PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

"See that girl over there?" My friend and crony (that's what people think), Ethan pointed at  a rather small, quiet-looking girl who was standing alone in a corner. 

"Yeah, what about her?" I asked him with an obvious unamused look on my face. 

He turned to face me with a grin. Then, he proceeded to scrunch up his now-empty lunch bag into a ball. I stared at him as if he had just grown an extra head.

To my surprise, he flung the scrunched-up lunch bag towards the girl and it hit her in the back of her head. She spun around to look at us, looking confused.

A few people who had seen it laughed, as well as Ethan himself. The girl turned red in embarrassment and dashed out of the cafeteria.

"Dude," I furrowed my eyebrows at my friend, "Do you have a problem with her or something?"

"N-No!" The blond boy managed to blurt out between chuckles as he clutched his stomach, "Don't you know her? Everyone picks on her because she has abusive parents and a brain tumor. I don't know why, but I'm just joining in the fun!" 

I shot him a disgusted look. My friends were called bullies for a reason. Then again, I joined them...and I had no idea why.

The school bell rang and I slipped on my blazer. Ethan and I walked out of the cafeteria with him still droning on about what he had did earlier.

I stuffed my hands into my pockets and walked silently, sighing.

"Dude, are you even listening to me?" Ethan cried out and shot me an incredulous look. I furrowed my eyebrows again in annoyance and nodded my head vigorously.

He then let go of the matter and continued talking to no one in particular. "Len! Ethan!" Someone called out from a distance. Ethan shut up and we both looked up.

It was my slutty popular-girl friend, Poppy. She ran up to us in a short uniform skirt that barely covered her bum and pounced us. Ethan laughed and grabbed onto her to steady himself.

I stumbled back a bit and regained my composure a few seconds later.

"Hey, Ethan," Poppy said, giggling, "Have you seen that Kaydelyn?" 

Ethan's face lit up with amusement the moment she mentioned it, "Yeah, I just flung a paper bag at her. Why?" 

"I saw her trying to talk to Jawn at the staircase just now." Jawn, my other friend, another one of us. 

"Ohoho," Ethan chuckled and reached up to smoothen his blond hair, "And then what happened?"

"He gave her," Poppy paused dramatically, "A tight slap."

My two friend started howling and laughing as if it were the funniest thing in the world. I sighed again and stared at the psychopaths. I scratched my brown hair and turned around to walk away.

"Wait for us, Len!" Poppy squealed as she ran to keep up with my pace and clutched onto my arm like a sloth. I could feel her sharp nails digging into my skin through my blazer. Ethan jogged up to us and the three of us walked to our classes together.

As we were walking up the staircase, I noticed the brown-haired girl whom Ethan had targeted earlier. She had a red mark on her cheek and was walking up the stairs right in front of us.

"Watch this," Ethan whispered as he reached a hand out and tugged roughly on the back of her skirt. Poppy's hand flew to her mouth to prevent her from giggling too loud.

The girl quickly spun around, making her brown hair fly all over the place embarrassingly. Her bangs stuck to her sweaty forehead and she dropped the books that were cradled in her hands. 

Ethan burst out in laughter, and Poppy soon after. The girl slightly glared at them and knelt down to pick up her books. 

"Pink." Ethan roared and began to laugh again. Poppy followed. Geez, those people.

The girl got redder and quickly pulled her skirt down as low as possible when he realized the blond boy was referring to her underwear. Then, she continued picking up her books one by one.

"Oh, shit, I'm late for class...AGAIN!" Ethan slapped his forehead and started to run, "See you guys after school!" 

"I'll be going too." Poppy snorted with a dramatic curtsy, "Sayonara." She ran after Ethan and I could see them talking to each other as they disappeared around a corner.

I was about to walk off too when I noticed the girl was still there. "U-Uh...you need any help?" I asked, being the nice guy that I was.

She glared up at me with big brown eyes and shook her head, "No."

I picked up her books anyway and handed them to her. She roughly grabbed them from my hands and stood up, dusting her skirt a little bit. Then, she walked away.

"Hey, not even a 'thank you'??" I yelled at her. She turned her head slightly to face me.

"People like you don't deserve a 'thank you' from me." Was all she said as she ran across the hallway. I shook my head in disapproval and took my leave the opposite direction. 

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"Not even a 'thank you'?" Ethan huffed in annoyance as he shook his head, "That girl is one stubborn bitch." 

"Yup. I picked up almost ALL of her books. I almost broke my back." I explained. I had told my friends everything.

All three of them chuckled and Jawn slapped my back, "Why did you help her in the first place? You should've just ignored her like I did."

"You didn't ignore her. You slapped her." Poppy reminded in a snort.

"Oh yeah," Jawn laughed, "Same thing."

There was a long pause and silence. Finally, Ethan spoke up, being the loud person that he was, "Let's do something that would make her pay."

"Len!" This caught my attention and dragged me away from my daydream. 

"W-What?" I muttered, crossing my arms against my chest.

"I got just the plan," Ethan exclaimed, "Nothing hurts more than a broken heart."

"So?" Everyone burst out in unison. Poppy began giggling again.

"How about you pretend to be really nice to her and everything, since nobody is, and eventually ask her out?" My lunatic blond friend grinned.

"Are you crazy?! We're not even on talking terms." I raised my voice, annoyed, "That's so stupid."

"Nonono, listen to me!" Ethan grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me, "Then, she'll grow so attached to you and then, boom, you dump her. How's that?"

"Len can't do that!" Poppy objected as she stood up from her seat, slamming her manicured hands against the table we were sitting at. 

"And why is that so?" Ethan sniffed.

"Because he's MINE." She demanded as she latched onto my arm like velcro again. Oh, the agony.

"Oh, shut up, Poppy." Jawn yawned and Ethan nodded in support.

"If you don't do it, you'll be kicked out of our group." Ethan glared at me.

"What!? This is ridiculous, man!" I cried out, widening my eyes.

"And you'll be like one of those normal losers. And you'll have to bow down to us like a slave." He continued.

