I Lost My V-Card to a Stranger

Chapter 4: Meeting my Bullies

Saphira's POV

"Seriously, Lorraine. Are you still hanging out with that loser? Didn't you meet any decent people when we graduated?"

"We know you're kindhearted and all, but you should know whether someone is just taking advantage of you, and I bet that pig is just using you."

"How pathetic can she get? For sure, she's still as ugly and fat, or maybe she's gotten worse."

Those are some of the words I heard from my classmates, followed by an insulting laugh that dug inside my heart.

As expected, Lorraine stopped depending on me as I wanted her to.

I remember a few minutes ago when we were still in the elevator.

"I need to ask you something."

"Okay," Lorraine replied.

I took a deep breath before looking back at her, and the next words I uttered surprised her.

"I want you to go to the reunion by yourself," I said.

"But..."

"Don't worry, I am not backing out; I just wanted you to go there first and make sure that our cellphone lines are connected and you put me on speaker," I explained, making her confused.

"Why are you going to such lengths, Ira?"

I took another deep breath before continuing. "I wanted to know if they actually changed, or if they are still the same, the same bully who tormented me," I answered, determination in my voice.

I didn't let her speak and told her what I wanted her to do, and even though she was reluctant at first, she finally agreed to my request.

"And also, Lorraine..."

She just looked at me and waited for me to continue talking.

"Whatever bad things they said about me, I wanted you to keep silent and don't try to depend on me. Can you do that, please?"

"But... how could I allow them to..." she said, but when she saw the determination on my face, she took a deep breath and finally agreed, making me sigh in relief.

"Fine!" she said.

As agreed, she went to the function room first and met with our classmates, while I decided to stay in the ladies' room for at least ten minutes.

Honestly, I didn't know why I decided to do this or why I had to go through this torment of hearing bad things from our old classmates, and I could tell that it was really difficult on Lorraine's part as well to hear these nasty comments towards me, and knowing Lorraine, it would be a matter of time before she finally broke her promise of not depending on me.

"Time to make my appearance," I told myself while looking at my reflection in the mirror, and seeing how much I had changed, gave me the courage to leave the lady's room and walk to the function room.

As I was walking, I could still hear their continued insults, and before I realized it, I was already standing in the closed door of the function room where our reunion was being held.

"Enough! You don't have the right to insult Ira like that; she's a great person anyone in this room could ever wish to be!"

A genuine smile appeared on my lips when I heard Lorraine's angry voice, and her words touched my heart dearly.

When I asked for her to stay quiet even after our old classmates insulted me, I knew, with her personality, that she wouldn't fulfill that promise, and honestly, I didn't feel bad that she lost control of her emotions. As a matter of fact, I was and will always be thankful for having her as my friend and for always trying to protect me, but this time, I needed to stand up for myself.

With a steady hand, I reached for the doorknob and turned it open, revealing a very spacious and brightly lit room adorned with intricate designs.

"Calm down; we're just stating facts, and besides..."

That was the last sentence I heard before I ended the call, and it didn't surprise me when I realized it was Wilma who said those words.

Wilma is the leader of the bullies in our class, and it was because of her that my high school life became a living hell.

I can still remember how her eyes lit up when she saw me walking inside the classroom, looking like a pathetic loser, and that became more noticeable when she learned that I didn't belong to any wealthy family; just like her words, I'm just a charity case.

Wilma suddenly stopped talking when I came in; all eyes were on me, and surprisingly, I didn't feel the pressure or nervousness I felt earlier; in fact, I felt so calm that it also surprised me.

I didn't make eye contact with anyone in the room except for Lorraine, who appeared shocked to see my calm demeanor.

Honestly, I didn't bother noticing everyone's reaction to my sudden intrusion; they could despise and insult me all they wanted, but none of that matters to me anymore, as long as there is someone who truly cares for me, and that is Lorraine.

My focus was on Lorraine the whole time, so I was startled when someone blocked me from going to Lorraine.

"Excuse me, beautiful, but I didn't think I had the pleasure of knowing you." I heard a voice from the man who blocked me, and when I looked at his face, I was stunned when I realized who it was.

It was none other than Tyler Reeds!

