All along the corridor leading to the campus clinic, chaos followed in their wake. The moment they passed, whispers erupted like a wave, hands flew up to cover shocked mouths, and wide-eyed stares trailed after them. It was, by far, the dominant reaction Esther saw dozens of students gaping in disbelief as Gaara carried her over his shoulder as if she were a sack of rice.

The man at the center of all that attention, however, couldn’t have cared less.

Esther, on the other hand, was mortified. ...