Tangled In The Red String; Stay In The Red Zone

Chapter Three (Me And My Clubmates)

I thought Madison would argue. But to my shock, she didn't. Instead, she paid—and her two allies did, too. Yet, before leaving, Madison gave me a look, a warning look, and then her allies looked at me like I had just killed their family. Greater saw it all, and she was already losing her patience.

Once they were out of the music club, she turned around to look at me and crossed her arms over her chest. Her body was tensed and rigid while her brown eyes stared at me with sharpness. "I can't believe you," she scolded. My eyes landded to the ground automatically.

"They're just going to keep picking on you if you keep letting them do that... and what the hell? You did their homework? Are you out of your head?" She let out a heavy sigh to calm herself down, and ran her fingers through her short black hair that reaches her shoulders, with clear annoyance.

I just watched her and anxiously bit my lower lip. My hands were sweating again. I didn't really want to do it, but what could I do? If I report them, they're just going to get back at me harder.

"I'm... I'm sorry..." My eyes landed on the floor of the club, and I couldn't help but feel embarrassed around her. Why was she even here? Maybe she came here because she actually wanted to talk to me about something important?

I heard her heavy sigh and she stepped in close. Then, I felt her hands on both of my shoulders. "Don't say sorry; you didn't do anything wrong. You're a good person, Divionna. Sometimes, I want to punch you for it. Here." She took my hand, and I just let her without resisting at all.

But my eyebrows furrowed even more when I saw it was the money that Madison had given her. If estimated, it looked like it was more than ten thousand; of course it would be.

"Here. This is for you. This isn't enough, actually. They will pass their projects this year because of you. It's only fair they pay for it since you don't want to report them," she answered, sounding so logical.

That made me raise an eyebrow a little and simply shake my head. I didn't take it. I had some money left—the money I got last time for my allowance. I do love shopping, but I started to really be aware of how I use my money when I decided that I wanted to live independently. "Don't give me that look, or I'll kick your ass. Take it," she muttered with a deep scowl on her face that made me just sigh in secret and slowly nod. Her smile widened.

"Good. You should ask for money from them if you do their paperwork. Simply think of it as if it's your part-time job, so you don't feel guilty about getting the money."

My lips protruded a little. "What if they needed the money more than I did?" I couldn't really forget how Madison and her friends had looked at me earlier.

"Need more? Of course not. Those are rich bitches. Good thing I didn't ask them for a credit card. And stop worrying about them. What happened to them was just right. They deserve it." She bristled; the annoyance was still clearly written all over her face. I secretly held my breath.

Our first meeting together was them seeing me crying because some boy in the town said horrible things to me because I was wearing braces at that time; it was outside the party gathering held by my Tita Narrah. The memory of Hazel defending me is still totally fresh, while her sister severely beat that poor kid. And since that day, I found myself getting closer to them, and little by little, we became close friends. If I were to ask who my best and closest friends are, it would be them. Just the two of them.

"Uh... will you attend later?" I asked to change the subject because it looked like she wouldn't move on if I didn't.

Her eyebrow furrowed slightly. "Attend? You're talking about Ate Narrah's launch?" She tilted her head a little. I immediately nodded in response.

She isn't related to Tita Narrah, but she calls her "Ate" because she has always seen Tita Narrah as if she were her sister, and that's out of respect. As for me, I got used to just calling her Tita. I am not related to Tita Narrah at all, but she's like my mother—not legally, but still. She has been a close friend of my family since we were kids.

"I'm going, of course. I received the invitation card. Are you going?"

"Yup!" I chirped. "Me and my clubmates are going, but I am still going to ask them. Ate Windy asked me to play there. For exposure, be sure to be there, okay?" I said, full of excitement. She nodded happily..

"Sure, I'll be there. Just make sure you play well there. Kuya Chase is going to give us money, right? Right, right?" she said, with a mischievous glint flashing through her eyes.

Tito Chase is the husband of Tita Narrah. And when I said that they don't deal with problems when it comes to money, I meant that they even shower us with money. As far as I remember, Tito Chase and Tita Narrah really came from wealthy families, and that became even stronger when they both became one.

"Oh okay! Pwedeng-pwedeng! I don't have any schedule anyway," said Marlon, who was looking too excited when I told them about the gathering after school. My eyes widened a little, and the smile on my face grew. Ayos!

"I want to go. The Sinclairs will be there. I heard that they look more presentable and like good-looking guys, especially in person," a soft chuckle escaped from me when I heard it from my clubmate Neri, who was grinning from ear to ear while she gently and carefully placed her guitar back into her guitar bag.

"True! Look at Divionna. She looks like a princess—what more if we have seen her relatives?" one of my clubmates named Leon answered with a raised eyebrow and an intrigued look on his face. My face started to heat up in embarrassment. Marlon smirked at my reaction. And, he gave a meaningful glance to Neri, who just smirked as she looked at Leon, who realized what he had said and looked away.

"Uhm... so... are you coming?" I asked, hopefully.

"Of course! Even you! I'm sure there are high-class foods there too, like me," Marlon said as he winked at me.

Leon hit him, frowning at what he did. "Tss, as if you haven't eaten high-class yet."

"Because I'm saving, brad. I am not like you who always spends money, if you just spend your money on dating Div—" Leon quickly punched his stomach, which is why he looked at us while wiping imaginary tears from his eyes. I blinked twice and winced secretly in pain. I glanced at Leon and immediately saw his face burning red.

Was... he mad? Wait, what did Marlon even do for him to punch his friend?

Sensing I was looking at them, Leon looked at me with his face still all red. "Don't mind what he says. But yeah, we're going. Just wait." He didn't wait for me to answer back; he had already taken his bag and gave Marlon a warning look, who was now looking at me with pleading eyes. I bit the inside of my cheek.