I looked down at my feet and gritted my teeth. My friends could be so mean sometimes. I was lost in thought when Ethan piped up again, "So? Is it a deal?" I could hear the amusement and malice in his voice.

"F-Fine." I said against my own will. I chose my pride over my everything.

"Good job, bro." Jawn nodded, patting my back.

"Yeah, good job." Ethan grinned manically. Poppy pouted but went along with it as well. 

"You'll start tomorrow." The blond boy chuckled, "Go help her polish her shoes or buy her a diamond ring or something." 

"Why the hell would I do that?" I groaned, completely ridiculed and stomped over.

Ethan grinned again, "Gain favor."

CHAPTER 2

"Alright, we're done for today," The old Mr Lee waved a hand as he sipped his mug of coffee, "Goodbye, Darrien." The brown-haired boy stood up from his chair and started packing his books. "Oh, and may I ask...what time is it right now?" The old man added, looking up from his mug. "It's 5 o' clock, Sir." Darrien replied straightly and the man nodded. He continued packing his books, but was again interrupted by his tutor. "What time will Lillian be going out?" He asked.

"Uhmm..." The boy blurted and his cheeks turned bright red, "I don't know...8?" A drop of sweat trickled down his face as the old man chuckled. "8? That's late. It's not exactly the safest out there. What time can I expect her to be back?" Mr Lee retorted. "10? Maybe 11?" Darrien stumbled upon his words, "D-Don't worry. She'll be safe with me." The old man raised an eyebrow at the boy. "A-Ah...it wasn't my idea! She said she wanted to go, so I was just being nice and offered to bring her there!" The boy cried out in defense.

"Alright, alright. Go home and have a nice dinner, then." Mr Lee sighed as Darrien bowed and exited the house. The old man sat down on the couch alone and took another sip of coffee. He looked at his dull grey bedroom slippers that were worn on his feet. He closed his eyes and felt the wind coming from the open windows on his old skin. Then, he felt the couch sink in a little bit. He opened his eyes and looked to his right, only to be greeted by his lovely only granddaughter. 

"Hi, grandpa. Were you spacing out?" Lillian asked in a gentle voice. Her long chestnut hair was tied up in a messy ponytail and she gripped the material of her red sundress tightly in her small fists. "No, I'm okay." Her grandfather replied in a rather melancholic tone. "Spit it, grandpa. You look and sound so sad." Lillian said, her voice a little bit more annoyed and forceful. "Okay." The old man started and then paused for a while before continuing, "It's lonely here." "Oh." Lillian replied with understanding in her eyes, "But I'm here, aren't I?"

"Yes, but it's lonely without you. The only company I get is when Darrien comes around for tuition." He explained as his granddaughter nodded her head vigorously. "Well, doesn't he come around all the time?" Lillian raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but..." He sucked in a deep breath and spilled, "It's different from when your grandmother was here." Lillian could catch tears threatening to spill out from her old grandfather's eyes. She herself, too, was sad. Her grandmother had been such a great woman. 

"I..." Lillian began, not knowing what to say to comfort the poor man, "I'm sorry...I'm sad as well. I miss grandma as much as you do. She has always been there for us. That day in November, three years back...I never thought that day would come. We were preparing for Christmas, weren't we?" She smiled slightly to show comfort and she could feel her own tears trickling down her rosy cheeks. It was her grandfather, who didn't break and stayed strong and composed. "Yes, me too." Was his only reply, and silence enveloped them afterwards.

After a few minutes, Lillian finally got up from the couch and shot her grandfather a wide toothy smile, "Alright, it's time to cheer up, grandpa! What do you say we visit grandma tomorrow morning?" The old man looked up at his granddaughter in surprise of her sudden change of mood, and then smiled warmly. "Okay, tomorrow morning it is. I think she'll love it." He said as Lillian chuckled a bit. "She sure would." 

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It was 9 o' clock when the doorbell rang and Lillian straightened her red sundress. She grabbed her phone and tiptoed towards the door to open it, being ultra careful so she would not wake her grandfather up. If he did, she would get a whole lot of nagging and not be able to go out at all. She slowly pulled the door open and was greeted by the sight of the boy in a t-shirt and beach shorts. He looked absolutely stunning as ever, she had to admit. "Hi, Darrien." The girl whispered as she tiptoed out the door and sneakily shut it.

"Hello. Why are you being so secretive?" He asked casually. "My grandfather doesn't know I'm going out this late." Lillian explained in whispers, "If he did, I'll be grounded!" "Isn't that like...uhmm...sneaking out?" Darrien shot her an incredulous look, "And I'll be charged for kidnap if he catches us." "Don't worry. He won't." Lillian smiled another one of her signature toothy smiled and grabbed her new friend's hand, "Let's goo!" Darrien turned an unnatural shade of red as he nodded sheepishly and guided her towards the beach.

They walked along the uneven roadside in silence for a while. The brown-haired boy flushed continuously. The feeling of her small warm hand in his own felt magnificent. She never lost her warmness, just like a human flask. "How much further?" Lillian finally asked in a whiny voice. "Another 10 minutes and we'll be there." Darrien assured her and unconsciously squeezed her hand. She looked up at him with a confused expression etched on her face. Damn, did she look beautiful under the moonlight.

"S-Sorry." The boy apologized in embarrassment of his own actions. 'Brain, why do you do this to me?!' He mentally scolded himself as they continued walking. 5 minutes passed and they could at least hear the waves rushing up to the shore. "I can hear the water!" Lillian gasped excitedly, "We're near, aren't we?!" "Yes, we are." He smiled as he dragged her around a corner. Lillian jumped up and down in excitement at the sight of the dark moving waves.

Without further thinking, she let go of Darrien's almost paralyzed hand and ran towards the water. She stood right at the edge of the waves, the water tickling her small toes as the waves rushed in and out. She giggled to herself as the boy walked towards her and did the same thing. "So...how do you like it?" He asked. "I love it! It looks a bit scary though. I guess it's much better during the day." Lillian sighed and he nodded in agreement. "Much less scarier. And I usually come here with my friends during daytime." Darrien said.

