x
“Okay start again from the top.” Mr. Indigo ordered. “Demi-plie, battement tendu and pirouette.”
I sighed and did the ballet steps ignoring the fact that I am the only member who signed up for the Ballet Club he formed because nobody wanted to come. He was a little shocked to see me but didn't hesitate to teach me.
“You are quite graceful Ms. Cross-wood.” He said once we were done. “Same time on Thursday?”
I nod and hear clapping at the other end of the stage. Agatha was there clapping her hands and giving me a broad smile.
"I am surprised you nailed that move," she said walking toward me. "If I could recall, you were unable to get it the first time you tried ballet."
I frown and storm off to the changing room where I change out of my uniform and go to the straight to class for I had Biology next. Luckily she was not in that class and during gym, she was surrounded by a throng of fans all asking her dumb questions.
“Oh my gosh! You look amazing!”
“How did you get these abs?”
“Are you a sports model?”
“What is your exercise routine?”
“What do you eat?”
'Already popular in the first week.' I think rolling my eyes with scorn.
‘Let us enjoy the fact this week is running smoothly.’ my inner voice said.
Once gym ended, I take my seat in the classroom waiting for the teacher to arrive. ‘Easy for you to say. I have a lot of things to think about.’
‘Is it the Arianna case?’
‘Yeah.' I put my elbows on the desk and sigh. 'None of this makes any sense and the only person who was going to give me closure is…gone.’
‘You mean dead?’
‘I said 'Gone' not 'Dead'.’
‘You know the word ‘Gone’ can mean different things.’
The room began to fill up with students as the new Math teacher walked in. He looked around, saw me, winked, and started the lesson.
‘It's a good thing I am not sitting in the front row. He would be drooling over me right now.’
‘Yeah but that doesn’t mean he can’t enjoy the view.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Did you notice it's only girls sitting in the front row?’
To my dismay, my inner voice was right. Only girls were sitting in the front row and during the lesson, he would pause, look at them and continue as if nothing happened.
‘This man has no shame!’
I agreed. Once class was over, I meet with Brianna and the rest of my friends so we could go to the arcade.
“Gee what was up with you?” asked Brianna.
I shake my head.
She cocked an eyebrow at me. “I hope so because you have been acting weird lately.”
I shrug it.
"Speaking of which, where is Jake?" Aubrey asked.
"Yeah, we haven't heard from him in a while." Ralph added.
I look away from them. "We broke up."
"What?" they asked shocked.
"Why? You guys seemed like a dream couple." whined Brianna.
"Well, the relationship wasn't going smoothly because of our differences so we decided to end things before it got toxic." I say looking at them in the eye.
"I told you they won't last." Brutes said.
"Seriously Brutes?" Brianna asked annoyed.
"Like I said, the relationship was going too fast and I foresaw them breaking up eventually." as Brutes pushed his glasses up, I saw the sparkle in his eyes. "And it's a good thing they did. Relationships like that are breeding grounds for a toxic romance."
My friends gave him a grim face while I look away muttering, "You don't have to tell me twice."
“Good evening students. How was your lessons today?” asked a familiar voice.
I look and see Alex holding a bunch of papers in his hand.
“Good evening Sir." we greet.
"Our lessons were great!" Aubrey chirped.
"Awesome!" cheered Andrew.
Brianna yawned. "A little boring for me."
He smiled. “Well, I hope you won't get too bored because I have great news for you. I am going to be your new English Teacher!”
We gasped.
"Our new English teacher?" Brianna yelled.
"Unbelievable! We hadn’t had an English teacher ever since Ms. Brittany’s incident." I say with a broad smile on my face.
"How did you get the job?" Ralph asked.
He grinned. "The Principal gave it to me because it was hard for him to get a new teacher with the situation the school is in."
"So you agreed for the money? That is not like you Alex.” Aubrey stated with a frown.
He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "You are right. That's why I agreed to do it for free!"
'He is teaching us for free?' the smile on my broadened. ‘What a kind soul! Some idiot will use this as an opportunity to squeeze money out of the school.’
He looked at the time on his watch. “Well, I have to get home early if I want to get your lesson notes done for next week. Get home safely!”
