TBBM LIII. Cornetto

Red turned around as he looked at his phone dismissively. He talked to someone briefly then picked up his pace, like some excited kid running after his toy.

I tried my best to keep up with him but he outpaced me. I followed him, only to trip at the corner to the library.

My sneakers gave up. The front of the sole detached. I also lost Red.

The bell had just rang and soon enough, students started populating the alleys like some soldier bees hovering around once the peace of the beehive was interrupted. I limped to one side as I thought of a way to avoid embarrassment until the PAC girls came to view.

"Look at that, Hickey," Angie's nose was on me. "Even your sneakers give up on you."

"Scooting like a dog," Ceccie shook her head.

"Scooting like a scooter," Phao laughed at her comparison---alone.

I wanted to pretend like the PAC girls didn't exist but their noses were always on me. I couldn't really just turn a blind eye on them. Impossible.

"Leave me alone," I breathed heavily. "You girls always bully me. Aren't you getting sick of it?"

"You see, I ask myself that all the time," Angie fumed. "But every time I see you, you look pathetic. I can't stand it!"

"Pathetic?" I said, stunned. "I wasn't even doing anything to you."

"Right! You're not even doing anything yet---and I am already worked up---"

"Is that supposed to be my problem? We can be just civil---"

"Negative!" Ceccie screamed.

"No," Phao added.

"I'm sorry. I can't," Angie rejected as she pulled one shoe away from my feet. I tried not to give in but the other two girls aided her. I ended up falling on the ground, palms wounded. I closed my eyes in humiliation as other students watched us. I heard them held their breaths as Angie goofingly raised my torn sneakers in the air. In my defeat, I wished Red would come back to help me. I prayed earnestly for him to come back while Angie waved my shoe in the air. "I'll leave you with one so you don't call me a bully---"

"You are... a bully," James came, snatching the shoe from Angie's grip. His eyes were stapled on her, reprimanding. "This is why I never liked you. McIntyre would neither."

"Don't meddle with this, James---"

"Leave Jopet, alone, or the Dean will hear from me," James warned. "I warned you before."

"Why?" that instant, Angie's eyes flooded in tears. "Why do you always side with her, huh? You. Red. The Reformation Office---"

"Because you're simply wrong!" James voice escalated. I rarely heard him raise his voice like that.

I stood up from the ground with Roma's help.

"Jopet already had allot of personal struggles to begin with. I saw it. Seen it with my own two eyes. And when she was here at school, I saw how much she tried to avoid you, avoided crossing paths with you. You tripped her. You locked her up in the restroom. You pulled mean pranks on her. But look at her. Instead of fighting back, she even saved you from being reprimanded most of the times---"

"Jim," I pulled his sleeve. "Enough."

"That's why!" Angie raised her voice, too. "That's why I hate her!"

That moment, students started dispersing at the sight of SWAFO approaching us. Somebody must have reported the commotion.

Ceccie and Phao looked terrified seeing their leader cry her eyes out. They took her away in no time.

Two SWAFO men arrived to check on the scene but after looking at my wounded hands and legs, Roma volunteered to come with them instead and give a statement.

"I must have lost my temper," James sat me down. "You got badly hurt again."

"What did you mean when you said you warned her?"

"Jap, did you think I'm alright hearing you tell me how they bully you like this?"

Dub dub. Dub dub.

James was a peace-loving guy. But now, his eyes burned and he sweated in his own flames. He kept talking as he wiped my wounds clean with his hanky but I understood none of those, absorbed by his eyes. My heart drummed heavily in my chest. It got louder and louder until I couldn't hear him anymore.

James saw how badly torn my sneakers were. He paused and looked at me for a bit but I couldn't really figure out what he was saying. My heart beat clamourously inside, disorienting me.

He put his left shoe on me while tried to fit one of my broken sneakers to his left. He supported me as we walked to the parking lot while I struggled to calm my heart down. It wouldn't. I pretended that I was listening to James while we walked. I thought what he did was really caring. I could see allot of students staring at us as we walked each with unmatching footwear. I wanted to laugh it out and easen up the tension but my heart wouldn't.

I thought it would take me hours before my heart would rest---until I saw Red, running back from the gate holding a white paper bag. He stopped when he saw me and James, looking hopeless.

I almost forgot to look for him. Honestly, I probably didn't want to look for him, at all, for I always ended up in trouble when near him. It was impossible to understand him. He ran away today and left me.

