Marked

Springsteen

“Soapy! Soapy!”

What the…

I froze from my track to see where the voices were coming from, and they were from this small group of kids, like me, ganging up on this helpless, fallen girl, under a tree close to the cafeteria. They only feel superior because there were three of them and one of her.

The kids were laughing, vigorously pointing at this girl with golden, braided hair. Nothing was funny with soapy or whatever they were fussing about. They kept chanting this word that it was getting annoying and, frankly, it wasn’t even that insulting if they were attempting to make it seem like it.

I gulped the gummy I was chewing, trying to decide if I should come-forth or not.

“Is your mom named Shampoop too?”

I snorted out loud, unable to contain my laughter. Are these kids for real? I almost choked on my gummy at how ridiculous that sounded to me. They were trying too hard to sound like mean girls, but clearly, they were not trying well enough.

The kids turned to me, frowning.

I might have insulted them a lot more than I expected by sneering. The expression they wore seemed complex. It was a mixture of angst, confusion, and shame.

“W-What—”

“Shampoop?” I repeated the word I have heard from the kids. “You really think that saying that would make you look cool?”

The tallest girl, who I believed was leading the group to g**g up on poor Goldilocks, had her lips trembling in embarrassment as I spoke. If I hadn’t felt bad about making fun of their insults, I would have burst into laughter by now at how pathetic these people look right now.

“Can you just mind your own business?” The girl with kinky hair crossed her arms, facing me, still trying to act cool. Even her tone was trying-too-hard like she was telling me how superior she was.

I flashed a concerned smile, tilted my head, and stared at all four of them—except the girl laying down on the ground helpless. “Sure, I’ll mind my business, but don’t you think it’s a little hypocritical of you to tell me that when you do not even mind your own?”

The four seemed baffled. Speechless, even.

I raised my brows in confusion. I spoke English, right? My Japanese was pretty wonky too, so if I used my native language and they know Japanese, they would not understand regardless. “Hello?” I raised my hand to catch their attention as they remained frozen in their places.

Seconds passed. They were still stiff.

I grabbed a gummy from the bag I was carrying and took a bite before the girl finally spoke.

“Hy… Hyper…”

Hyper?

“H-Hypercronoc-critical…”

Hypercronocritical?

I laughed out loud. I laughed so hard, I almost choked on my gummy. I laughed so hard, my eyes were tearing up–my stomach was aching. “Hypercronocritical?”

The girl who attempted to say hypocritical blushed as she stepped back in shame.

“You mean, hypocritical?” I laughed even more. “See? You’re creative for made-up words? Why can’t you do it with insults?”

The kids slowly stepped back.

“Hypercronocritical? Oh lord, that just made my day.”

“Whatever!”

The girls ran away like the losers they were, leaving me with Goldilocks, who thought of staying down the ground as we spoke. I mean, she could have stood back up when I was trying to make fun of those girls, but she didn’t.

“What are you still laying down there for?” I asked the girl who I still don’t know how to address. “Is it comfy there?”

The girl shook her head, bowing them down. She looked timid. Maybe I scared her off of my obnoxiously loud laugh.

“Well, get up.”

She looked up at me, eyes widened.

“You aren’t expecting me to give you a hand, are you?”

I saw her gulp.

“If you keep staying down there, waiting for someone to reach out for you, how else will you learn to stand up for yourself?” I asked, noticing how old I sounded despite knowing we’re going to the same middle school, and we were, most probably, both freshmen.

She stood, fixing her princess-tutu.

Must be rich.

“T-Thank you.”

I raised a brow. “For what?”

“F-For… you know, those girls…”

“Yeah!” I gave her a small slap by the shoulder, causing her to flinch. “Can you believe that? Those idiots didn’t know what hypocritical means! That’s absurd.” I started laughing again. I couldn’t scratch the memory of them, frozen in place, just because they didn’t know what I was talking about. Hilarious.

“I…”

I turned to the girl. She was fidgeting with her fingers, and she looked shy and ashamed.

Oh.

“Hypocritical is, uh, how do I explain it.” I tapped my finger over my chin, thinking. “It’s like when a person tells you not to steal because it’s bad, but they still steal anyway. That makes them a hypocrite because they’re doing something they say you shouldn’t do.”

