Marked

I’ll be glad when you’re Dead, You Rascal You

Yesterday’s encounter with the infamous school celebrity didn’t go too well. Partly because I didn’t want to be seen with that guy in public. Or be thought to be connected to him of some sort. I even had to leave school early because of him, considering that I was supposed to wait for Sophee and go home together.

I wasn’t sure why that guy suddenly sat next to me at a bleacher, giving his opinions about my personal instincts. Still, I was sure I didn’t want to get involved in any of that man’s business. I don’t know what just happened—I did not know why he suddenly came up to me and call me—pfft—princess. Who the heck does that? Only people like him would, for sure.

I brushed the thought away, shaking my head from the awful memory. I needed to focus here. I diverted my attention back to the board. Our professor was currently drawing a reasonably good enough circle that looked more like an oval after the points met.

“To further understand Quantum Physics…”

I sighed. This is going to be a long class.

After about two hours of information continually getting in and popping out of my brain, we finally put Physics to an end. Time just slows down whenever it’s a terrible subject—it’s weird. I stood and stretched my back in relief.

“Nami, look at this new tint color I bought from the store yesterday,”

I looked at Sophee and saw her showing me another lipstick like she did the other day. I raised a brow when I realized it looked exactly like the one she had before. “It’s like the one you always buy.”

She froze.

“Orange.”

“What?!” Sophee’s eyes widened as she gripped the lipstick harder in her hands. “This one’s called Tangy Coral, and it’s a much softer orange than pink. They’re not the same!”

I scoffed in disbelief.

Sophee and I sat quietly inside our classroom, waiting for our next class to start, when girls suddenly ran out of the room, squealing their lungs out.

At first, I was curious why they were acting like this, but then I realized we were used to hearing these every day. It was getting irritating because whenever this happens, it’s the right cue that the pretty rich boys of our school were passing by. It could be the Four Kings, or Seth, or any other senior that girls were crazy for.

Being your regular nosy student, who isn’t at all interested in boys now might I add, I stretched my neck up to see who was passing by through the window, and I was right. The Four Kings passed by our room like they were doing it on purpose—to pass by every room to get attention… to show off their Gucci leather shoes and do a fashion show.

They weren’t really royals.

They just feel like they’re one. I don’t know who first started calling them the Four Kings of MESPA High, but I know for sure that they loved it, the four arrogant, boastful pigs with Gucci stuff. They think they’re so special, but just like Seth, they were nothing but handsome faces… is what I would say, but they weren’t just attractive faces as annoying it may be to admit.

Jeffrey, Johnny, Tyler, and Mark.

They were the seniors that girls swooned over day after day, after day. While girls were head over heels for them in the senior’s class, they’re also close friends with the junior class’s Princes, which makes them the big royal buttheads of our elite school. They weren’t jocks, and they’re not picking fights, nor do they bully other students. In fact, these four lads all possessed unique skills that go well with their personalities.

Tyler Bennett—leader of the boys’ dance team. Some say that he’s the most superior among the four and apparently the hardest to approach. I frequently work with him for club activities ever since they appointed me as the girls’ team captain, making us colleagues somehow. He’s a fantastic dancer. I’m sure people would agree with that. I’d say he’s the most laid-back in the group who isn’t too crazy for fame, I think. Sometimes he even looks like he’d bite off people’s head if they swarm around them. It’s scary—him.

Jeffrey Harrison excelled in architecture and governing… governance–I don’t know. He’s the president of the high school department, and everyone admired him for it. He topped every semester, and unlike the rest of them, he actually had the brain to go with his looks, which is admirable. He was a talented singer too, so that was a plus factor. He’s the most decent one in the group, if I’m honest. People find him intimidating, though. I guess he has qualities that would make it seem that way.

Johnny Lancaster—on the other hand—was the exact opposite of Jeffrey. Either he got hit by a big truck for losing the brain, or he’s just mentally challenged—no judgment if he actually is. He was very careless about his studies, yet he still passes every semester with whatever miracle he’s doing.

Then there’s Marcus Lee Dyer. He was the player of their group. And by a player, I didn’t mean it in a varsity manner. He didn’t play with balls or chess pieces—he played with people’s hearts. Not only senior girls chased after him, even juniors. He exalted himself and thought he knew everything. He doesn’t care about other people’s feelings and only cares about him. He was one heartless creature. It would be a given that guys like him wouldn’t pursue and work hard for their dreams because all they do is play with girls’ feelings like what they were entitled to do. It’s practically his natural talent.

However, I can’t really be sure with all this information since I only know what I hear from other people. We all know gossip facts aren’t always reliable, and we can’t judge a person just because of that.

I didn’t care about them, honestly. I may sound like I do after knowing those details about them, but I really don’t.

