CHAPTER 30

“How are you feeling?” Seven came up to me and asked. I gave him a thumbs-up and burst out laughing. He forced me to drink something I had no idea what it was. It was not medicine; rather, it was more like a herbal drink that had been blended.

“Thank you very much, doctor...” I spoke in hushed tones, like if I were a child. He smiled and messed up my hair. I was quite grateful that he was here. Honestly, that was the second most excruciating thing I’d ever experienced in my life. The first was when I was hit by three bullets.

“Aurie, can you already stand? We should change our clothes right away, after all, we have something more to say to the dean,” Iris said. I nodded and extended my hand to her. We definitely need to change since I was dripping with sweat and I was starting to worry that I would stink.

Iris and I went to the locker room together. The others already left, there were only a handful of us left in the building. I had to wait for my stomach to calm down, as did Iris, who stood beside me for a few minutes. We took our time just to make me feel better.

“Can you zip my bra?” Iris looked at me for assistance. I slid my scrunchie to the side and pulled the zipper up. Whether we stripped here or somewhere else, none of our members would care. We all respected each other’s privacy in the same way. Perhaps they didn’t want to be body shamed, so their own body was the only thing they would think about.

They were just occasionally evil, and they continued to act as if nothing had happened last last Friday. Did they forget that they purposefully failed to catch me with the last throw? I was not looking forward to fight with them, but if they did it again, I might as well start pulling their hair out one by one.

We left the locker area cleanly after getting clothed. There were no sweat stains on our body, and our skin appeared to be fresh. Seven was waiting for us on the bench; he was the only one who was there. Pierre and Alyssa already left, same as the other members of the cheering team.

“Are you ready to go? You’re the one who’s gonna talk to the dean, right?” He nodded and took the backpack from Iris and me. We didn’t appeal since neither of us wanted to.

We left the gym and headed to the dean’s office. Iris and I were in the lead since Seven didn’t have any idea where was the office. We came across a large number of students who were making their way to class one by one. Because the lesson was about to begin, they were all dispersed throughout the corridor.

I had the impression that every girl was staring at our back, where Seven was. Seven’s face would attract a lot of attention, I predicted that a lot of women would become obsessed with him at first sight. And I was right, they were all looking at him like he was some kind of a celebrity.

“We’re here.” When we got at the dean’s office, Iris was the first to knock on the door. The door of the dean’s office was opened a few seconds later by the dean’s secretary. Again, the way she stared at us, and particularly at Iris, was perplexing, just like before. I was not sure what we did wrong to cause her to look at us in such a critical manner.

Was it just her resting face, or was there something more to her stare?

Whatever. I didn’t even know her.

She opened the door wider so we could all come in.

“Uh, his name is Seven, and he’s one of my doctors at home. He stated that he wants to speak with you,” I began. Seven walked in and took a seat in the visitor’s chair. Iris and I were seated at the side of the room, so we couldn’t hear much of what they were talking about. Despite that we were in close to the secretary’s table, she didn’t appear to be paying attention to us, but I was confident that she was aware of what’s going on. Iris has been quiet, and her expression had become solemn.

As the minutes ticked away, I simply stared at the wall clock. Seven and Dean were all engaged in conversation, Iris and the secretary were both deafeningly quiet, and I was all alone, scanning the entire room.

It was quite cold in here, just as it was in Pierre’s room. The wall was blanched, and the ceiling had been painted white. In the middle of the room, there was a little chandelier that shone anytime it was exposed to sunlight. There was a wide window behind the dean’s chair, and it was from this window that the light for the entire room came in. On one side of the room, there was a shelf stacked with heavy books.

I was curious if Dean had already read through them all. If I had a collection of books that large, I might go insane. Yes, I could read a large volume, but it should be either a fantasy or a self-helped book. It appeared that the content was all about the history of the school, which made it tedious to read.

“The dean agreed with all the things I wanted to do. Let’s go? You’ll be late for your class because of this.” I stared at Seven with astonishment. Iris was already standing, and she appeared to be in a hurry to get out of here. Perhaps it was because the class was about to begin? She was a student council member, so she couldn’t be late.