"I see...it must be fun living around here." Lillian smiled. "I don't know. I've always wanted to live in the city..." Darrien's voice trailed off as he looked at the large full moon, "Say, how do you like the country life so far?" "It's beautiful here! It's so much better than the city, though it has less resources. The air's cleaner. The people are...different." Lillian answered. "How long are you going to be here?" The boy asked. "About...2 months. I have to go back to school after this." She said.

"Oh. I guess schools there must be bigger and more majestic as well. My school's around here. But it's the holidays now so...yeah." He said and she just nodded. They began to walk along the soft sand with nothing but the bright moonlight to guide them. "Want to join me and my friends here tomorrow morning?" Darrien suddenly piped up as the thought swam into his head. "I'm afraid I can't." Lillian replied softly in a sad tone, "I'm going to visit my grandma with my grandfather tomorrow morning. Sorry." "Oh." He said flatly, a little bit disappointed, "Your grandma? She doesn't live with you guys?" 

Lillian opened her mouth to say something but nothing but a croak came out of it. She shut her mouth immediately after and breathed in. "What's wrong? Did I...say something?" Darrien asked with an obviously concerned look on his face. "My grandma isn't with us anymore. She's gone. To a better place." Lillian mustered up all her strength to blurt out. That very second, Darrien mentally punched himself and apologized for asking such a stupid question.

"It's alright. It's not your fault. You didn't know." Lillian sighed, "She left us this month last year." "Hmm...a month before Christmas, huh? Sorry." The boy frowned. Lillian put on a cheery smile and placed a hand on his broad shoulder to assure him that it was fine. He smiled back and shook the depressing thoughts out of his head. They continued walking along the sand. 

CHAPTER 1

A young boy who looked to be around the age of 17 stood outside the small run-down-looking house. He could hear the sound of the waves washing up onto the sea shore since the village was just beside the sea. If he walked a bit further in, he would be able to see the calm water. But it wasn't the time to have fun. The whole reason he was standing outside the house, waiting patiently to be let in, was because he was being tutored by the old Mathematician who lived there. 

He looked around him and sighed. Little kids were running along the roads with toys in their hands. They looked happy. Three teenage girls who walked pass waved at him and winked. He waved back. A few old ladies wished him 'Good morning' in Chinese. He greeted them back. He stood outside for another 10 minutes until he finally gave up and proceeded to walk away. Just then, a black Bentley drove up to the front of the house and blocked his way.

He stood still to allow the Bentley to pass. It did not, however, and instead, the car door swung open and a young girl stepped out of it. She had loads of colourful bags hanging on her arms and she had a laptop propped under her left arm and her right hand held a pink iPhone. The boy was mesmerized. She had luscious chestnut brown locks that was waist-length and pale fair skin. Girls who lived in that small village didn't own skin as light and smooth as that of hers. She was probably from the city. 

She got out of the car and slammed the door shut. The sleek black Bentley then drove away. The girl let out a soft sigh and turned towards the house. The boy gulped and smoothed his hair unconsciously when she looked to his direction. She began to walk towards him. He sucked in a deep breath and got slightly flustered. "Are you waiting for my grandfather?" The girl asked once she got right in front of him. She was short and could only reach the height of his chest.

"Uhmm...and might that be Mr Lee?" The boy asked, running a slightly trembling hand through his messy dark brown hair. "Yep." The girl cheerily replied before giving him a toothy smile, "I don't think he's in right now. He usually goes out around this time. Shall we enter first?" The boy just nodded as the girl put her many bags onto the paved road and fumbled with a bunch of keys. When the door was unlocked, the boy helped her carry her bags as they walked inside the dusty old house.

It didn't look very majestic or big but it was cozy and bright enough. "Feel free to sit on the couch while waiting." The girl told the flustered boy as he sheepishly nodded and obeyed. Two minutes passed. The boy broke the silence, "A-Are you his g-granddaughter?" "Yes. I'm Lillian. And you?" The girl spun around to smile at him. "I-I'm Darrien. His student. Nice to meet you." Darrien stammered, embarrassed. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Darrien. Do you come over for tuition every day?" Lillian asked. "Once or twice a week." He managed to stutter.

"Oh, I see. How is he? I haven't seen him for MONTHS! He must be lonely living here all alone." Lillian blabbered. "Uh...he's fine. He's great. He's a great Mathematician." Darrien simply stated and the girl nodded in agreement. "He's a retired Math lecturer, if you may want to know. He used to teach in the city." Lillian explained. "I see. I haven't seen you around before. I've been coming here for a few months." He blurted out of curiosity. He mentally punched himself a second after.

"Oh, I live in the city!" Lillian giggled, "I come here to visit once in a while. It CAN get lonely here sometimes. Poor grandpa. Do you live around here, Darrien?" The sound of her calling him by his name made him jump up ever so slightly. "Oh, yeah. I live a few houses away from here. My house is just beside the sea." He mumbled. Lillian gasped and clasped her hands over her lips. "W-What?" The boy asked, dumbstruck. "The sea! I forgot...we're just next to the sea! I would love to see the sea!" She cried out.

"Uhmm...I could take you to see it, if you like." Darrien suggested stupidly without thinking. "Really? You mean it?!" Lillian cried out before flashing him another one of her adorable toothy smiles. She took a few steps closer to him and that made him even more flustered than he already was. A drop of sweat trickled down the side of his face. "Y-Yeah..if your grandfather allows. I could take you this evening or tonight." He stumbled. "Alright, this evening it is!" Lillian cheered and she hopped up and down a little bit, "I don't know how to thank you, Darrien!" 

"Uh...don't have to thank me. I'm a really...uhmm...bored person?" He sweatdropped and clutched his bag filled with Math books tightly. "Grandpa will be back very soon. I'll go unpack my things for the time being." Lillian smiled, placed her iPhone on the glass table in front of the couch Darrien was sitting on and walked into the guestroom with her load of bags. The poor boy was immediately engulfed in silence. He stared hard at the pink-covered iPhone with his black eyes. This was one of the very few times he had seen an iPhone. Almost no one in the village could even afford one. 

