MY STEPBROTHER, MY RUIN

CHAPTER 014: MOST IMPORTANTLY

JUNE;

“You did great today,” his voice calm, eyes bright. “You didn't tell me I had just bagged myself a genius for a friend?” Matthew teased.

“Stop already, Matt,” I blushed, “It was what the teacher wanted us to do… And trust me, it was one hell of a thing to do.”

We walked slowly through the hallway leading to the staircase. My throat was tightening. Ronan was a jerk, he had ignored me the whole time in the class during the extra-mural class.

I knew none of those students stayed back to hear me speak. Me?! A broke girl who comes to college in washed-out outfits and ripped sneakers? A girl with no decent bag or fashion sense.

But there was something he did. After Teacher Harold was done with his introduction, I stood, my knees wobbled as I walked in front of the whole class, all eyes were on me, pulling on every little self-confidence I had left. My words wobbled out as I introduced the topic for the day, hundreds of pairs of eyes fixed on me.

The class started buzzing. Slow whispers rose from every corner of the class. Whispers of “the mean girl” were starting to float in the air again. My stomach clenched hard.

Then the all glamorous Selene Arkwright leaned further into her seat, eyes flashing like light, her red lips parted in that mocking way, then her friend stood.

“Wait! You are going to take us on an extramural class? How pathetic!” she jabbed.

“What do you wanna say, meanie? Probably teach us about worn-out sneakers and shirts?” Another thundered from behind.

I knew this was a bad idea. If anyone would ever teach this set of crude people, it shouldn't be me. I stood there, heat warming up my cheeks. The marker flipping between fingers.

My eyes flew to Ronan. He sat back on his seat, like he shouldn't be a part of this. Like the teacher hadn't mentioned his name in this too.

His lips parted in that ugly smirk. Of course, he already knew what the response would be. He only waited for it to happen.

My chest rose and fell faster, all I could think of was to walk out of this class at once. But my face fell to the floor instead, fingers tight on the board marker in my hand. So hard that my knuckles went white.

“Can you all stop already!” The voice rose from the back, I pulled my face up.

It was Matthew. Oh, gosh! This wasn't even a good idea. I knew he wanted to help, he wanted to save me from the mean people but with the look on their faces, it felt like this would only make the jeering sweeter.

“It's easy… If you don't want to be a part of the class, just take a walk. Disrespecting June means disrespecting Teacher Harold.” He blurted.

“Such a great speech,” someone muttered, the others laughed. I looked, and it was her. Selene Arkwright.

Her eyes fixed on me, smiling in that awkward way that made me wonder if I knew her from anywhere before this college. Why was she under my skin? Why wouldn't she let me be? Always starting up the cure each time it was about going off.

I couldn't mutter a word. My lips parted many times but no words formed. This was already dead-on-arrival. But what I couldn't do was walk back to my seat either. Their eyes seemed to glue me to the spot. Fingers twitching.

I let out a loud exhale, my chest thumping. I saw them, students already throwing their bags over their shoulders, ready to leave. Ronan’s eyes gawked at me. This felt like I was in a sea of eyes, drowning. I faced the floor again, better than staring at them.

“Wait guys,” that was his voice, Ronan’s voice. Finally, he spoke. I pulled my face up at once. A flicker lit in my heart.

Did you see it? The way the entire class calmed at once, the way everyone resumed sitting, pulling off their bags.

“We don't have to be so crude, do we?” He was facing them now.

Gosh! That voice! The depth of it. The command it carried. The swift way he did it, like he owned the floor, like he knew how to do this, and many other things. Ronan… I gasped in my heart. This guy was undoing me with the smallest, tiniest of things!

“We are all here to learn… What other way to do that if we don't cooperate? According to teacher Harold, our grades were messy, pathetic! We need to study extra hard to catch up with the schedule for the semester,” I watched his back, hands moving softly. Calmness had befallen the classroom.

Selene Arkwright. She sat there, fondling a strand of her hair, twitching in her seat like she was obsessed, or probably dazed while she watched him speak.

I hated her at this moment. I managed to pull my eyes off her. Let out a loud sigh of relief as my lips parted slightly. The huge knot clogging my throat had disappeared.

So, why did he wait all these while? He knew what to do yet he waited for his cohorts to intimidate me first? Then he moved, walked out from his seat, and walked up to the porch before the white board on the wall where I stood.

My heart thumped at how close we stood now. His cologne filled my nostrils. I inhaled almost too obviously. This closeness was sinful, but there was barely enough space for two on the porch.

His eyes darted into mine. For a second, I saw that flicker in his eyes.

“Now we are even,” he muttered.

Wait! WHAT?!

He let the class taunt me on purpose? Oh! That was a payback for stomping on his foot earlier? My mouth pouted, the flicker in his eyes disappeared at once. My fist clenched at my sides. I searched for words, words that could be annoying enough to wipe off the ugly smile that still sat on his face.

“I hate you,” I muttered, almost a whisper!

He laughed small, took the board marker from my hand.

“Your eyes… They are saying otherwise,” he whispered too.

I pulled away fast, before the class could pick one or two topics to last them a while.

“Why the smiles?” Matthew gave me a slight push, jerking me back from my thoughts. I batted my eyelids, swallowed fast, enough to bury any stupid smiles.

But I couldn't agree less, the first class had gone on really well, with Ronan and me taking the entire class through the topic effortlessly, the students clapping for me at some point.

This felt like more than just a class, it felt like an acceptance into the class finally. But above all, it felt like a call to friendship, with Ronan.

And, most importantly, I had seen a softer part of him today. That rude, uncouth boy did have a soft part too. My hands tugged at my backpack.