“Yes, yes.” I sat up and fixed myself. Before leaving, we expressed our gratitude to Dean. Seven stated that the dean also permitted him to sit in during my class, ensuring that he would spend the entire day with me. I was curious what would the instructor and my classmates think of Seven and me? I hoped they wouldn’t regard us as a couple. Sev was only here to look after my health.

We sent Iris to her class before proceeding directly to my classroom. When we entered, the teacher was not yet there, but nearly all of our classmates were.

“Where are you seated?” Seven asked. I pointed to the seventh row in the back, which was completely empty. Since no one wanted to sit with me since day one, I found myself alone with the empty chairs.

“You don’t have a seatmate?”

I shook my head and continued walking. My classmates were staring at him, unsure of who he was or why was he here.

Perhaps he could pretend as my brother? If people wouldn’t ask about our ages, we appeared to be the same age.

I assumed Seven would sit alongside me, but I was mistaken; he sat at the back, near Pierre’s seat. Pierre wasnalso alone on his row to keep an eye on the students infront.

I wanted them to sit next to each other, but I remained silent. They were both heartless and had a cracked sense of humor; they would get along swimmingly.

Minutes afterwards, our lecturer walked into the room. She observed the entire class until her gaze was drawn to the back, where Seven sat.

I couldn’t help but shudder at her gaze; she was the math teacher who informed me that the dean made a mistake in prioritizing me. She was a terror teacher, and her words were frequently piercing.

“Are you the man named Seven?” she asked.

“Yes, miss,” Sev answered from behind. I turned around and stared at Seven; he stood unmoving, his eyes fixed ahead.

“Dean informed us that you would be sitting in. For how many days?”

“For a period of two months.” I could hear my classmates, the majority of whom were female, gasping. I even heard murmurs that this school year would be fun due to the presence of an attractive man in class.

“And what is the reason behind that, mister? According to what I’ve heard, it’s because of Miss Jenkins.”

“You’d be wise to consult Dean. It’s far too private to disclose. Don’t worry; I won’t annoy anyone in the middle of the class. And yes, it’s because of her.”

I averted my look when I met Pierre’s glance. He hadn’t spoken to me since Seven gave me a herb drink. However, I always caught him glancing at both of us.

“Are you good at math?” she asked. I frowned. Was that a necessary question? Seven was not a student here. My mother told me nearly eleven years ago that he had good grades when he was studying. And he was also a doctor at the moment, so perhaps he was good at it?

“Yeah.”

After hearing Seven’s response, my female classmates yelled like fools. Why was that? Was it attractive when you were good at math?

“Oh, too confident. You should teach Miss Jenkins, as she is struggling with this topic. She’s the weakest here, she can’t even answer a single formula. I’m curious as to how she passed 10th grade without understanding how to do simple algebra.”

I licked my lip in response to what I heard. I couldn’t defend myself since it was true. I frequently scored zero on even the simplest test she gave us. She never explicitly stated that I was stupid, but it appeared as though she was. This was a great embarrassment, a disgrace to the best lawyer in town and to the country’s late chief of police.

“You shouldn’t say that to a student who’s trying to understand your subject, Mrs. Dela Cuesta. I can sue you for that, and even though you are one of the longest serving head teachers here, I can fire you for humiliating your student.” Pierre’s voice came from behind. Despite that I couldn’t see his face, I was sure his brow was wrinkled.

“I’m telling the truth here, Mr. Cardinal. Besides, as her teacher, that’s what I observed about her. That’s what I thought about her poor intelligence. Don’t get me wrong, she’s studying at one of the most prestigious universities in the country, and she’s also in the highest section, so it’s questionable that she can’t even solve a single math formula. Even the rank 10 in the lowest section can solve it. She frequently received zeros whenever we had test.”