He got the sudden urge to touch the phone so badly. One touch wouldn't do any harm, would it? Slowly and carefully, he stretched his arm forward towards the iPhone. A few more drops of sweat trickled down his face and he bit his lip. Just as his index finger was about to make contact with the rubbery pink cover of the phone, the door of the house creaked open. His arm shot back to his side so fast, no one could even notice. In walked an elderly white-bearded man clad in a grey English sweater and black slacks. "Good morning, Darrien." The man greeted gently.

"Good morning, Sir." Darrien greeted back politely and stood up to bow before his tutor. "Sorry I'm late. Wait...how did you get in here in the first place? Broke in, eh?" The old man joked in his raspy old voice. "A-Ah, no. Y-Your granddaughter is here, Sir. She had the keys and let me in." The boy stammered as the old man raised an eyebrow in confusion. "My granddaughter..." He muttered softly and went silent for a little while before bursting out, "LILLIAN? SHE'S HERE?!" "Y-Yeah." Darrien replied, taken aback by his sudden outburst. Who knew a man as old as him could be this enthusiastic?

"Lilly! Come out!" The man called out gleefully, looking super excited. The girl walked out of the guestroom in a pretty pink sundress. Her bangs brushed against her eyebrows as she walked. "HI, GRANDPA!" She shrieked, equally as enthusiastic, once she spotted her grandfather. She ran up to hug her grandfather. She only came to his chest as well. "I've missed you, Lilly. It's been a long time. 8 months?" The old man said. "Yeah, I think so." Lillian replied, her voice muffled by her grandfather's thick English sweater. 

"Make yourself at home, Lilly. I'll have to tutor Darrien for now. Have you two introduced yourselves to each other?" He smiled. "Yeah!" Lillian nodded, "And he's bringing me out tonight!" She continued blabbering until she disappeared into her room. The old man turned back to the boy who was silent until now, "Are you trying to hook up with my granddaughter or something?" He asked in a threatening voice. "N-No, Sir. She said she wanted to see the sea, so I offered to show her to it this evening and-and..." The boy stammered, scared to bits.

"I'm just joking. There's nothing wrong with that." The old man chuckled in his raspy voice and brought out several thick Math textbooks, "Let's begin with our lesson."

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New Kid

Chapter 2

I sat right opposite the prefect that had never stopped talking since this morning. I looked around the library. It was large and classy, unlike the one of my old school. As expected of the best private school of the state. "Well?" Shana suddenly asked. "Huh?" I blurted out. I felt so clueless and vulnerable. "I said...how do you like our school so far?" She repeated what I hadn't heard.

"Oh, it's good." I shortly replied. "The students here are cool - and friendly. Especially you." I added the compliment. She giggled in reply and thanked me. "Time sure does fly." She sighed, "It's already your second day here!" "Yep." Was all I could think of. "Ah...well...which school were you from?" She asked almost immediately after my respond. "Heatherfields." I told her in embarrassment. She probably didn't know where it was. It WAS unknown.

"Ohhh." Her lips formed a perfect 'O' shape, "Don't know where that is. Is it bigger than Green Leaf Secondary?" "Of course not. It's pretty much an unknown small school." I retorted, surprised of what she thought, "This school is like...the best and the biggest school of the state." She giggled again and clasped her side. 

"Well...I- can I trust you with a secret?" She suddenly lowered her voice to a whisper, "It's killing me to not tell anyone." "Uhmm...sure." I answered, already anxious to know what the secret was. I leaned closer to her without realizing and she turned a light shade of red. "Do you promise not to tell anyone?" She whispered again and I nodded vigorously. 'Just tell me the dammit secret already!!' 

"I-I'm a Bowmaster." She whispered hoarsely before gulping down on her words. I gasped and she shushed me harshly. I clasped my hands over my mouth as to assure her not a word would be coming out of it. "You...I-I can't believe you! YOU?!" I stared at her with an incredulous look. "Yes! Yes! Me! I'm one of the only people who actually have a JOB here!" She waved her hands around.

"But you're so...small and...petite...and-and..." I stuttered. "Shush, Ivan! Were those insults?!" She glared at me and pouted. "N-No! It's just unexpected. That's all. Who would've thought someone so cute as you could actually fight." I burst out in defense, knowing that complimenting her would make her even more vulnerable than she already is. 

"O-Oh. Alright. Just DON'T TELL ANYONE!" She whispered again, this time, loudly. "I promise." I said, and then paused for a few seconds before adding, "Say, since you told me your secret, I guess I can trust you with mine." "What?!" She widened her eyes curiously and leaned across the table to come face-to-face with me. She was so close, our noses were almost touching. I blushed. I felt embarrassed. Really. "You sure you wanna know?" I teased, making her even more anxious and curious, "I hope you won't feel disturbed or anything."

"Nonono!" She squealed softly as a wide grin spread across her face, "TELL MEEEEEEE!" "Alright. Here goes." I said with a hint of drama, "I'm a Corsair." "What?!" She yelped with amazement and surprise in her eyes as she shot up in her chair. "Keep it down!" I warned her, absolutely worried that everyone would hear. "S-Sorry." She apologized and sat back down on her chair. The people who were staring went back to their books and acted as if nothing happened. 

"That's AMAZING, Ivan!" She chuckled, "At least I know now that I'm not the only one." "Yeah." I smirked, "I've never told anyone about it before, so you better not spread it." "Sure thing!" Shana wrapped her small pinky around mine, which made me blush harder, "And you don't go spreading mine, okay?" "Deal." 