I turned my attention back to Sophee, who has apparently been talking about something I wasn’t paying attention to.

“—right?”

Right?

“Come to think of it, the four of them are really cute. Their reputation calls everything off.” She shook her head in dismay. Now I’m wondering if she genuinely liked one of them and just refused to reveal it because she was ashamed to admit it. “You know Tyler, right?”

I nodded. “He was hard to approach at first, but I guess we can’t really avoid each other since we’re managing both teams in the club. He’s like an okay-Justin Timberlake. Minus the awesome voice.” I quickly added. “I don’t think Tyler doesn’t sing.”

Sophee made a face, then shrugged.

“Wasn’t Seth a part of his team before he chose to fully dedicate his college application to soccer?”

“He was,”

I know a lot about useless things, and I shouldn’t waste my neurons on such things. It’ll just contaminate my brain anytime soon, and I don’t have many healthy brain cells left.

“Anyway, are you gonna be waiting for me, or you’ll just go home first again?”

Sophee knew I was getting dismissed earlier, so she had to ask. The way she said ‘again’ made me feel guilty. I don’t leave her alone unless it’s an emergency, and I always told her. It’s just that yesterday, I forgot to tell her I already went, which upset her. “I don’t really know. I’ll let you know later this afternoon. My mood depends on my surrounding.” Just like yesterday, for example.

She nodded, and our teacher came in for class.

It was the end of my class, and I still couldn’t decide whether I should wait for Sophee. I needed to finish a few papers as a requirement, but I can do it in the library while waiting for her. I stopped by the grocery to get a few snacks to sneak inside, but as soon as I was heading there, my bladder felt full, and I just knew I had to release it. I haven’t gone to the bathroom for an entire day. It’s time I go.

Good thing they had a restroom near the library otherwise I would keep this in until I reach my apartment. I stepped out of the comfort room, ready to take on my essays, when I heard voices echoing in the hallway.

“Mark, I love you so much.”

Mark?

I walked closer to where the voices were coming from because I was too intrigued. I mean, their voices were loud, so I assumed they wanted the attention, and I’m giving it to them.

“Why are you breaking up with me?”

Why are they making this conversation out here? In public?

“I thought it was working for us. I-I-I thought I w-was changing you!”

The girl was about to cry because her voice’s vibrations weren’t normal—not even for singers, and I know that. I’m not even a singer myself.

“W-What ever did I do wrong? I’ll do anything you ask of me!”

I’ve never heard the cringiest lines my whole life. I thought I was hearing someone confess on a radio station or something.

“W-What do you want me to do? Clean your unit? B-Be your maid? I-I’ll do all of that! Just please—”

“I told you already. There was no ‘us’ in the first place.”

“Mark…”

I leaned behind the wall, trying to keep myself hidden from the two of them. Mark? Like Mark as in Marcus Lee? Is this him right now? I shouldn’t even be surprised at how many hearts this guy has broken for the past years. He was too good at his game to lose.

“You’re heartless, Mark!”

She can say that again.

“How can you say that when you kept doing those things with me?”

I gulped hard. Things? What kind of things?

“How could you reply to me with hearts and kisses?! How could you bring me to dates and hug me like that?!” I can hear the girl slapping him with whatever she was holding. “You’re a jerk!”

I heard the echo of her heels clicking against the floor, but I remained quiet. I don’t even know how to escape from this without getting noticed. Maybe I should just wait for both of them to leave the area. I was glued to the wall like an i***t as I planned for a way to get out. But then he spoke again. “I’m on my way, babe. I just had to finish some business here.”

Babe? Wait, what? So not only he dates one girl, but two? Maybe three, even! “Holy crap!” This guy is really something. I’ll be laughing out loud when one day a girl broke his heart. It will serve him right. I’ll pray for that day to come—soon, hopefully.

“Yes, yes. Of course, I’ll be there, cupcake. Stop crying.”

Cupcake? Does that mean his babe differs from the baby and the other girl a while ago too?! It must be different! So he is dating three of them! I can’t even imagine dating one man, let alone three. Or there could be more of them? My jaws dropped in awe.

“I’m on my way,”

“Douchebag,” I whispered to myself, and my eyes twitched as I witnessed more of his playing skills. What’s worse is he doesn’t even feel sorry for the girls he was playing with.

I was about to leave when Marcus suddenly walked past me and stopped when he saw me over the wall with an awkward pose. He stared at me, then smirked. He leaned closer to me with an amused expression, causing me to flinch.

“Hey, princess.”

P-Prin—

I pushed him off and walked away with my brows creased. But he quickly caught up with me, so now we were walking side by side. If I weren’t so conscious of my surrounding, I would have kicked him already, but I did not. Because I was too scared to cause a scene, especially with someone like him.

