𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟎𝟒: 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲

                                    

                                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
A frustrated sigh left his lips as yet another pair of his shoes fell victim to a student's stupidity. It may have been a total accident, but every situation was treated the same. Every action must result in a consequence, and the consequences weren't hard to guess. The precedent had already been for years now, which put poor Ellie in even more of a panicked frenzy with her thoughts.
"D-Damon," Ellie muttered quietly, panic coursing through her veins. "I . . . I am so sorry." She scrambled to her feet.
Damon glanced from his ruined shoe to the girl who stood before him, she lowered her head in shame and fear. The rest of the V4 was there too, but they were less than bothered by the situation. Chris kept his eyes on the ground, Cordie eyed Alaina from head to toe, and Brendan played with an earring as he watched Damon blankly. The main threat V4 posed came from Damon, who was the person you wanted to stay away from, and Ellie had directly clashed with him.
"Sorry?" Damon was in complete disbelief. "If everything could be solved by saying sorry, why would we need rules and consequences?"
Ellie glanced up at him, her mouth hanging ajar. "It was an accident. I . . . I will buy you a brand new pair right away," she offered remorsefully.
Damon clicked his tongue in irritation. "You? What, are you richer than me?"
Ellie lowered her head once more. "P-Pardon?"
Chris turned his back, observing the north building across the courtyard. He'd seen this play out one too many times before to know how it would turn out. "Even if you had more money, these are handmade by a craftsman in the countryside of France. How could you possibly get the exact pair immediately?"
Tears began to build up in her dolly eyes. "Oh . . . I am really sorry. I will do anything I can to fix it." She mumbled apologetically, the thought of a Red Card in her future terrified her.
"Anything." He drew the word out, his voice glazed in curiosity and malice.
"Yes," she nodded profusely, letting her judgment be ruled by her naiveness.
He smirked, an idea visibly coming to mind. He brought forward the soiled shoe. "Lick it," he declared.
"Damon, that's too cruel," Cordie mocked concern with a playful grin. The smile mellowed out as she surveyed the bold new girl, wondering if she valued herself or her friend more. It was an easy choice, at least for the blonde.
Chris pretended not to hear anything, Brendan snickered at the consequence.
"Huh?" Ellie was dumbfounded, mortified.
"You said you would do anything. Lick it."
Ellie stood there for what seemed like forever, processing what was asked of her. It took some time for the reality to sink in, she stood motionless looking down at her melted ice cream coating his shoe. She took one last peek up at him, swallowing back the lump in her throat. If this is what it took to avoid the fate that Caleb had gone through, then she was willing to follow through with his demands.