Chapter 5: Try ‘Harder’

Freya’s P.O.V

I hadn’t expected him to wait for me, or even bother to look back even once. Then why…why did it feel like a betrayal when he left the room suddenly, like the mere thought of being around me was like poison to him?

Was I over-thinking? Did the searing look he gave me a few minutes ago all part of my imagination? What was wrong with me today?

“Freya.”

Upon hearing my name, I came forward to greet the teacher.

Mr. Agnes brought out a stack of papers and placed them on the desk. “Here you go. Complete these papers by the end of this month and I’ll consider giving you a better score. Remember, the lesser the mistakes, the higher you score.”

“Yes, Mr. Agnes.” I bowed my head out of gratitude, thankful that he was at least trying to help me pass high school.

I reached out to take the papers, but before I could remove my hand, Mr. Agnes reached out to place his hands on top of mine. My entire body froze in shock as my eyes widened. W-what was going on? I looked up into Mr. Agnes’s eyes to find a shrewd expression on his face as he looked back at me. I didn’t like it…that look. It held a deeper meaning that I didn’t even want to comprehend.

“Remember to be grateful, Freya…” Mr. Agnes’s voice changed almost completely as he spoke to me now. “Remember how hard I’m trying to help you pass…so try harder too…okay?”

A shiver of horror ran down my spine as he pronounced ‘harder’ in a not-so-pleasant manner.

“Y-yes…” I swallowed past the lump forming in my throat, taking a hasty step back so that he was forced to let go of my hand. Clutching the papers to my chest, I gave Mr. Agnes another nod, with a stuttered out ‘thank you’ and all but ran out of class.

Heading straight to the locker room, I placed the papers and my bag inside my locker and headed straight to the washroom. Once I’d checked that all the stalls were empty, only then I let myself break down a little.

Letting out a shuddering breath, I let the tears fall as my entire body shook vigorously from the shock. I gave myself the permission to whimper as the scene from the classroom played over and over again inside my head. Having my classmates humiliate me was an everyday occurrence for me. But a teacher? This was the first time something like this had happened to me…and it was like my worst nightmare coming true in front of my very eyes.

After a few minutes had passed and I had calmed myself down enough to finally be able to function normally again, without shaking like a leaf, I took off my hood to check on the swelling on my cheeks. Thankfully, it was now back to normal, so I wouldn’t be frowned upon when I went to serve at the restaurant this afternoon.

I splashed some water on my face and hands and wiped them down with some tissues carefully, so as not to agitate the wounded area. Then I took out my concealer from the pocket of my jeans and reapplied on the dark red bruise that was now turning blue around the edges. Just as I was done applying, I heard the bathroom door open and two of the cheerleaders walk in. Immediately, I put up the hood and stored away the concealer.

“Yeah, it’s weird too, don’t you think?” Trisha, the girl with brunette hair and wide hazel eyes was laughing with her friend, Cindy. “But hasn’t Cameron always been like that?”

Oh lord! More fangirling over Cameron. Rolling my eyes, I entered one of the stalls to take care of business. But I still kept an ear out to their conversation.

“I mean…yeah, but he’s almost eighteen, you know.” Cindy replied with a giggle, as if they hadn’t even noticed me. “So it’s only natural that he starts to notice everyone around him.”

“Eeeepp!” Trisha made a weird sound and I could almost imagine her bouncing up and down in excitement. “Who do you think it’ll be? Damn, I want it to be me, so badly! But I think it’ll be Sarah!”

“Yeah…I think so too.” Cindy’s voice sounded upset…almost sad. “They just fit each other, right?”

“Sadly, yes.” Trisha’s voice began to fade as they began to walk out of the bathroom. “But still…let’s not…”

The door slammed shut, cutting off the rest of their gossip as I flushed the toilet and came out of the stall, trying to figure out exactly what their conversation had meant.

Cameron was turning eighteen soon, that much was clear, but what did they mean by he was starting to notice everyone around him? And wasn’t Sarah, the head cheerleader, already Cameron’s rumoured girlfriend? I mean…they literally went everywhere together and they even had the same classes.

But the most startling fact among all was…why did I suddenly feel so upset upon hearing the two cheerleaders talk about him and Sarah?