“No one asked for your—”

“That’s not true, miss. Aurora Elyse Jenkins is one of the brightest people I’ve ever met. She has a history of severe concussions that damaged her brain when she was child, because of that, she’s having a difficult time with those logical formulas. Yes, she can’t solve those simple math problems, but if you ask her about literature, life, or how a decent person should behave, I’m sure she’ll also give you a zero.”

I inhaled deeply as the three of them fought infront of me. Even if both of them protected me, it was over. I was already humiliated. What she said was true; my mind was quite sluggish on this subject.

“Don’t speak any further, Mrs. Dela Cuesta; proceed to the lesson; we won’t hear your opinion; as the president of the student council in this university, I have the right to defend my co-student from humiliation; if you continue speaking and refuse to shut up, I will report this student harassment to the dean and have you fired.”

I shouldn’t laugh when someone was being scolded, right? I wanted to feel terrible for Mrs. Dela Cuesta because Pierre and Seven were constantly disagreeing, but a part of me believed she deserved to be scolded. It was never right to humiliate a student. It was entirely inappropriate to tell someone those words. If you were educating someone, age was irrelevant. Even if you were older or not, you didn’t have the rights to humiliate someone. Academically or not.

Mrs. Dela Cuesta didn’t speak a word and continued teaching. I was certain she felt threatened because of Pierre’s warning. Pierre truly had the authority to defend any student, as he was our advocate when it comes to student rights for everyone who were studying here. Mrs. Dela Cuesta might face legal action because of her actions, and it might be difficult for her to obtain work at another school if her record showed that she humiliated a student.

“What are you doing here?” I murmured as Pierre moved a chair and took a seat beside me.

“Shh. Which lesson is the simplest yet you struggle to solve?” he inquired. Despite my curiosity, I opened my iPad and directed him to the lesson.

“This one?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I’ll teach you. Together, we’ll show that old woman that you can do it, hm?” he tucked some of my stray hairs behind my ear.

My cheeks warmed as he locked his gaze on me. I know I should be embarrassed because I didn’t have any idea how to solve it, yet regardless of how humiliating this circumstance was, all I felt was my rapid heartbeat.

“I thought you’re gonna teach me?” I joked. He laughed and snatched the iPad from my grasp. He added another page and filled it with numbers.

It was quite difficult for me, but I was trying. As time passed, I increasingly become humiliated, but Pierre appeared unconcerned about my incorrect answers. He was so patient that it appeared as though he would continue until we could show to our math teacher that I was capable of doing it. He appeared to be more determined than I was.

“How about this one?” I asked, pointing to the letter “x” that appeared outside the parenthesis.

“That one, my love, will go right here.”

After numerous attempts at explanation, I finally got it right. Pierre presented me with a few problems, and I accurately responded to each one. I was instantly proud; even though it was the simplest lesson, it was still a big accomplishment for me.

“Thank you,” I stated in hushed tones. I encircled Pierre’s neck with both arms and kissed him repeatedly on the cheek. Our classmates had no idea what we were doing because they were all focused on the teacher infront.

“Oh, if only I had known that this is the price of teaching you, I would have taught you these sooner.”

Time passed until the end of two consecutive classes. When another teacher entered, Pierre returned to his seat. I was proficient in all subjects except mathematics, and hence wouldn’t need his assistance.

“Tsk, too PDA.”

I glanced to Seven, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his gaze fixed on me. He was waiting for me to finish arranging my thing.

“What are you saying?” I asked, my eyebrow raised. He shook his head numerous times before walking towards me. I quickly gave him a sharp stare when he flicked my forehead.

“Do you really think I didn’t see how you kissed that man earlier?”

Oh, he was behind us earlier and must have witnessed my kiss on Pierre’s cheek numerous times.

“So? You said that you wouldn’t care.”

“True, I don’t really care. I’m just considering how Mama Aliana would react if she were the one who witnessed you kissing that man. Really, Aurora? In the middle of the class?” he asked incredulously. I rolled my eyes once more and nudged his shoulder.

“Pfft, you’re just jealous because you’re already old and don’t have anyone to kiss. Why don’t you court Iris? After all, both of you are grumpy. “