Checkmate - Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Althea reached home and read Professor Oakley's letter just after dinner. The contents shook her so much she had to take a walk so she could properly process what has been said. She reached for the letter she hid in her pockets, picked it up again, and re-read its content.
Dear Miss Lancaster,
By the time you read this letter, hopefully, you've recognized the feelings you've had towards Miss Yoshida. I was so very pleased to hear that you're doing so well with your painting. Congratulations on finally finding a muse that could help you accomplish your ambition.
However, I do find something disturbing when the tea leaves in my cup gave me a strange warning. I turned to the stars and undeniably, I am certain of what shall ensue between you and your muse.
Your fascination with Miss Yoshida will turn sour shortly and your relationship with her will come in jeopardy. The present you wouldn't want that as I had seen your heartbeat for the lovely girl. The girl clearly feels the same for you. Surely you would prevent such drastic fate between you and your flame.
Unfortunately, I have to put an end to my letter; there are a million things that I'm supposed to do and I fear that I am unable to help you steer yourself in the right direction. You have my ultimate trust that you would be able to control your rash decisions for yourself, for Miss Yoshida, and your mentors. I am aware that you are nothing like my past student—a certain prodigal girl like you, but one couldn't be too careful.
I have decided that by Samhain Festival, I shall choose which protégé I will take under my care. Reminding you that I only take one, Miss Lancaster, per generation for I will never accept two at the same time. You have all my best wishes. Good luck.
Sincerely,
Oakley
Althea didn't know what to make of it. She folded the piece of parchment, sighing, and then threw it again on the desk. She sat on the chair, thinking about what Professor Oakley had written. It was true; she was feeling something about Hana, but the way Professor Oakley paraphrased it, it seemed like she was insinuating a deeper emotion, a dark one—akin to anger and dissatisfaction. Althea couldn't fathom why the old woman would think that Althea will harbor such ill will towards the object of her affection.
That night, Althea couldn't sleep. She kept tossing about in her bed, trying to find a position remotely comfortable but at that point, it was obvious that it was not the lack of space that disturbed her peace, but the abundance of it. It was bad. She had never imagined that Professor Oakley's crazy reading would prove to be such an ordeal: she couldn't sleep and think.
All she did was paint.
She needed to put her best work forward to submit to the campus contest. Her mother won the title during her prime and she wouldn't want to fail the family legacy of their Matriarchal line.
Althea overworked herself to paint. She already painted three pieces, none which passed her fancy. She was on the fourth attempt when she required fresh air. She opened the window, but she would not leave the canvas.
She had to stay there and paint until her hands hurt, her back felt stiff and her eyes could not render an appropriate perception of her surroundings. It was her sort of atonement, for the future Professor Oakley warned her, for her deeds, for her fright, and mostly for those three words that she had never said nor found the courage to tell Hana.
A strange thought emerged from the deepest part of her.
Althea mostly never told anyone the three words ever since her mother died.
When it comes to her mother, Althea was too sensitive. Perhaps there were more than just the three words that she had left unsaid to her mother, Bernadette Lancaster. There were the feelings that she had never expressed openly to her. Althea had not smiled enough while in her mother's presence, she had not held her mother tighter to her chest when she had been between her arms, she had not kissed her enough and she would never get to do that again.
It was a regret that gave so much weight to her too. Now, Althea felt lonely—lonelier than she had ever been. Though it seemed that lately she was not deprived of guests and company provided by Edith and the rest of the house servants, and her childhood friends, it was in Althea's heart that she truly felt alone, for it was empty and cold and she didn't have the warmth of her mother's body to die the coldness away—until Hana happened.
Yet the fact that Professor Oakley talked about the word 'sour' without specifying what it meant. She was scared. What if she will lose Hana? Althea couldn't bear the thought of it.
Althea's hand reached for her phone that vibrated a tune as soon as she grabbed it from the nightstand. It was midnight, or so indicated on her phone.
