ANGELIQUE
Today is my first day of school as a junior high, where I have a new family. Our glass room, in minimalistic design, smells lavender, smells expensive, and flawlessly clean, unlike my former public school. However, it was clean but not this expensive.
I'm freezing at a low room temperature, which I am not used to, we don't have air-conditioning in public schools and even at home. Even the cold temp in this world is not shared equally for the rich and poor.
"Go ahead, Ms. Carpio, introduce yourself," said the teacher.
My new classmates stare at me like I'm some sort of shit. I manage to hold my head high before I start to introduce myself. "Good morning, everyone," I start, but none of them respond. Instead, they stare at me with blank faces. "I'm your new classmate, my name is Angelique, but my friends call me Angel. I came from Davao City National High School..."
"Share about your family background," said the girl wearing quite heavy make-up for a student. Her voice had a hint of insults in it; even if I don't know this girl yet, I could tell by the way she looks at me that she's up for something nasty. She crosses her arms around her chest while raising an eyebrow as she looks at me.
Despite that, I am proud to introduce my mom. "I only have one person I call family; that's my mom. She raised me alone in our two-room apartment. I've never seen my dad since birth."
Halfway through my answer, little chuckles of girls in the third row reach my ears. As much as I want to throw punches on their ugly faces, I can't tarnish my reputation. I can't fail mama for doing such a reckless act. So, I ignored them. As I swiftly roam my sight around, the entire class echoes the laughter the girls have started except the one boy sitting on the rear left corner of the room. His eyes stick on the whiteboard, his face is emotionless. I can barely see his entire face as his curly hair covers it in half, but I could tell that he looked pleasing in the eye. If only he had put a smile on his lips, he could be one of those boys that girls run after.
"Quiet," said the class adviser sitting in the left corner. "Thank you, Ms. Carpio. You may sit down."
I show a brief smile in response and nod before leaving. As I made my way to the last row where my chair was, I heard the same girl say, "Poor girl."
"Yeah, she doesn't belong here. Quite lost." The other one responds.
I extend my patience to avoid any trouble being a new student in Harper International School. Of course, as a scholar student, I couldn't mess up. I clench my hands into fists to alleviate the annoyance.
When I sit in my chair, I sneak a look on the left side to where the lonesome boy is sitting. His eyes dart on the whiteboard. I find him to be a pretty lonely boy who prefers to be with himself. Well, I could understand; I'd rather be by myself than dealing with these toxic people in this room. Our teacher will be an exception, though, and this lonesome boy will be an exception as well, I think.
Later in our morning break, I grabbed my new book, 100 days without sunlight, that I thought of finishing this morning. But my stomach protests as it growls. And then I remembered that my morning breakfast was just a glass of milk. I didn't want to be late, so I just gulped a glass of milk before leaving the apartment, skipping my mom's cooking. However, it was hard not to eat mom's prepared breakfast. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath remembering mom's food. The aroma of the fried rice penetrates my nose like I am in front of our dining table. Her cooking is superb; she has a way of making the simple recipe a delicacy.
I'm left with no choice but to close the book as my stomach continues to growl. On my way to the canteen, the petite girl wearing heavy make-up with the three other girls stood in the hallway. I know this can happen, but I'm not scared. I was preparing for this a long time ago. My legs didn't tremble as I held my head high, facing the petite girl. Her face is a few inches away from mine. I lower down a little to meet her eyes intently, glaring at me, which made me a little taller than her. She's probably 5' in height, lower than 2 inches from me.
"Hey, transferee," she starts, her breath fanning on my face as she speaks.
"What do you want?" I retort.
She smug upon hearing my answer while the other girls giggle.
"The audacity," she says, raising an eyebrow. She raises a hand directed to my face, but my reflexes don't fail me. Instead, I am quick to grip her wrist as tight as I can. She cried in pain.
"Don't even think about brushing your hands on my skin. I will never allow you to. I'm not the kind you get to bully easily."
The petite girl startles for a moment before she pulls back her hand. I let go of it. Just when I thought she got my message right. She lifts her hand again, directing it on my face.
"Cassandra," said a boy from nowhere. His voice sent a message of conviction and anger.
The petite girl freeze; her hand hasn't land on my face yet. I shift my gaze behind me to where the voice came from. It was the lonesome boy. There's a distance between us, but I can tell that he is towering over me. He is thin but not skinny; his sad eyes dart on Cassandra. His long curly hair flows on his face covering half of it.
"Mad? What are you doing here?" Cassandra asks in her brittle voice.
"Cassy, don't do anything stupid. Not now."
"But Mad, she was the one who hurt me first," Cassy said, pouting her lips. Look," Cassy lifts her hand, showing her flush wrist. The mark of my hand was there.
"I've seen everything, Cassy. Stop being so childish and a bully." The boy said as he turned and left us.
I smug at Cassandra and her friends before them with their mouths falling open. Whether they were shocked at how I acted or Maddox, I don't mind. I love watching their tails between their legs.
Hi, thanks for taking the time to read my first teen novel. This is an entry to GN Teen Fiction writing contest. I will read and reply to your feedback, so please take time to comment on how you like the start of the story. Support would be appreciated; please vote if you like the start of the story. Don't forget to add this to your library. Thanks.
