Chapter 3.1: The Bully

AUGUST

Ambrose strummed the guitar with such ease. Or at least that’s how I heard it. I’m not a big fan of musical instruments, but it sounded pretty clean. After handing the roses, Phil and the boys all cleared the view, so this Rachel girl could see Ambrose.

This is probably the first time I see this gorgeous creature up close, and the inner gayness hiding inside me shrilled in utter admiration. He’s blessed with a chiseled cheek, and his skin appears to be naturally kissed by the sun. There’s a slit in his left eyebrow, and I don’t know if it’s natural or he had it done, but there’s no denying the fact that it made him look sexier.

From my youngest years

 Till this moment here

 I've never seen

 Such a lovely queen

From the skies above

 To the deepest love

 I've never felt

 Crazy like this before

Ambrose opened his mouth and spat the words like they were coming from the radio. It was smooth like butter.

Paint my love

 You should paint my love

 It's the picture of a thousand sunsets

 It's the freedom of a thousand doves

 Baby, you should paint my love

“Come on, August, let’s get out of here,” Mary mumbled and began pushing me.

“Hold up!” I spat as I stiffened my body so Mary couldn’t push me easily. “I want to watch this.”

“Are you serious? You haven’t seen anything like this back in Highmont?”

“No, this is my first time seeing this display of affection.” I lied. Of course, I’ve seen a lot of cheesy things like this happen. As a watcher, I think it’s corny and a total waste of time and effort. But I’m not going to admit to Mary that I just want to lay my eyes on Ambrose Haylock.

“Whatever, Rachel’s going to reject him anyway.” Mary trailed, rolling her eyes.

“How’d you say so?” I asked.

“Ambrose did that exact same thing to her last year, and she turned him down.”

“Really? So what makes you think that Rachel will turn him down this time around?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what’s going on inside Rachel’s mind, but ever since I knew her, she has turned down a lot of guys. I get it, she’s pretty and rich and popular, but her taste level is so high that no one can even reach it.”

Been around the world

 Then I met you, girl

 It's like coming home

 To a place, I've known

Paint my love

 You should paint my love

 It's the picture of a thousand sunsets

 It's the freedom of a thousand doves

 Baby, you should paint my love

"Ambrose must really like her then." I spat. I was somehow disappointed to learn that this girl doesn't have a thing for a fine guy like Ambrose. If I was in her shoes, I'd say yes even if he hasn't asked me yet. Hell, I would even ask him out first if I had the courage.

"Ambrose has been trying to ask her out for years now. This is probably the only thing that I respect about him. He's a bully and everything, but he's definitely not a playboy. Rachel is a very lucky girl. She's the only girl that Ambrose has ever shown with interest. Some hoes tried getting his attention, but his eyes only see Rachel." Mary explained. "Oh gosh, I hate her!"

Ambrose continued singing, but now my attention has shifted to Rachel. I think I'm going to have to agree that she's the prettiest girl here. Maybe it's the healthy hair that bounces off smoothly. Maybe it's that bow-shaped lips. Or maybe it's because of that impeccable clear skin. She's all-natural, though. Even when Mary said that she's rich and can probably afford all sorts of beauty products, she's not wearing any make-up at all. Just a pink hairclip and a nice pair of earrings.

"Rachel," Ambrose stopped singing.

"Look, I already told you that I don't want to go out with someone like you." Rachel spat outright. She didn't even let the guy speak his mind.

"What do you mean someone like me?" Ambrose asked.

"Let's just say," Rachel paused; she's probably trying to think of a better way to say 'f*** off' that won't hurt Ambrose's feelings. "You're not my type."

"I'm not your type? But I'm Ambrose Haylock." Ambrose uttered, and I immediately thought it was a red flag. Ambrose thinks highly of himself.

"And I'm Rachel Curtis," Rachel replied with such conviction, and just like that, she has earned my adoration. She's standing up for herself and not letting this guy take control of her.

"You know what, let's just get out of here," I said and began walking. I just caught the feeling of disinterest.

"I told you," Mary mumbled as she followed behind.

Mary and I walked away, and then we suddenly heard a slamming sound coming from behind. I turned my head around, and I saw an angry Ambrose slamming the guitar on the ground. Rachel and her friends were already walking away without even trying to look back to see what was going on.

"Is he always like that?" I asked Mary.

"You bet! He's always throwing tantrums whenever he doesn't get what he wants. That's the typical Ambrose."

"What a poor soul," I uttered. I was just admiring how much of a gorgeous creature he is, and now I'm totally turned off. There's nothing gorgeous about flipping out for petty reasons, and this is absolutely not attractive at all.

"That's why it's best for you to stay away from that guy. He's nothing but violence." Mary spat.

***

After fixing things at my locker, Mary said her goodbye and reminded me about the uniform that I had to claim at the headmistress's office. Everyone's required to wear their school uniform starting tomorrow. The last time I wore a school uniform was back when I was in grade school, and that was a time when I didn't care about the things that I wore. But now, thinking about wearing school uniforms just made all of my clothes worthless.

I inched my way towards the headmistress's office. There's a lot of offices where I could pick up my uniform, but why does it have to be the headmistress's office? I don't want to see her this soon, right after that humiliating encounter earlier this morning. But I guess I don't have a choice. I certainly don't want to be reprimanded for not wearing my uniform tomorrow. When I got in front of the office, I saw a sign that says knock three times, then enter. That sounded very welcoming, but still, I'm feeling anxious about striking a conversation with the head of this school.

I swallowed and mustered a deep breath before knocking three times and entering. The bell hanging above the door chimed, inevitably capturing the headmistress's attention. Focused on writing something, the headmistress did not tilt her head from her position, but her eyes stared at me.

"Uhm, hi!" I said, smiling nervously, and then I quickly realized that her stare basically says, 'what do you need?'

"My name's…" I was about to reintroduce myself when she cut me off midsentence.

"Mr. Levisay!" She chirped. "What brings you here?" She asked, still manifesting that tyrannical tone. She ceased staring at me and went back to what she was doing.

"Uhm, I'm here to claim my school uniform."

"Oh, your school uniform. Wait a second." She said, and there was dead silence as she continued writing.

I stood right in front of her for about two minutes until she was finally finished.