TBBM VIII. He Called Me Ugly

"Nothing. U just ugly," he chuckled.

"Ugly..." I could feel my pen shaking as I wrote him back. "SPOILED BRAT!!!"

He uncrumpled the paper and brushed his nosebridge again. He always did so when he was acting cool. I made sure my written words were as loud as it could sound.

"Me, spoiled?" he crumpled the paper back, speaking under his breath so no one would hear us. "Hickey Ugly."

Hickey Ugly.

Hickey Ugly.

Hickey Ugly.

His words echoed in my ear. I was usually very good hiding my pain but why couldn't I control it every time Red did it.

"What!?" I lost it.

That looked like the worst thing one could do in a class led by a strict professor. I looked down on the floor anticipating doom. This was all because of him.

"Jopet," slowly, the professor ascended from his chair and inspected us.

"Sir," I explained meekly, pointing my finger to Red. "It was him. He---"

"Nope," he denied quickly, innocently. "Ain't doing anything, professor."

"Sly," Angie commented. She hated the idea of Red interacting with me. The two other girls in her pack rolled their eyes at me.

"Jopet,' the professor called. "Please pack your things and leave the room."

"But I..." I reasoned. "I didn't-"

Red seemed to be enjoying this kind of attention. He watched both as the professor punished me and the PAC girls called me names. He paused for a while, gauging the professor; then he smiled at me, wryly.

"Leave---" the professor ordered.

In the end, I left the room. This never happened to me before. I almost cried, if only not for the anger amassing in me.

#NotGuiltyPlea

"I really hate you. I really hate you..." I muttered between my teeth as I walked away. "You think you're handsome, acting like that!? Of course not! James's even more handsome than you. He's tall. He's got abs and---"

"Abs who? That basketball player?" suddenly, he emerged at my back, outside the room. He had his things with him as he stood behind me. I wondered how...

"How did you---" but I realised I should no longer entertain him. "James. Yeah, he's got abs. And he's fine and he's polite. Unlike somebody out there, liar and boasty---"

I wasn't done speaking but Red looked like he saw somebody annoying. Then he left, his signature leaving, without saying a word.

"Jap-jap?" I heard James approaching.

"J-Jim-jim?" I shuddered. He'd never heard me talk about him like that.

"You were talking about me?" he smiled coyly. He heard me. "Did you guys fight?"

"Uhm... because..." I looked down, hiding embarrassment. "He's being too cocky so-"

"Come on. Don't be all shy," he handled it smoothly, but respectfully. "You're good. I really have abs. You wanna see it?"

All of a sudden, the anger in me vanished. I felt like floating. James. I really... really... really liked him.

It felt like my neck was going to get broken as I twitched and turn in pleasure.

#ThisIsMoreEmbarrassing

That afternoon, I locked myself up in the confessionary.

Dear Saint,

Can you ask the Lord for me... why He's doing this? You see, that Boasty, contemptuous, arrogant Red called me ugly! Why'd you let him do that to me? My heart aches, my head aches. No, never in my life had I been kicked out of a class. And because of him, because of him, again... James heard me. You heard me remarked about his abs, didn't you? I mean, Oh my God! He's so cool but polite. I can't contain this. How can you expect me to contain this? I'm floating like a feather in the wind. I'm incredibly grateful he's nothing like Red. That Red-guy, my blood boils everytime I remember him. Please let me have my revenge tomorrow, okay?

+++

The next day, I walked to class in utter happiness with James. He wanted to see my mother so he drove by. Actually, in my head, that roughly translated to him coming over to see me, and to drive me to school. I was giggling the whole time. It was twenty minutes before first period.

But just as I was in the middle of my newfound merriment, I saw him again. He exited our room along with Mr. Vizca. He appeared like he was asking him to keep something a secret. Then they saw us. I never saw him plea like that before.

He straightened up his posture when he saw me.

"Jopet," Mr. Vizca called. "I've been looking for you since yesterday. I heard you were kicked out of the class. Are you alright? I never heard you being kicked out like that before."

"You are... very up-to-date and observant," my face had been folding to a thousand signals, persuading him to stop as I didn't want to be embarrassed in front of James. "You were looking for me?"

Right that time, I saw Mr. Vizca gestured to Angie and another guy from Criminology.

"Reform office, now," he ordered them.

"Excuse us, Mr. Vizca," James intervened. "You seemed busy today. We head to class now."

"Yeah, right... right, James. You get even more handsome as days go..." he tapped James by the shoulders. "But I'm taking Jopet with me, for now."

James and I exchanged a confused look.

"U-H," Red went ahead.

U-H?

U-H?

Ugly Hickey..?

I really want to kill him.

+++

Once in the office, we all huddled up in a meeting room: counseling and reformation activities were usually held here. I wondered what this was about.

Red sat next to me again like nothing happened yesterday. I'd been grinding my teeth every time I saw him. He sat there looking as professionally as he could, with no signs of being the utter despicable classmate that he was yesterday.

"So, Jopet," Mr. Vizca, who took residence at the tip of the table commenced. "I intentionally kept this from you knowing how you'd react. We conducted an investigation to the alleged rest room incident weeks ago. and we found the culprit, finally. All thanks to our incredible tipper, Mr. McIntyre."

