WHEN THE SEA CALLS
Chapter 34: Sasha and Dahlia Won’t Back Down

Chapter 34: Sasha and Dahlia Won’t Back Down

Rhea knew there wasn’t anything she could do about Sasha and Dahlia’s attitude towards her.

It is either she ignores them now and gets bullied later or she lets them bully her now and still gets bullied later.

She knew whichever option she chose, she would be the one at a loss. She decided it was best to ignore them now and get bullied later; she might be lucky enough to get saved by Louie or even Will.

She folded her arms. "I thought you both had changed. I can’t believe you are still bullies. You can’t bully me though. I won’t let you do that."

She walked away from the surprised Sasha and Dahlia. She let out a sigh. She had held her breath during her short speech, hoping she wouldn’t show any vulnerability.

She did not turn to look at their reactions either. She was certain the look on their face would be nothing but surprise and anger. They will both be surprised at the way she spoke to them and angry at the way she humiliated them; a few students who were by the hallway had taken some pictures and videos.

Rhea shrugged. She just has to prepare for the worst to come and hope someone will save her before she gets bullied by them.

She got to the class and entered. Most of the students were in class already. Alan and Reece were there too. Reece stared at her as she walked in. He wasn’t looking at her with disdain like he always does; Rhea thought it must have something to do with their encounter at the House of Seashells.

Alan, as usual, was dressed in black, but this time his hair wasn’t red and blue but black. Rhea blinked.

Why did he change his hair to black? Did something happen?

She stood at a spot staring at him and wondering why he changed it; Reece still had his blue hair.

Someone wrapped his hand around her neck. "Hey, bestie," Louie mumbled with a smile. "What are you staring at?"

"Can’t you see that Alan has changed the color of his hair? Do you know why?"

Louie moved his hand away from her neck and made her face him.

"Why are you asking? Do you like his blue and red hair better?"

Rhea shook her head. The color of his hair has nothing to do with her. She is just surprised.

"I prefer the black," she answered. "But it feels strange seeing him with black hair."

Her mind drifted back to their encounter at the House of Seashells.

Was the other boy she saw Alan for real?

The boy never said anything just like Alan always keeps quiet; he only waved at Reece before leaving. Reece also called him Alan but changed it quickly.

"I saw..."

"Mr. Martin is coming," a student announced.

Louie held Rhea’s hand. "Rhea, we should get to our seats."

They returned to their seats and sat down. Mr. Martin, the homeroom teacher walked in.

"Look at their lovely faces. You must have enjoyed your brief holiday," he said and most of the students began to murmur.

Rhea did not murmur with them but she had the same opinion as them. Those days weren’t holidays at all. They were filled with work; she wished she had gone to school instead.

Mr. Martins waved his hand and they kept shut.

"I want to believe we all enjoyed it..." He said. "What do we have for today?... We are going to be having a class project and I will be pairing you in twos. I have written down your names." He raised a paper up. "I will give this to your class president. You can’t change a partner. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like him or her."

Rhea furrowed her brows. Why does she feel like this has something to do with her?

"He will place the names on the board. You can find out who your partner is. Speak to each other and come up with what to do. Meet the class president and let him have your names and your project names." He smiled. "That will be all for today. You can head to your various classes now. Make sure you are on your best behavior. Do not get detention."

The students stood up and began to find their way to their various classes. Rhea and Louie have biology; they would be attending the class together. They left the class and headed to their locker to get their textbooks and lab coats. Reece saw them on the way and stopped them.

"Is there a problem?" Louie asked.

"Have you found your necklace?" Reece asked.

Louie furrowed his brows wondering what Reece was talking about. But Rhea, on the other hand, knew what Reece meant.

"I haven’t," she mumbled. "Because I haven’t gone there yet," she added quickly.

"I did not ask you that. Why are you sounding so guilty?"

"I do not sound guilty," Rhea mumbled.

"Of course you do because you are."

"What is going on here?" Louie asked.

"I will tell you about it later," Rhea whispered. "Can I go now? If you have nothing else to say?" She asked Reece.

"Did you see a blue stone?" Reece asked and Rhea’s eyes twitched.

Why is he asking after the blue stone? Does he know about it too?

"I... I haven’t seen any blue stone. Why did you ask?"

"Because I lost one," Reece lied.

He has been wondering if Rhea has any connection with the sea and also the stone. Aside from feeling the aura of the stone around her the last time they saw her at her house, Alan also told him that he saw a water-like figure beside her when they were at the abandoned land.

Reece wasn’t sure if Rhea had any connection with the sea; she had no sea aura, and she looked so ordinary, too. But he was certain she must have come in contact with the bluestone.

"I lost it during one of my visits there," Reece added.

Rhea muttered an oh. She had thought Reece knew about the bluestone that was with her and was trying to know if she had it.

"I am so sorry. I did not see it. Maybe if I go back to look for my necklace. I will help you find yours too. You can draw it out for me."

Rhea was composed now; she had nothing to fear or worry about.

Reece smiled. "That is so nice of you. I will get going. I will bring you the sketch when I am done."

He left, and Rhea would not stop staring at him.

He seems harmless and will make a good friend. She thought.

But Aquamarine has warned her against them. She needs to stay away from them.

Louie stood in front of her, waving. "Hey? Are you back? What are you thinking?"

"Nothing," Rhea answered.

"You haven’t told me what is going on between you two."

Rhea furrowed her brows. "Between who?"

"You and Reece."

"What are you saying?"

"I am not saying anything. I am just curious to know how you got close."

"Well," Rhea began. "You remember they are my new neighbors, right?"

Louie nodded. "Of course. I can remember you running and hiding from them."

Rhea rolled her eyes. "You do not have to remember that."

"Well, I did. But it doesn’t matter though. What do you want to say about it?"

"There is this abandoned land close to the sea and also close to my house. They bought it."

Louie blinked. "Who did you say bought it?"

"Reece and Alan. I was surprised too."

"Is the land that cheap? How did they get the money to buy it?"

Rhea shrugged. "I do not know. I heard the land isn’t cheap. Worths a lot. Millions of dollars, I heard. That is the reason no one bought it and it was abandoned."

"Why do you think they are interested in such land?" Louie asked. "Do you think there is some hidden gold there?" He whispered.

Rhea chuckled. "I do not think so. Or a lot of other people would have bought the land. Don’t you think?"

Louie nodded. "You are right. But where did they get such an amount of money from to buy the land?"

Rhea shrugged. "I do not know. I think we should keep moving. We still need to get some things from the locker before going to class."

Louie nodded. "You are right. Let’s go. I will wait for you by the hallway leading to class so we can go in together. You have to wait for me, too, if you get there before I do."

Rhea smiled. "I will."

They went their separate ways leading to their lockers. Rhea got to her locker and opened it up. She began to select the things she needed. Someone pushed the door to her locker, and it hurt her hand.

She groaned. "Who is that?"

Rhea’s eyes widened in shock. It was Sasha and Dahlia.

She blinked. Are these two not going to back down?

"Hi," she mumbled and then gritted her teeth. "Did not expect to get bullied so soon."

"What did you just say?" Dahlia asked, folding her arms.

"Did you just cuss at me?" Sasha yelled.

Rhea stared at Sasha and then at Dahlia. Neither Will nor Louie is here to help her.

What is she supposed to do now?