Chapter 28 Unexpected Confession
As they entered the dean’s office, a chilly room greeted them. The dean wasn’t there on her chair, and no one was in the room. The guards ordered them to sit down and behave themselves while waiting for the dean. One guard left to go back to his work, but the other one stayed and guarded them.
The two didn’t bother to talk or stare at each other. They were just busy minding their own phones and sitting quietly. Unavoidable nothingness, a deafening silence. It makes a sound that cannot be missed. They were gasping for air after a fight, and their breathing could be heard. As there are no other competing sounds to break up what is perceived as silence, the loudest noise one can hear is the deafening lack of noise.
The door finally opened after a long wait, and the dean walked in carrying a bento box that appeared to have been purchased just then. The dean walked towards her chair and sat comfortably.
She took a deep breath before starting to talk. “I’ve got a call that you two fought in the cafeteria while everyone was busy eating their lunch. You both disturbed their lunch and also mine. Now, because you disturbed my peaceful lunch today, I want to hear a clear description of how your fight started.”
“Kianna started it, Dean! She just pulled my hair without any apparent reason!” Asteria said, blaming Kianna.
“What are you talking about? Everyone in the cafeteria knows what you have done, Asteria. Don’t act like a victim because you are not!”
The two were put to silence when the dean furiously slammed her desk. “Quiet! I said I want to hear a clear description of what happened. I don’t want to hear you fighting here at my office! This is a university, not a boxing ring for you two to fight!”
“But Dean… I am telling the truth it is really Kianna who started it. I just defended myself from her—”
“Do you really think that someone will believe your lies?! Stop it, Asteria! Tell the truth and maybe that will help me forgive you for all the stupid things you have done.”
“Enough! I will call your parents and you both will explain everything when they were here listening.” The dean said and grabbed her phone to call Mr. Saavedra. It took two tries before their dad answered.
“Hello, Mr. Saavedra?”
[Yes. Who is this?]
“This is the Dean of the University of Cavite and I would like to invite you to come here to school—”
[Oh! May I know what for? I am really busy right now, and I don’t know if I will be able to go there.]
“I am afraid to tell you but you really need to. Your daughters made a scene in our cafeteria this afternoon and it made a disturbance for our other students.”
[I see, I will be there…]
***Call ended***
“Will daddy come?” Asteria innocently asked.
“Yes he will and I want both of you to behave while we are waiting for him. I want you to get ready with your statements because I don’t want to hear any made up stories from either of you.”
It was more than an hour before their father and his wife showed up. The dean welcomed them right away and offered them tea, but they refused.
“It looks like we are ready to start. I am really sorry for the unexpected call from us, Mr. and Mrs. Saavedra, but we really need to solve this problem right away because I don’t want to hear about any issues that my students were involved in. I called you over here to help me resolve your daughter's personal issues. Let’s start.”
“Wait. Can’t we just let them go to their classes and we will take care of this at home? In fact, you just said that it was my daughter's personal issues,” Mr. Saavedra said.
“Well, yes, you are right about that, Mr. Saavedra, but as you can see, they were inside the premises of the university when they started fighting, so it is our responsibility to fix it immediately before they even affect other students.”
Their father let out a heavy sigh, hot with humiliation and disappointment. “Tell us what happened.” Their dad ordered, looking seriously at the both of them.
“Daddy, I already told the dean that it was Kianna who started it, but she is not believing me…” Asteria expressed her oppression through her words and actions.
“Okay, Asteria, tell us what happened.” Her mom said.
“No, can we stop for a moment? Because I don’t want to hear your daughter's lies. I am sick of it. Dean, I am asking for your permission to show the CCTV footage at the cafeteria this morning. The camera won’t lie, right?” Kianna stated firmly.
“You are right, Kianna. Okay, let’s head to the CCTV surveillance office.” The dean immediately stood up making everyone follow her.
-
The CCTV Surveillance Office
While the guard is reviewing the footage, Asteria appears anxious. Kianna is at the corner leaning on a wall while waiting for them to see what happened this morning.
“I got it. Here it is, Ma’am.”
“Can you rewind at the very beginning before they approached each other?”
“Copy that, Ma’am!”
After they watched the footage the dean doesn’t show any expression from what she watched. Asteria swallowed her saliva while feeling quite anxious. There is nothing else her mother can do but to help her husband to calm down.
“How will you explain everything that we have seen, Ms. Asteria Dayle Saavedra?” The dean asked.
“You all misunderstood everything! I was walking to buy something at the cafeteria when she suddenly called me slut. When I heard it I immediately approached her and asked her about what she said but she denied it, mom… then… then that’s when everything started. I slapped her hand because I was so angry that she called me slut for no apparent reason—”
“Liar!”
“Liar.”
Kianna said alongside a mysterious voice coming from outside. The door opens and a guy wearing his signature hoody entered the room.
“What are you doing here, Mr. Ramirez?” The dean seriously asked.
“I'm here to confirm that Ms. Asteria was the one who caused all of the disturbance that happened at the cafeteria earlier.”
“What do you mean to attest? You were just saying that because Kianna is your rumored girlfriend or maybe it was never a rumor at all!” Asteria shouted, defending herself from the accusation of Nate to her.
“Yes, you are right I like Kianna Myst Saavedra. Because of this, I won't let you abuse her and claim that she is to blame for your immature behavior.” Nate said and approached the dean, “Here is a video of them earlier. As you can see Miaree approached Kianna and said nasty things to her.”
“Why do you have this video, Mr. Ramirez?” The dean curiously asked.
“As what I have said earlier, I like Ms. Kianna Myst Saavedra, so while she was eating her lunch I decided to film her without her knowing. I like to admire her from afar. And I know that’s a bit creepy so I would like to formally say sorry to you… Kia…” Nate expressed it in the most sincere way possible.
Everything paused for a second as Kianna fixed her gaze on Nate. Time halted. Everything happened slowly. Kianna stood there, not moving, simply staring at him since she was unable to hear clearly and everything sounded muffled.
“Alright, I guess we already solved this commotion. Ms. Asteria, I am very disappointed with your actions. You even dare to lie in front of me; the dean of this university, and even to your own parents. Mr. and Mrs. Saavedra, I am sorry to tell you this but our school doesn’t tolerate bullies. I am going to punish your daughter, Asteria, according to our University rules. Bullying is a crime, Ms. Asteria Dayle Saavedra. As for our rules, students who bully their schoolmates will be punished by expelling them from this university. I hope you will learn from this mistake you made, Ms. Asteria. Mr. and Mrs. Saavedra, and also you Asteria Dayle Saavedra, I would like to talk to all of you in my office to discuss everything.” The dean said and started leaving the room.
The look in Mr. Saavedra shows disappointment from her daughter. “I didn't raise you like this! You are a disgrace to this family!” Her dad said and furiously leave the surveillance office.
Nate stopped Asteria as she was about to approach Kianna while glaring at her. “I am not done with you,” Asteria said and leave the room with her mom.
Kianna sighed deeply. She stretched her neck and pick up her bag. He looks at Nate and she started walking toward him. With a query in his eyes, Nate turned to face her.
“Thank you for helping me. If it weren't for you, Asteria would have convinced everyone here with her lies.”
“No worries, don’t think about it. I just wanted to help you.”
