Chapter 11

“O-Oh, well, sure, but you don’t really need to get up, dear. You can just sit there. It’s all right, it’s all right,” The teacher cut me off just as I was going to say something.

I sat down and decided not to continue with what I was going to say. I was perplexed; did this mean that we didn’t actually need to stand up?

“So, today is the first day of class. Nothing has changed; y’all are still A-1 students. There’s no need to introduce yourself because I am sure that you are already acquainted with one another. With the exception of our new student. She was enrolled by our dean. Can you stand up for a moment, sweetheart? Please tell us a little bit about yourself.” I was certain she was referring to me because I was the only one who went straight to the dean’s office for enrollment. I got to my feet and decided not to go to the front any longer. Maybe they would make fun of me again when I did things that weren’t really necessary.

“Hello, my name is Aurora Jenkins. I’m 18 years old, and...that’s all?” I sat down and decided not to add anything. Seriously, I had no idea what to say. I didn’t have any interests, and I didn’t play any instruments. Well, I did read from time to time, but only when I had the opportunity. Should I say that I slept for ten years?

“Is that all? Okay. I’m Linda Kernel, and I’ll be your adviser for the whole school year. Because you’ve been accepted by our dean, I have high expectations of your performance. Thank you for taking the time to introduce yourself. Class? Would you mind letting me know if you have any questions for her? Please ask any questions you may have.” This caused a small amount of surprise on my part. I turned my attention to a man who had raised his hand. He was standing close to the man who had earlier asked me a question.

“What is it, Mr. Labrador?” He rose to his feet and fixed his gaze on me.

“Are you a virgin?” Everyone in the room suddenly burst out laughing. My brows were wrinkled, and he looked at me as if I were crazy. Virgin? What exactly was a virgin? I was only familiar with virgin coconut oil. Virgin hair? Virgin Mama Mary?

“Mr. Labrador!” Ms. Kernel shouted. Before sitting down, Labrador managed to repress a laugh. I couldn’t figure out why they were all laughing at. What was the deal with the term “virgin”? Was that a big deal?

“You are under no need to respond to it, Ms. Jenkins. Please accept my apologies for the insensitive inquiry.” Ms. Kernel didn’t receive any further questions and instead began the discussion. To be completely honest, I had no idea what she was talking about. I could make out some of the words, but not all of them. Practically all of my classmates could answer her questions, I had the impression that I was the most incompetent here.

“We have a quiz today; you may read your notes if you have, but if you don’t, too bad because I need definitions. Get one and pass.” I could hear some grumbling, but Ms. Kernel was unconcerned. She simply didn’t give a damn. Fortunately, I was writing throughout her discussion earlier. My handwriting wasn’t as good as the others, but the iPad had improved it significantly.

The woman ahead of me handed me the paper. I took two and handed the other to the person behinde me. It was he who recently brought the entire classroom to silence earlier.

“Uh, here.” He took it from my hand without looking at me. He was occupied with something in his notebook. I was not sure what it was due to the letters being so small. It was not that I was interested; I was simply curious because we didn’t need an additional piece of paper to answer the quiz. Whatever.

The class began to answer, and the entire classroom fell back into silence. Even with open notes, I took longer to answer all of the questions. I was afraid of writing the incorrect answers, therefore I read the questions repeatedly.

“Finally finished.” I put down my pen to my desk. I guess, I was one of the students that was already finished answering.

“Last 10 minutes. I’m just going to the bathroom; you should be finished by the time I get back. If you need anything, ask Mr. Cardinal.” She adjusted her glasses as she exited the classroom. When she shut the door, the silent room suddenly became loud.

“Hey, what’s the answer to the third question?”

“Girl, what’s your number five?”

“This is my answer; reward me with pizza later!”

Those were my classmates. Obviously, they were cheating. I made no complaint because I wouldn’t be the one who would get scolded if they got caught.

“Remain silent, everyone,” a deep voice murmured from behind me. The class lapsed into silence once more, but they continued to cheat.

“Hello, Pierre!” exclaimed the individual who spoke to me earlier about Iris. According to what I’d heard, her name was Nellie, and she was a popular girl at this campus. She continued walking toward the man who had spoken previously.

He appeared to be quite popular, huh? Women in front of me had stared at him several times. Now, someone finally dared to approach him.

I simply looked around, realizing that I was the only one who didn’t have a friend. Each and everyone had their own circle of friends.

“Nellie, if you’re planning to copy my answers, stop dreaming and return to your seat,” Pierre said. I couldn’t help but to laugh.

That was mean but funny.

