Chapter 10 - Scarlet's Grand Plan

It was a normal Thursday in Keyman International School. The young rich masters and mistresses were chatting away in their various cliques when the door slid open. Nobody was prepared for the shocking change.

While everyone in the class was familiar with the straight black hair and doll-like face, nobody was expecting the silent genius to appear with a wild look. Her hair was chopped messily off on one side and the other side that was usually tied into neat twin tails hung loosely over her shoulder.

The first to run over to greet Scarlet was the class prince. None of the girls stopped 'him'. In fact, none of the other classmates approached the three 'famous' students after the teacher's announcement on Monday. It was as if there was an invisible line that separated the normal children from those who were 'gifted'. The children weren't blind. They knew what special treatment was and these three chosen children were an entirely different category of their own ever since that surprise test.

"Scarlet!" 'Alex' gasped in horror and looked at the quiet girl as she put down her bag.

Jasper the 'Ghost Boy' was slightly slower in reaction and only got up when Alex was fussing over Scarlet's destroyed hair. He took one look at the silent girl and tugged on Alex's sleeve. Alex paused and gave him her attention and the boy with obscured eyes shook his head.

Reluctantly, the class prince let go off Scarlet. The stares from their classmates didn't help and Scarlet tried to get away from the attention by hiding behind a wall of books. It was at that moment the teacher chose to walk in.

"Why has everyone gathered around? Class is about to start!"

Nobody wanted to offend Ms Chloe the Math teacher. Although the students came from well-to-do families, Ms Chloe was the only teacher that didn't care about her students' prestigious backgrounds. She came from a poor family and worked her way up the social leaders. Even the school principal had to admit that Ms Chloe was the best when it came to doing what she did. Students often were afraid of her as she was rather strict but it was an irrefutable fact that everyone who attended her classes did well in the subject.

Ms Chloe was about to hand out detention slips when she caught sight of Scarlet's unusual appearance. She was slightly shocked. Her initial reaction was to put the books down and hand out a pop quiz before asking Scarlet to meet her outside the class where the girl would be away from curious eyes and ears while still keeping an eye out on the rest of the class.

"Scarlet," Ms Chloe spoke to the girl who refused to meet her eyes in a very soft and gentle voice, unlike her usual self. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

Ms Chloe wasn't new in the industry. She knew that still waters ran deep. Scarlet did a very good job of keeping a low profile and the sudden increase of attention must be causing her stress. Still, she had spoken to Scarlet's parents on a few occasions. They didn't seem like the kind to ill-treat their daughter. Although they were very busy and career-oriented, they made sure to bring their daughter up well even if their methods were a little stricter than others.

"Are you sure? You don't look so good. Would you like to go to the infirmary or go home?"

Scarlet was silent as she contemplated her choices. Given Ms Chloe's concern, it would be easy for her to get away from the class. The one place that she really wanted to be at was the library. She didn't have a computer at home after all but would the strictest teacher in keyman International School allow her to ditch classes in favour of using the computer?

"Can I go to the library? There isn't anyone at home and I don't want to be in the infirmary."

Ms Chloe pursed her lips at the odd choice. It was no secret to the teachers who taught Scarlet's class. The doll-like girl was a regular at the library and according to the head librarian who had announced Scarlet to be her unofficial grandchild, the girl actually enjoyed reading immensely. Thinking that being away from the rowdy class and under the care of someone she was more comfortable with would make Scarlet feel better, the Math teacher gave Scarlet permission along with a special hall pass.

Although it didn't show on her face, Scarlet's heart was beating very quickly. She steadied her hands when she received the hall pass and tried not to let it show that she was giggly on the inside. The girl didn't know if Ms Chloe would allow her to leave the class. When the principal said special treatment, he must have really meant it. If it were any other student during any other ordinary day, Ms Chloe wouldn't have made the concession.