“Not even a hi?”

He doesn’t deserve a ‘hi.’

“That’s not so nice now, is it?” He suddenly laughed.

I pulled for a stop and turned to him out of frustration. “I’m sorry, but do we know each other?” I finally asked the question I’ve been eager to ask ever since yesterday. “Because last time I checked, you and I never spoke to one other.”

It was annoying because he didn’t look pissed that I was telling him off like this. He was utterly out of it!

I pointed a finger over at his face with a frown. “Can I just say, once and for all, that I hate how you call me princess when I have a name? And it’s not ‘princess,’ so piss off, player.”

I began walking again, but then he spoke, which caught me off guard.

“Fukuyama Nami of AD-A.”

Crap.

“An honor student and the team leader of the girl’s dance team. Tell me I’m wrong, then I’ll kill myself.”

“Kill yourself.”

He chuckled. “Lying doesn’t suit you.” He commented as his laugh faded to a thin smile. “Practice more if you want to be more convincing, princess.” He crossed his arms, flashing a cocky grin.

Of course, he’d know those things about me. They were information available on the school website. I’d guess he knew about me because of Tyler, but I doubt the latter would even talk about me with his friends. The lying part… I guess he wasn’t wrong. Sophee knows it. I know it. “What do you want?”

He doesn’t speak. Instead, he turned to me with a rather amused smile.

“What? So am I your next target now?” The fact that I even said this made me want to hurl. I didn’t want to seem happy about it, but this was the only reason I can think of for his sudden approach. “Am I the next girl you’ve had bets on with your other friends?”

He let out a chuckle. He seemed to be in a good mood. Maybe breaking up with his girlfriends set him to a better disposition.

“Am I the next person you want to poison?” I raised a brow. “Let me crush your dreams now and tell you that no poison is going to work on me. Save your player excuses and do it on another girl.”

“Woah, chill there.” He raised both his hands up in the air like he was surrendering. “Tyler knows you. Jeffrey does too. Johnny too, I think, even the juniors I know know about you so, how should I not know you?” he shrugged confidently. “Besides, your team won many times. It’s all over the school paper.”

Okay, so apparently, players like him read too.

“Yes, I read things too. I’m not as dumb as you think.”

“Your words, not mine,” I said, trying to fasten my pace so he wouldn’t catch up to me.

“By the way, your best friend…”

At that instant, I stopped from my tracks to turn to him with a murderous glare.

“She’s stunning.”

No, he didn’t.

“And so are you, princess.” He grinned before walking pass me like he intended to leave those remarks for me to tinkle about.

How…

How dare—

“Hey!” Without a doubt, I ran to him and pulled his head down so I could knee his stomach. I envisioned that in this way, it would knock him some senses if I did that. I didn’t even care about getting involved in a drama with this player. I just had to do it.

I heard him curse in pain, but I pulled him down, still gripping his neck tight in between my arms. “That’s for the poor girl you broke a while ago,” Gritting, I tightened my grip on his neck. “And a warning not to touch my best friend.”

He still chuckled despite what I’m doing to him. “I just complimented her!” He looked at me with a sly grin on his stupid face. Does he ever get tired of playing? I’m genuinely curious.

I removed my grip from his neck before pulling his thick waxed hair to the back, clenching them as hard as I could. “A player’s compliment is not,” I pulled harder, causing him to groan. “—the same from a normal guy.”

He flashed a crooked smile. Like the pulling wasn’t paining him a bit which I absolutely can’t take seriously considering that he just mentioned my best friend. I can tolerate Sophee being crazy for Seth, but Marcus Lee Dyer calling her ‘stunning’ is unacceptable.

My nose scrunched in frustration. “You—”

“Hey, hey, hey.”

A guy came running from Marcus’ back.

“What’s going on in here?” Jeffrey.

“You okay, man? What happened?” The person holding me back asked.

I turned to see who it was, and it was Johnny who gave an awkward smile when he glanced down to look back at me. “Get off me,” I hissed, jerking his hands away from my arms.

Terrified, Johnny releases me from his grip, so I fixed my uniform, unable to bear the sight of the player before me. I can’t believe his friends showed up for him like a superhero—unbelievable.

“You’re quite strong.”

I averted my attention back to Marcus, who still talked as if he’s asking for murder. “I’m telling you, player.” I glared at him as I slowly made my way back to him. “Don’t you dare play your dirty tricks on my best friend.” At that, I bumped his shoulder hard and walked away without holding back.

“I’ll remember that!”

I stopped from my tracks and turned only to see the player with a wider grin on his face like he already expected that from me. His over-confidence is eating up all my sanity.

“Get home safe, princess.”

This is the type of guy you wouldn’t want in your life.