Chapter 10

After spending a week at the beach resort, the group of five returned home. Itzy's bruises are less noticeable now, her black eye faded quickly, and the other scars on her body are also healing well thanks to the application of medicine. Without proper treatment, a week at the beach resort may not have been enough time for Itzy to recover fully.

In order to conceal the bruises and scars on Itzy's body, the four men dressed her in a long-sleeved shirt. When they returned home, Gerard and Xinthy warmly welcomed their daughter with a hug. Luckily, they didn't question Itzy's unusual choice of clothing, as they were aware that she disliked wearing long sleeves. However, the four men left soon after, fearing that Itzy still harbored feelings of mistrust towards them and wanted to avoid being discovered.

It's Monday, another day to go to school, and another day to see Loxley, Jaxie, and Ileen.

As Itzy entered her classroom, all her classmates turned to look at her, surprised by her sudden reappearance. However, their looks were also mixed with fear, considering the terrible things they had done to her that day. The next day, her body was not found in the classroom, and no rumors had spread throughout the school that she had passed away. This left her classmates puzzled and unsure of what had happened to her. Then, all of a sudden, Itzy stands before them, still alive.

Despite the whispers that surrounded her as she made her way to her seat, Itzy tried to remain composed. She knew that her classmates were probably gossiping about her, but she refused to let them get to her.

Classmate 1: "Are you guys seeing Itzy, too?"

Classmate 2: "Yeah, it's really her, right?"

Classmate 3: "She's not a ghost, is she?"

Classmate 4: "We need to find the class president. Where is she? I'm getting goosebumps all of a sudden."

Classmate 5: "I don't think she's a ghost. I don't see any evidence of that."

Classmate 6: "So she's alive? We're not going to get into trouble?"

Classmate 7: "But she looked like a dead person that day."

Classmate 8: "This is so surreal."

Classmate 9: "I think I need to go home early today. I don't want to get involved with this."

Classmate 10: "She seems fine. Look at her walking straight."

As she took her seat, she surveyed the classroom and noticed that her classmates quickly averted their gazes and pretended to be busy with something else. Even those who had been chatting about her suddenly changed the subject, as if they were discussing something else. She let out a sigh and bit her lower lip before turning her attention to the view outside the window and waiting for their professor to arrive.

As she watched Ajax being surrounded by her schoolmates, a pang of sadness and regret hit her. It reminded her of the reason why their class president, Janine, had treated her so harshly. She had lost a friend due to a single mistake she had made. If only she could turn back time, she would have ignored Ajax and pretended he was invisible, just so Janine and the others wouldn't have treated her so badly.

As the professor arrived, Ajax looked up and caught Itzy's eye for a moment. Itzy quickly averted her gaze, trying to focus on the upcoming class.

[Lunch break]

As Itzy was about to slip out of the classroom to sneak another meal in the restroom, Janine blocked her path. Their eyes met, and for a moment, they held each other's gaze. Itzy asked why Janine had stopped her, but instead of answering, Janine responded with a question of her own.

Janine asked with her arms crossed over her chest, "How did you manage to get out of the classroom that day?"

Itzy understood what the question was about, but decided to play it cool. "I'm not sure what you're referring to," she responded.

Janine let out a disapproving sound. "You really don't remember, do you? Do you need me to refresh your memory?" she retorted.

Itzy found herself trapped inside the classroom with some of her classmates, who serve as their audience, as Janine had blocked the door. Despite having an audience, Janine seemed unfazed by their presence.

"I'm sorry, Janine, but I'm feeling quite hungry. Could we perhaps continue this conversation later?" Itzy asked, her voice trembling with nervousness. She couldn't shake off the memories of what had happened in the past.

Janine let out a cackle. "Please address me as 'class president', not by my name, as we're not friends. And your hunger? Why should I care about that?" she sneered.

Itzy let out a deep sigh, trying to suppress her emotions. "Please, let's talk about this later, class president."

Before Janine could respond, another classmate who was also trapped inside spoke up, "Come on, class president, we're hungry! Stop bullying her already."

Janine turned to the classmate, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that? You were bullying her the last time, and now you dare speak to me like that? Are you scared now that she almost died?"

The classmate responded defensively, "That's not the issue now. We're all hungry, so please just get us out of here."

Janine rolled her eyes, feeling frustrated but ultimately giving up on the argument. She turned back to Itzy and said, "We're not finished talking about this yet," before turning away.

"Goodness," said the woman that Janine was accompanying. She turned to Itzy once Janine was out of earshot. "Please don't mind her, and I am deeply sorry for what happened last time. I understand that my apology alone cannot make up for my mistake, but it truly comes from the bottom of my heart. Just be cautious not to cross paths with the trio," she warned. By trio,' she was referring to Loxley, Jaxie, and Ileen.

"Okay," Itzy responded before walking away to use the restroom.

She opened her lunch box and quickly devoured the food. She planned to visit the cafeteria before the lunch break ended, intending to visit the cafeteria before the end of the lunch break. She feared that her four bodyguards would grow suspicious if they did not spot her there at least once.

After finishing her meal, she left the cubicle and washed her face for a while before deciding to leave the restroom. As she was about to exit, she saw three women laughing by the door, obviously waiting for her to come out. She froze for a moment, not knowing what to do. But it was too late to go back into one of the cubicles to hide, because Loxley noticed her presence and immediately turned towards her.

Leaning against the wall, Loxley stood up straight with her arms crossed. "Oh, you're finished?" she said, giggling and mocking her. "Is the food here good? Does it taste like a toilet?"

"My gosh, if we hadn't forced Jaxie to tell us who was eating here, we wouldn't have known it was you," Ileen chimed in.

Itzy's chest filled with nervousness, and she didn't know what to do. She had nowhere to run because if she went back into the cubicle, the three of them might corner her. She couldn't go out either because the three blocked the door.

Itzy took a step back as Loxley advanced towards her, causing her to stumble. "Why? Are you afraid of us? That's right, you should know your place," Loxley sneered.

Ileen held up her cell phone, displaying a photo of Itzy and Ajax taken by Janine. "Who do you think you are to talk to Ajax? You're just infecting him with your toxicity," Ileen said, her tone accusatory.

"It's not what you think," Itzy protested, but Jaxie cut her off.

"Stay in your lane. You're nothing but an outcast to Ajax. Don't delude yourself into thinking he'll ever want you, you bitch," Jaxie spat.

Loxley gave a command, and Jaxie and Ileen quickly moved forward, grabbing Itzy by the arms and restraining her.