“What are you laughing at?” When Nellie tapped me on the shoulder, I immediately fell silent. I raised my eyes and pretended to be inquisitive.

“Huh? I am not laughingg.” I denied. She cocked her brow and hit me on the shoulder once again.

“What do you think of me? A deaf? Aurora, I can hear your giggles.” I licked my lip and thought of an excuse.

“I didn’t laugh,” I denied once more. She was preparing to strike my shoulders again but the door suddenly opened. My classmates immediately returned to their seats and pretended answering their papers.

“Bitch,” Nellie murmured as she went back to her chair. I could tell she was furious that she didn’t get another chance to hit me.

Too bad for her.

“Hand over your papers,” Ms. Kernel instructed. The passing began in the back so I took Pierre’s paper. Just like earlier, he made no further comment.

The class ended by that quiz. The class took two hours, which meant it was time for a break when Ms. Kernel left. I straightened my posture and picked up the backpack. Iris instructed me to meet her outside our classroom, as we would be eating together.

When I exited the room, I didn’t have to wait for Iris because she was already there, waiting for me.

“How was your first class?” she asked. My smile widened as I encircled my arm around hers.

“It was fun. A girl named Nellie hit me twice,” I responded with a giggle. She raised an eyebrow and yanked my arm away.

“She did?”

“Yes, but it’s alright. It didn’t hurt and I don’t really care. Don’t be incensed, all right.” I patted her shoulder and took her arm in my hands.

“Whatever. Let’s go; I’m ravenous.”

We began going toward the canteen. As was the case this morning, there were a large number of students scattered all around the university.

“What’s up, girls!” My two brows raised simultaneously when I spotted Alister. Oh, his father owned this school so for sure, he was studying here too. I didn’t see him at the opening ceremony though.

“What are you doing here?” Iris asked, obviously irritated.

“My parents owned this school and...I’m here to study?” Alister’s two brows raised and lowered in unison as he spoke. Iris became even more enraged because of what he said.

“Leave us alone.” Iris pushed him away and continued walking. She went to the counter and left me with Ali.

“You’re both in the same class?” Alister enquired. As with Nellie, Iris, and Pierre, he also attracted attention. Probably because he was the owner’s son. He was attractive, so I was sure a lot of people adored his feminine beauty.

“No, she’s in 12-B1, while I am in A1. You? By the way, which grade are you in?”

“Same year. I’m on the fourth floor, B2.” My mouth formed into an ‘O’ as I nodded. I didn’t see him earlier. They probably formed a long line far away from us.

“What would you like to eat?” he inquired. We were next in line, while Iris took the initiative to look for a vacant table. I already knew how much Iris despised Alister.

“I’m not sure. Pizza?” I selected food from each platter since it all looked delectable.

“Woah, you’re that hungry?” I laughed lightly and remained silent. I wanted to taste everything unhealthy. Mommy only gave me just fruits and veggies after I awoke from my ten-year coma. She never allowed me to consume unhealthy meals.

After buying a lunch, Alister and I left the counter together. Everyone was staring at me, then at my food, and then they were going to laugh. They must be laughing at me, given the quantity in my tray. To be honest, I couldn’t care less as long as I had these foods.

“Oh, I almost forgot about the drinks. You go there first, Rora. Iris seems to forgot her drink too. I’ll just order for the three of us.” I was left in the middle as he returned to the counter. I gave him a brief glance before I proceeded to walk.

I swear, the tray was too heavy.

My arm began to feel numb, but I continued going. Yes, my arms were capable of weighing the tray, but my legs weren’t. I nearly shouted when my frail knees collided with the floor.

The food scattered everywhere. It was a lot and as a result, it became very messy. I could hear Iris shouting my name from afar. Numerous students laughed, while others expressed dissatisfaction over their ruined clothing.

I massaged my legs carefully and slowly stood up. I assumed everyone was fine until I noticed a man in front of me. His outfit was completely smeared with spaghetti sauce.

The gentleman was Pierre, the well-known individual who made Nellie felt humiliated earlier.

“I’m sorry,” I stated nervously. I quickly took a handkerchief from my pocket and wiped his uniform. I heard a few murmurs, but that didn’t bother me. It couldn’t be done with a swab alone, but I was still trying.

“You’re merely aggravating my uniform,” he said, his voice were cold as an ice. I became even more tense. I had the distinct impression that he would yell at me at any minute. I didn’t know him, yet I was terrified of him. Perhaps because of his influence on students? I believed that even if he were to injure me now, no one would complain since they, too, were scared of Pierre.

“Wait a moment, I’ll go get some water. Wait for me her—”

“Don’t. Just clean up the dirty floor,” he interjected.

