The Alpha Prince’s Bullied Mate

Keep your mouth shut

"Here we are," Rowan pointed to the front of their teacher's office. "Just go in and meet him." He adjusted his glasses and turned to leave.

Astoria called him back, and he turned and smiled at her. "Thank you," she muttered.

Rowan adjusted his glasses again and smiled. "I'll see you in class, I guess," he said, walking away while Astoria turned to the teacher’s door. She knocked and walked in, bowing her head as she passed by different teachers' tables and greeted them.

"Good morning, dear teachers. Hello, everyone!" Astoria knew that to settle down in a school like Luminaria, she had to act cool around the teachers and perhaps gain their favor. But that was not the case for Astoria. She was ignored.

The teachers only briefly raised their heads to look at her without acknowledging her greeting and then lowered them back to their work. That was not the impression Astoria hoped to make. Just like the students, the teachers didn’t have friendly smiles. Some even scowled as she walked past, while others walked by as if she were invisible. "Great to meet you all," Astoria smiled as she approached her homeroom teacher’s table. She greeted him and handed over her admission forms. "Mr. Eric, I am Astoria Winters, and I am…" she began to introduce herself, but he raised a hand to stop her.

"I already know who you are," Mr. Eric replied curtly, his expression as stern as the scar running down his forehead, which Astoria couldn’t help but notice. Why would a teacher have a knife cut on his face? Was he a warrior? A bodyguard turned teacher? Astoria was curious about everyone in the school.

"Hey, scholarship girl," Mr. Eric tapped his fingers on his table to gain her attention, but the term "scholarship girl" caught Astoria's attention. Was that how everyone was going to address her now? They would know her as a scholarship student, not by her name.

"Will you stop zoning out!" he shouted, drawing the attention of all the teachers as they raised their heads and looked straight at Astoria. If looks could kill, she wondered how many times she would have died that morning. Everyone seemed to have an impression of who she was, but she was just herself—a girl who wanted to find out the truth.

"These are your schedules," Mr. Eric pushed a folder into her hand, followed by a key card and a bag that contained her other uniforms. "Here at Luminaria, students have to look their best, and this," he pointed to the bag, "has all the information on the uniform to wear daily. That folder contains the school's rules and regulations. The instant you make a mistake is the day you leave this school. Do you understand?"

Astoria wasn’t sure if she should nod because she had no idea what Mr. Eric meant. It sounded as if he were threatening her, setting her up for punishment.

"Do you understand me!" he shouted again, and this time she nodded. "Words! Answer me with words unless you are mute."

Astoria frowned but answered, "Yes, sir!"

Mr. Eric nodded. "Now, go find your locker in the senior hallway, and once you've dropped off your things, come back. I’ll take you to your class and introduce you to everyone."

"Yes, sir!" Astoria answered loudly, which made Mr. Eric frown. He raised his brows and then pointed outside the office. "Leave right away!" he shouted.

Astoria turned to leave, and as she reached the entrance, she collided with a teacher and was pushed backward, almost falling. She managed to grab the door handle to steady herself.

"Are you blind!" a woman wearing a brown shirt and black skirt shrieked, straightening her dress and pointing a finger at her. When their eyes met, she frowned and then chuckled. "What do I expect from a scholarship student!" she spat angrily and walked away before Astoria could apologize.

Astoria cleared her throat and lowered her head, feeling all eyes on her. She quickly exited the room, knowing that if she stayed any longer, she could die from their glaring eyes.

"Everyone is the same," she muttered as she entered the elevator and pressed the button for her floor. Astoria had expected that the teachers would be different from the students, but everyone seemed to value power and hierarchy, so they regarded her as nothing. To them, she was the scholarship student who got in for free.

Was that how her sister had felt when she was here? Did they treat her indifferently? Was that the reason why she had committed suicide? Astoria didn’t know what to believe anymore. Just a few minutes in the school, she had witnessed a lot—from the prince who attacked a scholarship student like herself to teachers who didn’t like her.

"It's her!" someone’s loud voice brought Astoria out of her thoughts as the elevator doors opened.

"I bet she doesn’t know anything about elevators," another snorted.

"She’s a nobody! I’m sure she’s from the slums where her kind should belong!" another added, taking out their phone to start taking pictures of Astoria.

She ignored them, walking through the crowd with fingers pointing at her and comments passed at her.

"She must have a lot of guts for attacking the prince like that."

"I call it foolishness!"

"She won’t last here," someone shouted, bursting into laughter. "I give her a week or five days before she quits."

Quit? That word almost made Astoria laugh out loud. If there was something she was good at, it was never giving up, no matter what. No matter the situation's difficulty, Astoria always ensured she emerged strong.

Astoria reached her locker and stared at the key card to ensure she wasn’t mistaken. The number 58 on the locker matched the Key Card. She opened it and put her bags and schedules inside. The murmurs and clicking of cameras behind her grew louder.

Astoria rolled her eyes, unable to keep up with the students' curiosity. She slammed her locker shut and faced them with a frown. "What!" she shouted. "Have you never seen a scholarship student before?" She heaved a sigh. "Goddess! Get a job or find a class to go to," she rolled her eyes and walked past the students, her voice echoing in the hallway. "Can’t believe this!"

Even though Astoria had shouted at them, the cameras continued to snap, and the murmurs grew louder, but it didn’t bother her.

When Astoria returned to the teacher’s office, she didn’t bother greeting any of them and went straight to Mr. Eric's table, informing him that she was ready. He stood up and walked out with her, taking her to her new class.

As they walked towards the classroom, Astoria expected that her teacher would give her a tour of every hallway they passed by or engage her in conversation, but instead, he said nothing, walking fast as if he didn’t want to be seen with her.

"Mr. Eric," Astoria called, and he only responded with a nod. If Astoria could catch the clue, she would realize he didn’t want to speak with her. But instead, Astoria continued, "I witnessed something when I arrived here, and you need to hear about it. I saw a student almost crushed by the alpha prince's car."

That made him stop. He turned towards her, pointing a finger. "You saw just games between students, and you shouldn’t be talking about it!"

"Games?" Astoria knew what she saw was no game. The prince wasn’t playing games while trying to kill someone. "Sir, if I hadn’t stepped in and saved his life, he could have died. The school needs to know about—"

"Drop it!" Mr. Eric shouted, making her heart jump in fright. That was no way to talk to a student. He placed a finger on his lips. "No one outside the school needs to know about this. It's just a game between students. Don’t spread silly rumors, and keep your mouth shut!" he whispered as a student walked past them. "Hello," he waved at them with a smile, and once they were gone, he turned back to face Astoria with a frown. "Remember the rules, Astoria, or you won’t last here long." He sighed and placed his hands into his pockets.

It was a warning.

Astoria knew her new teacher wasn’t joking with his words. He meant every word he said, so she didn’t argue further. The rest of the walk to the classroom was in silence, and when they finally arrived, the class was not what Astoria expected.