The Secret Room In My School

The Invitation

Maya’s POV

“Hi Tamara.”

She scrunched up her face as she raised her head.

At first, her face was expressionless then she burst into a laugh.

Way to go Maya.

My palms began to sweat as sweat trickled down from my head to my neck.

“I heard you’re looking for an English tutor, I would like to apply,” I said, closing my eyes like the last words of a warrior awaiting his death on the battlefield.

Someone laughed, then others joined in.

I stared at my fingers, slowly regretting my decision.

My lips grew thin and firm as my heart pounded with tension.

Tamara snapped my gaze from my fingers.

“Okay,” she said, simply catching me by surprise.

I wasn’t the only one shocked. “Tamara! What’re you doing?” Plethora yelled in utter disbelief.”

Tamara removed a sticky note from her notepad, brought out a pen and scribbled something over it, and then handed it over to me.

“25th, Harlow Street.”

“Your home address,” I said in a low voice, my hands trembling.

“Oh my goodness,” one of her friends exclaimed out loud with a gasp followed by a series of muttering mostly coming out from the other girls.

Tamara ignored them, stood up, and walked out.

Save Tamara…5% loading.

I smiled at the paper as I walked down the hallway.

“Ouch.” I cried out as I walked into a rock or a wall. Was it a chest?

I looked up slowly as I squinted my eyes.

I staggered backwards in shock. It wasn’t a rock after all, it was Kai.

I stared at the extremely good-looking boy in front of me, who had long jet-black hair at shoulder length with thick brows, blue eyes as alluring and as deep as the blue ocean.

His tall and muscular body hovered over me.

However, despite his appearance, he reeked of danger. Taking in his physical attributes, my heartbeat skyrocketed as I drooled.

“Want to take a picture?” He asked with a blank expression etched on his beautiful face.

Snap out of it Maya.

Embarrassed, I quickly turned away with my cheeks flushed red.

“S-sorry, I was lost in my thoughts.” s**t! Why did I say that?

“Whatever.” He replied nonchalantly and walked away.

***

A sharp pain shot through my body as I curled up on the floor.

Let me make a little intro.

Hi, I am Maya, and apparently bullies are attracted to me.

“Fuck.” I cursed as I struggled to get on my feet. This wasn’t Tamara and her minions.

One of the unfortunate realities of being bullied is that you become a target to even others.

One of the girls leaned over and whispered into my ear. “You’re really a pity case.”

“What are you doing?” A voice roared from behind.

An angry Kai walked out on her and stood beside me.

“I…I’m sorry…Kai, we were just playing.” A girl said, shaking.

“A play is not you kicking someone in their stomach on the floor.”

“C’mon Kai, she’s not complaining.”

Kai didn’t say anything, instead, he offered his hand, I placed my hand in his and stood up.

Can someone pinch me right now and tell me this isn’t a dream? My hands were in the most feared boy in the school's hands, walking down the hallway.

We finally got to the secret room and he let go of my hands.

He paced around with his hands on his waist. Was he mad at me or at the bullies? I thought quizzically.

“Why do you let them walk all over you?” He asked as he stopped pacing, standing in front of me.

“I…” I couldn’t think of the answer to give.

“You let these people trample over you. Why?” He raised his hands in exasperation.

Was he worried about me?

Am I crazy for thinking Kai Blackwood cares about me?

Looking at how he saved me from the bullies earlier.

“Do I have something funny on my face?” His voice jolted me out of my thoughts.

He probably thought I was crazy for staring at him.

“I’m sorry.” I finally said.

He raised one of his brows.

“You did look like you were about to tear the whole place apart.” I chuckled in amusement.

“Maya, you need to learn how to stand up for yourself.” He said in a serious tone.

There is no way Kai really cares about me. “Mind your business.” I spat.

He nodded weakly, touching his chin with his left hand. “How close have you gotten to Tamara?” He asked frantically.

This question made me curse inwardly. “I’ve been invited to her house.”

His face beamed with a smile. “I’ve always known you to be smart.”

“f**k you, Kai.” I frowned in disgust.

“Now this is your second time saying this.”

He took a few steps forward, leaning forward leaving a little space between us.

“Do you want to f**k me?”

I gasped, as I staggered backwards. My eyes fluttered open as I stared at him in disbelief.

A smile formed at the corner of his lips.

***

I kept on replaying how close Kai was to me. In the school’s hierarchy, I am at the bottom. It would be social suicide for him if he ever had anything to do with me.

“You’re ten minutes late!” Tamara shouted at me.

I had to help the science teacher clean up the lab.

“I was cleaning up the lab.”

“Whatever, just get into the car.” She said as she got into the car and drove out of the school compound.

“Now listen up, we won’t be going to my house. There is a party at Malcolm’s house.

“I need to get my nails done and my hair styled. I have gotta look chic for the party!”

“Uhm okay.”

“And don’t worry about what you will wear to the party, we will go shopping.”

***

Tamara led me through the house that was illuminated with disco lights and music blasting through the speakers. Tamara held onto my hand as she led me through the crowd, which made navigating through the drunk students a little less terrifying.

“Watch your steps,” Laura yelled out loud making me skitter. Our shoulders had only brushed.

Tamara rolled her eyes at Laura. “Girl, relax. No one even noticed you.”

The party was just as I’d expected. It was packed with students. One side was filled with drunken and sweaty kids, some were making out in the corners of the room. I found some kids laughing and chattering at the bar.

A few older-looking students lingered in the corners, quietly passing around things I didn’t want to know about.

A crowded house with drunk and horny teenagers had never been my thing. Well, not like I had ever been invited to one.

I could feel my forehead get sweaty from nervousness as I clutched the black jacket Tamara bought for me at the store.

Tamara wore a pink polka-dot dress and black heels. Her red hair was tied into a bun.

Despite how I was dressed in a white T-Shirt covered with a black jacket and black pants. I still caught a few lingering looks from some of the boys as we passed.

“Hey, you ladies care for some Coke?” Jeffery asked with a glint of mischief etched on his face, he had a tattoo of a palm tree on his neck, settled on his lips and its smoke made me cough.”

“No! f**k off, Jeff.” Tamara yelled at him, which made him scurry away.

We finally got to the bar, Tamara took a bottle of alcohol and two cups and dragged me towards a room.

We opened the door to a room, some horny kids who couldn’t keep it in their pants were on the bed.

Tamara slammed the door shut. “Seriously?”

Lucky for us, the next one was empty.

She sat on the bed and gestured for me to sit beside her. She poured the alcohol into one of the cups and offered it to me.

“Thanks,” I muttered.

“Is this your first time drinking?” She asked.

“Yeah.”

WHOO! WHOO!!

The whistling sound came from some group of drunk boys outside the room.

“So tell me, why did you sign up to be my tutor after everything I’d done to you?” She asked with a chuckle.

She was right, it was weird for you to agree to tutor your bully.

“Just because,” I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

“That’s not the answer, you know that.”

She took a sip and smiled thinly. “ My family is falling apart right in front of my eyes and I can’t do anything about it.”

She started sobbing. Perplexed, I didn’t know what to do.

“I never should have shown my mother those messages between my father and his assistant.” She continued sobbing.

“Don’t blame yourself too much, you did what you thought was right.”

As Tamara wiped her tears, Maya’s phone vibrated.

Kai was calling.

Why was he calling right now?

I tapped on the green icon.

Before I could say hello, his urgent voice came through. “Where are you?”

“At Malcolm’s party.”

He didn’t say anything at first.

“Get out of that house. Right now.”