“Okay goodnight sir,” we reply and watched him walk down the hall to the teacher's lounge.
“Congratulations Emma. You are not swooning over him.” Aubrey remarked.
“Huh?” I turn to face her and see the grin on her face.
“You are not swooning over him.”
We all laughed.
"Swooning over him?"
We stopped laughing and turned around. Standing behind us with a bag in her hands wearing a huge smile on her face was Agatha and my blood boiled.
"What do you want?" I ask.
"Geez! You don't have to be hostile Emma." then she put her finger over her mouth. "Although I am surprised that you switched so quickly."
I clentched my teeth in fury. "Switched?"
“I thought you liked girls." she said.
Brianna turned up her nose in the air. "Well, we all know that Emma is bi which is okay because I am bi myself."
This made Agatha take a few steps back. "Well...I...I didn't know she told you that."
"Well, someone else did and she confirmed it." Andrew said folding his arms.
Agatha sighed and rubbed the back of her neck in thought. "Sorry about that. So where are you all heading?"
We looked at each other before said, "To the Arcade?"
Agatha's face brightened up with a smile and she clapped her hands together. “Great! Do you mind if I join you? I have never been to the arcade before.”
"Lair!"
All eyes were on me but I was looking straight at her.
"If I could remember correctly, you have been to the arcade countless of times so drop the act and leave"
“I agree.” chimed in Aubrey.
“But why?” she asks still keeping up the sweet act which was unlike her for she glares and threatens until she gets her way. With this in mind, I walk out on her and my friends followed suit.
‘You hate her don’t you?’
‘She was the reason why I did that.’
‘Wrong! You were the reason why you did that. So do not blame her.’
I sigh inwardly once we got to the arcade's entrance. As we played video games, Brianna asked me to follow her to the canteen to buy a drink because she was thirsty and I agreed.
“You know Emma, I am surprised you broke up with that girl,” Brianna after the staff took her order.
I give her the stink eye. “What did she tell you?”
My words seem to take Brianna by surprise for she blushed and stammered a bit. “She...she...uh...she told me how both of you were couple in your former school but you broke up with her."
The look on my face didn't fade while hers turned pale.
"I...I am sorry! When you told me she was your ex I...I got curious because you never mentioned her so...I asked her and....”
"She told you that trash?"
She flinched at my hostile tone and looked away. "I...I am sorry."
I balled my hands into a fist until my nails punctured my skin and close my eyes recalling what Agatha and I once had and pushing it back because it was all lies.
Lies to trap me.
Lies to humiliate me.
Lies to break me.
And she succeeded.
They succeeded.
For I am broken beyond repair.
But I am making an effort to get my life back together.
"Emma? Are you alright?" Brianna asked with eyes full of concern.
Suddenly, I grabbed Brianna by the neck and choked until she turned blue and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Gasping, I blink and see she was standing before me with a look of concern in her eyes.
"Are you okay?" She asks again.
I nod but she shakes her head.
"You are crying. Is everything okay?"
I touch my face and yes it was wet. Pursing my lips, I wipe the tears off my face and focused on the server bringing our drinks.
“Emma?” Brianna called out.
“Stay away from Agatha.” I give her the evil eye again. "Trust me, she isn't worth it."
"But she seems…”
“She is not who you think she is.” I look away from her and stare at the kids slipping a coin into an arcade machine. “Do not think I am telling you this to ruin your attempt at making new friends but take my advice and don’t befriend her. She has a nasty habit of gossiping.”
“Gossiping?”
“Yeah. She will spread rumors about anyone she dislikes if they are truth or lies. If you tell her something you want to keep confidential, she will indirectly reveal it to others or use it to blackmail you into doing her bidding." I look Brianna in the eye. "Trust me. She isn't worth befriending.”
Caught off guard by this revelation, she looked away and I knew she was on if she should believe me or not. Once she got her drink, we walked back to where our friends were. Aubrey as usual berated us for taking our time but we ignored her and played games until nightfall. The next day was uneventful until I saw a note in my locker during gym class.
