Embarrassed

It was Rebecca.

“Yes?

Alex said, displeasure clear in his tone. He didn’t even know why he was displeased. Was it because of Rebecca’s dressing? Or was it because, deep down, he’d been hoping Emma would be the one to speak up? He told himself it was the former.

“Well, Alex…” Rebecca said, all teeth on the spotlight.

“Respect ” Alex corrected.

“Okay, sir… Hmm… Mr. Maradona.”

“Okay… what I… want to say is, you see, SoundWave is the place where people are built. Since this is now my label as SoundWave’s dancer and songwriter, how do you intend to take care of me there?”

There was silence in the room. Whether Alex was already contemplating how to answer this question, nobody knew. But it was obviously a blow to Rebecca’s ego.

“SoundWave is a home of talent, not a hotel or hospital. Next question, please. And please, this time, a sensible one,” Alex finally answered.

That earned a burst of laughter from the whole audience from both the haters of Rebecca and the lovers of Rebecca. The laughter fully embarrassed Rebecca. She sat down, staring at the whole class, cheeks burning red.

Rebecca stepped back. SHe pretended to scan the room to see if the whole had witnessed The humiliation. But if she was being honest with herself, it wasn’t The whole class she was looking for. It was Emma reaction .

Emma couldn’t even bring herself to look at anyone else’s face. To her, she just wanted this lecture to end already.

She was tired and just wanted to go. All she had been doing all day was compare herself to the clothes of others, the shoes, the faces, the structure everything about them was a contrast to what she was wearing.

Emma felt this space was too expensive for her. And then she cursed herself. She even cursed the scholarship. She wished she hadn’t gotten this scholarship. If she had known, she would have stayed back in the Philippines.

If she had thought bullying in the Philippines was worse, this was even more . Because they weren’t even bullying her yet and yet she was already feeling intimidated by them. Just by their clothes alone was a bully to her.

She felt embarrassed that she was even sitting close to any of them. She squeezed her back against the locker, hiding it behind her, just to make sure nobody saw the cheap bag she was carrying.

Emma did not fail to notice the attention, the way Alex had stared at her the moment he stepped onto the podium. The way his eyes travelled from her eyes to her lips . For a second, she was happy.

Because Alex was the first person to look at her without feeling disgusted. She was even happier when she caught the look he gave her a look she took as admiration. At least, Alex admired her.

But then she stopped herself at once, her face falling.

How dare she?

How dare she think Alex Maradona would find her attractive? Who is she ?What about her was attractive? Alex was a handsome man, masculine beauty like a model, like a god in human form. What would someone like that find attractive in her?

She sighed. She wasn’t even present in her own mind when Alex asked if there were any questions. What only made her understand why Alex had been staring at her was when he asked if there were any questions was he really expecting her to answer? To ask or answer any question at all? She was still thinking when she heard,

“I have a question.”

Of course, she rolled her eyes, She didn’t even need to look at the person to know it was Jessica. That was her voice sharp, sounding like she knew it all. Sometimes Emma was jealous of her, because of how bold she was. She wished she could be like that. But she knew she could never be.

She was brought out of her thoughts by Rebecca bold move calling Alex by his name alone. Who did she think she was? How dare she? This man’s name alone carried reputation and power, dangerous power, and

yet Rebeca had said it like it meant nothing.