“I-I won’t take a minute, I swear! I’m just gonna grab some water—”

“I said no. Remove yourself from my sight; the more you attempt to remove it, the more it will stain.” He tightly grasped my hand and yanked it to the side. I came dangerously close to collapsing when he released me.

“Pierre!” My apprehension increased even more when I saw Iris approached us, her face flushed with anger. I was sure the trouble would intensify once she joined. Knowing Iris, she wouldn’t accept defeat. Perhaps she witnessed Pierre pushing me and formed an unfavorable opinion of the young man.

“Why did you push her? She had no intention of pouring it all over you!” Iris pushed Pierre’s chest away from me “It is entirely her fault. She tainted it further—”

“You should never have done it! You are a man, yet you’re hurting a woman!” I hurriedly yanked Iris’ arm away from Pierre.

“It’s my fault, girl. He’s right; his suit is now considerably dirtier because of the way I wiped it.” Iris’ wicked gaze remained fixed on the man in front of her.

“What’s happening?” We both looked at Alister simultaneously when he came.

“You! If you want to be useful, clean this mess!” Iris’ finger was pointing at Alister when she spoke those words. She drew me away from the canteen and delegated all the responsibility to Ali. I was not sure why Iris was acting this way; she seemed even more enraged than me.

“Where are we going?” She remained silent until we reached the washroom. She gently removed the stains off my clothes. Fortunately, just a few drops made their way into my clothing, and the rest was thrown away to Pierre.

“That is entirely my fault, Iris. My leg suddenly became weak, and I collapsed, throwing all the food at Pierre. You shouldn’t treat them like that.” She didn’t respond. She discarded the wipes after wiping my uniform.

“You’re still on their side, aren’t you? Pierre humiliated you.” She crossed her arms across her chest and locked her gaze on me.

“Because it is, in fact, my fault. Iris, you’re insane. Where does your rage coming from? It appears that your anger is coming from something else and not because he pushed me. You’re even angrier than I am.” She remained silent and unable to respond.

I was constantly seeing how her mood changed in an instant when Alister was with us. I was not sure why she was the same way with Pierre.

“My anger from the past has nothing to do with my feelings right now, Aurie.”

“So you’re genuinely pissed off with them?” I asked. For the third time in a row, the only response I heard from her was silence. I only had a few seconds before I smiled and patted her shoulder.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything, Iris, and I’ll keep my mouth shut. Let’s get going ‘cause my next class is about to begin.” I held her arm while I brushed my hair using my fingertips. I knew that she had a legitimate basis for being upset with them. I understood if she couldn’t tell me.

I was like that before. I couldn’t communicate my resentments to my mother, so I was crying every night when I was upset.

“You haven’t had anything to eat yet,” she stated softly.

“I’ll just eat later at home.”

She didn’t say anything more until we arrived in our classroom. When I realized that everyone was complete inside, my heartbeat increased. Pierre changed his uniform, he showed no reaction while looking infront.

Our classmates were much more enraged than he was. It appeared that Nellie and her pals were looking at me as if I’d committed murder. They were even more affected than he was.

I sat calmly in my chair, my gaze returning to Pierre’s face.

“Please accept my apologies for what happened previously. I didn’t mean to do it. I’m sorry for what Iris did, she doesn’t have any idea that it was my fault.” He didn’t say anything and just stared at me. I looked away and didn’t utter a word because of embarrassment.

At the very least, I apologized, right? I didn’t intend to pour it all over him.

The minutes ticked away till the class was over. I was on the verge of passing out from hunger, and I desperately wanted to go home. I moved quickly to put my items in my bag because I could already see Iris standing outside the room.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I stopped walking when Nellie blocked my way. She was with her two friends, they were all looking at me as if I was the reason why there were homeless people in this country.

“I’m going home? The class have already been dismissed.”

“Do you honestly believe that I have forgotten what you did earlier?”

“Oh my goodness, if that’s about Pierre, please, stop wasting my time. Pierre wasn’t angry because of what happened, so you have no right to be mad at me.” I couldn’t help but to roll my eyes. I’d been so hungry since earlier that I was afraid I would pass out at any moment.

“What? For your information, it isn’t merely a matter––”

“Nellie, put an end to your childish behavior. Stop wasting her time and go home.” As Pierre went between Nellie and me, we both moved to the side. I took advantage of the situation to run and exit the room.

“What was it that took you so long? There are a lot of boys looking at me right now,” I was greeted by Iris, who was irritated.

“I rearranged my stuffs, that’s why. Let’s go?”