Second Week

The first week of high school was a hot mess. I still have zero friends and there is a little group who loves picking on me after stating my opinion on Aphrodi's rumour. I got off to a bad start but there is still time to change things. I won't give up until I live a better school life compared to middle school. My mind then drifted towards a certain senior student. She is the Vice President of the Student Body and was crowned 'The Queen' last year. Ever since the day when Alice helped me retrieve my phone. I can't stop thinking about her. Anything that is school related, my mind would gradually drift from that to Alice Souken. I admire her from a distance but that is not enough for me. I want to see her more often. Her class is unknown to me, I haven't investigated that yet. One thing I know for sure, she always check up on the students in hallway immediately after school.

Hopefully my second week of high school is not going to get worse. I need to ensure that does not happen. Right now I am not in good terms with my classmates because of the Aphrodi situation. Like what the students suggested, they reported Aphrodi's actions to the authorities and now he's suspended for a week. I won't get to see him at school anytime this week. The rumour in which Aphrodi severely injured two senior students is clearly flawed. How can that one person impale two guys with metal pipes and break their arms. That is too brutal, I know I don't know Aphrodi's true colours yet but still. That story does not sit right with me. For this week I decided to put my interest in Alice on hold. As much as I like her I need to get along with my classmates as well.

On the second week of school, it was technically the first official days of classes. Nothing major happened during the first other than Aphrodi's suspension. The students' expectations on how the teachers are like were spot on. They are pretty laid-back and friendly towards the students. Even the principal, Mr. Raihan is super friendly. No one would have guessed he was the principal. Because of this light atmosphere, some students slept during morning classes. The teachers showed zero intentions of stopping them. Deciding to listen to their lessons or not is our choice. Within this easy going atmosphere, there won't be a single adult who will try to force a student to take their subjects seriously. Before classes began, I had to wipe my desk with a wet cloth. Someone wrote black sheep on my desk with a marker, the same for my chair. While I did it, I could feel the staresof my classmates. Especially the guys, they were giggling at the sight of me.

During lunch I decided not to enter the cafeteria. I broughtmy own lunch to avoid my classmates. Fried rice with curry on top, one of the few dishes I actually know how to make. "Did you cook that?" one boy asked curiously.

"Yeah"

"Neat, let me try some. The name's Takeshi by the way" he said while taking my plate. "Damn this is good. You should become a chef" he complimented.

"I'll think about it".

When Takeshi returned my plate, it was empty. "Not cool dude" I told him. In response to that he headbutted me. "You're the one who isn't cool. Thanks for the lunch".

As soon as school finished, I struggled to get out of my chair. It felt like my bottom was glued to the chair, first I thought I was too lazy so I tried jumping out of my seat.

....

Nothing changed, over two minutes of trying to get up my hands touched sticky liquid on my chair. It was a green substance that I have never seen before. I can only assume that it was glue. "There are glues this strong. I can't believe I didn't notice it". I thought back to when I sat down after lunch. I was positive there wasn't any glue on my chair. "When did this happen?" I ask myself as I continued to struggle.

Quickly, the classroom became empty leaving me in this state. Everyone saw and probably knew in advance I was going to be in this situation. Yet no one helped me. Just because I didn't agree with them. "Hmm, guess I have no choice".

There was a way for me to leave my seat but I'm afraid it's embarrassing. My pants was glued to the seat, I unbuckled my belt then unbuttoned my pants. I slowly pulled myself out of the pants, being left with nothing but my underwear. I instantly closed the classroom door to ensure that nobody walks inside the room.

"What do I do now?"

"I can't go out in the hallway in my underwear. Think Victor,Think"

Being subjected to bullying has got to be the worst. If this is how my school life is going to be here then I rather transfer. Right after I thought about transferring, the image of Alice Souken came to mind. Just from my one encounter with her, I know she is the only one I can trust with the trouble I'm in. How can I contact her though?

Knock! Knock!

Someone knocked on the classroom door and shouted "Let me help. I, Alice Souken is here to help!". Like an angel, she appeared in my time of need. I opened the door feeling relieved to hear Alice's voice. I'm sure I can count on her at least. I slowly opened the door. When half opened, the person on the other side swung it wide open.

BAM! The door was slammed into the wall then bounced back to me. It attracted a lot of attention in the hall. Many students were still idling around even after school.

"Crap,!"

Those words was all I could say.  Alice was never at the door, instead it was one of my classmates. He had brown canoed hair with earrings on. A clear violation of the dress code at this school. This person was the same guy responsible for stealing my phone last week. He stood here before me with his phone in hand. He had a recording of Alice's voice on his phone apparently. He played it once more.

"Let me help. I, Alice Souken is here to help"

"What's this!? Victor is in plain underwear. What happened to your pants dude!?"

He spoke as loud as he could for other students walking by to hear. They all looked my way, some holding their laughter. Others looked disgusted while most were laughing at me uncontrollably. "What are those!!? How lame"

"Pathetic man"

"What a loser"

"That must be very embarrassing for ya"

Words of the fellow students felt like daggers piercing my chest. I lowered my head then closed the door. "I'm going to be the talk of the month aren't I" I said. At any moment I could just break down into tears. Being treated like this, it's inhumane. With a single tear drop falling down my cheeks, I just couldn't hold it any longer. I cried in the class corner, wishing that no one will hear me. "I wanted to start over a new. That's the whole reason of coming here. I failed, I can't believe I failed so quickly".

The sun sets and all the students were gone. Only few members of staff were present and even they were preparing to leave the school. I was still sulking in the corner of my classroom. I was reflecting on my actions. What brought me here? "I should have just agreed with them. I did not have to tell them what I truly felt. I should have lied. Things might have been different if I had only lied. Blending with the crowd is what's best." I told myself in depression. Looking back, I am to blame for these events.

