How Things Changed Forever.. PART - II

CH 42: Walk With Me...

Cassie sat on the school steps beside Tyson, watching the morning preparations unfold. Volunteers were setting up food exhibition stalls on the ground, banners were being hung, and the stage for the evening concert was beginning to take shape. Everything was coming together smoothly—except for one glaring issue.

It was past 7:30 a.m., and Hillary Tachibana, the Amity Club's president and the mastermind behind today's fundraiser, was still missing.

She saw Tyson check his phone again. No messages. No missed calls. She shook her head.

Cassie wasn't usually this impatient, but this was Hillary they were talking about. The multi-talented, perfectionist 'good girl' of their school—the same person who had spent the last week drilling into everyone's heads that they had to be at the venue on time. And now, on the actual day of the fundraiser, she was late? Cassie couldn't digest the hypocrisy.

They flipped through their anchoring script together, but Tyson wasn't as focused as usual. His knee bounced slightly. Every time a volunteer approached with a question, he answered quickly before glancing toward the school gate.

Since they were the event hosts, everyone turned to them when something went wrong. They knew a great deal about the organizing part, but not as much as Hillary. Thankfully, Luke seemed to have the rest covered. They had managed to keep things running for now, but Cassie wasn't sure how much longer they could hold out. Hillary needed to arrive.

She didn't comment on it, but she noticed—Tyson wasn't just waiting. He was worried.

"Still nothing?" she asked, glancing at his phone.

Tyson shook his head. "Nope. And she's not picking up either."

Cassie frowned, letting the script fall into her lap. "That's not normal."

"Tell me about it," Tyson muttered, crossing his arms half-heartedly.

"Well, looks like someone's late," a voice drawled.

Tyson's mood soured instantly. Cassie turned to see Laura dropping onto the step beside her, a smirk playing on her lips.

Tyson had never liked Laura, but ever since she and her friends had publicly dragged Hillary's name through the mud two days ago, he wasn't even bothering to hide it. He had intervened back then, starting an all-out fight with Robb and the rest of her group.

If Laura noticed his hostility, she ignored it. Cassie, not wanting to stir up another fight, kept her tone neutral. "Yeah, she's not picking up her calls."

Laura's smirk widened. "So responsible of her," she mocked.

Cassie shot her a sharp look but didn't take the bait. She didn't want another confrontation today of all days. Tyson, clearly thinking along the same lines, answered tersely. "She probably got held up because of the snow last night."

Laura scoffed. "What? The roads weren't even that bad."

Tyson exhaled sharply, looking like he really didn't want to be here, much less talking to her. "No, it's because she has cold urticaria."

Cassie frowned. "Cold what now?"

Laura raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Is that supposed to mean something?"

Tyson hesitated for a second, as if debating whether to say more, but then sighed. He finally looked at them. "Cold urticaria. It's a rare allergy. If her skin gets exposed to something too cold—like snow—she becomes extremely sensitive. She could get rashes, swelling, and in extreme cases, breathing issues."