"Red!?" Angie, who was seated across us, next to the Criminology guy, lost her dominant composure. "Yes. Jopet, it was me. I called Roro to teach you a lesson because you were being annoying. He said he just turned off the switch and locked the door. This stupid boy forgot to unlock it after and the next thing we knew you were in the infirmary. Red? Looks like you got Red to your side, too. Are you happy now? What do you want? Do you want me to apologise? You're so annoying--I cant---"

She stormed out of the room.

"Angie!" Mr. Vizca tried to stop her.

"I take the blame," Roro descended to his knee, pleading. "Angie, she has a very unpleasant set up at home. Please try to understand her. If somebody must be punished, please take it all on me."

"You didn't have to kneel---"

"Unfortunately," Mr. Vizca gathered. "That incident in the restroom could have ended up more nastily if it were another student, you know? It'd be either suspension or CKO (Collegiate Kick-out)."

"Jopet, I apologise." Roro was tearing up. "Please save Angie. She was just troubled. She's already been kicked out of two colleges. Please."

+++

To be perfectly honest, I'd already forgotten what happened to me that day---mainly, due to James saving me like a real-life Romeo. But today, as we walked back to class, I couldn't help but wonder about Red's involvement. I wanted to inquire more about it but it felt eery talking to him.

I was feeling jumpy by the time we reached the doorway. I could see James, and that alone was more than enough to consume me. Red paused, annoyed of me again. His face retreated to being the default.

I sat next to James in the back, momentarily giving him updates soon as the professor turned her back on us. I would never stop staring at James but, this semester was particularly difficult since Red sat beside us, too. He had been showering me with devil eyes every time I stared at James.

Worse, I couldn't even fight him back anymore; I meant, he found out the culprit behind the comfort room attack. I knew it was the PAC girls but... should I say that "he helped me?"

To be perfectly honest, Angie's words still floated in my head, bothering me.

Red? Looks like you got Red to your side, too.

Red? Looks like you got Red to your side, too.

Should I be nice to him? Why did he help me? Did I have to thank him?

As I drowned myself in my thoughts, I failed to realise that I was already locking gaze with Red.

"Careful," I was shaken back to senses when he mouthed that.

Indeed, he was scary. I'd never know what his next plans were, so I pretended strong and clung closer to James.

I was safe on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays---for a few hours, at least, since James was there with me. I wished we were together all the time.

+++

I parted with James soon after the class. Today, I had to report to the SPREAD office---that was how the scholarship type I had was called. Being a university scholar did not only mean hitting a certain grade point but as well, rendering a a number of hours assisting institutional offices and attending to special functions. In a manner I could say that I earned my keep.

I was volunteering to tour newbies around the campus. Well, this could take long or not, depending on the type of group I'd lead. This could be hard as mainly, their first impression of the university could be greatly impacted by my deal with them. In the end, they could happily walk into the cashier and pay their tuition fee in full---or, they could be going home after canceling their registration. That rarely happened, but, yeah.

We also had a tour jeep called La Salle vice-versa.

I lined up at Window 5, the scholar/newbie affairs' window. I was met with a long queque. I stood eleventh on the line. It was a particulaly busy day due to the scheduled tours.

"Tour?" Maica, the secretary, immediately knew what I was up for.

I nodded.

"This looks bad," she pouted.

"Me?" I wondered how she could be nasty. "I look---"

"I mean," she half-laughed alternating between looking at me and her monitor. "All slots were already taken. You can leave your number and I'll call you within the day should we need more."

I poised myself to leave the counter but my eyes caught something daunting...

The Admissions Director walked in with Red.

"Maica,' he called the secretary. "This is our new student, Red. They're family friends with the Brother-President. Can we have someone tour him around?"

My jaw fell into a gape, "Family friend of the Brother-President!?"

Oh, no. This was too much to handle. Did he really have to be this elite? I fought with him all the time. I rolled my eyes at him. I called him Boasty, spoiled brat, etc.

What if he talked the Brother -President into revoking my scholarship? No way! I made an enemy with the wrong person. Should I befriend him, then? Gross. Utterly despicable.

Family friend? I'd never even dared talk to the Brother-President.

My world entered a state of chaos but I wasn't very much prepared to what'd come next.

"Great!" Maica clapped. "We have a student assistant right here, inquiring."

"Oh, no!" I had to make a narrow escape before Red set his eyes on me. "Actually, I've suddenly got stomach-sick so I can't tour. Sorry."

I left the counter like a ghost trying to escape capture. But the secretary had been calling me frantically because I bet she didn't want to go and lead the tour by herself. I shook at the thought of her feeding me alive to that sadistic guy. I made sure I hid myself well in the crowd as I made my quick exit. I thought I was being lucky until I bumped into something hard.

"Escaping, huh?" that manly voice sounded familiar. That something I bumped into was his chest---it was hard. Manly hard.

"Boast---Red?" I almost reviled him again. But it'd be unwise to anger him. "Oh, hi! I didn't see you---"

"Cut it. You ghosted the secretary when you saw me."

"Oh, no. I would never do that," the lie left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. "No... never."

"They said you should tour me. Wrote your name here already," he displayed the logsheet with my ID number, office-certified.

I froze.

"You see what I wrote?" he pointed at the name field.

"H-hicks?" he wrote "Hicks" on my file.

"Shall we begin, then?"

"You... are immensely annoying. Give that to me," I tried to snag the form from his hands but he was way taller than me and it was just impossible.

"You can't overpower me, Hicks," he laughed devilishly. "So, don't upset me, or else, I won't sign it."

"...Or else, I won't sign it," I copied him.

#SoHelpMeLord

#Misfortune

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