‘Meet me at the Cherry Tree during cleaning time. ;)’
I cocked an eyebrow and looked at the date on my phone.
It was Friday.
Suspicious, I put the note in the trash. Time flew by and once it was cleaning time, I go straight to the cherry tree on the hill and wasn't surprised to see Agatha there.
“Hello Milkshake,” she said.
i fold my arms because I always hated that nickname. “I thought you didn’t believe in legends,”
"Well, you seemed to like it."
"Time's have changed." I reply.
She shrugged and the wind blew causing the leaves to fall and her hair long hair to flutter. It did create a romantic scene straight out of a manga or fantasy drama but I wasn't fazed.
To put it more accurately, I was pissed. "What do you want?"
“Geez! What's with the cold tone?" she asked dropping the cute girl persona. "Aren't you happy to see me considering the fact you just broke up with your boyfriend?"
"To be honest, I feel like I am going to vomit just looking at your ugly face."
"Come on. Where is your romantic side?" She gave a cute smile. "Remember the times you blushed anytime I said you were chubby?"
I give her a rueful look. "Yeah. I also remember binge eating because you told me you liked chubby girls and wanted me bigger. Had it not been the ballet instructor telling me I was going to loose the lead part in the play because of my weight, I would have been overweight by now.”
She cringed but gave me a welcoming smile. "But I am trying to be romantic now."
“You? Romantic? That is something a mockingbird will believe." I tap my foot impatiently. “Tell me what you want. I don’t have all night.”
She sighed, put her hands behind her, and bit her bottom lip forcing a blush. “I want you back Emma.”
My eyes narrowed.
“I did wrong by pulling that prank on you and darling...I am so...so...so...sorry.”
I roll my eyes.
"No really I am." clapped her hands together and rose them above her head. "I realized we had something back then and I ruined it by breaking up with you. Please forgive me and let us start over. Okay?"
I close my eyes and chuckle ruefully. "Yeah right. You want your doting, lovesick titty slave back." then I unfold my arms and look at her square in the eye. “What was the substance poured on me that day?”
She was taken aback by my words. "What are you..."
"Rumors have been spreading about what was dumped on me." I move closer to her. "Some say it was urine while others said it was sour milk. A group of students said it was loose white paint but what circulated the school was the suspicion that the substance was semen. Drunk men's semen."
I stop inches close to her face and give her a death glare. "I want an answer. What was the substance poured on me?"
Her face turned red and she pursed her lips avoiding eye contact with me. This annoyed me but not surprised because she does that anytime she's hiding something or lying.
"H...How should I know?" a stupid grin appeared on her face. "I wasn't the one who pulled the prank.”
“But you were an accessory to it right?”
"Yeah, but I had anything to do with it from the beginning.”
Her smug tone with the way she folded her arms and looked away enraged the voices in my head to murder her. I mean, the knife was in my bag so...
I push them out of my mind, close my eyes and try to subdue my anger.
"And I want to start over on a clean slate because I love you. For real this time.” I heard her say. This made me look at her in anger and my hand made contact with her cheeks.
“Love? Love? You dare tell me that after what you did? Are you kidding me?”
Holding her cheeks with one hand, she looked at me in shock then laughed. “Wow, Emma! I can’t believe you took that literally! Why on earth would you suspect I had a hand in this?”
“Because you were the one spreading the rumors,” I say through clenched teeth because the urge to kill her was burning inside me but I turn my back on her. “You mistreated, abused, and shattered me to pieces. Now that I am trying to pick up them up no matter how sharp they are, you come here telling me you love me and want me back? You are insane. I will never go back to you. Not now nor in the future nor my next life.”
“Really? Considering the fact you are reeling from a bad breakup?”
I could swear there was a smirk in her voice forcing me to slap her again but I walk out on her. The sun was setting, the school was empty but the ghosts were awakening and I didn't give a damn if they choose her as her next target.
Later that night…
Agatha laid on her bed, replayed Emma’s words in her head, and chuckled to herself. “Oh, Emma. It seems you have forgotten that I know everything about you.” she smiles. “Let’s see what your friends would say when they learn your secrets.”
ns 15.158.61.8da2
