TBBM VI. Heroes

Angie, the queen bee, tripped me as I inched away from my seat. Confused as I was of what just happened, I failed to avoid it.

"Oh, no! I told you to watch who you're crossing."

"Look left then right," danced Cecie.

"Oh, see," Phao belted. "You have the same color as the flour!"

I could not decide whether to hate or pity them. They were pretty but had serious spelling issues. I decided to just let it pass but then, I felt something sticky---

"Bubblegum! No," I wailed.

I was still absorbed by Red's pronouncement when I reached the restroom. I would take the PWD restroom for obvious reasons while James, my James, my one and only, waited for me somewhere at the back of the building.

But why was I too flustered when Red asked me to be with him on the lead? It wasn't like he said anything special. These happenings were totally unplanned.

As I labored in getting the gum off of my uniform at the sink, strange things started happening; or, should I say, PAC Girls things?

The door pinned shut and locked on its own.

The light died.

The faucets run dry.

The exhaust fan stopped working.

#Sigh

"What? What do you want?" I screamed while inside. "Do you think this would make me back down?"

For somebody really frightened of clashing with them, I thought rebelling loudly like that was brave. For medical reasons I couldn't really fight. My bones had started to become weak due to the blockers but deep inside me, I wished I could at least spank them in the head once---and that they would not get back at me.

I'd been locked up in the restroom for about twenty minutes already. And since it was locked, no phone signal went in.

When I finally got exhausted of screaming for help, I sat on the floor and buried my face between my knees.

"What do I do now?" I wimped. I realized, being strong for very long could be exhausting.

In fairy tales, this was the moment when the princess' fortitude was tested. if she made it through this, then, she'd meet her knight-in-shining-armour. If she didn't---well, it might be that she should learn how to be strong on her own, first. But strong... what did it mean to be strong?

I never told anyone about me, exactly. Not even James.

I grew up leaning towards the opposite of what society expected me to be or do. I liked to play with dolls rather than cars or robots like typical boys my age. At eight years old, the school bullying intensified. My classmates made fun of me for playing with a doll. They said I was gender non-conforming because of my birthmark. I told them that I wanted to remove them altogether. My father hit me after my proclamation. He'd lock me up in my room or in the bathroom whenever he got drunk.

Four years after that, my father disappeared in the name of love. But here I was, after all those years, crying on the floor, again. I thought I'd escaped this role since my father left.

I was crying when a streak of light suddenly closed in on me.

"Jap!" James rushed in, shaking me awake. I was about to pass out due to the heat. It went feverishly hot inside. "Wake up. I'm here."

"Jim-jim," I smiled faintly. "Sometimes, you're like Romeo..."

I liked his scent. It wasn't the usual strong-guy scent. It was mild and comfortable. He was also sweating in the heat. But I liked his sweat.

If this was the test of the princess' fortitude, did I actually pass? Would the knight-in-shining-armour have come if I didn't?

Those were my thoughts before I actually passed out.

*************

I woke up on a bed in the infirmary. Strangely, I could still smell James even if he wasn't there. It was four in the afternoon and he must have been out in the field practicing. He was point guard in their college's basketball team.

"It's so peaceful," I concluded as I sat up. Only then, did I realize that I was hooked up to a dextrose. And as I traced the connection from the dextrose stand to the back of my hand, I quickly knew why I kept getting a hint of James' scent---I was wearing his jacket.

"How can he be charming like this?" I smiled to myself.

At half past four, I left the infirmary. I just had to wait until the IV ran out of fluid. I walked through the court to show up for James' practice. His face lit up when he saw me. He looked really attractive in his Jersey. He had a prefect three-point shot each time; and best of it, he looked and smiled at me before he made each shot.

My heart pounded and pounded. It felt so good.

"Tell me, how do I ever get used to you?" I said wordlessly as he played.

*******

I passed by the chapel and locked myself up in the confession room soon as the space got cleared of people. They conducted a short prayer session at four o'clock each day. Every Saturday and Sunday, they held the regular mass.

I waited until it was very quiet. This had been a habit of mine: to stay out alone in the confession room and pray as often as I could, especially when things didn't go my way.

"Dear Saint,

Did you know? Today, Jopet and the birthmark behind me, did something awesome. Did you watch me well? If you only did, you'd see how infuriated the PAC girls were. Well, I told you, I was gonna be strong, didn't I? Are you proud of me, now? Now, I'm no longer the Class President. I'm no longer going to to slave for them. They'd sure have to work really hard now. Or, would they really? We have a new face in class. Red, that's his name. Well, I'm sure you knew. Why did you send him to our college? I'm sure he wasn't intending to be anything like an instructor. He really just looked bored. Actually, he looked violent, too. He's rich, hmmm... handsome, I'd say. But really, he looks violent. Today, he volunteered himself for the Class President role. Stupid boy, he probably didn't think through what that entailed. But weirdly, he asked me to be his partner, the Vice President. What? Did he have a crush on me or something---"

"Gross," my very casual conversation with the Heavenly Figures was halted at the hear of an unwelcome commentary.

Did the Saint and the Lord just dissed me?

#Harsh