He Kissed Me

"What? What are you doing fetching water when others are at the assembly getting ready for the inter-school sports competition? And why are you so wet and dirty? Just look at how unkempt you look. How old are you? Are you not up to 16?" Mrs. Gracious yelled at Anna, her hawk eyes tracing up and down Anna's dirty, wet uniform. Anna came to a halt in her task of filling all the containers on senior Gloria's side of the hostel, as senior Gloria had instructed, shocked that the matron had caught her.

"What are you doing here? I asked you a question!" Mrs. Gracious barked at a nervous Anna.

Out of fear, Anna almost dropped the bucket of water she was carrying. With her face-down, she tried her best to avoid Mrs. Gracious piercing look. But then, she noticed Mrs. Gracious' popular pointy-toe black high heels, and almost burst out laughing. If her friend were here, she probably would have lost control laughing at Mrs. Gracious' one and only shoe. Her long toes were peeping out of the big hole of her worn-out black shoes. It was hilarious. And it made Anna wonder if a school as prestigious as Bishop Evangelical college couldn't pay their teachers well or if Mrs. Gracious was just plain stingy to herself.

"Are you deaf? Or has the afternoon sun made you daft? Silly girl. What are you still doing at the hostel by this time?" The matron snarled at a nervous Anna. "I don't want to repeat myself!"

Anna paused as she thought about the perfect lie to tell Mrs. Gracious. She couldn't tell her that she was being punished by Gloria. That would only land her in a bigger problem. Everyone would brand her the "Dorm's rat" if she snitched on any of the seniors. And after that, not only will Gloria be after her, but all the seniors will be after her too. And there was no way she could survive living under such pressure for the rest of her days at Bishop Evangelical College. 

"Ma… I… woke up late because… the cook's food made me purge." Anna blurted out without properly thinking about her lie.

"Oooh… three offences! You slept late, you were in the hostel while others were at the assembly and you just insulted the school's cook. ," Mrs. Gracious listed out Anna's offences in a harsh voice.

"Ma… I didn't mean…"

"Shut up! You are lucky I am in a good mood today. I would have asked you to mop all the toilets in the hostel every single day for the rest of your life in this dorm. But thank your stars." Mrs. Gracious yelled at Anna, who was busy staring at the matron's flowing black skirt and big polo shirt, which did not match. It was almost like the polo was wearing the matron and not the other way round. It was hilarious and Anna felt like laughing. But she held her laughter as she waited eagerly for Mrs. Gracious to pronounce her punishment.

"You will be on kitchen duty for an entire month. No resting or sleeping for you. Any day you don't report to the kitchen for your duty, your punishment will be extended to two months. Now, off to the assembly now!" The matron ordered.

Anna dashed off to the assembly, almost in tears over the harsh punishment meted out by the matron. It was all senior Gloria's fault! But she couldn't let anyone know what she had seen, especially the matron. How was she going to cope with serving punishments from two of the most wicked females she'd ever met? She wondered as she arrived at the assembly ground. Everyone was staring at her in disgust as she slipped behind her friend, Sylvia, trying to hide her dirty self from the curious stares all around her. 

"You look like a pig! Who raised you?" 

That harsh statement shocked her, but when she looked behind and saw it was a nasty Queen, she wasn't surprised that such vile words had come from her. Everyone knew Queen was a bully, and nasty to everyone. But she wasn't just a bully, she was also the senior's eyes in their class and reported almost everything that happened in their dorm or class to them. So, no one ever wanted to be on her bad side. She was the senior's pet and being on her black-book was equal to being on every senior's black-book. So, Anna simply ignored her offensive comment.

Anna was so lost thinking about her punishments that she had no idea when the assembly had ended. She was still standing at a spot when other students started marching out. A shove from Queen jolted her to reality and had her marching out of the assembly ground towards the stadium. When she got out of the school gate, someone suddenly grabbed her and she was alarmed. But her heart stopped racing the second she discovered it was her friend Sylvia. 

"Why did you scare me like that? Sylvia?" Anna asked, trying to catch her breath. 

