Queen of the Campus

15

I strode confidently down the path of being a petty person.

"Molly, let me ask you something. Do you know why that p*****t and that skinny guy didn't come?"

"You're disgusting," Molly said, though she was used to my way of addressing them. "But what exactly happened last night?" It seemed she knew the reason. But I couldn't tell her the truth about last night; if she told on me, I'd be in big trouble.

"Fine, don't tell me then." With so many people around, surely someone knows. Why should I beg? Molly isn't Tara, after all. Although many guys flirted with her, she wasn't that ruthless, and I wasn't afraid of offending her.

"Okay, okay, I told you," Molly said, pulling out her phone. I saw a text message from Skinny Bamboo: "Mengmeng, I won't be able to go to school for a while. Something came up at home. I'll miss you."

I roughly understood. It seemed he really was in the hospital. "Something came up at home"? Men are proud; would he tell everyone he and his partner were tricked by a younger guy? But I breathed a sigh of relief. Looks like they won't tell anyone else. Medical expenses and such are none of my concern. Come to think of it, it's not something to be proud of anyway, and besides, I acted in self-defense.

"You said you two weren't involved? It's only been a few days, and he already knows your number and sends such ambiguous texts. How enviable!" In a better mood, I started teasing Molly again, not caring at all who she was flirting with. I liked Sophie.

“Who knows how he got my phone number,” Molly explained. “Besides, what business is it of yours who I’m with?”

That’s true, I should probably avoid her. But I still need to tell him about Chase’s tattling. Even if I can’t get revenge, it’ll at least annoy him. “Molly, does someone know about what happened between us?”

“What happened between us?” Molly looked at me suspiciously. I didn’t want to beat around the bush. “You know I touched your butt, so how does Shawn know?” I clearly saw Molly’s face turn red again, quite annoyed, looking like she was about to explode. I quickly said, “Someone snitched.”

Sure enough, she held back, about to explode. “Who?” She sounded very angry.

“Chase.”

“Luke, you’re even more petty than I thought. You can’t beat him, so you try to smear him. Tsk tsk, how can I have such a deskmate? It’s so embarrassing.” I was getting impatient. This little brat didn’t believe me at all.

“Think about it, that skinny guy is so far away, how could he possibly see us? No one would have told on him, so how could he know? The only ones who could see him are probably behind us, but even that's too far for anyone to see. Chase's deskmate is a girl, she wouldn't tell on him, would she?” Seeing that Molly was starting to believe him, I continued, “Why do you think I fought with him? That perverted jerk said it himself. I questioned Chase this morning, and he not only admitted it, but also said we were having an affair, so I fought him. I never expected you to be so magnanimous.” I wasn't afraid of Molly questioning me further. Even if she did, she wouldn't get much detail. If Chase admitted it, they might not even be classmates anymore. If Chase didn't admit it, at least there would be a rift between them. Why wouldn't I be happy with that?

Subduing the enemy without fighting—that is the highest level of warfare! "He initiated the conversation, okay? Who would like a brooding, flirtatious guy like that!" Molly explained weakly, then questioned me, "Are you telling the truth?"

"Why are you asking me? Go ask the guy behind you!" I knew it had worked, and I laughed inwardly, but maintained a calm facade.

After class, Molly immediately turned around. "Chase?" Chase, assuming Molly was chatting with him again, happily answered.

"Did you snitch?" Molly looked at him coldly. At that moment, she reminded me of Tara. Why couldn't I forget her?

Chase hadn't expected Molly to say that. He probably didn't expect me to be so shameless. In his view, boys should resolve their own issues. But he was wrong. I didn't care about such things. Whoever bullied me, I would find a way to get revenge. Chase chose silence, which was, in effect, an admission.

“Are you crazy?” Molly said, slapping Chase across the cheek. “Mind your own business.” I was just a kid, after all, and couldn’t help but laugh. Finally, I felt a sense of relief. What do you call this? Maybe it’s using someone else to do your dirty work. Chase glared at me venomously.

Our feud was officially sealed. The whole class watched this scene in astonishment, a chill running down their spines. Molly was a rose with thorns.

From that moment on, Molly and Chase never spoke a word to each other. In a sense, I succeeded. Looking back, should I regret it? If I hadn’t told Molly, maybe Chase really would have let me go.

But those are the days of youth; who thinks so much?

After school at noon, I obediently went to lunch with Sophie. I had wanted to hold her hand, but Sophie dodged it. I felt a little annoyed and didn't want to make a fool of myself. Sophie rarely talked to me in class, which made me feel like she regretted accepting me as her younger brother. Now she was giving me the cold shoulder and didn't smile sweetly anymore, but when she saw classmates or acquaintances on campus, she smiled and seemed very happy.

To be honest, this made me feel really bad.