"Oh, we should be going now." She said, examining her sky-blue watch while getting up, "I'll show you to the prefects' meeting room!" "B-But I'm not a prefect." I protested, but was already being dragged out of the comfy library by my violent guide. "Trust me, you'll love it!" She boasted excitedly, her arm still wound around mine and dragging me. "Won't the teacher yell at you or something? And what if the other prefects see? They might kick me out." I shot multiple protests at her, but to no avail. When she was determined to do something, she'd do it. One way or another. 

We got to the end of the A Block hallway and stood outside a majestic-looking door that towered above us. Shana smiled at my amazed expression and brought out a ring of keys from her skirt pocket. She then attempted to stick each key into the tiny doorknob as to open it. After sticking the fourth key into the keyhole, I heard a click and the door opened a bit to reveal a small gap. "In we go." She whispered to me as she softly pushed the door open entirely. 

I followed closely behind her into the dark room. The lights were not on and the whole room was pitch black. I could barely see anything and occasionally bumped into Shana. "Turn on the lights!" I told her, but it probably sounded like an order to her and she scowled slightly. "I'm looking for the light switch!" She shot back and I sighed. 'Who's the great genius who put the light switch so far away from the entrance?' I heard another click and the lights flickered on to reveal a majestic-looking room with a large, long meeting table in the middle of it.

"Taa-daa!" Shana squealed, excited as ever and hopped up and down. "Are you some hyper kid or something?" I cocked an eyebrow at her and she shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno..." She replied, "But my mom doesn't let me have candy." "Yep. You are." I sighed and scanned the room with my red eyes. It was absolutely gorgeous. The entire floor was covered with a red velvety carpet and cute orange lights hung from the ceiling. Lockers ran along the walls of the room, each with names, stickers and notes on it. 

"Wow." Was all I could utter as my mouth hung agape. Shana laughed lightly and grabbed my arm to cuddle in it. I flushed bright red like a tomato. 'Was she always this intimidate with every other guy?' "Don't say I didn't tell you. We have our meetings here every day before school begins." She said as she wagged a finger at me, "Do you plan on becoming a prefect in future?" "After seeing this awesome place, yes." I joked and she punched me in the gut. Hard.

"Oww! What was that for?" I groaned and tended to my injured tummy. "Sorry. Didn't know I was that strong." She shrugged and ruffled her brown ponytail. What a girl she is. "You're like a man." I poked her cheek. "Yeah, yeah. I get that a lot." She retorted casually and shook the keys in her hand, "Come on, let's go. We don't have forever. The bell's gonna ring soon." I nodded and walked towards the door with her following behind me. Once we were out, she began locking up. I heaved a sigh and looked up at the sky. 'Maybe coming to this school wasn't so bad after all.' 

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"And therefore, air is considered a mixture." Our boring Science teacher droned. I looked to my side and found Shana, asleep in the most un-girly way. Her legs were sprawled open, giving anyone sitting in front of her the chance to peek at her underwear, her head was buried in her arms that were on the table and her ponytail was messy and loose. I was going to nudge her awake when I spotted the teacher walking in my direction. I smirked to myself at what was coming. And then again, she looked adorable like that. 

The teacher stopped right in front of Shana's desk and slammed her hands on it. The prefect was startled and woke up immediately. "W-What..." She groaned as the whole class started giggling. "How adorable." The boy behind me whispered and his friend whispered back, "I just love her." "What do you think you're doing, Miss Joon?" The teacher boomed as the surprised girl shook her head, making her luscious brown locks bounce lightly. 

I rested my lips on my propped up hands and began to laugh to myself without anyone noticing. If Shana did, she would kill me later. "S-Sorry, Miss!" The prefect stammered and got up to start bowing. "Prefect you are." The teacher muttered and motioned her to sit down, "Just...don't fall asleep again!" And with that, she spun around and strutted back to the front of the class to continue teaching. From the corner of my left eye, I could see Shana heaving a sigh of relief. I turned to look at her with a teasing smile on my face. She glared back and looked away immediately. Class went on, boring as usual.

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At times when there was no teacher in the class, everyone would go wild and prance around as if the class were a club. Boys were chasing each other around the back of the classroom and girls were flirting. The nerds were either reading books or finishing up the day's homework. I never stopped taking in the weird scenarios happening in the classroom until I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around in my chair slightly to face that person. There before me stood a girl with crew-cut black hair in a blue and white pinafore. 

"Hi." She greeted loudly and dramatically, "I'm Shirley Won." "H-Hi." I greeted back rather unenthusiastically. She looked boyish in her haircut but she did have a stunning face. Not to mention, more-than-average sized cleavage. 'What am I thinking?' I mentally slapped myself. 'Cut it out!' "We've heard about the new kid, but we never expected him to be so...handsome." She smirked. I flushed slightly at her comment. This wasn't something that happened every day. Two other girls walked up to me, their hips swaying from side to side like supermodels with every step they took. 

One of them placed an elaborately manicured hand on Shirley's shoulder and smirked at me. 'Didn't these girls know how to smile a real smile?' I was personally quite annoyed with all the smirks, but I kept it to myself. "Hey, Ivan." The girl with her hand propped up on the crew-cut's shoulder said in a tone a little too seductive to my liking. 'What was with kids nowadays?' "Hi." I flatly replied her and took a book out of my bag. I started reading it, pretending that I was totally engrossed in it. 

I made two mistakes. Number 1, it was a Geography textbook. Who in the right mind would read a Geography textbook - and be so engrossed in it. Secondly, it was upside down, and that made it absolutely obvious I wasn't even reading a word of it. The three girls started giggling and the girl who had her hand on Shirley's shoulder patted my arm. "I'm Jessie." She said before smirking...AGAIN (oh God), "And she's Tessa." She pointed to the third girl. 'Jessie' had frizzy black hair and freckles. The other girl had tons of makeup on her. It looked as if someone had dumped an entire makeup kit on her face. I shivered slightly at the thought. That only made them giggle more.

