Behind Her Mask

5 | The Call

Farrah's POV

"Oh~ That's why teachers don't punish you for being late and even when you're absent."

But what I didn't know was that at that point, her words seemed sarcastic to me. It was as if she wanted me to get punished, even if I had a valid reason.

I just gave her a smirk and looked at my phone again.

She simply saw me sitting in front of the registrar. I didn't make it to class because those two guys took too long to get on the fence.

Compared to Delgado, these kids are smaller. Although they're still taller than most other boys, they still can't reach the fence no matter how high they could jump.

Honestly, the fence is really high. That's why I'm amazed by that guy. He even had to help his two friends climb over before climbing over again by himself. It seems like he doesn't get tired.

While I was scrolling through my phone, I felt someone watching over me. I felt creeped out for a second until I saw that Delgado's friends were glaring at me, except for the guy who just arrived. He's the one who was in the video with Delgado, which is why our teacher was waiting for him and had them supervised by another teacher. I didn't know there were actually four of them, I thought there were only two. They quickly avoided eye contact when I gave them a smirk.

I shifted my attention back to my cellphone, and after a while, I glanced at them again. My right eyebrow rose when I saw Delgado glancing at me with a menacing look. Then, a sudden fear rushed through my veins when a disturbing idea popped into my mind out of nowhere.

What if he's planning something bad to get revenge? What if they're waiting for me outside with their gang? From what I saw earlier, they all looked like troublemakers! Some of them even had tattoos! Oh my gosh! What if my peaceful high school life is ruined because of him?!

But it's not right to think of them like that just because of our first encounter, is it? I'll just try to make sure that's our last encounter.

As I stood up and began walking down the hallway, I thought to myself that I should just stay inside the classroom to avoid seeing whatever nonsense my schoolmates were up to. But then, I instinctively grabbed the arm of a guy in front of me for support when someone just tried to tripped me!

I glared to see who it was, and I immediately swallowed hard when I saw Delgado's emotionless face! But before my shock and fear could be detected on my face, thinking that they'd get revenge on me, I smirked at them. His eyebrows furrowed, and his two friends stopped themselves from laughing because of that.

I turned my attention to the guy who stopped walking because of my sudden grab. "Sorry," I quickly said, then stood up straight before turning back to Delgado's group.

"So you want me to be your enemy, huh? You sure about that?"

He glared at me. "You're the one who's carelessly not looking where you're going, miss. My quietly outstretched leg has been there for a while." He made an excuse.

I sarcastically laughed. "What? You're scared now? What happened to your death glares earlier?" I teased.

"Ah, miss, please forgive our friend. His knee is just really stiff, that's why he stretched it out. He didn't notice you were going to pass by." The last guy to arrive said, but his eyes weren't on me when he said that.

I briefly scanned his appearance from head to toe. He has straight hair that's soft-looking, reaching down to his eyebrows. His nose is slightly upturned, with a noticeable bridge, and his lips have just the right amount of redness. Among the four of them, he's the only one who looks decent.

"If you say so." I said dryly before turning my back on them. I knocked softly on the faculty room door before peeking inside. "Excuse me, Ma'am Barja? Delgado and his friends are tripping students who pass by." After saying that, I quickly left.

'As if I'll believe that j*rk. They're clearly getting back at me.'

Because of that thought, fear echoed in my chest. But due to my determination to maintain my peace of mind, even just within the school premises, I need to get him expelled before he disrupts my life.

~*~

"You can start tomorrow. Is that okay?" The manager asked.

I smiled sweetly at her before nodding. "Definitely, ma'am. Thank you."

"Okay. Don't be late." After saying that, she immediately turned her back on us and left.

"I told you so! Ma'am is nice!" Giselle suddenly exclaimed softly.

I met her earlier while I was submitting my documents at a mall that's open until night. She invited me to work at a call center because she thinks I'm good at English.

"But could I manage? I'm still a student," I said to her worriedly.

I didn't want to accept her offer because I know that working at a call center means working all night. The time I'd be going home would be the same time I need to go to school, so I don't know where I'd fit in sleep.

"Of course! I'm a student too! After class, I head straight to the center," she said. I felt a bit better after hearing that. We both looked at my cellphone when it suddenly rang. My heart started racing when I saw our neighbor's number.

We both looked at my cellphone when it suddenly rang. My heart started racing when I saw our neighbor's number.

I excused myself from Giselle before leaving to answer the call.

*Y-yes, hello?"

"Farrah! Come home now! Your dad is losing it again!" she shouted anxiously due to the noise around her. I could also hear my dad's yelling and the voices of other people trying to restrain him. I bit my lip tightly until I felt the sting.

"Oh gosh..." I muttered softly, knowing that after calming Dad down, I'd likely end up with a new set of bruises.

I quickly rushed towards the jeepney.

...