"Anna, why do you look like someone just fished you out of the gutter? Don't you know what today represents? You should be looking your best. So many schools will be present at the stadium. Ambrose Boys, St. Monica Girls, Unique Academy, Premiere height school. And they will laugh at you, especially St. Monica Girls… You know how vicious they can be. You look filthy." said Sylvia, looking at her friend in disgust. 

"Please, just let me be. I don't care!" Anna mumbled, her eyes suddenly filling up with unshed tears. 

"I'm sorry for sounding harsh. What happened to you?" Sylvia asked, genuinely concerned.

"Nothing… let's just go." Anna said, walking off.

"Wait, can't we try to clean your uniform a bit? It looks really bad." Sylvia asked in a low voice. 

"Stop it now… Let's go or you can go with whoever you want." Anna threatened her friend. Her raised voice drew the attention of the other students around. And all their eyes were fixed on her because of her filthy uniform. While some laughed at her shabby state, others felt pity for her.

"Sorry, let's go… I have been waiting for you to tell you the biggest hottest news. I searched all around the room, I didn't see you and even on the assembly ground." Sylvia proclaimed, her face suddenly glowing with excitement. 

"What news?" Asked Anna out of curiosity. Her face suddenly changed from sad to a very inquisitive look. 

Sylvia giggled then and before she could tell Anna the news, Stanley was suddenly in between the two of them, holding them playfully by their necks. They both pushed his hands off, hoping none of their teachers had seen that. Such rapport between opposite sexes was not allowed in their school. 

"Calm down, girls, we are at the stadium now, which means we have the freedom to do whatever we want. There's no teacher waiting to punish me for touching your necks. We are free!" Stanley bragged, looking from Anna to Sylvia.

"Stanley, please, no one wants to talk to you now. We are having a private time. " Anna hissed, irritated by Stanley's intrusion. Once her curiosity was peeked, she was always uncomfortable until it was satisfied. Her ears were pricking to hear the big news Sylvia wanted to share with her. But the loud Stanley had managed to ruin it for her. 

"Wait… Anna, why do you look like you lost your senses? Have you finally gone mad?" Stanley asked, scrutinising Anna's untidy appearance. 

"Stop it! Please, go find your fellow guys to hang out with. We need our girls' time!" Sylvia rebuked Stanley as she walked off in another direction with Anna. 

"But I want to hang out with you guys. Come on!" Stanley yelled as he watched them walk off. The only reason he hung out with them was because he liked Sylvia, but since she just shunned him, he had no choice but to join the other students scattered all over the stadium. 

Anna and Sylvia took their seats at the stadium stands allocated to their school since none of them were part of the athletes. Neither Anna nor Sylvia were good at sports. 

"So, tell me already what the news is all about!" Anna whispered to her friend

"Well… It was a surprise to me. I mean, I know I am pretty, but to be asked out by Senior Clinton was truly a shock. He's like the finest guy in the entire school". Sylvia blabbed happily.

"What? Senior Clinton asked you to be his girlfriend, and you accepted?" Anna asked incredulously. 

"Yes… he even kissed me… I almost melted. What's with the look? Don't be jealous, soon, a guy will ask you out and kiss you too. But definitely not today!" Sylvia announced, appalled by her friend's appearance.

Anna watched her friend, desperately wanting to tell her the secret she was keeping from her. But she just couldn't, even though she knew Sylvia would be in deep shit if Senior Gloria ever found out that her boyfriend had asked Sylvia out. 

Just then, Senior Gloria and her friends walked past the stands. Their catwalk had everyone spell-bound and almost everyone watching them walk majestically away from the stands. Anna was suddenly lost staring at senior Gloria's face, recalling how she had seen her that night rocking senior Clinton in the toilet and moaning. "So pretentious" Anna hissed as she noticed senior Gloria's make-up-free face in contrast to her friends' heavily made-up faces. She was still staring boldly at senior Gloria when their gazes locked, and Gloria gave her an evil stare before Anna averted her gaze. Anna swallowed hard and focused on the game, promising herself never to reveal the secret, not even to her friend. Senior Gloria was not one to mess with.