Chapter 004

“Quit acting like a kid, Steve. How bad is it?” Sebastian asked, his eyes laced with worry and uncertainty. His stomach grumbled from anxiety causing sweat to suddenly escape from his pores. 

“You shouldn’t have fought Donald, you shouldn’t have fought that bully!” Steve punched the air in anger, scratching his scalp in frustration. His demeanor made Seb even more concerned.

Steve had always been a lily-livered guy, Sebastian looked after him like an elder brother and loved him wholeheartedly. For Steve to shed tears like a baby, that means the situation on the ground must be very crucial, due to the amount of chaos that occurred on campus the previous day.

“A notice was pasted on the dean of student affairs notice board…. And,” Steve paused momentarily.

“And what, Steve? What is the notice about?” Sabestian’s eyes widened, his heart beating faster than usual, he knew he was going to get into trouble, but he didn’t expect it to happen so fast. Well, that could be the influence of the high and mighty, the same one he dealt with earlier on.

Sebastian bowed his head and gritted his teeth, his hands brushed across his hair as he got consumed by his emotions. He began regretting ever meeting Marilyn, who was the sole custodian of his misfortune. 

He took in a deep breath, frustration laced in his countenance. “Have I been rusticated from school?” Sebastian asked in a very low tone, his voice barely above a whisper.

“What??? Rusticated? I would have been dead by now, trust me. What would I be doing at St psalms Institute without you?” Steve retorted, using his backhands to wipe away the tears streaming down his cheeks.

Sebastian exhaled deeply, it was a sign of huge relief, “So what is the problem, Steve? Why the drama?” Sebastian asked with furrowed brows as he raised his gaze to meet Steve.

“Sebastian, you are to face the panel on Tuesday. Then it would be finalized if you would continue as a student of St Psalm or not.” Steve disclosed calmly as he took out his phone to show Sabestian the soft copy of the notice he had earlier snapped from the notice board.

“You have been faulted for constituting a nuisance on campus and also beating up your fellow student mercilessly and you know it’s against the rules of St Psalms.”

“What??? Donald should also face the panel, for defamation of character, he leaked a nude video and ridiculed me!” Sebastian spat in anger in squinted eyes. 

“Sabestian, but you attacked him first.”

“I was provoked! Everyone was a witness to that.” He defended.

“Unfortunately, there is no trace of the video anywhere, I don’t know how he did it, but Donald is a demon. The craziest thing is none of the students wants to testify against him.” Steve sighed, his tone laced with bitterness.

“What?” Sebastian exclaimed as his mouth dropped to the floor in shock.

Sebastian felt his arteries ripping out of his heart, his vision was a bit blurry from tears. For the past four years, he had been of good conduct, he abided by the rules and regulations guiding the school, and just one offense had resulted in him facing the panel, one place he had always avoided like the plague.

“Officer!” Steve called out, turning his gaze to the officer. 

“What is the condition for Sebastian Stone’s bail?” He added.

“He would be a free man, only if he can pay the sum of eighty thousand dollars for damages, that is all Donald asked for.” The officer stated cordially, even though his tone was tinged with mockery.

Judging from Sabestian’s appearance, it was obvious he was just opportune to be in the institution, he didn’t look like one who could pay three hundred thousand dollars per academic session.

“I would pay,” Steve stated sharply causing Sabestian to turn his broken neck to face him, his eyes gleaming with gratitude.

Sebastian was indeed dumbfounded, he hated favors so much but in this case, he was happy and willing to accept it.

“I’m grateful.” He stated, a warm smile playing across his lips as he stretched forth his knuckle for a fist bump. “Thanks, champ!” He added.

Steve quickly did some documentation after clearing off the bill. Immediately Sebastian was apprehended the previous day, Steve quickly called his parents and lied about an excursion that was mandatory on campus. 

Steve’s parents being too uninterested and busy, wasted to time in funding his account without proper interrogation or involvement as usual. That had always been Steve’s problem, they had the money but were never involved in his life as parents, they felt money was the solution to every problem in life.

Sebastian was feeling very emotional from Steve’s kind gesture, he needed to calm his nerves badly so he didn’t shed a tear in Steve’s presence, as it would be very embarrassing. The only place he could seek solace was the church cathedral that wasn’t far-fetched from the university. 

“You can run along, Steve. I will be in the dorm shortly,” Sebastian stated cordially with a smile as he humbly dismissed Steve so he could be alone.

On his way to the Cathedral, the thought of his possible expulsion engulfed him, causing a rush of turmoil down his spine. He walked aimlessly like a stray dog in the lonely street of Oakland wishing he could just end his life. 

Just at the entrance of the Cathedral, Seb saw an elderly-looking man sitting under the olive tree. He looked very hefty and he seemed like royalty, his beard was covered with gray hair even though he was bald. 

He sat still on a wooden bench with a slanted neck, even though his eyes were wide open. One would feel he was lost in his thought but there wasn’t a single movement from his body.

Sebastian watched him for a minute and noticed his legs and arms were stretching vigorously, even though he looked peaceful, his guts still told him something was quite off as a medical student.

He quickly rushed to the elderly man and tapped him gently, but his heart dropped when he noticed his hands were stone cold and his tongue was even protruding.

“Help!!!!! This man is dying.” Sabestian’s voice rang off twice, alerting anyone for help. But the environment seemed unresponsive as there wasn’t a trace of any soul around.

While waiting for help, he single-handedly turned the man in a recovery position, he quickly brought out his phone, and with a trembling hand, he shined his torch into his eyes. From his observations, he realized his blood pressure was spiking up and he could likely go down with a stroke or even die if he wasted any more time.

He swiftly dialed the emergency number, asking for an ambulance, before laying him flat to administer CPR on him. After about thirty compressions, the man sneezed, his eyes fluttering open as he physically fought to regain consciousness.

“Yes! Mustard seed…” Sebastian uttered loudly, they had a class recently on mustard seed and its importance, so he hurriedly dipped his hands into his rusty pocket, brought out a few seeds, placed them under his tongue, and waited. In less than a minute, the elderly man’s eyes popped open even though it seemed like he was panicking.

He was breathing heavily like he had just escaped the claws of death. His eyes were dark gray and his mouth was slightly opened. His vision was a bit blurry but when it eventually settled, his gaze fell on Sabestian’s face. He blinked twice and squinted his eyes like he had seen someone familiar.

“Help is on the way, sir. Don’t say anything, just breathe.” Sebastian stated.

The man’s head was lying on Sebastian’s thighs, coming face to face with Sebastian as he ogled at him with so much interest and confusion.

“A… Alexander? Son? Is this you or your ghost?….” Fear was obvious in his gaze as he stuttered in shock. 

“Please remain calm sir, the ambulance is almost here,” Sebastian stated cordially. Not paying heed to the man’s words. Hallucinations were common in this case, so he disregarded his words, but damn the man looked like royalty, his smell and aura were different from what he had ever seen in Oakland.