"How about WE give you a tour around the school instead?" Shirley offered, "I bet it'll be more fun than just following that dammit prefect. What was her name again? Sarah?" "It's SHANA." I corrected her in a rather irritated tone. "Ooh. Alright." She nodded and snatched the Geography textbook out of my hands, "Well, is it a deal?" I was a nice person. I was too nice to turn down someone's polite offer. All I could do was to agree, and then go apologize to Shana. "Fine." I blurted out before gulping. I had a whole lot of explaining to do.

"Fabulous!" Jessie shrieked and started high-fiving her friends as if I did not exist at all. 'Girly.' I thought and turned back around to face the front. The girls continued squealing in joy as if they had just won a lottery ticket or a free trip to Rome, as they walked back to their seats at the back of the classroom. I stared blankly at the messy whiteboard. BORED. Just then, someone slammed their hands down on my desk and I looked up. My brown hair ruffled and sticking out in weird angles. "You look really spaced out. I thought you died." Shana waved her hands in front of my face with a clueless worried expression on hers. 

"Of course I'm not dead." I said as I punched her lightly in the tummy. So light, it was almost just a touch. I wanted to laugh at how stupid she was - and adorable. She laughed softly and punched me back - NOT lightly. "Can you at least be girly and soft for ONCE?!" I complained and rubbed my sore side. "Well, sorry. I can't help it. I go for Taekwondo." She chided, sticking her tongue out at me, "And I'm a BLACK belt!" "Showoff." I muttered and she raised her fist to punch me again. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the stinging pain.

In the darkness of my closed eyelids, I could hear giggling. I reopened my eyes and found Shana to be giggling all over my desk. She dragged an empty chair from in front of my desk and sat down opposite me. "Where do you want me to show you around today?" She asked sweetly. "Uhmm..." I began. How was I going to break it to her?! 'Damn it.' "Y-You...uh...don't have to show me around today, Shana." I sighed honestly. Sometimes, honesty could kill you. "What?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"D-Don't get mad or anything. It's not like I don't like being with you or anything. In fact, I do. Very much. I'm happy when I'm with you. I-" I blabbered, regretting that I did it seconds after. Shana's face turned as red as a tomato as she stopped my blabbering by placing a cold hand over my mouth. Her small hand was so smooth and cold, as if she had just been in a freezer. "S-Stop blabbering nonsense!" She growled, red-faced, "Just get to the point already and tell me." Now, it was my turn to turn red. She was right. Why was I blabbering shit? 

"Shirley and her friends insisted on showing me around today. And I just couldn't say no." I blabbered again. "And you just couldn't say no." Shana repeated my sentence with sarcasm and sadness in her voice. She looked down at her feet and started tangling and untangling her hands. The silence almost killed me. "H-Hey, I told you not to get mad! I can spend every day with you. It's just this one day." I protested. Still silence. "L-Look! They were just being nice and I thought...it would be nice to accept the offer. Okay, if you don't like it, I'll turn them down now. Alright?" 

I stood up from my chair and looked at the prefect with determination and assurance in my eyes. I felt like I was talking to a kid, trying to please it. "N-No." Shana put her hand on mine, gesturing to me to sit down. I sat back down and sighed. "Well? Then, what do you want me to do?" I asked. "Nothing. I-I don't mind it. I just felt...left out. That's all." She said, her voice practically dripping with sadness. She sure was a bad actress. Her eyes were large and droopy, just like a sad puppy that hadn't been fed dinner because of bad behaviour.

I didn't say anything for a while, when I realized her hand was still on mine. I felt comfortable but weird, and I wanted to shift in my chair. But I didn't, because it would only make her take her hand off me, which I didn't want her to. Just then, the recess bell rang and my classmates streamed out of the class immediately. It looked almost like a stampede. "Alright, it's recess. Have fun with them." Shana nodded and walked over to her bag to grab her money and tumbler. She then walked out of the classroom without another word.

I was about to walk out as well when the three squealing girls rushed over to me. "I can't wait to show you all the interesting places in the school!" Shirley almost shrieked as she wrapped an arm around my left arm and dragged me out. Jessie came to my other side and wrapped her arm around my right one. Tessa walked behind us and I could feel her hand on my shoulder and her long painted nails digging into it. 

I sighed and suddenly wished for Shana to come rescue me. I felt weird. I felt like a bastard. A playboy. This was going to be hell of a day. 

Be Your Everything :)

New Kid

Chapter 1

I walked into the headmaster’s office in my new school. It was my first day here and I was a nervous wreck, though I kept on a cool exterior. I sucked in a deeeeep breath and took a step forward. Cool air rushed towards me in full blast the second I pushed the office door open. All of the teachers inside turned their stares to me almost immediately. I searched frantically for the headmaster’s room so I could get out of their creepy gazes.

I scanned the whole office until my eyes finally stopped at a door with the sign ‘Headmaster’ on it. I rushed towards that door and pushed it open. I stepped inside and there sat the ‘headmaster’ in front of me, with his legs crossed on his desk. He was smoking a cigarette and his whole room reeked of tobacco. He saw me as soon as I saw him, and he quickly removed his legs from the top of his desk and threw his cigarette away.

He nervously stood up and straightened his coat. “Ah, what brings you here at a time like this? Recess is almost over.” He said. ‘He doesn’t even know his students.’ I thought. “Uh…I’m THE new student.” I replied, assuming that he’d heard about me. “One second, please.” He whispered to me before yelling out of his office, “ARE WE HAVING A NEW STUDENT?”

I palmed my face and heard a woman yell back, “YES!” “Oh, then, please take a seat, son.” The headmaster smiled at me, looking as if ‘son’ was the last thing in the world he wanted to call me. “T-Thank you.” I stuttered and sat down in the cushiony in front of the man. He began rummaging through the messy stack of papers and files on his desks while humming a tune. I wanted to sweatdrop. How unorganized was this guy anyway?

A few minutes passed. The fat man finally found the specific file he had been rummaging for. “Ah, here it is!” He cheered as he flipped open the file, examining it, “You must be Ivan Higa.” “Yes, Sir.” I answered rather formally to my liking. “Hmm…Secondary 2…2M…male…basketball…” The headmaster began mumbling incoherently to himself. I just sat there in silence, obediently listening to him.

