Rename the White and Black

CHAPTER II – BULLIED

When our class was ended, I was walking alone to go home. It was raining at five in the afternoon when there was a car driving so fast like a racing car. The mud was splashed to my uniform, hearing some students laughing at me so I hurried back to the house to take a bath.

When I was done taking a bath, I forgot to bring my clothes with me that was on the bed so, I went out of the bathroom. I was surprised when I saw him looked away with his tinge red of face like me. I rushed to get my clothes beside him and changed quickly. I felt my heart beats so fast and tiny drop of sweats on my forehead.

Kitchen. I love cooking simple foods I love to eat. I prepared fried chicken, fried shrimps and mushroom soup for dinner. I saw him next to the table but I ignored him and focused on what I was doing. After the foods were prepared, I invited him to share a dinner with me but he did not reply and he just left the house. If he did not have appetite to have a dinner with me, then let it be and it was not my fault if he got hungry soon. I would just put his foods in the fridge.

It was almost an hour when I finished eating dinner and washed the dishes. He did not come back that was why I sat on the couch, read some Otaku magazines until I got sleepy.

When I woke up the next morning, I was on the floor, rubbing my eyes and stood up. I saw mosquito bites around my arms and I rushed to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. My arms were hurt because of tiny mosquitoes’ bite. Thinking that I really forgot to put on my jacket last night and went to the kitchen to cook breakfast, I saw Kai at the door, rubbing his eyes. I rushed to prepare a breakfast and two cups of coffee with creamer.

“Good morning,” I greeted but he refused to greet me back. He got a cup of coffee and after a minute, he walked away. May be, he did not like me at all and I did not want to force him to like me.

Wait a moment! No, what was I thinking? Sae, always remember, you were doing this for your grandfather. I felt my face reddened.

As I was walking at the corridor, I heard whisphers of the students, “Is she with Kai living in the same roof?”

“May be, she is? Yes, she is. Her face was too hard to be with Kai to live in the same roof. Look, Kai is so handsome and she is too dark and so ugly. Yuck!”

“Yea, she’s not even shy because of her skin.” I heard from someone else and I just ignored them.

I stopped walking when I felt someone threw something on my head. I saw a drop of egg yolk to my hair and another egg was thrown to me which caused me to got hurt because it was too close to my eyes. I covered my face with my hands as another two eggs were thrown at me. There were crowd of students around me and somebody put a paperbag of flour on my head. They were saying bad things, saying names and pushing me hard and I fell on the ground. I saw my knees were scratched. They kicked me at my back and on my stomach many times.

“Stop this commotion!” I heard a teacher screaming and the students stopped kicking me and she commanded us to go to the covered court.

“Who did this commotion? Tell me!” she asked angrily, all of them were not responding and I was thinking of the punishment. A student girl was trembling and cried, “She was the one who did this.” She was pointing at me and there were daggering looks at me. I started to utter some words to defend myself but the teacher refused to listen. I felt useless and lifeless at this moment because nobody would believe in me.

“You’re just a transferee student and yet you’re not behaving well?” The teacher was angry, looking at me. “Go to the detention room,” she commanded. I heard them laughing and giggling behind my back. I cried so hard and sobbed as I entered to the detention room. I could not take this anymore. I wanted to stop it! My back and stomach ached because of their kicks. My forehead hurt and I saw blood as I brushed it with my fingers. I need to do something.

I escaped our class instead after five hours in the detention room. I went to the faculty room and all of the teachers were looking at me but did not bother to ask me if I was okay. The stain of my blood was on my forehead down to my nose. I just wanted to show that teacher what her students did to me. I greeted them without hearing any respond from them.

“What are you doing here?” the teacher irritatedly asked. I went up close to her and gave her a complaint letter.

“This is all I want. Justice for me,” I said calmly and I saw her furious eyes at me.

“Justice? It was you who made the commotion.” She stood up, glaring at me, slowly walking around me and she was trying to make me feel that it was my fault. “You couldn’t turn me to be a fool, Ms. Seranilla. Everybody is complaining about you and do you think you are kind?” She made a boisterous laugh at my face and I saw the teachers around us were giggling too.