Hey! Althea, did I wake you up? Sorry if I did. I just want to let you know that I haven't slept yet, preparing my photos for tomorrow. Fallon and Liezel are already killing me. Anyways, I can't wait to see your painting! This would be the first time I will see your work and I'm already excited!
Hana.
It was Hana.
Her heart warmed and she hugged the phone that contained Hana's kind message, ignoring the fact that her hands were coated with paint and she would have to wake up with colors all over her nightgown. She especially liked the emojis that came with it.
Hana just sent her a text and that was all it took to make Althea smile and look forward to the next day. She cleaned the thistles on her brush and painted a fifth time that night.
Samhain Festival arrived, causing Althea to go about skittish when she drank the strongest coffee she could. She drank medicine to help her relax for the day too.
Despite her frugal attempts to paint that night, Althea deemed that her painting of Hana was more beautiful than what she had recently painted. She should have submitted the painting she did of Hana, but fear overpowered her desire to come out so here she is, she submitted her rushed artwork to the Painting Exhibit.
"Professor," Althea said as she spotted the Italian woman, she was doing her rounds within the campus grounds to check if everything was sailing smoothly
The lilac-haired woman was leaning on a column in a hallway and removed her shades with a dramatic flair. "Oh, Althea, there you are! I was looking everywhere for you."
Althea frowned and fished for her phone. Indeed she saw that she failed to notice the messages and calls from the silent mode once again. She forgot to change its settings to vibrate. "I'm terribly sorry."
"Understandably, you are dilly-dallying, for all of the services that you do for the University and your family name, you must be so tired." The professor glanced around. "Weird, your fangirls aren't around."
"Madeline and Heather are at the painting gallery because I asked them to look out for my oil on canvas."
"So you did submit an artwork! I'm proud of you; guess this means the two of us will have the same title now huh."
Althea nodded, recalling the fact that Professor Tosca won the title too during her prime—a couple of years later from her mother.
"It is a pleasure, always."
"I came here because I have a great sense that I could meet with your muse today."
Althea almost lost her composure at the memories a certain Japanese girl gave her. "Of course, she would be at the Photography Exhibit."
"Very well," Professor Tosca returned the glasses inside her the pockets of her jacket. "You are on your way to her, are you not? Lead me to her."
"There! All done!" Hana yelled as she and her friends relished at the sight of Hana's art space.
With a reused backdrop and fine easels that Professor Andrea managed to borrow, Hana's framed photos were carefully stacked in a refined manner.
Hana's heart was filled with love that she could burst up in tears. Although her friends had other plans and other requirements and activities, they were always lending her a hand. Hana couldn't wish for better friends than them—and a better supportive teacher.
"Excellent everyone!" Professor Andrea stood next to the Japanese girl with a proud smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, the Headmistress is asking for my presence. Hana, I'll be back to check on you."
"Okay!" Hana waved a hand at the fleeting French woman, seeing that she almost bumped into a random student carrying her framed photographs as well. She was always so discomfited that somehow it was sometimes painful to watch her run around in a hurry.
Fallon opened the newspaper she was saving until now. "Oh my, we have an impressive lineup of judges this year to hand out the nine awards and titles!"
"Who are they?" Hana asked.
"Only the finest art curators from 10 years ago that earned Nobel Laureates after their mentor who died left them their fortune! Neos Athens got a hold of three of them—Empress Kovall from Canada, Morgana Cross from the United States, and Kaylor Castillo from the Philippines!"
Hana didn't know any of them but the way Fallon and the others light up at their names could mean that they are really big time. "Are they all Neos Athens graduates?"
"YES!" Everyone boomed at her.
"After taking their first degree, every one of them agreed to take their MA in Art History together," Fallon added.
Hana flinched and cleaned her ears at the sudden high numbered decibels. "Okay you guys, chill!"
"Guess this means we better part ways," Samantha stretched; some skin on her stomach had a fresh wisp of air. "Natalya's needed at her department. She's the head chef and Hildegard's the lead engineer for their haunted maze."
"What about you? What are the business students up to?"
"Are you kidding me? It's boring! I'd rather hang out with my roommates! I'm better entertained and well-fed when it comes to them."