“Here you go.” He said cheerily after quite some time, handing me the file, “This will be your personal file. Your paperwork, textbooks and student card are inside.” I took the large heavy file from his hands and struggled to hold it. ‘Damn, was it overweight.’

“Thank you, Sir.” I bowed slightly before turning to leave. “Oh, and your class is the second last classroom from the B Block boys’ toilet.” He reminded me before I left, “And once you reach your class, you’ll have to pick a student to be your guide for this whole month since you’re new here. Enjoy your first day.” “Alright.” I simply replied as I unintentionally slammed the door shut behind me.

I gulped and walked towards my classroom.

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“Good morning, class.” The teacher greeted as the whole of 2M greeted back in unison, “Good morning, Miss.” They then sat down in their places and pulled out their Math books. The entire class was a sea of light blue, dark green and white. The girls wore light blue pinafores and the guys, white shirts and dark green pants. Typical secondary school uniforms.

“Alright, now everyone, turn to page 145 of your textbooks.” The teacher ordered as everyone did so. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Everyone turned to stare. A brown-haired boy stood there, panting lightly, holding a huge student file and with a school bag slung behind him. A few girls in the back started squealing.

“Oh, you must be the new student. The headmaster had told me about you.” The teacher smiled sweetly before ushering the boy in. He timidly took small steps forward and stood before the class. He was tall and tanned, not to mention strikingly handsome. ‘He’s hot’, ‘What do you think his name is’ and ‘He should join us for lunch.’es could be heard buzzing around the classroom.

“Would you mind introducing yourself?” The teacher asked gently, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Uhmm…not at all.” The boy gulped and cleared his throat, “Hi. I’m Ivan Higa, and I’ll be your new classmate starting today.” That was all. ‘Simple.’ He thought to himself. “Alright, that was a great introduction!” The teacher cheered embarrassingly. ‘She’s treating me like a kid.’

“Now, Ivan, you must choose one of the students here to be your one-month guide.” The woman explained, “It can be anyone. Girl or guy.” A few girls gasped and crossed their fingers. One of them patted her hair down and dramatically flipped out a hand mirror. “Uh…I’ll find my seat first.” Ivan said and the teacher friendlily nodded. Ivan’s eyes scanned the classroom. Everyone there looked fine and friendly. The guys looked cool and the girls, pretty. Then, he noticed an empty seat next to a proper-looking Indian girl in light blue and white, the second row from the front.

‘That’s probably my permanent seat.’ He sighed to himself. He walked towards the empty spot and caught the Indian girl glaring at him for some reason. ‘Do I have something on my face?’ He placed his bag on the chair and sat down slowly. Before his butt could touch the chair, someone came ramming into the class, panting heavily and causing a huge commotion. He looked up, only to find a petite girl in a dark blue blazer and grey skirt. Her bangs were splayed messily across her forehead, partly covering her eyes and her bag was half-hanging from her shoulders.

“S-SORRY I’M LATE!” She cried out and bowed multiple times in front of the rather annoyed teacher. Ivan raised an eyebrow. ‘Why is she wearing a different uniform from the rest?’ He heard a few boys whisper from the back. “Shana’s here!” “Yay! I thought she wouldn’t come!” “I wonder if she’d have lunch with me today.” “Did you ask her out?” ‘Was this girl some superstar or millionaire or something?’

“Shana. You’re late again.” The teacher crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her high-heeled foot on the ground, “What kind of head prefect are you?” ‘Oh, so she was a prefect – HEAD prefect. Cool.’ “I’m really sorry, Miss Jun! I-It’s just…I found a kitten stuck in a tree, so I climbed up to ‘rescue’ it!” She protested. The entire class started laughing. She laughed along nervously and ruffled her hazel brown hair, tied into a messy ponytail that reached the middle of her back. 

“You…WHAT?” Miss Jun – he figured out her name since Shana mentioned it – sighed incredulously, “You climbed a tree…in a skirt?” “U-Uh…there was no one there.” The girl hoarsely whispered and then her eyes made their way to Ivan. “OMG!” She cried out, cupping her hands around her cheeks. Ivan looked up and noticed her staring at him. He turned bright red and widened his eyes, slightly flailing his arms around.

‘Did I do something wrong?!’ “Why is a random guy sitting in my place?!” The prefect squealed, her hands still cupping her face. Ivan stared at her, not knowing what to do. ‘Damn. She is cute.’ “O-Oh, I-I’m sorry! I didn’t know this place was taken.” He blurted out sheepishly. “Don’t be so rude to the new student, Shana!” The Miss Jun scolded her again and the girl sighed loudly. “So, HE’S the new kid.” She muttered.

“He can sit wherever he wants.” Miss Jun added, “How about you go sit there from now on.” The woman pointed to another empty seat next to Ivan, but in another row. “Alright, alright. Fine. Whatever.” She rolled her eyes and strutted unwillingly towards the seat and plopped down on it. “Kawaii.” A boy behind the new student whispered. Ivan spun around slightly and caught a glimpse of the spiky-haired boy from the corner of his eye.

“Have you decided on your guide, Ivan?” Miss Jun asked him again. Ivan looked around him as a drop of sweat ran down the side of his face. He glanced at the imperfect Shana again, who was now trying to unbutton her glamorous-looking blazer. “U-Uh…if you don’t mind…” He stuttered and pointed at the prefect. The girls in the class gasped in disappointment and few boys glared at him.

Ivan gulped and stayed quiet, embarrassed. Shana, who was oblivious to her surroundings, didn’t look up from what she was doing. “Oh, goody!” Miss Jun smiled as she clapped, “Shana. You’re going to be a guide again.” ‘Again?’ Ivan’s thoughts were cut off as Shana stood up violently from her chair, making it slide back a few inches. “What?” She cluelessly asked.