Alex watched Scarlet come back to gather her belongings. The special hall pass was very eye-catching in her hands and the prince of the class gave Jasper a concerned look. Although she couldn't see Jasper's eyes, she knew that her childhood friend had a huge frown right now. Ms Chloe didn't seem to be very concerned when Alex turned around. Normally, kids who did that would be accused of attempting to cheat and would be given a big fat zero on their uncompleted tests. Seeing that Scarlet was leaving, Alex turned to her paper and quickly filled in the answers without taking the time to show her workings or double-checking them. Something of this calibre was simply too easy for her. Jasper didn't bother with filling in anything other than his name and chose to hand it up after he packed his stationery case.

"Finished? how quick!" Ms Chloe was surprised when the ditziest student in her class walked up to her with his test.

She was speechless when she turned it over. Jasper didn't care. he simply walked back to his seat slowly and carried his bag before waiting for Alex who took the time to bow and apologise to the teacher while getting two hall passes in exchange. He observed the rest of his classmates who were watching them with envy and hatred. The girls who used to fawn over Alex were now giving her hostile stares. Jasper sighed inwardly. This is why he didn't bother fitting in with the class and making friends. It was all too troublesome.

They hurried down the hallway to catch up to Scarlet who was already near the library.

"Wait up!" Alex shouted and Jasper winced. Did she forget that classes were still ongoing? They might have special privileges but that didn't mean they were immune to punishments in the form of criticism.

Scarlet paused and turned around without any change in her expression. however, her actions spoke volumes as she waited for Alex and Jasper to catch up to her.

"Why are you here?"

The words sounded harsh and unwelcoming but Alex took no notice. Jasper merely observed the two girls in the background as Alex grabbed onto Scarlet's hands with teary eyes. His childhood friend was simply too transparent to understand.

"I was worried about you. What happened to your hair? Why did this happen? Your beautiful hair... who did this to you?"

Jasper raised a brow. Could anyone possibly do such a thing to Scarlet? Although he didn't know her as well as he knew Alex, Jasper was certain that Scarlet did this to herself. However, he didn't know her reasons.

Scarlet sighed and brushed Alex's hands away. The poor class beauty was left feeling lost and confused. Why wasn't Scarlet feeling afraid or sad? She had lost her cute twin tails and acted as if that was nothing. It wasn't done by a professional and was obviously a sign of bullying or ill-treatment.

"Calm down. Nothing's wrong, I decided to go for a new hairstyle myself but it didn't turn out like what I had in mind."

Hearing Scarlet's explanation made Alex blink twice. "New hairstyle?"

Scarlet blushed a little and looked away, unable to meet Alex's ocean blue eyes full of innocence. Jasper caught that and smirked. That didn't go unnoticed by Scarlet so he stopped immediately. Sometimes that girl was too sharp for her own good.

"I wanted a new start. You know how some of the older girls say that to have a new start you need new hair? I didn't have time to go to the hairdressers so I thought I'll do the honours myself. It doesn't look too great, does it?"

Alex's eyes shone when she heard that. "It's ok! I can call my butler and you can come over to my house tonight. We can hire the best hair stylist to come and give you the makeover that you wanted. Jasper, you'll be joining us too."

It wasn't even a question so Jasper couldn't refuse. Besides, a sleepover at Alexandra's wasn't uncommon. His parents worked at Alex's mansion after all as a cook and a gardener. They practically grew up together and Alex's parents were very nice to him.

Scarlet thought about it. Her parents wouldn't be coming back till next month so it didn't matter if they knew about it or not.

"We can do that later. Are you both coming into the library? I have some things to do."

Alex smiled and nodded before following. Jasper had questions. What kind of things? Ordinary students would read or play games using the computer but Scarlet wasn't ordinary. What was she up to this time?

"What are we going to do?" he asked.

Scarlet flashed a small rare smile. "I'm going to be finalising by grand plans."

"Grand plans?" Alex was confused but she didn't ask further. Scarlet was a good friend of hers and she was more than happy to follow the eccentric girl's lead.