Raised From The Wild-Chapter 76: Trouble in the Lab
"Yes, Father. I feel better. My elder sister is amazing. Her medicine tasted good and better than the royal physician’s bitter-to-swallow pills." Young Prince Yohan responded to the crown prince in his heart-melting cute voice. He then looked at Amaya with an adoring look.
"Elder Sister is my hero. When I grow up, I will also tame tigers and wolves just like my sister did. I will run as fast as the wind and make sickness better."
"Yohan, what nonsense are you talking about? Looks like your nanny has been free lately." Nelida snapped at him and Yohan shrank back and hid behind his Nanny.
Amaya frowned. She stretched her arm and pull Yohan from behind the nanny’s back.
"He is only a child Nelida. Don’t be too harsh on her." Prince Ibarra threw Nelida a cold gaze.
"Ha ha ha," the king suddenly laughed. My grandson is so cute. "Come to Grandpa." He opened his arms wide. Amaya gave Yohan a gentle push."
Nelida clenched her fist. She was not happy about Yohan getting close to his grandfather. He was still young but then he was still a threat to the throne.
...
Amaya was excited when she entered her classroom. She remembered that they will be using the microscope to study the leaf of a plant that they selected. She hadn’t seen a microscope before so she researched on the internet before she slept.
She went to the laboratory with Julinne and the blonde girl was so surprised at how excited Amaya was to use a microscope. Of course, she hasn’t used a microscope before.
The students have pre-assigned seats in the laboratory. Julienne was on Amaya’s right while Ardana was on her left. Ardana placed a wooden box on her table and then she started to adjust her microscope.
Amaya placed a section of the leaf that she cut on a small rectangular glass and placed it under the microscope. She then adjust the settings while she focussed on the monitor in front of her.
Stephane came beside her and check her work. The pigment of the leaf can be cleary seen on the monitor.
"Good work. Have you used a microscope before?"
"This is my first-time Teacher Stephane. I made some research on how to use the microscope last night though."
Stephane looked at her with interest. "You are pretty good for a first-timer. This can however be improved."
He leaned closer to Amaya and adjust the knob of the microscope. His scent entered Amaya’s nostril. She sensed sandalwood, musk, and an earthy aroma. He wanted to comment about his smell but then she remembered Marx telling her not to sniff or tell a man when she liked his scent.
"You can still adjust this to increase the magnification of the plant. That’s the stomata of the leaf." Stephane bent and pointed to a spot on the monitor.
Amaya turned her head and looked at him and smile. His face was too close so Amaya leaned back a little. "Thank you, Teacher Stephane"
Stephane nodded slightly and moved to the other students to check on their work.
Amaya was so engrossed in studying the structure of the leaf under the microscope. Back in Miraga, she only has a magnifying glass and what she was seeing now is far different from what she saw using the magnifying glass before. She did not notice that a wooden box was placed on her table and the lid was slightly ajar.
A chubby student in ponytails screamed. Soon there was a commotion inside the laboratory as students were scrambling away from Amaya’s table.
"Spi .. spiders. There are spiders coming out of the wooden box." The chubby teenager pointed in her direction.
Amaya who was initially oblivious to what was happening looked up and turned around. She saw that her classmates were looking at her with accusing gazes.
"Ahh.. Ah... Help the spiders are crawling everywhere."
Amaya frowned and looked at the wooden box on top of her table. A spider just crawled out from it.
Julienne stood beside her. Amaya was about to touch the box when Julienne held her hand. "Don’t touch it if it is not yours. Someone wanted to frame you." She whispered into her ear.
Amaya nodded in understanding. She looked around and saw the panicked voices of her classmates.
Stephane who went out for a while was flabbergasted at the chaos inside the lab. Only two students were calm and they were Amaya and Julienne.
"Everyone, don’t panic. Tell me what happened?"
"Teacher.... Teacher.. there are spiders crawling around." The chubby student in a ponytail was crying. She was scared of spiders.
"Alright everyone, be calm and exit the laboratory in an orderly manner."
When the students heard Stephane, they hurried to the door. The first two students who arrived near the entrance froze and started to back away step by step. Just on top of the doorknob was a big spider with a body the size of a matchbox. One of the two fainted but nobody dared to approach except Stephane.
Amaya looked around the laboratory. She saw empty jars with lids and the wooden rod they used for stirring during experiments.
Amaya approached the door and skillfully poked the spider with the rod. The spider was agitated when it was lifted from the door and transferred to the rod. Before it can attack Amaya, she has already placed it inside the jar and replaced the cover.
The moment she opened the door, the students all rushed toward it. Amaya stepped aside to avoid being crushed.
"Call security and someone brings her to the clinic."
A muscular young man, took the unconscious student from Stephane to be brought to the school’s clinic.
Soon, the school’s security team arrived to investigate. The principal was also there. The chubby student was interviewed and she testified that the spiders came out of the wooden box from Amaya’s table.
"The wooden box is not mine," Amaya said with conviction. While not scared of spiders, she does not like them because they are not cute at all.
Stephane looked at the box. "I went to check the student’s work earlier, but the box is not there. But I went out for a while to go to the restroom. When I came back the lab was already in chaos." Stephane explained. He knew that as the class teacher, he was accountable and he will never shirk responsibility.
Principal Lazada was in a dilemma. A student was indirectly accusing the First Princess of causing trouble in the laboratory. Even if it was her, how can he expose this?
Julienne stepped in. "If I may Principal Lazada, I can testify that the box is not Amaya’s. Someone has intentionally or inadvertently placed that box on Amaya’s table. She said that it is not hers and she has not touched it. So the security team can have the box checked for fingerprints. There are also CCTVs and I am pretty sure that it has already been checked.
Ardaya who was sitting beside Amaya was also detained in the laboratory room for questioning.
"Is the box your’s Miss Ardaya?"
Ardaya checked the position of the CCTV earlier and she knew that her area was a blind spot so the CCTV should not have captured her actions. However, when she thought about it, there might be hidden cameras installed.
’Damn it! What do I do? Why did I agree to Samantha’s stupid plan? She has to come clean and make an excuse.’
"Umm, the wooden box is actually mine. I like collecting spiders and I thought of dissecting one of them after I am done with the leaf. I might have accidentally placed them on the princess’ table as we are just neighbors." Ardaya’s explanation was flawless.
"Liar!" Julienne muttered under her breath. It did not escape Stephane’s ears.
"Yesterday, we asked you politely where the Alpha classroom was. You pointed us to the Yala classroom. Today, you are making trouble for Amaya. What gave you the courage to play a prank on the princess huh? My goodness! You’re so stupid." Julienne glared at her.
Ardaya froze. It was like a bucket of cold water was poured over her. Julienne was right. The one she would like to prank was the First Princess of Lireya. While Samantha was also a princess, her kingdom was not in Lireya. She did not refute it when Julienne called her stupid. Indeed she was stupid.
"My apologies, Princess, Julienne. I misheard yesterday. I thought you were asking about Yala." She decided to turn a new leaf before it is too late.
"Hmmp. It is good that you know now where your loyalty lies." Julienne lowered her voice so only a few people heard it.
Amaya looked at Julienne with mixed emotions. Other than her Daddy and Marx, there was no other person with whom she feel a sense of security. Julienne’s actions simply showed that she was protecting her. She needed her kind of protection and she was thankful that she bumped into her on the first day of school. It was like they were fated to meet.
