her head, her face completely giving away how badly she wanted to run over, hug Eric, and just let everything out. But she fought hard to restrain herself.
The reason was simple, Eric’s face remained entirely cold and flat. His eyes didn’t look angry, nor did they look happy; in fact, they looked completely vacant, as if Ruby were nothing more than a total stranger he didn’t even know.
Eric searched his own heart, trying to see if there was any lingering resentment, anger, or hatred left inside him, or even any love for his younger sister. But right now, he felt absolutely nothing.
His heart rate was steady, and his emotions weren’t shaken in the slightest. He realized he was just surprised to see Ruby because he never expected her to be at this school, holding papers to process a transfer. "Sigh," Eric finally let out a breath.
"Come on, guys, let’s go. We’re here to look around, right?" Eric said, his voice calm and level.
"Right... let’s go," Emma said, instantly picking up on his cue.
Without another word, Eric started walking, and the six girls followed closely behind him. Seeing Eric walk away without even saying hello, Ruby felt her heart tear open, as if stabbed by a knife. Her emotions completely took over. She spun around and ran after him.
"Eric... wait," Ruby called out, her face pale as tears welled up in her eyes.
But Eric just kept walking casually, chatting cheerfully and even smiling with Emma, Chloe, Priya, Monica, Heidi, and Laura. Suddenly, "yank," Ruby grabbed Eric’s arm from behind. Naturally, Eric instantly shook his arm loose, breaking her grip. He turned around and met Ruby’s tearful eyes with a freezing stare.
"I’m sorry... but you have the wrong person. Please don’t bother us," Eric said calmly and flatly, completely smileless and cold.
Hearing his words, Ruby, who was used to doing whatever she wanted to Eric and had never seen him act this way, froze right on the spot. It felt as though a thousand needles were piercing her heart all at once, a deep, excruciating pain. She couldn’t hold back the tears anymore, and they began streaming down her face.
But she didn’t give up. She chased after Eric again, desperate to explain everything to him. She ran back up to him, tears pouring down her cheeks.
"Eric... wait... I’m sorry... I’m so, so sorry... I’m your little sister... I’m your sister!" Ruby cried out.
Her screams echoed down the entire hallway, causing dozens of people to turn and look at Eric, Emma, Priya, Chloe, Monica, Heidi, and Laura. With Ruby crying behind them, she looked like a betrayed woman creating a public scene. Sensing all the eyes locking onto him, Eric turned back around, while Emma, Priya, Chloe, Monica, Heidi, and Laura immediately surrounded him like a shield.
He looked at Ruby standing behind him, panting and sobbing, her mascara smeared everywhere, looking completely pitiful.
"I already told you, I don’t know you. Please stop causing a scene, understand?" Eric said calmly, his face completely blank and emotionless.
"That’s a lie! You know me! We grew up together... you’re my big brother... I know I was wrong for saying those things when you were framed... but deep down I knew you were innocent... I’ve known you since we were kids, and I knew you could never do something like that..."
"Slap!"
Suddenly, Emma stepped forward and backhanded Ruby right across the face before she could even finish her sentence, sending her crashing down onto the floor. Clutching her burning cheek, Ruby looked up at Emma, who was now standing over her with her arms crossed.
"He already told you, he doesn’t know you... stop following us," Emma said calmly, drilling a cold stare into Ruby until she flinched into silence.
"If you keep this up, don’t blame us if things get ugly," Monica added, stepping up next to Emma and glaring down at Ruby.
Ruby was completely speechless as Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura flanked Emma and Monica. All of them crossed their arms and glared down at her with such cold intensity that she began to tremble. Ruby obviously recognized the six girls shielding Eric, and they were looking at her like she was a sworn enemy from a past life.
Ruby’s eyes darted back to Eric, but he didn’t give a single reaction. Her mouth opened to speak, then closed again. But before anyone else could make a move,
"Ruby!"
Everyone instantly turned toward the voice. Jade ran right past Eric and the girls with Mike close behind, then dropped to her knees to help the sobbing Ruby up while she held her cheek.
Jade looked up at the group standing nearby, only to gasp in shock when she saw Eric standing right there alongside Emma, Priya, Chloe, Monica, Heidi, and Laura. Jade’s expression instantly soured.