When I saw my desk was written on, I should have gone wild and demand the culprit to show himself. When Takeshi aye my lunch, I should have elbowed his face. That time in the cafeteria line, there was a nearby broomstick. Only if I had just hit them with it. Violence.... these people, all of a sudden I want them dead. I don't just mean the bullies, I'm including those who just watch and do nothing. "Cruel"

"Selfish"

"Heartless"

"Unfair"

I found myself in a dark place, if anything bad happens tomorrow i am going to kill them.

Knock! Knock!

Knock! Knock!

I heard someone knocking at the door but I still stayed in my corner. My body was like an empty husk, no energy or will to move from this spot on the floor. After knocking a few more times, I heard key noises. The door opened from the outside with an unexpected visitor. Every student should have left the school grounds by now. It passed 5 pm but one student was still here. All Star Academy's Queen and Vice President, Alice Souken entered the room. Her gaze met me instantly as she entered. Almost as if she knew where I was before entering.

"Oh right, there's cameras everywhere" I reminded myself. Without making a sound, Alice sat beside me on the floor. She handed me a black pants, trying her best not to look at my undies. She did not say anything to me and honestly, I did not feel like speaking to her right now. I just wanted to be by myself some more. We sat there around ten minutes before Alice said something to me. She was looking around my classroom as she spoke.

"I heard you were seen in your underwear. At first I thought it was just a student clown but once I checked the surveillance cameras I was proved wrong"

Alice turned to me and bowed her head in apology. Her forehead hit the floor over and over again while she apologized. "I am sorry. I thought I gave the man who stole your phone a good lecture but he's still troubling you. I failed you, please give me another chance. What's the name of the person responsible?"  she pleaded.

"Fugo Almaty"

Alice assured me that this will never happen again. Tomorrow, he will be punished for what he did to me she says. Her words meant so little to me. From experience, I know Alice cannot stop the cycle of bullying. After Fugo's Punishment is over, he'll just bare more hatred towards me.

"Do you mind telling me why you are bullied? Is it because of something you did or your personality?"

"Everyone in class was ganging up on Aphrodi because of the rumours spreading about him. Apparently he has severly injured two senior students in his first week of high school. I don't know if that was true or not so I didn't agree to suspend him. We should know the full details of what happened instead of listening to a biased point of view. Everyone got mad, especially Fugo and his friends."

After telling her how I ended up in this situation, Alice pointed at my chair. My pants was still glued on it so she took the liberty of tearing it off. "I understand. Next time just agree with the majority. There's a reason why lying is a thing, for us to hide our true selves around others" She said feeling sorry for me. I couldn't look her in the eye even if I tried. I assume the stare she is giving me is filled with pity. I wish she could just leave me now.

"Thanks for the pants. I'll leave school shortly" I told her. Part of that was a lie. In truth, I am scared. Too scared to do anything. All the will I had to start a new, move on from my tragic past vanished as of now. Dozens of students saw me in my underwear, the girl I developed a crush for is looking at me with pity. I'm at my lowest point and she's here to see it. I don't feel like moving an inch. "The despair of it all"

"I can't go on like this. Why is it so hard to change!? Do I have something bad on my back!?"

Alice was still in the room. She already gave me what I needed, freshly ironed pants. She already said that she will make a futile effort to stop Fugo's actions. Why is she still here?

Her feet began to move farther away from me at long last. I bet she's heading home now. Good, I can be alone again.  I looked up to see her one last time. To my surprise, she stopped at Fugo's seat. She looked under his desk and saw a green tube taped there. The tube says Max Lot's Glue. She took a minute to read the contents of the glue then sat beside me again. "The glue is transparent. When it's expose to the air for more than ten minutes, the colour will begin to change. WARNING! If the glue becomes green on the skin, do not try to get rid of it. Go to the hospital". She lets out a loud sigh after reading what was on the tube. Her hands slowly reach out to my right cheek while slowly bumping foreheads with me.

"Wipe that look off your face. It takes away from your charm. Listen closely to what I'm about to tell you".

Her face was so close to mines. The sweet scent Alice exhibits was close to knocking me out. My heart was beating dangerously fast I thought I might just die. She does not seem fazed by this so I have to keep calm as well. "Your name is Victor if I recall. We both know, your situation won't change unless you yourself take action. I'm not saying you should break an arm or two but do something. Aphrodi, he may have been in the same predicament as you. That's why he did what he did". Her other hand touched my left cheek and she started to hold my head tightly. "I have seen it so many times. Victims of bullying breaking mentally and do something they will regret for the rest of their lives. Please, don't fall down that path no matter what. You hear?". I could hear the sincerity in her voice. She was genuinely worried about this first year student who she knows little about. People like her really exists, willing to help anyone who is in need.

What I thought was a simple crush at first suddenly became more than that. I love Alice, she is the girl from my fairy tales. "Thank you Alice. You're a big help" I said putting on a smile. She hugged me tightly and reminded me "I'll talk to Fugo. It's only the first month of school. This shouldn't be happening". And like that, the two of us left the school grounds together. A car was already at the gate waiting for Alice so we parted ways.

Two types of people. Those who give you grief, sorrow and rage and others who make you laugh, trust and respect. Surrounded by people who only fills you with darkness is never a good thing. You'll get tainted by those types of people, go mad and do something you will regret in the long run. Surrounded by people who motivates you to live your life and have fun. As long as people like those exists, maybe their is hope everyone. Within the dark void, try to find light. In my case, the person who gives me grief is definitely Fugo. The person I can depend on to motivate me is a girl I barely know, Alice Souken. That girl inspired me to change. I can't be a victim and want to be with Alice. Not possible!

...