CHAPTER V: Altered Reminiscence

I am currently at one of my classes. A few days had passed since the unwanted incident.

We were tasked by our professor to work on our plates.

The classroom we are currently in is actually pretty wide. The room is full of drafting tables. There are shelves full of coloring materials like markers, paints, watercolors, brushes, and the sorts. Although some are pretty old due to the frequency of it being used by other students.

Since I don’t like initiating contact with other people, I prefer to bring my own art materials. It made me feel that my work was actually started and accomplished by my own efforts. Although, that's just based on my perspective.

As per usual, I’m sitting somewhere near the window. It casually calms me down.

I inhaled. The cool breeze bouncing on my face.

I looked back at my work and saw that it was almost done.

The professor asked us to draw the most memorable place or event we can visualize.

According to her, it can be a house, a park, a scenery, or anything that actually reminds us of the joy we had experienced in our lives.

At first, I thought it was ridiculous. You can’t really tell if what is pasted on the ghostly white paper was authentically memorable or just maybe some random picture. Some students tend to just make things up just for the sake of having a passing grade.

People are born to be deceiving like that. Or they are practically just lazy individuals that emerged in that phase.

But as I watched my hands move at their own pace, I noticed that it doesn’t actually matter if the viewer thinks of it as memorable or not. It was nice to feel that we can portray something that we actually reminisce about.

I traced the slightly damp lines from my drawing. It was a picturesque image of a dance party.

That dance party…

It was a magnificent occasion. There were gowns of all sorts. There were glimmering lights. The smiles of the people present. The clicking of their shoes against the marbled floor.

It was utterly splendid.

When I looked at the time, I noticed that we had at least an hour and a half left.

I was feeling kind of worn out from the continuous sketching, so I decided to take a short break and head to the washroom.

The shock that I received when I returned cannot be explained by mere words.

The whole class turned quiet when I entered the classroom.

I had a bad feeling about it.

I slowly made my way to my seat and saw that there were some people giving me wary looks.

Before I entered, I also noticed that a small group of people were standing around my desk.

My heart began to beat rapidly.

I hurriedly went to my drafting table and was horrendously disturbed towards what awaited upon me.

My sketch was ruined. It was fucking ruined.

It had tears everywhere. There were also undistinguishable stains covering the majority of my once vivid concept. I don’t even know if those were done with paint, coffee, or other liquid substances.

The swaying clothes were full of large gaps. The shining chandelier had an indescribable fluid overlapping it. The laughter was unrecognizable.

I was breathing heavily at this point. My vision was getting clouded. The chatter of the people around me was merely echoing.

It’s making me throb with pain and confusion.

I can’t think properly. I can’t see what’s happening in my surroundings.

My aching palms brought about by the burying nails from my tightly clenched fists were the only thing keeping me sane.

I am extremely outraged.

Then that’s when I heard it. Snickering.

Like freaking pigs in heat.

I turned my head towards the girls who were smirking at me.

The crowd grew silent once again.

“What? Do you like the artistic touches on your disgusting plate?” One of the pigs asked.

I didn’t say anything and watched them.

“So astonished to even say a word?” Their group was roaring with laughter as if the girl said the most amazing joke that ever existed.

The other students were not uttering a single word. Half of them were spectating, and half were faking innocence on what was happening at all.

Damn cowards.

The girl with a body-hugging dress, which I think was named as Aby, suddenly stood up and sauntered towards me.

“Hey, I don’t like the way you're looking at us. You got something to say? Huh?” She even poked me repeatedly.

I need to become logical here. I raised my eyebrow but said nothing. I learned from someone that silence triggers the stupidly raised.

And it did.

“What the heck? Now, you're giving me an attitude? You fucking pushover!"

I coldly did her a once-over and the more I see her, the more irritating she gets. “Move away.”

Her face scrunched up with that.

“What did you say?! You think you’re tough, huh? No one likes you here so don’t act like you’re some fucking queen!”

She actually pushed me. The students surrounding us immediately backed away.

“It came from your mouth, not mine.” I said whilst approaching her.

She was scowling deeper by the second. It was funny.

“You’ve got a sarcastic mouth on you, don't ya? Don’t get ahead of yourself, weirdo! Looking at you makes me disgusted! You deserved what happened to your sketch! It looked like garbage, just like you!”

“Didn’t know examining trash was your hobby.” I shrugged.

I was so annoyed by her yapping that I didn’t notice the crowd laughing. I think that angered one of the minions behind her because she hurriedly charged towards me.

“That shitty attitude of yours really pisses me off!”

She was about to hit me when all of sudden someone was standing in front of me.

The spectators gasped all together.

When I looked at the girl, I realized that it was Solar. This girl just loved to meddle in my business. I hope she doesn’t turn this into her career or something.

“Wow! What’s happening here? Didn’t know you were friends with this weirdo Solar!” Aby shouted.

“Well, I didn’t know you were this low Annah!”

Oh, it was Annah.

“Who the hell are you to talk to me like that? Don’t tell me you’re like her? Are you a freak now?”

“You’re one to talk, doing something immature like that. You and your friends are humiliating.”

All of the other minions were probably triggered by what she said because they were all marching towards us.

“Ha?! We’re humiliating?! What about you, you two-faced bitch?!” Another minion shouted, let’s just guess her name is Rebecca. This is messing with my brain. They just don’t end.

“What?” Solar asked.

“Ha! Amongst all of us, you’re the one who’s been backstabbing that freak from the beginning!” Julie, still a random name, yelled.

“What are you talking about?!”

“Why don’t you explain it to your new-found friend over there? Oh, wait you were rejected, right?”

“That’s none of your business!”

“Well, that's a reality check for you. After all the bullshit you spouted before? What was that again? Stupid loner? Arrogant bitch?” Aby started counting with her fingers.

“I never said any of those!” Solar protested.

“Now, you’re lying. Trying to be the good heroine here?”

“Whoa…”

“Didn’t know she was like that?”

“I thought she was nice, you know? With the way she talked and all?”

“Omg, ew, never knew she was like that?”

The gossip was starting to overcome the entire space of the room. It was slowly starting to feel suffocating.

“Wha- I-I n-never…” Solar was visibly trembling now.

“Just get the fuck out of the way!” The one who was going to charge over to me earlier, Rebecca, was about to grab Solar’s hair when I decided to push her behind me.

In the end, her grasp missed but her nails didn’t. Annoyingly, she scratched my arm instead.

A long one at that.

“That stings, child.” I looked at the minion standing in front of me.

“Wha-” Before she could say a word, I kicked her in her family jewel.

And there goes the united gasps.

Good thing I learned about karate. Didn’t know it was meant for this, though.

“Sorry. Don’t worry you’ll still be able to use that. Not that it's not used enough."

The people around us had mixed reactions of shrieks, snickers, and a little bit of 'burned' here and there.

But I don't care because I’m triggered real good and people should know not to trigger me at all.