The girl blinked her eyes.

“You’re already in middle school, and y’all still don’t know what hypocrisy means?”

She blinked her eyes more.

“What are they teaching in your grade school here?!” I exclaimed in shock. I guess I can’t really judge their curriculum just because I came from a different one. I sighed, bringing my hands up in the air for the girl to shake. “Nami Fukuyama. I’m a transfer student. It’s nice to meet you!”

“S-Sophee Anders.”

I never heard a name as white as hers–not to be racist or anything. I’m just, well, surrounded by Asians most of my life, so it was just strange for me to be meeting someone out of that race. “Well, Sophee Anders, I’ll see you around.”

“S-See you…”

“Take that, losers!”

Before I could even react, the spaghetti was already all over my uniform, falling off my head like a bird just randomly chose mine for its daily release of feces. I could literally see the red sauce seeping through my uniform that it’s almost like blood. I was sure this will stain the fabric and would cost me a lot for laundry.

“Nami…”

I looked at Sophee, laughing. “It’s raining blood, Phee! This is a miracle. The odds of ogres must bless us.” I emphasized, glaring at those who threw their food at us.

“The only ogre here is you, Fuji!”

A loud crisp of laughter and claps echoed inside the cafeteria. The entire school supported bullying, and sometimes, tolerating laughing it off was just the best solution for it all.

I smacked my lips together, glanced over at myself as I tried to shake the sauce off my skin. Turned out I only made things worse, and they smudged all over my skirt. “Let’s go clean up, Sophee.” I grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the crowd with me.

“Runoff, losers!”

“Running away and cleaning up are two different verbs, stupid.”

The cafeteria fell silent.

Well, that was easier than I expected.

Sophee was already weak-minded. She needed no more of this; otherwise, it’d crush all her remaining self-esteem.

I took that chance to leave the area at once, and I could have sworn I saw someone throw their meatballs over our backs. I kept walking, though. If I turned and made a big deal out of it, it would only be worse for both of us.

After the events that happened between Sophee and me, we spent most of our time together. I guess it isn’t fair for me to say that, considering I’m the one who kept pestering her after the hypercronocritical fiasco. Having the other kids call me Fuji was just a small price to pay for choosing to be with her.

“The sauce smells good, don’t you think?” I asked her, but really, I was just trying to say it. “It looks gross, but it smells absolutely amazing!” I mean, I didn’t want this event to feel heavier for her than it already was. This would better if taken in a different light.

“D-Didn’t you say you already used up all your allowance for—”

I chuckled. “It’s okay! I’ll wash this myself!”

“I-I can help pay for—”

“Stop!” I cut her off. “Stop throwing your money away like it’s a banana peel! Really, it’s fine. This shouldn’t be too hard to wash.” This is going to be hard to wash, for sure.

When we reached the nearest comfort room, Sophee was silent. She just had her head down modestly. Maybe I should clean up first before I help her clean up. “I don’t have spare clothes, Nami.”

I laughed, pulling my PE clothes out of my bag so I can hand them over to her. “With that much money you carry around your purse, you don’t have spare clothes?”

She shook her head.

I snickered at how innocent she was for a middle schooler. It’s like she never had done things independently in her life. I mean, she came from the upper-side of the hierarchy, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she hadn’t even tried street food before. “You can use mine.”

She caught the clothes I threw in her direction while I opened the faucet. The water splashed all over the sink as it was clearly uncalled for that the run would be this strong.

As soon as I toned down the water’s run, I brought my wrist closer to to the faucet. “I’ll just…” I scrubbed the stain off my sleeves forcedly with an assuring smile. Assuming, of course, that Sophee would likely see it from the mirror. “Wash this off with water and have it cleaned once I get back at the dorms.”

I’ve been scrubbing the stains off my sleeves for minutes, and when I turned back, I was surprised only to find out that she still hasn’t changed. She hasn’t even moved a bit from where I left her, and she was more stained than I was.

“What are you still standing there for? You need to change. You’re all mushy and sticky. Go change already before you—” I stopped halfway through my sentence when she started sobbing, and I didn’t even know what happened. Was there a spider? A lizard that jumped onto her face? “Oh my god. Are you okay?!” I asked worriedly, rushing to where she was to tap her back. “What’s wrong?”

