Zoella

Part 25

"This is bad."

Margaret said with a grim expression on her face.

"What is?"

Lilian answered her friends in an uninterested tone.

"There are so many men in our Academy, right?"

"So?"

This time, it was Zoella who responded.

"Then why is neither of us have a lover?!"

Lilian and Zoella sighed in annoyance. That friend of theirs, Margaret, was a sucker for romance.

Right now, the three of them were having a pajama party in Margaret's room. They chose her room simply because Margaret's room was on the first floor.

"I mean just look at Rachel and Edward. They started seeing each other after a week they got here."

"Well, I don't think all of us aren't seeing someone."

"Huh?"

Margaret looked at Lilian in confusion. On the other hand, Lilian grinned and glanced at Zoella real quick to send a sign to her friend.

Margaret's jaw dropped as she turned her head toward Zoella.

"Really?"

"What?"

"Don't play dumb, Zoe. I know you're seeing someone."

"Oh, my God!"

Margaret covered her mouth to prevent herself from screaming. Her eyes twinkled at the thought of Zoella's love story.

"I'm not!"

"No? Then where were you going every day after school, huh?"

Zoella gulped her saliva. It's been two weeks since she started meeting Ezekiel in secret. She thought no one would notice her absence. And it's not like she met him every day.

If one of them couldn't come they would meet the day after. So Zoella thought no one will know but apparently, she was wrong.

Lilian smirked at her while Margaret looked at her enthusiastically.

"I was picking some herbs."

Lilian and Margaret looked at her with disbelief clearly showing in their eyes.

"Fine. I was meeting with someone."

"I knew it."

"Oh, God! Who is he? What did you guys do? Have you kissed him?"

"What? No!"

Zoella's eyes widened at Margaret's last question. Margaret pouted. She thought she finally could hear some romance story from Zoella.

"So? Who is he?"

This time, Lilian was the one who asked a question. Zoella let out of breath before she answered.

"His name is Ezekiel and he's a Knight."

"Your Knight has come to save you!"

"I told you it's not like that, Margaret."

Margaret chuckled while looking at Zoella's annoyed face. Lilian and Margaret continued to tease Zoella all night long that they sleep really late.

"Yawn~"

Zoella walked really slowly to a room behind the greenhouse while yawning every so often. It was because she slept really late that she felt sleepy.

Even her friends still sleeping peacefully in Margaret's room now. Zoella left them be as this was her chance to sneak into her mini-laboratory.

***

Zoella opened the warehouse and saw her creation for the past week.

A week ago, Hayes told Zoella that the tools she asked for were completed as well as the mice. He also gave Zoella a key to an abandoned warehouse saying he placed all of the tools there.

'You don't need to worry. Only some people know about that warehouse so you can use it as you please, Zoe.'

That was what he said.

That's why sometimes she couldn't meet up with Ezekiel because she was also busy practicing to make some potion, poison, and antidote.

"Alright, let's begin. Kaempferia's roots, two Bauhinia leaves, five Marsilea petals, ten Piper leaves, and Grandis's roots. Smash them, pour some water, boil them, cool them, and extract them. The last step is slowly adding mana. And done."

She took the bottle that collected the extraction and observed it. This time, Zoella was sure that this one was a success.

Zoella put on a pair of gloves before she took out some sick mice. She mixed a few drops of potion into the water for them to drink.

Sizzle~

Right after the mice drank the water, their bodies glow and Zoella could see they were getting better.

A big grin formed on Zoella's face.

"At last, the highest grade one."

It was her 20th attempt at making the highest-grade potion. Zoella could make the lowest and middle-grade potions easily. But she needed to put more effort into making the highest one.

Her attempt failed 19 times and she needed to heal the mice with the middle-grade potion.

And finally, Zoella succeeded in making the highest-grade potion.

"I will make some more of this before I make the poison and antidote."

"Zoe?"

"!"

Zoella was stunned in her place. The voice she heard just now was unmistakably her friend. She slowly turned her body to face that person while thinking of an excuse in her head.

"Hey... Warren."

Zoella smiled awkwardly to Warren who was standing by the door. He balled his eyes as he stared at the bottle that Zoella hold.

Warren was sure that he didn't hear it wrong when Zoella said 'the highest grade' and 'poison'.

"I can explain."

Zoella sat on a chair while her three friends stood tall staring at her.

Warren glared at Zoella demanding an explanation while Lilian and Margaret stared at her in confusion. After all, they were suddenly dragged out from the bed by Zoella who was saying her life was in danger.

"So... what is it?"

Lilian broke the silence.

"Our friend here had a little thing that she kept hidden from us."

"You have another secret other than that guy?"

"What guy?"

Lilian covered Margaret's mouth when she realized that Warren had no idea about what they talked about last night.

"Huft, alright. Lilian, you tell me about that guy and I tell you about what I see. In the count of three."

Lilian nodded.

'Damn, I never thought they would catch on so quickly.'

Zoella knew that someday her friends will realize the things she was hiding from them but not this soon. However, there's no point in crying over spoiled milk.

She had no choice but to explain it to them later.

"1... 2... 3. I saw Zoe made the highest grade potion and was planning to make a poison."

"Zoe was meeting a guy in the forest secretly for the past two weeks."

"She met who?"

"She did what?"

"Zoe..."

Zoella sighed while thinking about what she was going to explain first. And so she decided to explain it from the very first time she was interested in plants and how she met Ezekiel in the forest.

"Alright, calm down. I'll explain everything."