During our last subject in the afternoon, I am still contemplating whether I should approach the lonesome boy sitting on the row where I am seated. Nothing changes as he seems to know only one direction, and that is the whiteboard. He only moves his head up to the board and down to his laptop. I jolt to the ring of the bell, which indicates that the first day of school has ended. I gather my things, put them in my bag, and wait for the entire class to go out of the room. Cassy and her friends glance at me before they leave. I just shrug my shoulders and look away. My eyes land on the lonesome boy who is heading to the door. I took the opportunity to jog after him, hoping to approach and thank him for the favor he did to me. "Hey," I said, my voice barely came out. The lonesome boy didn't even bother to look back; probably, he has
I watch mom having her breakfast with me at the same table. She looks like she has a good appetite today, unlike some days, where she skips a meal. Mom has lost weight for the past few months. It was hard not to notice it. Her beautiful face sags a little bit, her eyes sunken, and dark marks encircle in there as well. She must have a lack of sleep working hard to make ends meet. "Angel? Finish your food," Mom commands when she catches me staring at her. "Is there a problem at school?" She asks as she puts down her fork. "No, no, mom, nothing wrong. The first day of school went smoothly." Should I ask her? I can't decide. The distinct inter
As I step out of the car, the surrounding becomes vivid on the way to our building. Our campus is vast, quiet, and organized. I could hear only the sound of the expensive car engine and horn. The buildings are towering, complete with sports and academic facilities for rich kids. For the last four years in high school, the one I had was massive and had the same facilities for students, but it was noisy and overcrowded. At the back of the buildings is a mini-park or man-made forest. I halt myself and savor the tranquility it brings me just by looking at it. I love nature, I always do. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, imagining I'm inside of the forest. The air is clean and pure. A corner of my lip curls up to the realization, in time that a hand taps on my shoulder.
Maddox and I storm to the door. I'm in such a hurry that I almost overlook Cassy standing on the side door, crossing her arms around her chest and raising an eyebrow. I only got the hint she sent me to the last second that my foot hit her leg. Cassy did it on purpose. I trip upon her leg, making me out of balance. Things happen too fast; when I expect my face to hit the hard tiles on the floor, a hand quickly grabs me on my waist and pulls me up. My breath quickens on the sudden, almost tragedy. "You, okay?" Maddox asks, his hand still on my waist. "Yes, good, thank you." I tuck my hair on my ears to clearly see him. Cassy's eyes are sharply looking at me like she wants to hunt me. My blood boils seeing her
Maddox's Mercedes Benz S-Class Coupe parks in front of Dr. M's Veterinary Clinic. I rush to the Vet's door, unbothered if Maddox is following me, and immediately find someone in charge where I can ask the whereabouts of my buddy. So the Veterinary clinic is enormous, and the best idea to ask for help from their staff. "Hi, my neighbor brought my dog here earlier; his name is Max. Where can I find him?" I ask the woman at the front desk. "Please, have a seat while I retrieve his file," said the woman, and then she proceeds on hovering on the desktop computer. I refuse to take a seat and wait for the result instead. It didn't take her long to find it; Maddox was by my side by the time. "Max is in the Critical confinement are
"Angel, let's drop by at the nearest Jollibee to get lunch. I'm sure you're starving," Mad says when we are in his car."I'm fine; I'm not hungry, Mad. We can head straight to school; we can't be late for our class.""No, we should take our lunch. We still have 20 minutes; it will be enough for a quick bite," Mad insists."Yes, let's do it then." I know he hasn't had his lunch yet. He must be hungry by now, and I'm guilty of not agreeing to his suggestion at first.Mad shows a brief smile as he glances at me. "Max needs you; you should take care of yourself too. My mom always says that we can't take care of other people if we are not well enough.""Thanks.
It's the weekend, and I can't wait to see my best friend Lea after a few weeks that we were both busy. Lea still goes to the school where we attend grades 7-10, a public school. Since third grade, we've been solid, and I am sure nothing can separate us apart."Mom, don't forget I'll be out later with Lea and new friend Maddox. We have to check on Max in the clinic."Mom nods as she coughs, putting on her high heels while getting ready for work on the weekend. She only has Sunday as her day off, making her haggard even more, especially these days. Her cough is quite stubborn some days, it's gone, and the next day it reappears. I'm worried about my mom."Mom, take care of yourself; your cough is back again. You should see a doctor and stop self-diagnosing."
As I am approaching the lobby, I wipe my cheeks, making sure there's no stain of tears on my face anymore. I don't want to appear messy in front of Maddox. For my best friend Lea, it will be fine. She's been my confidant ever since we became friends, so she knows me well; I could be vulnerable when it comes to Max.Maddox and Lea seem to be cool with each other's company. They must have a good conversation as the two face each other; while Maddox is holding Logan's leash. "Hey, guys."They both shift on me, and I don't have to ask them, but it seems they noticed my swollen eyes. "Let's go?" I say as I look away, avoiding any questions from them."Angel, what's wrong?""Yeah, what's wrong?" Lea repeated Maddox's ques