Chapter 15: It Is All Legit

Before today, Nathan had been completely confident that every woman in the world would want to marry him if they were given the opportunity. He had good looks, popularity, and money. What more could a woman want? - he wondered. The sight of Crystal crying on the lawn had thrown him for a loop, and nothing about the things she’d said had made any sense to him - But maybe Andy knows a little bit more about this than I do - he thought - After all, he’s been married for a year!

Nathan eyed Andy impatiently as he waited for an answer. Finally, Andy said, “There... There are many reasons why a woman wouldn’t want to marry someone. For example, if they were short, ugly, fat, poor, lazy, opinionated, stubborn, violent, or if they were a disgusting pervert.”

“But I have none of those shortcomings,” Nathan insisted. “It must be something else.”

One thought occurred to Andy, but he doesn’t say it - Perhaps she sees what everyone else around here sees: that you’re a homosexual. Andy honestly could not imagine there is a woman who wouldn’t want to marry Nathan, except for this reason.

Andy squirmed a little bit in his seat, and then he said, “Well... President Davis, if there is anything wrong with my work, you can just tell me directly...”

“Answer my question,” Nathan bellowed, “or I will hold you personally responsible if my relationship fails!”

Well fuck! - Andy thought-and if I told him what I really think, he’d probably fire me! Finally, he said, “I... I’m sorry, but... I can’t think of any reason why a woman wouldn’t want to marry you... A man as perfect as yourself, any woman would want to marry you with your assets and qualifications. But is there a chance that she’s holding out for love? I have heard that some women like to do that...”

After speaking, Andy closed his eyes nervously. He had the feeling that after what he’d just said, his boss might want to kill him. A few minutes passed, though, and when Nathan still hadn’t physically attacked him, Andy dared to open his eyes. Then, Nathan said in a low tone of voice, “So, Crystal doesn’t love me... That is what you’re saying…?

Any swallowed hard. “No, no,” he said. “I don’t mean that. I was just saying that that is another reason why a woman might not want to marry a specific man. I didn’t mean to imply that this was Crystal’s reason for not wanting to get married to you!” After saying this, Andy really did want to die.

Nathan silently waved his hand and said, “Get out.”

Andy ran out of Nathan’s office as fast as he could. He felt like he had just been released from prison or like he’d gotten a new lien on life. Unfortunately, that feeling soon disappeared. Crystal doesn’t love him- he thought to himself- But of course, she doesn’t!

Back in his office, Weasley was having similar thoughts. He knew that Crystal didn’t love him, but he didn’t see what that had to do with anything.

****

Crystal sat in detention with her head on her desk. Even though Nathan had told her she didn’t need to go to school, she’d gone anyway, and then she’d gotten in trouble for being late. Again. So, after the final bell had rung, she’d gone to the detention room. Serenity was also supposed to be in detention too, but she hadn’t arrived yet. Thus, once she’d taken her seat, she put her books on the desk next to hers to save them for her friend.

Crystal hadn’t slept well the night before, and her morning had been exhausting, so she was very tired, and almost as soon as she put her head on her desk, she fell asleep.

It wasn’t long after that, though, that someone sat beside Crystal, and when she half-opened her eyes, she was surprised to see that it wasn’t Serenity. It was Frank, one of her schoolmates. He was handsome, and when he smiled, two shallow pear-shaped dimples appeared.

“Excuse me,” Crystal said sleepily, “this seat is reserved.”

“There is no name on it,” Frank replied belligerently.

“I am too tired for your shit,” Crystal sighed.

“I’m uncomfortable with you sitting there, and there are many other vacant seats. Please choose one of them. This one is reserved for my friend, Serenity.”

Frank’s face turned red suddenly, and he said, “I know, I came here just to...” But before he could finish speaking, he saw Serenity walk in.

He stood up quickly and banged his knee on the desk. “fuck!” he cursed as he switched seats.

Serenity was baffled by Frank’s actions. “Well, what happened?” she asked. “Why did he run away like that? Did he want to flirt with you?” “Who knows!” Crystal snapped. “Don’t talk to me. I need to sleep for a while.”

Serenity: “Okay, you can sleep if you want, but I will continue with my questions.”

“Please let me go to sleep,” Crystal wined.

Serenity: “How can you sleep? Haven’t you heard the news about our new headmaster?”

Crystal. “Whatever. I don’t care.”

Serenity: “Do you think that it has something to do with you?”

Crystal: “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t have that kind of power. And why would I want to fire Mr. Ford? He was a good enough principal. And if I did have that kind of power, I would make myself principal, not somebody else!”

Serenity: “Come on, you are not suitable to be a headmaster. Anyways, it’s too coincidental when you think about it: Mr. Ford is being fired right after accepting a five-million-dollar bribe!”

Crystal: “That actually makes sense. They say that the new headmaster used to be the vice-chancellor of Saint University. Are you hoping that he is more handsome than Mr. Ford?”

“I would settle for younger people,” Serenity laughed.

Crystal: “Don’t be silly. There are no young headmasters!”

Suddenly Serenity remembered why Crystal was in detention. She asked her friend why she had been late, but Crystal said that she didn’t want to talk about it. Unfortunately, Serenity was too nosey to let it go. “Did it have to do with Professor Davis?” she wondered.

Crystal frowned and said, “He forced me to marry him this morning.”

Serenity’s jaw nearly hit the floor when she heard this. “But you are too young,” she said. “You aren’t even of legal age. Can he get away with this?”

“He likes ’em young,” Crystal replied bitterly, “and I’m young. Since I’m still a child, I guess he can do whatever he wants with me. At first, I thought that he couldn’t get away with it, but on the way to school, I checked with the Civil Affairs Bureau. It is all legit. Oh, it is so annoying. I don’t want to be married to anyone, let alone Nathan Davis. He really makes my skin crawl!”

Serenity shuddered and said, “I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when he comes to consummate the marriage.”

Crystal cursed so loud that everyone heard, and when she realized what she’d done, she covered her mouth and apologized to the class. Then she leaned over to Serenity and said, “I hadn’t thought of that...”

The Accounting teacher/Dungeon Master, which was what the students always called the Detention Monitor, interrupted them then, saying, “Crystal, Serenity, if you have any questions, you can discuss them at the podium.

Otherwise, keep silent. This class is for detention, not recess. Let’s keep that in mind.”

Finally, the day was over. Crystal said goodbye to Serenity and prepared herself to pay a visit to her Father’s Mansion. Evan had told her that her mother had left some things there for her, so she had to go and fetch them.