I Am Not Scared of You

The next following days are normal for Cheska—thankfully. Nothing happened unpleasant after that day.

She, later on, realized...how did her first day in her new school ended up like that? It's not as pleasant as her first days before.

Classes are finally starting and the teachers are finally going to their class to teach.

She’s so pleased that day has finally come. She didn’t use her brother’s money only to do nothing aside from wasting her time waiting for the day to end.

She’s there to learn.

Lorenzo and his company didn’t attend any of their class—no, they don't go to school. After the first day, they’re absent on the following days.

They say it’s normal. They don’t really go to school from day-to-day. They don’t look like one either so it’s not surprising for Cheska.

They are actually required by the university to attend their classes every day but Mafia being Mafia, why would they follow the president’s orders?

She might not be surprised but the irritation she feels towards them grew. They’re so carefree and she hates it.

They shouldn’t have wasted their money if they’re not going to study anyway.

Were they just trying to show off their wealth? What are they after for that university?

But even with that, she wants to meet Lorenzo again. She wants to clear something.

It’s not because she’s scared of what might happen to her in the entire school year.

She just hates misunderstandings. She only wants to give him a clarification.

That’s why every day, before proceeding to her seat, she always looks at the row behind her. Since they’re always absent, it’s always vacant. No single soul is sitting there.

She is slowly walking along the path to the locker room. She needs to get something. Her class is done and her next subject is going to start late since all of the teachers are in a faculty meeting. There is no need to be in rush.

She was about to go back when her eyes accidentally went to a large window. It narrowed into slits only to see who’s out there.

She paused, thinking if she’s seeing the right people or she's seeing things because she’s been looking for them since the second day?

Maybe she’s just imagining things?

But when she looked outside again, they’re still there.

It’s Lorenzo and his company. They’re walking to the garden.

Will they attend their class now?

They’re wearing their uniform but that’s not the way to their building. Not unless they have a secret pathway?

She doubts that.

She shook her head, dismissing the unnecessary thoughts. What does she have to do with their attendance? It’s their grades, not hers. She even doubts they care about it.

She’s about to walk away when she realized something.

Right, they might not really attend their class again. She’s waiting for them to come but to no avail.

Now that she finally sees them…she must do something about it. She must take that opportunity to talk to him, to Lorenzo. She wants to clear things as soon as possible. She hates looking for them every day.

She started to walk in the opposite direction where her classroom is while continuously asking herself what has gotten into her mind.

Her next class is going to start but there she is, walking to the garden.

She went inside the garden and looked around. No matter where she looks, flowers are everywhere. She can clearly hear the birds singing.

It’s not even that long since she went under the sun but she’s already sweating. She paused for a while only to tie her hair up.

And she proceeds to look around. Still, there’s no trace of Lorenzo or even his friends. She can’t hear any voices too.

Why are they even in that place? That's really confusing. They don’t look like they’re fond of flowers or stunning scenery.

When she finally gave up, she sighed. She feels pathetic.

Instead of listening to her next class, she’s right there in the middle of the garden looking for the guy almost caused her to lose her consciousness.

There are no students around either. She’s the only one who’s there, the only one who has the guts to cut the class—well, she might be with Lorenzo and his friends since they are not in their class as well.

She fell silent for a couple of minutes without moving a single inch, taking a rest.

However, while being silent, she suddenly heard random chattering not so far away from her.

She looked around again. Is she hallucinating? For real this time?

She heard voices but…there’s no one around. The garden doesn’t look spooky at all so…

And when she heard more voices, she’s sure it’s not a product of her mind. Those voices aren’t imagination.

She kept looking around until her eyes darted to one place. She didn’t notice it earlier because the colors mix the colors of the garden perfectly.

She went closer and later on realized what it was.

“A maze?”

She has never been in a maze before but even with that, she resumed her walk as if someone is pushing her from behind as if someone is whispering to her to go on and continue.

She got lost a couple of times but she didn’t get lost at the same place. She knows where the dead ends are found so she keeps avoiding it.

She memorized where the dead ends are without realizing she already memorized the entire maze. And so, she managed to reach the middle of it.