“And how about you? Ms. Fermin?” I asked calmly, looking at her eyes directly. “How would you let your students to be dependent on you? You are always hiding their true colors, Ms. Fermin. Is that you call a teacher?” I added, closing my fists tight and ready for her reactions.

She started to slap me back and forth but nobody came to help me. Blood were rushing again down my face and I said, “Is this all you want? To hurt an innocent student like me whether she has a blood stains on her forehead or not, hurt or not and abandoned or not. You don’t like giving considerations to us, especially the innocent students.” I started to walk away from her but she pulled my hair and I fell on the floor. I stared at her blazing eyes and I pushed her. The teachers were looking at us. It seemed like they were accusing me that I was wrong. I ran away and I went to the director of student affairs’ room.

“Is my complain and petition already signed?” I asked smiling and his secretary whispered something to him. He was shocked at that moment and he signed my petition to remove that teacher and have her licence blacklisted in all public and private schools.

“Thank you, Sir for accepting my request. My grandfather will be happy for this.” I said smiling, and I felt happiness in my heart, thinking of the innocent students like me would be free.

“Yes, I know. Your grandfather was a best friend of mine. We were classmates when we were in primary until college. Give my regards to him. Thank you,” he said happily. He was proud to say that I was the eye-opener of all that teacher’s wrong doing. I went at home with egg stains and body aches.

I went home late at night. I saw Kai watching movies and I went to the bathroom. The egg stain was stucked on my hair so I did an hour bath. Remembering what happened this day made me smile. It was my first time to show my feelings against those who were treating me not right. I was bullied since I was in a primary school but when I transferred, I really preferred and loved my old school.

I stood up with a body ache and changed my clothes. I used blower to dry my hair quickly, disinfecting my wounds and putting band aids on my forehead and knees. I laid on the bed without eating anything for dinner. As I remember everything, my heart was hurt. How could a teacher be so mean to innocent students? She was not treating right and she did not even investigate what trully happened. She was careless and selfish.

I woke up at twelve midnight and my stomach started grumbling for food. I went to the kitchen and started to eat the food on the fridge. It was bread and a pasta that Kai may be cooked. As I took to taste the pasta, it was not that creamy, it was salty but I ate it.

As I walked near the gate, I saw a crowd of students around the bulletin board, hearing murmurs around it but I tried to walk so fast.

“Oh, that b***h again,” she said meanly, the one who pointed at me yesterday.

“You have the face to be here,” she said angrily. She pulled my hair and pushed me to the ground. She kicked me on my side and I was really hurt badly. My body ached yesterday and now, it was really hurting me more.

I felt someone pulled my foot, sliding me at the ground and kicked me on my stomach. I cried for the stomach and back pains because it was happening repeatedly. I tried to stood up but my foot twisted and I started to walk away from them. “It’s not enough. You deserve this.” She pushed me to the ground, I was trying to crawl and to get up but she kicked me twice. “You should leave this school before I kill you,” she added madly.

“What did I do to you?” I asked as I tried to get back my strength to stood up and pushed her to the ground.

They stopped hurting me as a student boy walked beside her and the girl smiled. He looked at her and raised her hand but he refused to help her. Her smile disappeared as the student boy walked toward me, putting his jacket to my waist and carried me on his arms. I thought I know this guy.

“Haji?” I whispered and I saw his sad eyes. Seeing me like this was such a pity. I hid my face so he would not see me like this. He was my childhood best friend, he was handsome and most of the girls liked him. He was my knight in shining armor since I was bullied in primary school. He always make me laugh and be at my side whenever I was happy or sad. I was grateful to have him.

“Sae, long time no see,” he started. He made me sat on a bench at the school garden. He removed my shoe and have my twisted foot located back to normal.

“Why are you here?” I asked happily. He answered me that he transferred here just to see me and protect me. As we happily having a conversation, I saw a man with a cap hiding behind a tree and may be, he thought that I saw him, he disappeared quickly. That was weird. Who was he to observe us from afar?

I heard some gossips again as we were happily teasing each other. After our class, he went at home with me but I did not know that Kai would be here as early as he could.