"She was powerful, not because she wasn't scared but because she went on so strongly, despite the fear."

-Atticus

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The Russo twins, Elena and Kate, made their way towards the principal's office. Kate was serious and unflinching even after the pain--the redness which had painted her white knuckles.

Anger is bound to hurt others and oneself as well, she knew. She also knew that what she did wasn't right. But some people need to be taught where lines are drawn. If you cross the line, so will the consequences be. She held her head high and walked inside the office.

Elena's eyeliner was smudged due to her crying, but she didn't even bother to clean that up. For now, she worried what Kate's punishment would be. It didn't take a genius to figure out that violence wasn't acceptable in school.

What would be Kate's fate?

Wait, that rhymed, Kate and fate, yay!

What are you doing brain? This is not the time to joke around.

"Sir, look at my face, look at what she has done," Kyle whined, showing his swollen cheek and a black eye.

"Sir, she broke my nose," Jamie whined and pretended to sniffle.

"We're not at fault, she's a bully," Jamie lied, smirking at Kate evilly.

"Hey, you--" Elena began, but was stopped when Kate raised a hand to intervene. "Sir, they were badmouthing about my sister."

"No we didn't do such a thing, we--"

"Let me finish what I've started, where are your manners, Kyle?" Kate replied calmly, but her voice wasn't to be mistaken as sweetness. With a penetrating, unblinking gaze, she eyed both the boys who appeared slightly fearful.

"When I asked them to stop, they made fun of me, called me a little girl, and then threatened me."

"But, violence isn't the answer Miss Russo," the principal spoke, breaking the silence.

"He held my arm tightly, sir, and threatened me," Kate said, pointing towards Jamie.

"They should know their boundaries. He isn't my family, friend, or boyfriend. Nobody gave him the permission to touch me. So, I had to raise my hand in defense."

"Hm, but violence is violence, and I won't allow that in my school."

"But--" Elena protested.

"You three have to clean the school premises for a week," Mr. Jackson commented. "And you," he pointed towards Kate, "you've to be a part of one class for the rest of the year..."

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The twins entered the History class and stood to wait by the door. They heard a particular pair of heels strutting towards the class, and nodded at each other.

Before Ashley could enter the class, Elena's black-jeaned leg made her stumble slightly. Kate caught Ashley's arm in time to break her fall.

"Chin up princess, or the crown falls," Elena commented, twirling the crystal crown in between her fingers.

"Give that back!" Ashley screeched, shaking off Kate's hold on her arm, and stood straighter. Even with her heels, she couldn't match the twins' taller frames.

"Woah, bee, you can say that softly as well. There is no need to torture our ears like that," Kate hissed, rubbing her ears with a shudder.

"Give it back," she asked in a softer tone, standing on her heel enclosed tiptoes, trying her best to retrieve her tiara from Elena's hold.

"Say please," Elena singsonged with a smirk.

"Give me my tiara back, now!" Ashley thundered.

"Don't think so, buddy, you're forgetting one important thing."

"I've no idea what are you're talking about," Ashley spoke through her gritted teeth.

"You know what it is," Kate intervened irritatedly, eyeing Elena who shook her head, signaling that she could handle it.

"Sarah's spectacles... you must have had fixed them," Elena informed Ashley, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Sarah, who?" Ashley feigned surprise, eyeing Sarah who was saddened that the queen bee didn't recognize her.

"Give her glasses back, and you can have your tiara, princess," Elena's spoke with finality, her red lips curled into a smirk. "Or watch how satisfied I'm when I smash it against the wall."

"Try it, and I'll sue you, Russo," Ashley spat, her blue eyes glued to her tiara, which was far from her reach.

"Nice threat, but we aren't scared of you," Kate remarked coolly. "If I'd be you, I'd fix the glasses and save my precious crown."

"Now, the glasses or your prized possession?" Elena asked, eyeing the multiple mobile phones aimed in their direction, along with the students who watched the scene with bated breaths.

Ashley, having no choice called her maid, and screeched into her phone.

"Get me a pair of glasses, now!"

"Yeah my eyesight is fine, it's for someone else."

"I'm not unwell, can't I do anything for others?" Ashley growled after hearing a cough from the other side of the line.

"Why don't you just do what I've asked?" Ashley spoke as her jaw clenched. "Bring me those stupid glasses."

"You're forgetting the prescription," Elena interrupted.

"How would I know that now?" Ashley's red lips curled as she frowned.

"Simple, ask Sarah about it," Elena added with a smirk.

"Like I would talk to the nerd," Ashley replied with a disgusted scoff.

"Fine, I feel that your crown is slipping," Elena said, shifting the crystal tiara from her ring finger.

"You won't do it," Ashley warned.

Elena let the crown dangle till it was supported by the tip of her pinky, a small smile etched across her mischievous face.

"Tell me what's your prescription," Ashley commanded Sarah.

"Um it's, uh--"

"Ask her politely, you're not here for war," Kate stressed.

"Please tell me about your prescription, Sarah," Ashley almost pleaded when she noticed Elena twirling her crown rapidly.

"It's -3.25 for both the eyes," Sarah spoke feebly, overwhelmed that Ashley had talked to her.

"Give my crown back now, I've ordered for the new glasses," Ashley commanded haughtily after cutting the call.

"Won't things be easier if we do what we're asked to?" Elena asked with a smirk, earning only a glare from the queen.

"Thank you," Sarah commented meekly, eyeing Ashley with a weird mixture of awe, surprise, and admiration.

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Elena sauntered towards the Textiles class with a small smile. She loved to doodle leather jackets, and couldn't wait to try creating one for real.

She entered the classroom which smelled like new fabric. At one corner was a huge shelf displaying fabric rolls of a myriad of colors and textures. Name one type and you would find so many. Elena stared at it in wonder.

She noticed the neatly arranged sewing machines in rows and chairs attached to them. At her left were white sheets, pencils, sharpeners and pens for the students to use for sketching.

She sighed dreamily and took the seat which was labeled with her name. She then noticed Riva at her right, already done with her sketching, and was halfway through her design. Next to Riva, sat Ruby who was doing final touches to her beautiful design: a red, frilled skirt.

Elena was taken aback as she had never expected them to be so talented.

The room was silent except for the sewing machine's whirring and the soft strokes of the pencil over the crisp white paper. After a while, Ashley strutted into the class earning everyone's attention, even the teacher's.

"I'm sorry for being late, ma'am," Ashley apologized in a sickly sweet tone, making Elena cringe. The teacher just smiled in return without saying anything.

Everyone was almost done with their designs. Elena had managed to draw her leather jacket sketch neatly. She planned to keep the sewing for the next class.

Before the bell could ring, Ashley, who was checking her nails and makeup, snatched Ruby's design.

"Aw, would you look at this? Such a brilliant design of mine," Ashley cooed, showing the stolen design to the teacher who praised the queen bee way too much. Satisfied, Ashley then flicked her sleek ponytail and walked outside.

"Did you just see that?" Ruby asked as she bit her lip to prevent a sob.

"How could she do this to you?" Riva spoke softly and side-hugged her best friend.

"She does this all the time..."

"Then why do you let her boss you around?" Elena intervened, earning their immediate scowls.

"That's none of your business," Riva uttered harshly.

"So, you can speak." Elena gave them a genuine smile. She ruffled their blonde hair in turns and walked away with a chuckle.

"What was that about?" was the question on their confused faces.

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Kate trudged towards her last class for the day, more like the punishment she had earned. She had no idea which class it was but had heard rumors that only one student had enrolled in it.

Was it true? Maybe she'd know once she stepped in.

The small classroom immediately swelled Kate's heart, and she smiled wholeheartedly. She could recognize the scent of soil even in her sleep.

Before her, the class appeared like a tiny park with flowers, shrubs, and cacti, arranged in small earthen pots. The roses, tulips, pansies, and lilies left the whole room fragrant, and it appeared soothing to the eyes.

She let out a small gasp and grinned widely.

She chose her seat which was more like an only bench in the whole classroom. Suddenly, her eyes fell upon Max, who was busy turning the soil for one plant.

Their eyes met and they looked at each other in confusion.

"What are you doing here?" they asked in unison.

"Well, I chose this class, duh!" Max answered with a grin. "You?"

"Well, I was supposedly forced to choose it," Kate replied with a chuckle. "It's heaven for me. Not a punishment at all."

"Guess, you got lucky," Max whispered with a half-smile, his green eyes matching the sapling delicately held in his fingers.

"So, it's just the two of us here?" Kate asked incredulously.

"Yeah, apparently, no one wants to handle soil, or 'dirt' as they call it," Max informed her with a shake of his head.

"What they don't know is that this dirt is the basis of their living," Kate spoke bitterly, digging her fingers in the pot of soil.

"So, Max, ah, now we have our second student," Mrs. Ford, the teacher spoke with a beam. "Welcome to the Nature class, Kate."

"Today, we'll be learning about the process of stem cutting in roses," the teacher began, taking a freshly cut rose stem.

"You can see this is a young stem. When you do stem cutting, make sure that you remove the leaves too."

"Psst, Kate," Max whispered and noticed Kate listening to the teacher in full concentration.

"Psst!"

"Psst, Kate?"

"What? Let me study," Kate whispered with a frown once the teacher turned her back towards them.

"You have got a beautiful voice," Max said, giving her a cute smile.

"How can you say?" Kate deadpanned, but her fiddling with her fingers told another story.

"Well, I heard you singing at the park, last night," Max replied with a smirk.

"Stalkerish much?" Kate asked as smirked back. "And I thought I was being paranoid..."

"Haha, no." Max raised his palms.

"What were you doing there at the park?" Kate inquired.

"Fresh air."

"At 2 AM?"

"Yeah, no one has specified any rules for visiting a park," he finished with a soft chuckle, eyeing Kate, who remained quiet.

"Ignore me, why did you visit the park at such a late hour?"

"Aren't you scared of being alone in the dark?" Max pressed when she didn't answer, his eyes losing their usual mirth.

"I'm done being scared," Kate muttered.

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Hey, everyone! 🙆 What's up? How are you all doing? I hope you are having a great day/night.

I'm back with Episode 7 and I enjoyed writing it. Okay, so here is a little trivia. I wrote almost 3/4th of this chapter by 1:45 AM. My eyes were burning as I was sleepy, but I really wished to complete it last night. But sadly, sleep overcame me and I continued it today.

This chapter is dedicated to my cute friends who are both amazing writers. SmitaShukla16 and AYS_621 this early update is for you both. I hope you like it. Thank you for always supporting me and for leaving such awesome, observing comments. I love you both! ❤😘

What do you think of the story so far? Kate's punishment wasn't a punishment in fact. She is enrolled in the Nature class by the principal who thinks that no one (except Max) likes joining it.

What do you think will happen next? Any ideas? Do you have any complaints? Is there anything that isn't clear or can I improve in something? Please, please, don't be a ghost reader and let me know your thoughts. I'd love to read them. Oh, and before you get annoyed by my ramblings, check out this below.☟

Sneak-Peek of Episode 8:

Any idea what's going to happen next? Write down your thoughts in the comments. 😉

Keep smiling! 💕
Lots of love ❤💙
Sakina

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