Her eyes squinted as she saw a gazebo in the middle.

She's now seeing the guy he’s looking for. He’s laughing and smiling together with his friends.

They’re so much different from the guys she saw on the first day, the ones sitting behind her. She might have already seen their faces but…what she’s seeing now?

They're all strangers to her eyes.

Those smiles and laughs didn’t last for long. It only lasted until Lorenzo threw a menacing glare at her. He immediately felt her presence when she slightly moved from where she’s standing.

Even his friends stopped laughing. It's like she just ruined their good time.

“What are you doing here?”

Her ability to speak is surprisingly gone. She’s not even there to wage a war. She’s there only to talk but his menacing eyes and voice are stopping her to do that.

“I—”

She didn’t succeed in moving forward when Lorenzo himself threw a kunai to her place. It landed right in front of her, stopping her feet from taking a step.

“Did I say you can go forward?”

“This is not your place,” she said with a questionable tone. “This is from this univer—”

“Why are you here?” he cut off. “If you don’t have anything else to do, go away and I’ll forget you went into our place without our permission.”

She looked away, trying to stop herself from countering his words.

How can he say that’s their place when in fact—if it isn't obvious—they’re inside the university’s premises?

Anything that can be found inside is owned by the university. Not surely them.

Why do they think they own the world? And even the people? Are all Mafias like them?

That's...disappointing.

“I’m here to talk.”

Finally, her tongue came back. She thought she will forever be there looking dumb in front of those guys. Thanks to Lorenzo for provoking her to speak.

“Then talk.”

She didn’t speak right away. Her eyes remained on him. She can't believe what she saw earlier and what she's seeing now are just the same person.

He almost looked like an angel because of his smiles and laughs but now...

“I’m here to apologize.”

That caught him off guard. He wasn’t expecting her to apologize. Contrary to that, she’s expecting her to get mad at him for what he had done to her that day.

“I could have talked to you calmly but I didn’t. I was panicking and I blurted it out on you,” she went on. “Though I think you did deserve it I still think I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have raised my voice. It’s disrespectful.”

His brow arched. “Panicking?”

Her shoulders dropped. Does she still have to explain that one? Can’t he just act like he doesn’t care? Like what he did before when she was actually panicking?

It looks even normal to him. It won’t be that hard.

“I was having a hard time to breath even before I bumped into you,” she explained against her will. “I don’t care anymore if you accept that reason or not. I just want to let you know that I did not intend to put a fight with you.”

“Aren’t you apologizing so I will not do something bad to you in the future?” his brow is still raised. He crossed his arms. “I’m sure you are already informed of who I am.”

“I am not scared of you.”

He tilted his head, not sure if he heard it right. The girl in front of him answered that question without even stuttering and while looking straight into his eyes. She answered it honestly as if it literally came out of her heart.

“You look scary, sure but I am not scared of you,” she continued. “I’m here because I simply don’t like when someone misunderstands me when in fact, they don't really know me.”

She suddenly felt uncomfortable with Lorenzo’s stares. He’s just looking at her, hasn’t said a word for a minute.

What’s more uncomfortable to that is that even his friends are silent.

Instead of standing there looking dumb, she bid her goodbye by simply bowing her head. Before walking away, Lorenzo finally spoke.

“Interesting...”

She felt her heart pounded because of that one word.

One word.

She held her chest. She’s not tired nor having a hard time breathing. It only happened for a split second. It never happened to her before.

It feels...strange.

“Do you know how to fight?” he sat properly, uncrossing his legs.

She turned her head, brows are knitted. “Fight?”

“Combat fight.” he stood up.

He might be still far from her but she stepped back. What happened on the first day flashed in her mind like a struck of lightning.

There he is again. She hates it when he is going closer to her.

The last time it happened, she couldn’t breathe. He’s consuming all of their air surrounding her.

Will the same thing happen again? They’re in an open place so it’s…somehow impossible.

But still, she doesn’t want him so close to her.

It’s dangerous. He is dangerous.

He slid his hands inside his pockets and stopped when he’s finally satisfied with their distance. Gladly, he’s quite far compared before.

“Do you…know…how to fight?”