"So this is how you treat your own sister, Eric?" Jade asked angrily.
Eric remained silent. He just stared at Jade with a freezing glance, his face completely expressionless. It made Jade instantly want to take back her words, immediately regretting that she had let her anger fly at him like that. Without hesitation, Eric placed his hands on Emma and Monica’s shoulders.
"Let’s go," Eric said.
"Alright," Emma and Monica replied in unison.
Without another word, Eric turned around, and Emma, Priya, Chloe, Monica, Heidi, and Laura did the same. They all walked away together, leaving behind a newly standing Ruby, a comforting Jade, and a completely frozen Mike who had no idea what to do.
"Eric... we need to talk!" Jade shouted, trying one last time.
But Eric completely ignored Jade’s shout and didn’t look back at all. Finally, realizing that they were becoming the center of attention, Jade gave up on her plan to chase after Eric and just focused on helping Ruby, who was still hanging her head and sobbing.
The three of them could only watch the backs of Eric and the six girls as they moved further down the hall, laughing and joking with complete ease, as if absolutely nothing had happened.
***
Once they stepped out of the school building, Eric let out a heavy breath. Even though he didn’t feel anything anymore when looking at Ruby and Jade face-to-face, it still bothered him, and his mood plummeted. He couldn’t care less about the bustling festival around him anymore; he just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
Naturally, Emma, Priya, Chloe, Monica, Heidi, and Laura noticed the shift in Eric’s expression and picked up on his souring mood. Yet, not a single one of them intended to pry or question Eric, choosing to wait until he felt ready to open up and share with them on his own. Finally, Emma, who already knew Eric’s story, turned back to look at him.
"Want to get out of here?" Emma asked.
"Where should we go?" Priya asked.
"Let’s just start driving... what do you think, honey?" Emma asked Eric, slipping her arm through his.
Eric looked down at Emma beside him. She was smiling, but it didn’t reach her eyes this time, and it was obvious she was feeling exactly what he was feeling because she knew exactly who Ruby and Jade were. Her eyes locked onto his with deep care and concern. Eric then glanced at the others and realized they all felt the exact same way as Emma.
"Alright... how about we go catch a movie?" Eric asked with a smile.
"Yay... okay! And karaoke after?" Priya asked.
"Of course," Eric answered.
"Perfect... that’s a solid plan. And then we can hit up the amusement park until late tonight, okay?" Heidi suggested, raising her hand with a bright smile.
"And after that, we can all grab dinner together at a restaurant... come on, let’s move, what are we waiting for?" Chloe added enthusiastically.
"But let’s head home for a second first to change into something casual. I don’t want to go out running around in a school uniform," Monica said, looking down at her shirt and pulling at the collar.
"Definitely, let’s head home first. Let’s go," Eric said, his smile turning genuine.
"There you go... smile again! It makes us happy to see you happy," Laura added, hugging Eric’s other arm.
With that, their cheerful energy returned, and they walked straight to the parking lot toward Eric’s car. As they walked, Emma approached Eric, who was trailing at the very back. She pulled his shoulder down so her face was close to his ear.
"Sorry to ask, but how old is your sister, Ruby?" Emma whispered.
Eric turned to look at Emma, bringing her face incredibly close to his. There was a look of anxiety and worry on her face; she wasn’t just being nosy, she simply wanted to know if Ruby was going to be a problem in the future. Seeing Emma’s concern, Eric immediately smiled.
"She’s the same age as you," Eric answered.
"Oh... I see," Emma murmured.
"Don’t bully her if you guys end up in the same class. She’s not worth it, and it’ll only cause trouble for you guys," Eric warned her ahead of time. He said it because he knew exactly how Emma and her friends operated and didn’t want them hurting themselves, not because he still cared about Ruby.
Emma nodded and playfully gave a mock salute with a wide smile. The worry on her face instantly vanished, and her cheerful energy was completely back. Of course, Eric and the girls were well aware that now that they had a reputation to protect, a minor issue like this could easily blow out of proportion on its own, especially with family backgrounds like theirs. Still, they couldn’t care less and chose to completely forget about it by going out to have some fun.
