Hearts and Sinners

A group of students gathers outside the most notorious classroom in the entire building. As always, people are watching the drama unfold before we all go on a summer break. Not knowing what happened previously before my arrival, I thought it was just a stupid fight. But when I took off my headphones to ask Bee-my best friend-what was going on. I heard horrified shouting and several students crying. "Ethan!" I heard the vice president's name being cried out. I stare at the group of students who are watching the scene unfold without doing anything. The next thing I know, everyone is calling for an ambulance. "Move!" I rushed through the crowd by instinct. When I reached the middle, Ethan was lying dead on the floor bleeding from his head. Or at least, that's what they thought. "Give him some space!" Everyone did not listen, so I had to push people away and explain to them that he needed some space to breathe or they were all slowly killing him and I would tell the police it was their fault. They backed away slowly, and they were not happy about it. "What happened to him?" I asked Alecia, his girlfriend who was crying next to him. "It was the class president! He hit him on the head and then ran away!" Alecia told me with anger and hate. "He's still alive. He lost a lot of blood. Take off your blazer," I took my blazer off and then my school polo. I fold the blazer, put them under his head, and then put pressure on the wound. Hopefully, this will make him last long, just enough until the ambulance gets here. He had a few minor cuts and some bruises on his body when I checked for other injuries while Alecia kept the pressure on the wound. I quickly cover them up to hide them from the rest to prevent more rumors. Based on Alecia's expression, she had no idea about it. When the ambulance came, my cousin arrived with them. He checked on Ethan first before they took him into the ambulance. He asked a few students some questions before leaving the school with Ethan. As for the rest of us, we were called to the auditorium for a campus meeting. I already knew what the teachers, staff, and chairman were going to say. I put on my earbuds this time to avoid their annoying voice. But when all heads turn to me, I awkwardly stare at the familiar faces and then at the chairman of the school. I slipped off my earbuds and listened to him feeling anxious. "It seems she's the only one who did the right thing. Cyra, you did well on acting up without hesitation to save a schoolmate of yours. You have shown what this school stands for," the chairman said. I did not understand why he would do that. It was just me keeping him from losing more blood. After that weird acknowledgment, he started scolding everyone for what happened. After that, we all head back to our classrooms. As usual, I put my headphones on now to block out the noises. A few people were looking at me up and down weirdly. I looked down at my shirt and realized that my polo was unbuttoned and covered in blood. I turn back to head to the girls' locker room and get changed. When I got there, a bunch of people barged in, surprising me. "Cyra," Alecia and her friends rush towards me. "Here, we got out a shirt, polo, and an extra blazer," they offered the items to me. "Uhm...thanks," I awkwardly take the items from them and then stare at them for a few moments. "I want to say thank you for what you did earlier. If he lost a lot more blood, he would've died," she told me. "Yeah. Next time, if something like that happens again, you know what to do. Just keep pressure on the wound," I told her. "Where did you learn to do that?" She asked me. I thought about several things to answer her. But I just answered that my dad was a doctor and my Mon was a nurse. I learned a thing or two from them and nothing more. I head inside a changing room and change out of my bloody clothes. The girls walked with me to my classroom, asking me many questions. When I reached my classroom, Class C, Ethan's brother, Aiden, standing outside the door looking for someone. Alecia called out to him and approached him. He locked eyes on me and then approached me in a rush. He grabbed my shoulders tightly and stared into my eyes. They were faint words, and his mouth barely moved. But I know he said "thank you" before dipping his head down. "He's alive because of you. So, thank you." "I...I just did what I thought was right. I'm glad he's alive. But his recovery will take a while. There's still some head injuries that we might not know about." "Still. He was able to make it until the ambulance arrived because of you. Ethan is a sickly kid. We all know that. That blow to his head would've killed him sooner. You have no idea how big of an impact this has on him, the family, and the rest of us. So, thank you. Aiden suddenly pulled me into a hug, which made a few students gasp. Aiden is one of the few seniors who everyone wants a piece of. But since I just got here, I don't know much about the school heartthrob and its groups. But Elite classes are the King's and Queens of campus. Aiden is one of the single boys everyone wants to have. Having him hug me is an act of war against his fans. "Okay. I very much like to keep my head. I don't want you crazy fan girl group trying to kill me," I said without thinking. He immediately let go of me, but his stare was a mix of shock and confusion. "Thank you, I appreciate all of this. I hope Ethan has a fast recovery," I told him before heading back into my classroom. I say goodbye and thank you to the girls before shutting the doors closed. Later that afternoon, everyone started to look my way. This time, it was a little more different. I'm not used to people recognizing me. That didn’t work out well in my previous academy. Here, things are not changing for the better. "Cyra!" Bee runs up to me and hugs my arm. She has her usual bright smile on. "I can't believe Aiden hugged you earlier!" She said out loud for everyone to hear. "Keep it down," I hushed her. "Everyone in the academy probably hates you now. But hey, at least the elites are on your side. You have the queen of elites and the rogue prince on your side. You even have their minions on your side. You'll be fine!" Not a helpful thing to say to me right now. I may have their favor, but I know for a fact that it will only last for a few days and then it's gone. When Ethan is doing better and fully recovered, they'll forget the whole thing. I am sure about it because they are those kinds of people. But little did they know that I knew their true colors.