“For this whole month, you’ll have to show Ivan around the school, make sure he knows all of the school rules and keep him out of trouble. I hope you two get along.” The teacher exclaimed excitedly, “And, Ivan, don’t let this girl boss you around.” Ivan nodded stupidly and Shana palmed her face. “Alright, hi, Ivan.” She mumbled unenthusiastically. I just waved back in reply.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The class went on until 4 o’ clock. The bell rang and the teacher walked out of the class after everyone wished her ‘thank you’. “W-Where are we going?” I whispered to Shana, who took a few bucks out of her bag and stuffed them into her grey skirt pocket. “It’s tea break now.” She replied, “Lunch break’s at 1 o’ clock and tea break’s at 4 every day. School ends at 7.” “Oh, okay. Thanks.” I sheepishly thanked her and for once, she looked me in the eye and smiled.

“Sorry, but I won’t be able to show you around during recess today. I’ve got my prefect duties.” She apologized as we walked out of the classroom together, “But you can come find me after you’ve had your tea, though. I’ll be at the A Block boys’ stairs.” “And where’s that?” I scratched my head and asked. “There.” She pointed at a flight of stairs near the canteen from the corridor we were standing at, “See you then.” She waved at me and walked off, putting on her blazer as she did.

I watched until she was out of sight. I then turned around to follow the other boys who were walking towards the canteen.

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I sat down at a table in the canteen, staring into space. My stomach didn’t yearn for food, so I didn’t buy anything. Just as I was about to drift off with my thoughts, someone placed a hand on my shoulder. “Hi. Are you Ivan Higa, the new kid?” The person asked. I turned around to face a tall boy, who seemed to be about my height, with shaggy black hair and thick rimmed glasses. “Yes. I’m the new kid.” I said.

“May I sit with you for now?” He asked politely. “Sure.” I replied politely. He sat down next to me and began munching on his nugget. “Don’t mind me.” He said between munches, “I’m friendly toward new people.” “Well, that’s good.” I stated. “Thanks.” He answered. Two other boys walked up to us and slapped the boy next to me a high-five. “Yo, Jason.” One of the greeted.

“Sup.” Jason, the boy sitting next to me, I found, slapped his friend on the back, “Sit down with us, you two.” They both sat. “Who’s this dude? Never seen him around.” The other boy grinned, eyeing me closely. I got all nervous again. “Oh, he’s my new friend, Ivan Higa. He’s new here.” Jason introduced me to them, “And Ivan, this is Keith.” He pointed to the boy who greeted him first. Keith smiled at me. “And this is Ryan.” He gestured to the other boy.

“Nice to meet you all.” I simply said. After that simple sentence of mine, no one said anything further. Just as the silence was about to swallow me up and kill me, Keith burst out, “I heard you got Shana Joon as a guide.” “Uh – yes.” I replied him nervously. ‘Was he going to kill me now?’ “Oh, I see.” He said in a rather obvious jealous tone. “Don’t mind him.” Jason snorted and patted my back, “He has a crush on her, so he’s obviously jealous.”

“I-I DO NOT!” Keith yelled a little too loudly, dragging others’ attention to our group. “Quiet down, Keith!” Jason whispered harshly to the poor red-faced boy, “You do and there’s no use denying it.” “W-Well…don’t YOU like her too?!” Keith shot back. Now it was Jason whose face turned red. “I-I just admire her. That’s all.” “You two…” Ryan shook his head in disgust. “Shut up, Ryan.” The two embarrassed boys glared at their friend, who raised his hands up in surrender.

I watched in amusement at their dramatic fight. Suddenly, a feeling of pride took over. ‘I must be the luckiest man in this school to have Shana Joon as my guide.’ I thought, and then smirked to myself. “Do you find us stupid?” Jason huffed, crossed his arms and turned away from Keith. “Y-Yes.” I replied honestly, “In a good way, that is. You’re all…really…entertaining.” Keith smiled a wide toothy smile, only to earn another slap from Jason.

“I guess…I’ll see you all. I really have to go.” I struggled to get the words 

out of my mouth. ‘I really have to go find my guide.’ “Oh, okay. See you then!” Ryan waved me off. “Wait…what class are you all in?” I turned back to ask before leaving the canteen. “2A.” Jason. “2G.” Keith. “2P.” Ryan. “Alright I’ll keep that in mind.” I winked and rushed off, leaving the boys to whisper among themselves.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

“Shana!” I greeted between heavy pants as I approached her. She looked extremely bored standing alone at the A Block stairs. “Oh, hello, Ivan.” She greeted back cheerily before walking towards me. I jumped a bit when she placed a hand on my arm. “Haha, no need to be so tensed up and all.” She giggled and I turned red in embarrassment. ‘I suck.’ I wanted to mentally punch myself. Why did I have to act so stupid around people?!

“I-I’m sorry. Are you sure it’ll be okay for you to leave your duty just like that?” I asked her with a bit of concern. “I…never thought about that.” She huffed and hunched her back slightly to show her disappointment. Just then, a handsome boy in a similar dark blue blazer as Shana and grey pants walked pass. “GERALD!” The brown-ette squealed as the boy spun around to look at her. “O-Oh, Shana! HI!” He cried out, red-faced. I could sense nervousness in his voice.

“Could you pleeeeeeeeeease do me a favour, Gerald?” She waddled up to him and grabbed the sides of his blazer with puppy dog eyes no one could resist. “Uhmm…uh…” The boy, Gerald, stammered, “S-Sure! I-I’d do anything for you!” I raised an eyebrow. How cheesy could someone get anyway? “Thank you so much!” Shana squealed weirdly as she gave him a simple hug that sent his face exploding with redness. 

“Uh – can we like…go now?” I asked in an impatient tone. Then, I mentally kicked myself this time for blurting that out. Why did I?! Don’t tell me I was…JEALOUS? No way. I barely knew her. “Oh, I’m really sorry, Ivan.” She apologized and bowed down in front of me like a Japanese, “Bye, and thanks again, Gerald! I owe you one!” She then dragged me away from the stairs. I turned back to catch a glimpse of that Gerald, and I could’ve sworn I saw him glaring at me.