The Wallflowers Revenge

4. Shameful Parade

Abigail's Pov

Mr. Raymond must be very bold, calling me the best literature student. He even has the guts to make me a class guide when he knows how I regularly get scores less than seventy.

The new guy is smiling. He doesn't know what's at play here. I roll my eyes and look away from him.

Mr. Raymond leaves the class after his introduction and I'm alone with... What's his name again?

"We've met before, my name is Jason, and you are?" He stretches out his hand to me.

"Abigail. But you can call me Abbie," I say, accepting his handshake.

"Really? That's a beautiful name. Better than Paper Splash." He brings my hand to his lip and kisses the back of my palm.

Paper Splash? Did he think my name was Paper Splash? How ridiculous!

"We're currently studying The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. We've done Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and some other literature works in our previous classes..."

I stop and take a deep breath. I'm not in the right state of mind to teach anyone right now. I hope the new student can understand.

"Can we talk about this later? We can schedule a meeting or something. Or if you have any questions you can reach out to me."

I tear out a sheet of paper and scribble my phone number on it. I hand the paper to Jason. "Let's talk later."

Jason's Pov

I must thank the heavens for today. First I'm set up with the girl I want and now she's handing me her number for free. I take the paper from her, making sure our fingers brush. She shifts her hand from mine. That's bad. It's either she isn't open to touch or she just got her heart broken and is taking restraint.

I let it be, moving away from her.

"Thanks. I'll call you if I need anything."

She nods. "See you later, Jason," she says and begins walking out of the class.

"You haven't named your price."

She stops in her tracks and looks back at me. "My price?"

"Yes, everyone has a price. I don't believe you're helping me for free. You must want something in return."

I wait for her reply as she continues to stare at me in confusion. She opens her mouth to speak but shuts it back.

"Don't worry, you don't have to tell me right now. You can take your time."

She nods and leaves the class.

THREE DAYS LATER, THE FASHION PARADE.

Abigail's Pov.

This is one of the most eventful nights at Oakville High School. It's a yearly event hosted by the fashion and design department where the best students from the fashion and design skill acquisition get a chance to showcase their best work.

Each student gets a personal dressing room to change into their parade dress. My makeup artist gives a final touch to my face, and I proceed to wear my dress with Mum's help.

"Black and silver does the trick," Mum says.

I smile and nod at her. "I had to make some adjustments to the waist yesterday."

I have the pride of making my dress by myself. It's a strapless heart-shaped tube gown adorned with stones at the top, and forming a fishtail skirt with ruffles at the base.

My black silk hair has been curled into waves which end at my mid-back.

"You look beautiful," mum says and I smile at her.

I'm glad she's here with me despite her fight with Dad last night. Her cheek looks a bit puffy but it's okay, everything will be fine. I'll make sure of that.

I smile and hug Mum.

We move to the blue carpet at six. It's rowdy here with photographers rallying around for pictures and guests trooping in. The host interviews me briefly and I join the other models for the day. We stand in line and wait to be called onto the walkway.

Mum gives me a thumbs up and disappears behind the black curtains as she goes to take her seat among the other guests.

My heart races in my chest as I wait to be called. With all that has happened lately, having a successful fashion parade would cheer me up. I've worked on this dress for months. Nothing should go wrong tonight. The coordinator for the fashion parade chose my dress to be the closing piece due to its perfection. Special attention will be given to me tonight. After all the models have been presented, the coordinator introduces me and I come on stage.

The brightened stage rises above the rich distinguished audience dressed in flashy clothes. They're seated around round tables decorated with flowers in the dimly lit general hall of the school. They all stare at me in anticipation and my anxiety causes butterflies to flutter around in my stomach. I need to impress the guests so I can get a buyer for my masterpiece. The purchase is more of an auction. It's worth it though, since the dresses are limited-edition, having only one piece for each design exhibited at the parade. Fifty percent of the profit goes to the student and the other fifty goes to the school. With the billionaires sitting in the front row tonight, I hope to win big. Thankfully the auction starts with the best work which is mine.

I draw in a deep breath and take my first step. My walk down the runway comes on well and I strike a pose in front of everyone. Next thing, there are gasps among the crowd. At first, I thought they were impressed by my dress but they're all staring at their phones. They look up at me and some shake their head, some show pity, and others have varying emotions. The woman who had stood up to start the bidding sat down. Disappointment shows in her expression.

What's up with these people? I try to maintain my smile but it's hard. Next thing, the video of me and Mr. Raymond starts playing on the screen. My chest rises and falls rapidly as my breathing becomes shallow. My heart races in my chest and my stomach clenches in shame.

The video plays on, showing me kissing my literature teacher as he touches the sensitive parts of my body. He raises my skirt and my underwear is open for everyone to see.

Tears start dropping from my eyes and I run off stage.

"Abigail! Abigail!" Josephine calls but I don't stop running. They all look at me with pity and disgust. I run away from their judgemental stares until I get to one of the empty classrooms.

I bang the door close and crumble to the floor beside it, breaking down in tears.

Bianca must pay for this. I pleaded with her not to release the pictures but she went as far as releasing the pictures. She had been my best friend since childhood and we barely had any issues. She was always supportive, what went wrong?

"I'm ruined," I cry out in the dimly lit classroom.

The door opens, startling me. Who is it now? My eyes widen in surprise when Jason walks in and closes the door behind him.

"Paper Splash, I saw you running this way."

I glare at him angrily and look away. "What do you want?"

He shouldn't pretend he hasn't seen the videos. Everyone in the school knows about it by now. It should even be in the news already.

"The police have taken Mr Raymond away," he says, inserting his hands into his suit trouser pocket.

I look up at him sharply. "What? When?"

"Just now."

"What about Bianca?"

"What about her?"

"She's the one who released those videos. Did they do anything to her?"

Jason shakes his head. "No, do you want them to do something to her?"

"Well, yes! She must pay for what she has done," I say amidst tears.

"Okay, so why don't you do something to her instead of waiting for the school to do it?"

I look away in thought as I nod my head slowly. "Yes, the perfect revenge." I look back at Jason. "You'd be my ally. You were asking for my price, well, this is it. Join me and let's destroy these people. I know I'm kind of asking for much so in return I'll give you regular literature classes and maybe do some assignments for you." I stop talking before I offer to also write his literature exams. Looking up at him in anticipation, I wish he would accept my offer.

Jason narrows his eyes on me as if in thought. Then he replies, "We shall drink their tears."