CHAPTER 6 - CUTE SAVAGE
936 Words
“Jessie!”
“Viola!”
“Huh?” Lily frowned at her.
“I mean… Hula…! Lily.” Jessie corrected herself quickly before Lily could notice the slip.
“What’s with you?” Lily narrowed her eyes. “You’ve made a little transformation.”
She examined Jessie closely, her eyes widening.
“You… you wore makeup?!” she gasped in disbelief. “That’s a good thing! After a long time, you finally followed my advice—and wow, you actually dressed up today. You’re a woman today!”
“Why? Was I like a guy before?” Jessie shot her a sharp look.
“No, not that,” Lily said with a grin. “Anyway… we have to hurry for our class report!”
“What?!”
Just then, the school bell rang.
“Let’s go! We’ll be late!”
In Miss Linda’s class, Jessie stared blankly at the first presenter.
“…and that is the life and works of Ralph Waldo Emerson.”
“Good, George.” Miss Garcia clapped. “Now, let’s hear from Miss Cortez and Miss Franda.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Lily stood up and moved to the front. “Good morning. Our topic is the life of Shakespeare. But before that, let’s warm up a bit—get our muscles and minds working! Now, I introduce our main reporter, Miss Cortez.”
Some students whistled and teased from the back.
As Jessie stepped forward, she noticed Prince Edward sitting in the back row, staring at her. She felt a slight wave of disgust.
“Achoo—Edward’s fan,” a boy sneezed sarcastically, sparking laughter.
“Good morning, everyone!” Jessie began confidently. “Queen Shakespeare is…”
Good thing she knew a lot about this—from her writer friend.
“Are there any questions?” she asked after finishing.
Some students raised objections, which she answered correctly and calmly.
“Jessie, what’s your impression of Ed?” someone teased.
A wave of hushed giggles spread across the room.
“Well… Ed is a great man, but sometimes he’s just too good at bullshitting things.”
“Whoa!” the class erupted. All eyes turned to Ed. His face soured.
“How did you know…?” Ed asked, clearly alarmed. “Did you… have a personal encounter with him?”
Gasps echoed.
“Yeah,” Jessie said confidently. “He’s imaginative. His ideas impressed me—but he’s also quite insane. That brought him to insanity.”
The room exploded with noise.
“I find that offensive, Miss Cortez,” Ed snapped.
“Silence,” Miss Garcia called out. “What is this about? Are we off-topic?”
“Why don’t you ask Jessie?” a voice challenged.
“Yes, Jessie. Who are you referring to?” the teacher asked.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. We were just about to talk about Shakespeare when a question about Edgar Allan Poe was raised, so I felt compelled to respond. Reading his works felt like encountering him in real life… being in his time. His friends used to call him Ed—wasn’t that who you meant?” she replied, looking at Ted.
Ed turned pale.
“Let’s save that for the next reporters,” Miss Garcia intervened. “They’ll discuss Edgar Allan Poe.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Jessie returned to her seat.
“That was a bullseye!” Lily laughed.
“Shh… I didn’t mean to.”
The bell rang.
“Okay class,” Miss Garcia said. “This afternoon, we’ll divide into groups for the Team Carnival. You’ll be grouped by the team you choose. We’ll have paired matches this year. Goodbye!”
Outside the classroom…
“So, what team are you choosing?” Lily asked.
“I don’t know yet.”
“Team Warriors did great last year compared to Team Taurus. I bet everyone wants to join them.”
“It doesn’t matter to me. I’ll join whichever—”
A soccer ball flew toward them. Lily screamed.
Suddenly, a hand caught it midair—and the person collided gently into Jessie. Time seemed to freeze.
Her knight in shining armor.
“I got it!”
“Michael?” Jessie blinked in disbelief.
“Oh… Jessie!” Mike looked just as surprised. “Wow, look at you. You’re… beautiful today. I mean, you’ve always been—well, now you’re just… wow.”
“Hey, hey, and who are you?” Lily teased.
“He’s Mike. My childhood friend,” Jessie said.
Lily’s grin widened.
“Ohhh… he’s—” she covered her mouth.
“It’s fine. I know she talks about me a lot.” Mike chuckled.
“No, I didn’t! … Okay, maybe I did.” Jessie laughed. “What are you doing here?”
“Practicing for the Carnival. I was chosen to lead the Warriors for the seniors. I was hoping you’d join the junior team.”
“Yeah! I’ll join that team. Right, Lily?”
“That sudden?”
“Mike! Bring back the ball. Stop flirting!” someone called.
“Yes, yes! I’m coming!” he smiled at Jessie. “She’s irresistible!”
“See you then!”
“Bye!”
“I can’t believe you,” Lily teased.
“Why?”
“He’s a much better replacement for Ed—tall, handsome, and he smells nice.”
“Shut up, Lily! Besides… there was never an Ed.”
“So you’re denying him now?”
Jessie just laughed.
If only she could tell Lily everything… then maybe it would be easier to admit what was really going on.
- Writer