She sniffled, shaking her head as she returned my gaze. “I’m just happy, Nami.”

I frowned in confusion. “You’re happy because people threw food at us like we’re bins?”

She chuckled amidst crying in joy, apparently. “I’m happy that I met you, that’s all.” She flashed a gentle smile that warmed my heart. “Nami, you’re strong, and the other kids don’t get to your head the way they do with mine. I really admire you for that. You…”

I watched her in anticipation. I can tell it took a lot of courage from her to say all these things aloud, and I’m proud to see her slowly opening up. She never told much of her thoughts before.

“You make me want to become a better person.”

I sneered, giving her a small slap over her back. “You’re crying for the pettiest reasons, Sophee. Maybe you should start working on that. You should learn to appreciate yourself before you appreciate others.”

She laughed along with me. “I promise, Nami. I won’t pull you down again.”

A smile formed on my lips.

“I’ll keep aiming for the top so we can both be at the top.”

I sighed, stepping away from her, crossing my arms. “It’s easier said than done, you know.”

“I know that.” She bobbed her head.

Her tone was different. I was used to hearing her low, soft voice. To hear such determination coming out of her felt great. For a year, I’ve tried to boost her confidence, and this is the first time she’s acting like one.

“But I don’t want to keep coming to school and feel frightened of what might happen to me–what might happen to you. I don’t want to keep feeling cautious every day, Nami. I don’t want the students to keep treating us like we’re nothing when I know we’re more than what people say about us.”

I planted both my hands over her shoulder, grinning. This is a tremendous step, Sophee, and I am so proud of you. “Good. We can start with you, and I’ll just follow through, okay? I’ll support you in the sidelines.”

“Sophee!”

“Sophee, look here!”

“Sophee, smile for the camera!”

“Sophee, how did you land a sponsorship with Forever31?”

“Okay!” I grabbed Sophee away from the crowd that was surrounding her and pushed the cameras off her face. I didn’t even care if I’m pushing too hard and would lead to one of their cameras falling. “That’s enough photos, everyone. Sophee needs to attend her classes, so if you may?”

These students are treating her like a superstar, and it’s both good and bad at the same time. Although I’m not sure which fits her situation more. Probably bad for today, at least.

“Sophee, just one more!”

No.

I pulled her inside and slammed the door over the media’s face. I sighed in exhaustion after the whole commotion with her fame. Sometimes I just can’t keep up with her energy and the surrounding people.

“Did you see all the cameras? I could barely count them!”

My eyes widened, unamused. “Surely.”

“Who would have thought people would like me after one ambassador deal on i********:?!” She squealed, shuddering abnormally. “That’s crazy!”

Super crazy.

“I’m already making progress, Nami. You really should start working your way too. We promised. Remember?” She grabbed my arms, staring at me with her eyes that went very well with her eye makeup. She looked like a star now. Next to her, I’m just a sack of little sad potatoes.

I smiled anyway. “I’ll catch up, Phee. You just hang tight there, okay?”

She bobbed her head and hugged me from the side. “I can’t wait for the day we both don’t get to experience having eggs over our head or spaghetti sauce in our uniforms.” She said. “This feels nice, Nami. It really does.”

I’m sure it does.

Sophee became a lot louder–way louder than I expected. But somehow, I don’t complain because I knew deep inside that it was her way of showing how much she’s grown. Sure, she’s annoying when she gets too excited over something, but it just shows how much she developed self-love. It makes me happy to see her comfortable—and motivated.

“I’ll meet you after my algebra class, okay?” She tapped my forearm playfully.

I bobbed my head with a small smile, waving at her as we parted ways. “Don’t make me wait too long!” I exclaimed, knowing she’d hear me even with the distance we had, and she chuckled it off, raising her hand in the air as a reply.

For the rest of the afternoon, I spent my time in the gymnasium… doing my homework. Homework, yes. I know. The library is the best option for this, but—as much as I hate to admit it, this was just an excuse to watch the dance club practice their routine.

It’s foolish, really.

It’s foolish of me to think that hiding the fact that I’m into dancing would make me less embarrassing.