Dear Saint,

I have decided not to deal with Red again. I thought that maybe, James was right when he said that Red drags me around allot. Actually, after today happened, I felt like I probably was really just something that entertained him. He left me today after he got what he wanted from me. I hoped that he'd come back for me for I started to panic when people saw my torn sneakers. But he didn't. I probably expected so much from him.

+++

I basically ignored Red for the entire morning the day after. I mostly hanged with James or Roma or Betty every time I got the chance, to eliminate interaction with Red. I didn't sit with him at the back either.

He tried to approach me in person twice but I pretended not hearing or seeing him. He kept ringing my phone, too. But I wasn't taking any of it.

I couldn't find it in me to really hate him. I felt uneasy every time I treated him like a ghost. But also, I seemed to be incurably disappointed in him. I thought I just needed time. That could be it.

He gathered everyone for a meeting after class. I couldn't look straight at him. He stood there in front confidently, as if none of this irked him. But I avoided his glance each time.

"As you know, our college excursion is right around the corner and we wanted to make it a highlight event for the end of this term. We lined up really great destinations for this year so I hope that everyone could join."

"You joining?" Betty elbowed me. I normally didn't join excursions. The Science one was my a great first exception.

"I doubt that I'll have money enough for that," I shrugged my shoulders dismissively. "Let me go to the comfort room while you discussed."

"Right," Red answered Hugo's question. "We'll share the itinerary soon. For now, you may start to settle the fee at the Treasury. Keep your receipts and someone, please keep track."

I quietly left my seat and headed for the door.

"She," Red pointed at me. "Miss Magat will keep track of it."

I paused. Miss Magat? He was suddenly polite.

"Me?" I realised that that was me talking to him.

"Yes," he beamed defiantly. "Unless you changed your last name---"

"I'm actually not joining so---"

"You're joining? Good. Deal," he thwarted what I said. "Now, everyone... since you've all been nice to me in my first few months with you, I thought I'd treat you with some sweets."

Red lifted the ice chest effortlessly up on the table from the floor sending the girls into a frenzy.

"Thank you, Red!" the class rejoiced. It was an unexpected turn for him to be really friendly with our classmates But they all seemed to get along well with Red now. I never really realised that. I saw them smiled sheepishly back at our Class President and he entertained them.

That led me to remember what Red had told me yesterday.

How will you notice when you keep ogling at someone else?

I felt a pang of guilt squeeze my heart. I could have been judging him wrong all these time.

"Ooops!" he passed on ice cream cones with big moves until the very last one. "This goes to me. We lack one."

Angie was out today so I thought he'd have some in spare but he didn't.

He winked at me. It occurred to me that I wouldn't get to receive one. Deep inside me, I really craved for one. He knew how much of an ice cream girl I was. But he planned not to give me.

"Mmmmm.... Yummy," he teased. "Make sure you finish it here. It's hot outside."

I could feel my mouth salivating. I hated him for looking at me every single time he launched for it.

"This Cornetto cone is really something," he splurged. "Agree?"

"I'll share you mine," Roma mouthed at me. She was a good friend.

"This is me thanking you for receiving me warmly. I know I didn't have the smoothest start with some of you so this is my offering of peace," he smiled and the girls giggled to death. Some of the boys copied him. "As this is my peace offering, please do not share it with others."

I bit my lip in annoyance. How could he think of such an evil plan to get back at me? I watched him enjoyed himself in it. I trudged back to my seat and picked up my bag.

"Where to?" Betty asked.

"I'll go on duty," I whispered.

I intentionally left without saying a word to Red. I let him be glorified in his moment. He probably thought that yesterday was just a laughing matter and that I was somebody easy to get.

I got out of the rest room, mumbling things to myself when I saw Roma at a distance. I hated it that I could not take my mind away from that Cornetto. My mouth watered as I saw it.

I ran towards her.

"Did you just open it now?" I asked, looking at how a portion of the ice cream cone had already melted. "Such a waste of goodies."

"I told you I'll share it with you so---"

"You're a good friend," I couldn't resist it. I took a bite. "Whoa! It's awfully good!"

"I knew you'd fall for it," Roma cackled. "You hate the giver but not what's given."

"There is no way I can hate this ice cream---"

"If you swallow that..." that arrogant voice came from my back. "You'll be my slave until we graduate."

<T_T>