The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 206

Liora’s POV

A week passed without the lockdown being lifted. The missing girls were not found, and life did not go back to normal like we all expected. In fact, our world became rather dull. With classes suspended, there was little to do other than wander the dorms, sleep in until all hours, and watch the same movies on repeat until we were blue in the face.

I wasn’t sure if I had ever seen school morale quite so low. The common room became a prison. Laughter turned into silence, and tensions were high. With only one supply run since the lockdown began, not including my father’s airdrop, it was even worse.

In the past week, I must have walked in on at least three arguments in the kitchen between students who couldn’t decide which one should get the last slice of bread, or whose instant noodles were whose.

The worst part about all of it was knowing that the equinox was tonight. It was a popular holiday in our part of the world, one typically spent sharing meals and stories around the table with friends and family.

“Man, this sucks,” Mia groaned as she stared into the nearly-empty cupboard. “Today’s the equinox, and we can’t go home to be with our families. And to make matters worse, this is all we’ve got!” She pulled out a single packet of instant noodles. Beef flavor. Which wasn’t even the good flavor.

“My family always eats red meat on the equinox,” Zane muttered, rubbing his belly. “And my mom makes these amazing mashed potatoes that are so creamy they basically melt in your mouth…”

“Ugh, Zane!” Mia chucked the noodles at him, which he caught with one hand. “Stop talking about food! You’re making me hungry!”

“There must be something we can make for the equinox,” I said. I brushed past Mia and began opening cabinets, but only found some dried pasta and cans of soup. There wasn’t even sauce to add to the pasta.

“Fear not.” Callum suddenly swept into the room. To my surprise, he had a box of food in his hands. I spied two rotisserie chickens, minute rice, frozen vegetables, and some boxes of those instant mashed potatoes that definitely weren’t as good as Zane’s mom’s dish but would do the trick.

Mia looked like she had begun salivating. “What’s all that?”

“Student council is hosting an equinox dinner.” Callum plopped the box on the counter and began pulling out the ingredients. “We had to dip into our yearly budget and pull some strings with the principal, but we managed to get just enough supplies for one night.”

“I’ll help,” I said, already pushing up my sleeves. I pulled out a pot, filled it with water, and set it on the stove.

“Me, too!” Mia snatched the chicken and began pondering over various ways to prepare it that would stretch the meat out as much as possible. Ultimately, she decided to make a taco bowl with shredded chicken, pinto beans, and some lettuce and cheese. Meanwhile, Zane hopped down from his perch on the counter and pulled out the rice.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify