Diamond in the Rough

Chapter 8

The bell had finally rung. It was lunch break and the Math teacher who had been lecturing for more than an hour wrapped his things before leaving the room. When Ella saw Mr. De Jesus’s figure disappear completely, that was when she was able to heave a big sigh of relief.

Damn, that man definitely had it for her. Throughout the whole class, it seemed like he was paying too much attention in Ella, calling her up in front to solve some of the equations he wrote on the board. It almost felt like he was purposely testing her! Fortunately, Patrick had discussed those equations during their tutorial lessons before, so she was able to answer the equations correctly… But the teacher did not stop there. Just before the bell sounded, he reminded her again in front of the class to meet him at the faculty room later when all classes have ended.

Ella slumped down on her chair… She could not even find the strength to open her lunchbox that was in front of her… What could have that teacher possibly want from her? Was it about her failing grades in Math before? But she was already improving, even by little, because of Patrick’s help… Or could it have been because she hit him accidentally yesterday? She shook her head in frustration. She always thought that the new Math teacher was a bit weird since he first came… She suddenly missed Ms. Santos. At least that teacher had always been willing to give Ella chances.

She picked up her fork to start eating when suddenly, a shadow appeared in front of her. Ella looked up in confusion and saw Patrick standing in front of her. She raised an eyebrow as if to question the guy in front of her, but he did not take notice of it, or chose not to. That was when Ella decided to question him.

“Uhmm, excuse me? Is there anything you need?” Ella decided to ask the guy formally, since he was the one who insisted before that no one should see them talking in the public, to avoid any suspicions.

This time, it was Patrick who reacted quite surprisingly. He smirked at her and then leaned down, taking a hold of her table, and staring right at her. The whole suddenly turned silent and Ria saw in her peripheral vision how a lot of her classmates, especially the girls, turned all their attention to her table.

“Is this guy crazy?” Ella asked in her mind. She frowned at the guy staring at her, and asked him again. “Uhmm… what?”

Patrick sighed with a hint of annoyance in his face. “Are you going to eat lunch alone here?”

Ella was getting more confused at the minute, but decided to answer him. “Of course. I always eat alone here anyway.” She then kicked him in his shin under the desk, and whispered to Patrick quite harshly. “What are you doing? I thought we should not talk in public?!”

Patrick, who let out a small yelp earlier, went on to rub his hurt shin and replied at the same time. “b***h… I just wanted to invite you to eat with us, and here you are hurting me!” He hissed back.

She rolled her eyes at the ridiculous guy. “What happened to our agreement before that no one should see us talking?”

Patrick stopped rubbing his shin and shrugged his shoulders. “I guess I don’t care anymore. Besides, Jasmine knows about us already, right? I have nothing to worry about.” The guy’s voice then got quieter. “And also… I haven’t fully thanked you for your help last time…”

Ella stared at the guy whose eyes were downcast, as if he was a bit embarrassed about needing help from her. She let out a sigh. “Fine. Would that be okay with Marcus and Anthony?”

As if on cue, Patrick’s two buddies appeared at their friend’s back. It was Marcus who first greeted her. “Hi, Ella! This is so exciting! We finally get to talk!” Anthony also raised his hand as a greeting to her.

She did not know how to react, and she could feel the eyes of everybody in the classroom. In the end, she settled for an awkward smile, because that was how she actually felt. She then looked back at Patrick who finally stood up. He was wearing that infuriating smirk again. Damn, Patrick really did like to put her in awkward situations. She was tempted to kick him again.

This was weird. Ella looked around at the table at the cafeteria where she and the boys were currently sitting in. Never in her whole life during her stay in this school did she imagine that she would be eating lunch with these three boys. She did not even want to talk to them before because she always thought they were a bit arrogant, considering that they were one of the popular students. Well, she was quite right about it because Patrick was really arrogant, that damn ass… but Marcus and Anthony were not that bad, she thought. In fact, Marcus was pretty outgoing.

“Hey Ella, was it really true that you were the one who found Patrick here and asked for help?” Marcus leaned on her eagerly. “Tell me how pathetic this guy looked back then!” 

Patrick hit Marcus on his head in return. “Dumbass. I did not look pathetic at all. A bit roughed up, but not that bad. Right, Ella?” The guy looked meaningfully at her, as if telling her to just go along with his story, but Ella had other plans.

Time for some revenge, she thought. “Well,” Ella shrugged. “He did not look that bad… he was just delirious and limp on the asphalt.”

Hearing that, Marcus burst in excitement. “He was delirious and limp? I should have seen that!” He then let out a booming laugh that got the attention of the surrounding tables. Marcus was known for being loud so the students were used to his antics. Patrick promptly hit his friend on the head.

“Why is that funny to you? Are you really my friend?!”

Marcus frowned as he held his hurt head. “Hey! I was just regretful that I wasn’t there to see you!” 

“What, to laugh at me?!” Patrick made a gesture to hit Marcus again, but Anthony caught it.

“Temper, dude, temper…” Anthony coolly said. “I am more interested with your next move. We both know that Jake was related to our town’s mayor. He might file a case against you or something. And the regional basketball league is two months away from now. I’m pretty sure we are gonna face their team, and this time, I could see the match getting bloody.”

The three of them, including Ella turned to Patrick, waiting for his thoughts, but Patrick merely scoffed. “Tch. I don’t really care. I ain’t afraid of him and his minions. I am ready to face them anytime.”

Ella just rolled her eyes at Patrick. “That’s rich coming from you. Look at how badly they beat you up last time, and now, you’re even anticipating another brawl? Are you that eager to look like a badass? Because it is not worth it.”

The table noticeably got quiet after her unexpected tirade. Ella looked up from her food and saw the three boys gaping at her. She suddenly felt embarrassed and she tried to cover it up by grimacing. “Oh well. That… was just my opinion anyway. Don’t mind it.” She then went back to eating as she could feel her cheeks heating up.

That was when she heard Anthony laugh out loud for the first time in the day. Marcus soon followed while Patrick remained frowning. 

“Hey! What’s funny about it?!” The injured guy complained out loud. 

Anthony ceased laughing and answered in a very amused tone. “I think it is just funny how Ella nailed your s**t quite well after such a short time.”

Marcus nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Ella’s a savage! Keep on doing that. Patrick needs someone to keep him in line.” He then gave an encouraging grin with a matching thumbs up to Ella.

She could do nothing but smile a little, but it came out as a grimace. The guy in question, Patrick, however, seemed even more pissed after his friends taking Ella’s side. One could see his vein popping on his forehead. He opened his mouth to say something when he suddenly stopped and left his mouth gaping wide.

The three of them followed the guy’s line of sight, and they were all equally shocked to see Jasmine and her friends standing in front of their table.

Jasmine raised her right hand and waved it. “Hi,” she said shyly.

Patrick promptly turned red. The three could do nothing but shake their heads. This was the man who was asserting his manly prowess earlier, and yet he wilted like a delicate flower in front of her cousin. He was a funny guy, Ella conceded.

Ella decided to break the spell that had fallen on Patrick because he was looking too much of an i***t in front of Jasmine already. She stood up from her seat at the table abruptly and looked at her cousin who was looking there a bit confused. It looked like Jasmine was alone because her friends were nowhere in sight. 

“Hey Jas,” Ella called her cousin’s attention. “Would you like to sit down?”

Jasmine’s eyes widened at her suggestion, but Ella could see the joy in them. “A-are you sure?” She then shifted her eyes to Patrick. “Would that be okay to your friends?”

Ella hit Patrick lightly on his left shoulder to snap him completely. “Patrick, that’s okay with you, right?” She squinted her eyes at him, as if sending him a signal. “Right?”

Marcus then interjected. “Of course, Jasmine! Anytime you want to!”

Patrick then added an unsure nod. “Y-yeah… No problem…”

Ella clapped her hands in fake glee. “Great! Come here, Jas, you have such a nice timing. I was just about to head back to the classroom with Marcus and Anthony here.”

“What? We were?” Marcus pointed to himself. “I don’t—” 

“Yes, we do.” The poor man was not able to finish what he was trying to say because Anthony dragged him up. The school clowns protests were ignored all the time.

Patrick himself seemed confused with their actions because he called Ella when they were walking away. “Ella? Where are you going?”

Ella turned to him with a smirk on her face. “Nah. Just entertain my cousin, will ya?” She then turned her back again and waved halfheartedly. “Enjoy guys.”

She was feeling quite a bit pleased with herself because she finally fulfilled her end of the bargain. Well, it was not much because the date was in a noisy school cafeteria, but hey, it was a start. Patrick would have no choice but to say something to her cousin, or else, Ella would definitely smack him up. She’d always known that that badass image he desperately wanted to build was all just for show.

She reached her classroom seat and immediately sat down to fix her lunch box and put it inside her bag, but she felt someone tapping her lightly on her shoulder. Damn… what is it about this time? She looked up and saw Tish standing in front of her, looking a bit pissed, her arms crossed in front. Now, she was not what Ella was expecting.

“Oh, hey, Tish. Sup?” Ella remarked casually.

Tish’s frown even got deeper. “You were lying.”

“Huh?” Ella just blinked at her classmate. “What do you mean?”

“You said you were not Patrick’s girlfriend!” Tish hissed.

Ella just shrugged as a reply. “Yeah. I already told you that. What about it?” She really did not know what Tish’s deal was this time.

“Then why did he invite you to eat lunch with him? Everyone in the classroom and school saw you earlier at the cafeteria!” 

Ella scratched her head, thoroughly confused with her classmate’s reaction right now. She sighed afterwards and barely able to catch herself from rolling her eyes. “Well, Tish, it was not only the two of us there earlier as you know. Marcus and Anthony were also with us, so it’s not like a date.”

“But then again, you’re really close to him! He never invited a girl to eat with him and his friends before.” 

Ella sighed for the nth time today and answered Tish so patiently. “Tish… that is probably because he never had a female friend before.” 

Tish was stopped by her statement as she realized something. “Oh my gosh, you’re right! I don’t remember him having any female friend before!”

“See?” Ella nodded. “And that is just how we all both are. Just friends, nothing more, so you have nothing to worry about.”

Tish resumed her scowl. “Just friends. Alright, I would be holding you on to that.” She then left Ella, stomping her feet away across the classroom. 

What the hell was wrong with her? She really could not see what Patrick had that made him so popular among the students. 

There was silence in the table as Patrick and Jasmine tried very hard not to stare at each other. Patrick could feel the pressure within himself; he had waited for a long time for this chance to talk to Jasmine in person. Come on, Patrick, say something! He was scolding himself deep inside, feeling thoroughly frustrated.

“Uhmm… Hi!” Jasmine was the first to break the awkward silence with her shy, hesitant voice. Patrick snapped his head when he heard the girl’s beautiful voice.

He cleared his throat and managed the best smile his normal grumpy face could manage and replied with a simple “Hi, Jasmine.” He promptly felt his cheeks flush.

“So… how have you been? Are you feeling fine now?” Jasmine asked him while gesturing to the bandage on his forehead.

Patrick gingerly touched the bandage on his forehead, and felt the urge to scratch it. What if Jasmine would think of him a violent man for getting into too many troubles? He had to at least make a good impression.

“Yeah.” He nodded slowly. “Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t even hurt.” There was a stretch of silence again after that exchange and the awkward feeling intensified.

“What—”

“What—”

They both spoke up at the same time. Patrick cleared his throat and gestured to Jasmine. “Uhmm, you go first.”

Jasmine smiled demurely and answered him. “What is your account name in IG? Can I add you?”

He scratched the back of his neck, feeling self-conscious again. He was not really that active in social media, and he did not have that much post in his IG account. He was such a boring person… so unlike Jasmine who was so full of life, vibrant and vivacious. Still, he decided to reply after seeing Jasmine’s expectant face. 

“I am PatrickPanther in IG.” He replied. Panthers is the name of their basketball team.

Jasmine picked up her phone to type something. “Okay, I got it. I sent you a request.” She said, looking up after a while.

Patrick then fished out his phone from his pocket so that he could confirm Jasmine’s request on his IG, but he suddenly heard someone calling his name. Both turned to the direction of the voice and saw a scrawny looking boy wearing glasses. Patrick knew it was his classmate though he could not remember his name.

“Patrick,” the guidance counselor has been looking for you. She said she needs you to come to her office now.”

The basketball ace sighed to himself at what he heard. This was surely about his most recent fight and he could expect to receive reprimands again after being in a fight for the third time this quarter. Oh well, this was something he could not postpone. That would only land him in more trouble. He looked apologetically to the girl across him from the table and scratched his head.

“Ermm… Jasmine, I need to go now. Sorry.”

Jasmine also stood up and smiled at him. “I see.”

Patrick nodded and began to walk behind his classmate to the direction of the guidance office.

“Patrick!” He heard Jasmine call after him. He stopped walking and looked back to see her with sheepish grin on her face. “I’ll chat you later. Is that okay?”

Patrick knew his cheeks were flushed when he replied with a resounding “Yes.”

“So, Miss Santiago, I believe that you always been having some difficulties in Math. Your former class adviser has mentioned this to me before she transferred.

Ella was currently sitting in the faculty room across their new teacher inside his cubicle. For some reason, she was relieved that this was about her math grades rather than what happened last time. She sighed in relief which Sir De Jesus has heard. The male teacher then smiled at her reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, Miss Santiago. I see that your scores were actually improving. May I know what you did to do so?”

Ella shrugged her shoulders as she replied. “I got a tutor, Sir.” 

“A tutor?” Sir De Jesus raised his eyebrow, as if he was very intrigued with what he heard. “That’s a good idea actually. Who is your tutor by the way?”

“My classmate, Sir. Patrick Rosales, the one who was injured in a fight last week.”

“Oh. The injured guy in your class? I have heard he was quite the troublemaker. Are you sure he is qualified to be a tutor?” There was doubt in the new teacher’s voice.

Ella fidgeted a bit… She did not like how the teacher’s eyes bore into her. “Yes, Sir.” She said finally. “Patrick is actually one of the best in Math in the class.”

The teacher’s eyes were unrelenting and his gaze furrowed unto Ella. He was silent and serious as he leaned back into his chair, as if thinking deeply. In the end, he broke into small grin, surprising her.

“I don’t think I could allow this, Miss Santiago.”

Her eyes widened in confusion. What did he mean? 

“I would like you to change your tutor, Miss Ella.”

Ella almost fell out of her chair at what she heard. “But Sir! That wouldn’t be possible… I have no money to pay other tutors.” She explained as respectfully as she could.

It was the teacher’s turn to be surprised. “But how did you get him to tutor you if you did not pay him?”

“Well, he’s my friend, Sir.” She was friends with Patrick, right? After all that they have been through?  

 “Friend?” Sir Kenneth De Jesus looked at her with a hint of disbelief in his eyes, but he did not comment any further. “But what happens in times like this when he is injured and could not tutor you? What if we have an upcoming test and he’s not available?”

Ella could admit that he had quite the point there, but of course, she had to defend Patrick. “Well, it’s not a problem, Sir. We will just move the sessions into other dates.”

The teacher shook his head and looked at her disapprovingly. “No, that can’t be productive. Remember, your college entrance exams are coming up. You need all the time you could get to improve your Math grades.”

Why was this guy so concerned with her? Ella could not help but wonder. He was even more worried about her grades than her first adviser. She took a deep breath and explained as calmly as she could:

“Sir De Jesus, I really have no choice. He’s my only friend who was willing to tutor me for free. I don’t have money to pay for one.”

The male teacher was silent for a few moments as he considered her argument. He then broke out with a very surprising announcement.

“In that case, I will be your tutor then.”