บท 23: Bad news for whoever collects it from you

Meanwhile...

"Who are you calling a deranged airhead?" Sheila flared, her emotions soaring.

"There's only one person who fits that description here. You." Karina responded just as fiercely.

"How dare you call me names? And what gave you the effrontery to touch my shirt? Do you know how much it costs? Even if you work your entire lifetime, you will not be able to afford it." Sheila raged, moving closer to Karina.

Apart from the name she was called, she couldn't stomach the fact that Karina grabbed onto her shirt and dragged her. There was nothing as embarrassing as that.

Just as she was about to raise her hand, Veron threw a bag at her feet, forcing her to pause her action.

Directing her gaze first to the bag, then to the one who threw it, confusion fought to overtake the rage in her heart.

It was the bag containing his jacket which she returned to him yesterday. Why did he bring it here, and why was he throwing it to her?

Pin-drop silence followed Veron's action. Even the hushed murmurings that could be heard when Sheila and Karina were bickering ceased.

"Pick it up." Veron's voice echoed, piercing the silence. His expression was bored, but his gaze was sharp. Despite his voice being low, it commanded the attention of the whole class.

Veron had a reputation in the school, one that made people stay far away from his business. In his earliest days in the school, there were certain people who hated his guts and picked fights with him for the flimsiest reasons.

But they didn't end well. Everyone who openly challenged him ended up in the hospital in critical condition, or just disappeared from the school. The only enemies of Veron that were still in the school were those hating on him secretly.

Sheila sent a confused glance at Veron before she wordlessly bent over to pick up the bag. She normally wouldn't have done it, but this was Veron telling her to do it.

As soon as she picked up the bag and straightened, another order flew out of Veron's mouth.

"Give the jacket back to her."

Sheila's eyes stretched before a disbelieving frown slowly made its way to her face.

"Huh?" She asked, believing she most probably didn't hear correctly.

"You heard me. I hate repeating myself."

Sheila clenched her jaws and shifted her gaze back to Karina, who was also confused at what was happening.

She only needed him to say that she didn't steal the jacket, that he gave it to her. Why he was telling Sheila to return the jacket to her was beyond her comprehension.

Sheila dipped her hand inside the bag and pulled out the jacket. The bag was bought by her specially for Veron, so there's no way she would let Karina touch it.

She threw the jacket toward Karina despite the fact that the latter was just a short distance away from her.

Karina caught the jacket on instinct, then returned her gaze to Veron. Confusion was still clear in her eyes.

"Sheila, before you accuse someone of stealing, make sure you catch the person in the act, or there is verifiable evidence backing up your claims. The next time you chose to throw accusations on a whim, do not drag my name into your foolishness."

Veron's voice was low, but his tone was sharp enough to pierce into Sheila's heart, bruising her ego.

"I... I thought—" Sheila started to explain, but snap her mouth shut when Veron suddenly stood up. She swallowed and lowered her eyes when she couldn't keep up with his piercing gaze anymore.

Shifting his attention to Karina, he took one step toward her, expecting her to move back or try to get away, or at least look away from him, but none of those things happened.

In her big brown eyes, he could see a mix of relief and confusion, also fear.

'Interesting. She's scared, but not acting on it.' He noted mentally before saying, "I never asked you to return it."

After saying that, he started walking away from there and Skye stood up as well to follow him.

"Huh? What am I supposed to do with it? I don't want it." Karina asked as she turned to follow him with the jacket in her hand.

"It's yours now, so you can do whatever you want with it," Skye answered behind her, making her halt her steps.

She turned around to look at Skye for a few moments.

"Anything?" She asked him and he shrugged in response before saying, "anything."

Karina's eyes veered from him and she scanned the entire classroom. Everyone's attention was on her, so it was easy to see their faces.

However, she couldn't pick out one person among them.

"Anyone wants this?" She resigned to asking generally, lifting the jacket up for all to see. Just then, her gaze landed on Matt and she quickly rephrased the question.

"Matt, do you want it?"

Veron's steady steps faltered when he heard her second question. His eyes darkened and his jaw worked.

"Why not? Let me have it." Matt answered, waving his hand nonchalantly, and Karina turned from Skye, moving down toward the third step where Matt sat.

Veron's poisonous aura blazed, as his steps came to a halt. He looked over his shoulder at Skye, who was slightly bent over as he was struggling to breathe.

"If he as much as lays a finger on my jacket, you and he will pay dearly for it." Veron threatened via mind link, before releasing Skye from the effect of his breathtaking aura. Without waiting for another second, he walked out of the class.

Once Skye regained his ability to breathe properly, he moved swiftly after Karina, coming to stand in front of her just before she could hand the jacket to Matt.

"You can't give it to anyone," Skye announced, making her brows pull together.

"What do you mean? You said I could do anything I want with it. And I chose to give it out."

"You can do anything apart from giving it to someone else."

"Why not?" Karina queried, falling into another pit of confusion.

"It's going to be bad news for whoever collects it from you. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about." Skye answered, leaning over to whisper the last part in her ears.

Karina bit her lower lip as flashes of what happened that night resurfaced in her head. She didn't want anyone else to be in that position, and worse, be the cause of it.

'Arghhh.' She groaned internally in frustration. She didn't want to be in this position. Why wouldn't he just take his jacket back and save them all from this stress?