1 Dirty monkey
“High school!” Louise screams at the top of her lungs as she runs around her room like crazy. Grinning, she checks herself in front of the mirror.
Cap, check!
Oversize rock and roll t-shirt, check!
Torn pants, great!
Sneakers, perfect!
Louise does a 360-degree turn as she admires her appearance. High school is a new adventure for her; the first day is crucial for first impressions. With her fashion sense, she will stand out against the crowd of new faces. Her attire is just superb.
Cackling, she compliments herself, “You’re perfect, Archer!”
“Louise? Hurry! You’re going to be late!” Her mom calls out, accompanied by a loud knocking on her door.
“Yes, mom! Five minutes more!” She grimaces. Momzilla is waiting outside.
“Faster!” her mom snaps.
After fifteen minutes of dilly-dallying and ten minutes of prepping herself, she walks out of her room. Her mother’s black face appears in her mind. She’s definitely in for a roasting!
Louise goes down the stairs with swag and confidence, and when her mom looks up, the delicate, white hand holding the porcelain cup trembles. It almost drops, and she violently gasps. She spasms like she has a heart attack.
“What are you wearing?” Her mom shrieks, looking horrified as if Sadako is wearing her favorite Chanel dress. She points at Louise, her hand shaking.
“Clothes,” Louise replies, shrugging her shoulders. It’s no big deal. Mrs. Archer and her don’t get along because of the former’s designer clothes and Louise’s rock and roll style.
To her mother’s chagrin, she moves like one of the boys. Louise has the perfect mentors — her four brothers. In this house, she’s the real king. She can do anything she wants… aside from one thing.
In the future, she has to marry a dirty monkey!
Eeeeewww! That bastard has contracted so many bacteria because of his womanizing. Louise shivers at the idea.
If possible, she doesn’t want to move closer to him. Not now, not ever. She makes it her most important mission to ensure he won’t fall for her charms, so she’ll disgust him to death! Maybe, he’ll break the engagement himself.
“Oh my God!” Mrs. Archer’s shrill voice echoes in the mansion. She fans herself as if she is about to faint. The maids hurry to her side. “Look at my daughter’s clothes!”
One of the maids playfully winks at Louise, and she grins. Giggling at her mother’s antics, she rushes to her side, kisses her cheek, then runs away as if her pants are on fire.
“Louiiisssseee!” Her mom screams at the top of her lungs. “Capture her for me! Louisssseeee!”
A car is waiting for her, so she jumps in. Louise tells the driver to speed away, leaving her fuming mother stomping her feet outside their home.
****
Today is such a great day! She hums.
Louise laughs evilly when she imagines Axel’s face upon seeing her. She looks forward to meeting him at school! The black lines on his forehead will be numerous, and he’ll probably pop a vein if she proceeds to torture him.
Axel and Louise have met a few times, mostly on important occasions such as birthdays and special family events. When they met, she would always make sure to make his blood pressure go through the roof.
He’s a playboy, jerk, asswipe, bastard, arrogant, and bad-tempered idiot! She doesn’t want him as her fiancé. He likes to criticize her, too.
Boys like him are dirty monkeys! He kept clinging to and sucking girls’ lips every time they met.
He’s insufferable! She thought. At thirteen, she watched him kiss a bimbo in front of her. He was still sixteen! The image makes her want to puke.
Louise rolls her eyes, scoffing in a small voice, “He doesn’t have taste!”
“Young lady, did you say something?” the driver asks me as he maneuvers the car to the academy.
“Nope, can you go faster, uncle? Like the ones in racing competitions?” her eyes shine as she urges the driver to go faster. The driver helplessly sighs, and a doting smile graces his lips. Their young miss is simply incorrigible in an endearing way!
The driver speeds up while Louise consciously touches her face. Then, she turns on her phone’s camera and uses it as a mirror. There are a few pimples on her face—a few insistent poppers—but she still believes she’s beautiful with or without the approval of others.
Louise smiles cutely, believing she is gorgeous; her beauty will eclipse the sun. Her confidence is overflowing.
After traveling for more than twenty minutes, a towering building comparable to a palace appears in view.
Finally, she’s in high school!
*****
Here he comes! Louise spits out the gum she is chewing and waves at Axel, who is talking to an equally handsome guy. She moves closer to him.
Axel stiffens when he sees her. His eyes widen a bit, and his breathing stagnates for a moment.
What the hell is she doing here? Axel almost panics. Nothing good will come out if she is here.
Louise taps her foot on the ground, waving her hand in front of his face. “Earth to Axel?”
He looks handsome despite the horrified look on his face.
Louise hates it that he makes everything look good to him. His Asian-Italian bloodline, signature chocolate brown eyes, and curly, jet black hair make sure of it.
“Hi, Axel!”
“Who are you?” he asks aggressively while pulling his friend away.
Blinking innocently, Louise answers in a loud voice, “Eh? Do you have amnesia? Did you injure your head when you fell on your butt last month? Or was it during your mom’s birthday when your dad hit you with a stick? Does it still hurt?”
Hearing this, a crowd starts to form around them.
He glares at her.
“But wait, how is this connected? You FELL ON YOUR BUTT, not on your head!” Louise says in an even louder voice. The friend beside Axel snickers, and Louise playfully winks at him. He laughs, showing off his dimples.
Woah, he’s hot. What’s his name? She wants to ask, but her mind comes back to the present.
Laughter ensues around them. Some are daring enough to boo Axel.
Take that, dirty monkey. Louise grins at him.
“Oh, my! The doctor should see the video, so he can diagnose you better! After all, you had to stay for a day in bed because of it.” Louise scrolls on her phone.
The onlookers swarm closer. After all, their Mr. Perfect isn’t so perfect after all. He has his dirty, shameful secrets.
“Louise Archer!” Axel shouts, and he drags her away. Louise struggles to keep up with him; she hates having short legs.
Axel pushes her inside an empty classroom. Louise casually leans on a table and picks on her nose while he locks the door. When he turns around, his face contorts with disgust.
“Can you be any more disgusting, Louise? You’re in high school; maybe you should try to be normal,” Axel’s voice rises an octave.
The dislike on his face is apparent; his lips stretch into a thin line, and his hands are trembling. Then, his left eye twitches, indicating that she stresses him out. She feels damn good, though.
Great, one point for me! Louise pats herself on the back for a job well done in her imagination.
“I’m normal, duh.” She rolls her eyes.
“And why are you here? Aren’t you going to Thomas Prime? Why did you enroll here?” he bombards Louise with questions.
“What could be the reason? Of course, I want to take a look at my fiancé,” Louise replies to him, wiping her finger on her shirt.
His face fills with disgust even more.
“What fiancé? You don’t have a fiancé here,” he retorts.
“As our parents said, I have a fiancé, and it’s you. Unless you’re not Axel Rossi?” Louise asks him. “I told mom that it’s time we get to know each other better. It’s best if we become close in school.”
Axel... I’ll make sure that you’re going to dissolve this engagement since I can’t. She wants to forget about this once and for all.
“You dare!”
She shrugs her shoulders and kicks the door open like a hooligan. Then she runs away in a flash because classes will start soon.
“Axel Rossi, this is the destruction of school property!” Louise hears a teacher shouting as she runs faster, turning around the corner. She laughs; as usual, Axel is cleaning up after her mess.
What is the use of being her fiancé if she can’t use him?
Ah, Axel, this time it’s my win!
