4. My Knight in Shining Armor and his majestic blue eyes.

Chapter four: David, My Knight in Shining Armor

The next day at school, I wore a different dress, one that had been given to me by a charity organization. It was a pink flowery dress, adorned with some beads. I also wore a shoe I had borrowed from my sister. I cowered my head on my desk and prayed for Penelope to forget about me. I wasn’t sure that God even answered my prayers anymore but I had to try.

Then, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. Fear gripped my heart because I thought Penelope had come back to ridicule me. I hesitatantly raised my head up and my eyes immediately met with a pair of strikingly blue irises. They felt comforting.

All of my fourteen years on earth, I don’t think I had ever seen a pair of eyes as beautiful as his were.

“Hi. My name is David… it’s actually my first day at this school.” He ruffled his blond Goldilocks hair as he talked. He seemed a little nervous. But his nervousness only added to his charm. “I think I used to…” His words were flowing like an elegant ocean of wonder and I was so happy drowning in it. It was so unlike me to obsess about how a boy looked but this boy called David was different. I took the time to memorize his unique facial features and traits like a precious work of art.

When I finally snapped back to reality, he was still talking to me. His words washed over me like a gentle wave. “There are so many hallways, balconies, classrooms and stairs. I just got lost in the midst of everything. Is this the history class?”

Yes, it is because I want to learn the history of how a perfect face like yours was created. That’s what a crazy girl would have said and it would completely freak him out. But not me. I played it cool and merely replied, “yes, it is. Class will start in about five minutes.”

He thanked me and sat on the empty chair next to me. He had a playful twinkle in his eyes. For the first time since the fire incident that had shattered my world, a genuine smile graced my lips. My heart fluttered a little bit. My joy was however short lived because Penelope Westwood walked in, making her ever so grand entrance.

With a sense of dread knotting in the pit of my stomach, I watched as she strutted into the classroom. Her regal bearing and haughty demeanor casted a shadow over the room. Penelope's icy gaze bore into me like a laser. I saw her headed in my direction and prayed again that she would trip on her high heels and fall flat on her face. Alas! That did not happen.

She looked at my flowery gown and let out a loud scoff. “Wow, I see you wore a different dress today," she sneered, her tone laced with contempt. "It doesn’t change the fact that you’re ugly. Why don’t you realize nobody likes you here?”

Why don’t you shut the heck up and die, biatch?

That is the reply I wish I gave to her. I have replayed this conversation a billion times over and over in my head. And every time, I wish I had said something along the lines of: “You’re the one nobody likes. Your fake designer bags and clothes are not fooling anyone. Instead of focusing on what I’m wearing, why don’t you look within and ask yourself why you’re such a terrible person.”

Oh, how I wished I had told her to shut the heck up and disappear from existence, to hurl her own cruelty back in her face with all the venom I could muster.

In that moment, I could not say anything. I was too scared of her. As much as I longed to silence her with a scathing retort, I bit my tongue. The words I wished to say were trapped behind a wall of self-restraint and fear. But on that day, something unexpected happened. Someone stood up for me. Someone was brave and bold for me. In all my many years being bullied, this was something that had never happened.

“You have no right to hurl such derogatory, despicable and insensitive words to her. How would you feel if that was said to you? She’s a student here and she has the right to wear whatever she wants. And she looks beautiful too.” It was David, the new boy.

I promise you I did not make his speech up. He said every one of those words and I still remember. The moment he called me beautiful, it seemed like my mental faculty turned off. I didn’t care anymore about what Penelope had said. I felt a billion butterflies flying in my belly and this warm fuzzy feeling in my chest. If I didn’t have a crush on him before, I definitely did after what he said.

All of the students were astonished. Nobody ever talked back to Penelope Westwood. Her daddy practically owned the school. We were all just puppets unwillingly moving to the strings she was pulling. Who in their right minds would go against her, they wondered.

Penelope ignored what David had said to her and changed the topic completely.

“Who is this gorgeous boy?” She asked no one in particular as a smile played on her lips. Her voice dripped with honeyed charm as a smile played on her lips. Her eyes lingered on his handsome features with such unsettling intensity.

"Are you a new student?" she continued, her eyes sparkling with interest. "I don't think I've seen you around before. With that handsome face, I'm sure I would remember you."

So much for my crush on David… Her flirtatious tone like a dagger aimed at my fragile confidence. I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. In no time, Penelope would have her claws deep in him. She was already looking at him like he was an expensive balenciaga luxury hand bag. She would wear him around her arms and show him off to everyone. It was clear that she saw him as nothing more than a prized possession, a shiny bauble to be flaunted and admired by those around her. There was no guy she couldn’t get. I mean… they all follow her around like lost puppies. If I let my crush on David grow any deeper, I was bound to get crushed —both figuratively and literally—under the weight of Penelope's ruthless ambition. That was what I thought. I believed I could never compete with the allure of someone like Penelope. But I had underestimated myself as you will soon find out.

For the time being, I resolved to keep my distance, lest I become yet another casualty in Penelope's never-ending quest for power and control.

Soon, Penelope went to the other side of the classroom where her designated chair was.

With a saccharine sweetness that rang false and hollow, she called out to David in a voice that grated on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard. “Come seat next to me. You should leave the losers corner.”

Ughhhh!! Her voice was so annoying that it made my skin crawl.

But to my surprise—and no doubt Penelope's as well—David's response was swift and unequivocal, his glare cutting through her facade of charm like a knife. "I will have to decline your very generous offer. I’m okay in this corner. Thank you.”

Penelope's smile faltered for a fleeting moment, her mask of confidence slipping ever so slightly as she processed his rejection. But true to form, she quickly regained her composure, dismissing his refusal with a wave of her hand.

“Alright then. Suit yourself,” she replied. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you. You’re seated next to the nobodies of the class.”

"And I'm perfectly content here," he declared. His confidence made him even more attractive.

"You're playing hard to get right now," she taunted. “But you’ll soon fall in love with me. There’s no need to avoid the inevitable.” Her tone was filled with smug certainty as she turned back to her friends in the “winner’s corner.”