He is considered the most popular guy at school, and unfortunately, he was one of my bullies way back in high school.

I would be lying if I said that I didn't have a crush on him, but when I learned how awful his personality was, all the admiration I felt for him disappeared instantly.

He despised me so much, and he kept on telling me what a waste of space I was, with such a face and body like mine, so why on earth do I feel like he was actually flirting with me?

I recalled that he attempted to court Lorraine. Who wouldn't be smitten by a woman of her beauty? Tyler believed he had a chance with Lorraine because he was the most popular guy at school, but Lorraine rejected him before he could even begin. This didn't deter Tyler from his pursuit of Lorraine, though, and he later learned a painful lesson when he tried to kiss her against her will.

He was smiling, showing his perfect set of white teeth, giving me his dangerous smile that, most of the time, never failed to swoon any woman, except for Lorraine.

If it were before I knew how rotten his personality was, I might have fallen for that smile, but not this time.

I tried to avoid him, giving him the quiet treatment rather than giving him an answer. However, I felt his huge palm quickly seizing my arm and stopping me in my tracks as I approached Lorraine.

"Do you mind removing your hand from me, Tyler?" I asked in a cold tone.

He appeared pleasantly surprised when I uttered his name, and I could already see the building confidence on his face.

"Nice, you do know me," he said with his annoying, cocky voice.

"Yes, I knew you, and I know who you truly are," I said, and my words wiped the conceited smile off his face.

I didn't wait for him to talk, and I forcefully pulled my arm away from him and continued walking to where Lorraine was.

I noticed Wilma was also looking at me, but by the looks of confusion on her face, it appeared that she also didn't recognize me, which made me wonder if I had really changed a lot, so that no one from this room seemed to recognize me, well, except for Lorraine, of course.

When I stood in front of Lorraine at last, a genuine smile spread across my lips as she gladly witnessed me standing up for myself.

I mouthed a sincere "Thank you," letting my lips do the talking as I expressed my sincere gratitude.

She just gave me a playful wink, showing how proud she was of me.

"Is she with you, Lorraine?" Wilma asked, and hearing her question, I finally looked at her.

If Lorraine wins the title of most beautiful person in our class, Wilma will undoubtedly come in second. Several guys are drawn to her attractiveness, and they will do anything to get her approval, and that includes bullying me on her behalf.

I was caught off guard when I saw a sense of hostility in her eyes while looking at me, which she immediately hid.

I didn't want to appear conceited, but I think she was threatened because of me for some reason.

"Was it because of how I look now?" I wondered.

"Yes, she's with me," Lorraine said, without giving any explanation.

"Why did you bring an outsider to our reunion? This event should only be for our class," she said.

Lorraine shook her head after hearing Wilma's question, and a mysterious smile appeared on her lips. I could tell that she was really enjoying this moment, and honestly, I did too.

"I don't know what you mean, Wilma?" Lorraine asked.

Her irritation was barely disguised as she said, "Why the ruse, Lorraine? Your friend is right here, or are you saying that you don't know her, and she's not your friend?"

"I do know her, and she's, in fact, my friend."

"Then, why did you bring someone who isn't supposed to be here?" Wilma asked.

"I think you're mistaken, Wilma, but she's supposed to be here," Lorraine answered.

With a mischievous smile, she emphasized the word "class" and said, "Absolutely not! This is our class reunion, dear, and it's strictly solo; no plus-ones allowed."

"What are you talking about? She's our classmate," Lorraine revealed, and again, nobody managed to connect me now with the me before.

Tyler smirked and sidled up next to Wilma, saying, "Oh, give it a rest. Nobody here has a clue who she is, let alone remembering her."

"You've really changed since last time, haven't you, Saphira? Can you believe it? Not a single person recognized you?" Lorraine said, her eyes glimmering with triumph as she gave me a sly look that said, "I told you so."

There was such a deep silence in the room that you could have heard a pin drop after Lorraine dropped her revelation. I could barely suppress my laughter as I saw everyone's expressions of astonishment and loss.

As Lorraine pointed out, nobody could have predicted that the overweight, unattractive loser they knew in high school would become the person the class's second-most attractive girl would feel threatened with or the former most popular guy would be interested in.

"Hi, everyone."