It’s fun watching others dance though, and I dance—just not with this many people. I’m not sure how to stomach my nerves with all these eyes on me. Just the thought of it scares me.

“Sweetie, you’re good. Do you want to take dance lessons?”

“Mom, no. Please. I don’t enjoy getting attention. I-It’s too… It’s too much—”

Mom pulled me closer to her and hugged me tightly. “Aww, sweetie.” She brushed her fingers over my hair gently. “You don’t have to be ashamed of something you want to do. You know, I’d love to see you on stage. Mommy would support you!”

Mom…

I took a deep breath, trying to immerse myself with the music playing in the background. As soon as I opened my eyes, the view from the rooftop welcomed me. The wind brushed through my face, and it instantly made me smile.

I danced.

I never danced outside the corners of my room, and this is only the rooftop, but I already felt nauseous.

I felt nauseous, but I felt great too.

This is fun.

Dancing is fun.

I never understood why it occurred to me that dancing would be shameful. Maybe mom was right. I shouldn’t be ashamed of something I want to do.

“Isn’t she the girl from the video you told me about?”

“That’s her!”

“Wait, she goes to our school?”

“Holy crap!”

I squinted my eyes in confusion. Everyone seemed to whisper so much today, and I can’t figure out why they kept pointing their fingers at us every time Sophee and I passed. It’s bothering me, but I couldn’t ask because I didn’t want to seem interested in whatever gossip they’re involved with. “Sophee?”

She blinked, leaning her head closer to me. I can tell from her expression that she was just as baffled as I was. “Yeah?”

“Did you—”

“And no, I did nothing scandalous for people to be gossiping about me like this.”

Oh.

Then why are people—

“Nami!”

My entire body flinched at the sudden appearance of my classmate, Holly, in front of me. “Holly, you scared me. Why are you yelling?”

She shook her head, flapping her hands in the air to shake the question away. She was frantic, and I was getting worried about why she was acting this way. “Have you seen it?”

I frowned. “Seen what?”

“Is there anything wrong?” Sophee asked.

“The video!”

Video?

“What video?! Just say it, Holly. Jesus,”

“The video of Nami dancing.” She pulled out her phone, scrolled through, and snapped. “This one!”

Video of Nami dan—

WHAT?

Holly flashed the screen of her phone. And there I was, dancing like a moron, by myself, on the rooftop. The angle of the video wasn’t flattering either. How in the world did this—

“You’re dancing?!” Sophee exclaimed, turning to me in shock.

“N-No!”

“Let me see that!” Sophee snatched the phone from Holly and inspected the video. She was trying very hard to recognize the girl on the moving picture, so before realizing it was me, I blocked the screen with my hand.

“Why do people start rumors without facts? That’s so rude.” I crossed my arms, shrugging nervously.

“It is you!”

I froze, turning to Sophee in fright. “Nope.”

“You’re so lying!”

I sighed in dismay. There was no way out of this even if I tried, so I’d be only wasting energy, and I refuse to waste energy. “Who uploaded this? This is illegal.”

“What are you talking about?” Holly raised a brow. “The video has gone viral! It has over a hundred thousand likes within twenty-four hours. That’s crazy.”

A-A hundred thousand…

“Nami, that’s so cool!” Sophee jumped up and down, clinging her arms to mine. “You’re gonna be famous! And how come you never told me you’re a dancer? A very good one, at that! This is so good!”

A hundred thousand…

“I’m gonna tell everyone this is you, so you better brace yourself. See you around!” Holly ran away from us, laughing vigorously before I could even protest. I mean, most of the people who had seen the video already knew it was me, so there’s not much I can do about it.

Sophee shrieked in excitement. “I can’t believe this! I’m so happy for you!”

A hundred thousand…

“Hey!”

A hundred thousand.

“NAMI!”

My heart jumped, startled by Sophee’s fingers across my face.

“What are you spacing out for?!”

I blinked and stared at a distance. “Sophee?” I didn’t see her answer, but I knew she was already waiting for what I had to say. “Do you know how I can cash out the hundred thousand likes? I’m really broke right now, and it would be a great help.”

Sophee laughed, slapping my back. “You can’t, Nami. You can’t.”

And just like that, our lives changed overnight.