Hana grinned. "Lucky!"
Hildegard impatiently pulled Samantha's sleeve.
"Alright, alright we're going! Hana, don't forget to get miss auburn chick's number for me!"
"Why do I have to help you pick up chicks?"
"You managed to pick up Al, I'm sure you can handle another one of her clique."
"Bye, Hana!" Natalya grinned, slipping her left arm comfortably around the Japanese girl's waist in a tight hug while her other handheld onto a huge bucket of fried chicken.
"Bye!" Hana waved back at them as their group of three ambled towards the exit.
"Liezel and I should get going too, Hana." Fallon said, a little guilty that she couldn't be there for Hana to give moral support, "You know, if we can stay, we would really stay."
"Nonsense! Don't worry about me, you guys! I can handle myself! You guys have your own department activities to look out for!"
"Are you sure?" Fallon asked.
"Honest!" Hana saluted, her own enthusiasm threatened to spill. "Fallon, I really can't wait to watch that recorded play of yours; and Liezel, I can't wait to see what the science department had created!"
"It's just an elaborate haunted maze. Samantha already told you." Liezel shrugged, uncaring. "It's a mash-up of a haunted house and escape-the-room kind of maze. Hildegard helped a lot with the technical stuff."
"That sounds super scary."
"Kehehe," Liezel grinned, showing off her razor-sharp teeth that Hana wondered if Liezel sharpened it on purpose. "You have to be good at puzzles if you want the robot zombies to stop scaring you."
Liezel's sentence gave Hana's back an involuntary shiver. She wasn't good at horror movies and she wasn't good at comprehensive puzzles and spatial abilities to begin with so a haunted house where one has to solve puzzles to find her way out is overkill for her. Ignoring the cold sweat that trickled on her skin, Hana cleared her throat and changed the topic. "I still can't believe Fallon got the main part!"
"It's a Midnight Musical of course!" Fallon said proudly as if the sentence was enough explanation. Hana was surprised that the theater department all love the book series about Mary Sue in a love triangle with a shining vampire and muscle-packed werewolf.
"Fallon has a good singing voice so she deserved it," Liezel said, uncharacteristically for her. Ever since last Sunday, Hana caught Fallon and Liezel more than once in hushed whispers and would instantly stop when her focus was on them.
Hana wondered if there was more than what meets the eye between these two, but then again maybe it's just because among the group of the trio, these two are just generally closer.
"Oh, Hana!" Fallon clapped her hands excitedly. "Tonight, meet us at the bonfire area. I'm pretty sure everyone is free by then!"
"Yeah," Liezel snickered. "I'm pretty sure it would be easy for you to find it. Considering the school will have a massive celebration this year."
"I'll follow the smoke trail if I get lost." Hana bantered.
Liezel rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure you will."
The moment her friends were gone, Hana experienced a new rush of emotions. Like a tidal wave, first came ecstasy because she couldn't believe she was here right now.
It took her a long way to just embark on a huge leap towards Andromeda Danton. Although she had a lot more to trek to follow in the footsteps of her idol, with every step she took, she knew she was getting closer.
Second, came was excitement from the fact that she was here right now. She glanced at the time and about 45 minutes later, the doors will open and people would come in and look at her display.
Next came was loneliness, Hana shook the insecurities away. Though she tried, now that she's without support from a trusted friend a sad smile wormed its way to her face. She wished an outside couldn't see it.
And then a tidal wave of nervousness overrode all her emotions. As the doors opened and people came over, Hana shuddered. When some of the guests reached her space because they were attracted by the sight of a goddess incarnated, asking her about the meaning of the portraits she did in her photography, Hana heartily enlightened them with an indulgent smile.
It was about a group of seven people when Hana's throat dried from all the talking with the memorized speech she prepared beforehand. She wished she brought some water or juice with her. She wondered if Professor Andrea should return, could she grab her some drinks.
The last emotion that came to her was a tidal wave of bliss as soon as she spotted a certain blonde heading her way.
"Aruteia!"