Badboy for a Boyfriend

Chapter 2

“George, you’re here!” Sue called out from the hallway. They were waiting at the door of our classroom. I was absentmindedly walking and would not have noticed them if she did not call me. 

My mind was somewhere else, as always. But this time, it wasn’t about the usual thoughts and my parents. It’s what I just witnessed. I feel bad for the beaten guys, but they provoked the new guy. They were bullying him, and it would have been an opposite situation if he couldn’t protect himself. It turned out he could. More than they all expected, even. They’re unguarded. 

But then, students here wouldn’t mercilessly beat someone like that. They were full of nasty words but little action.

They did awful things but were more afraid of their parents hearing these inappropriate actions more than anything. I was no exception. IHM had a reputable name when it came to effective education. It’s an international school, anyway. But there were inevitable things happening behind closed doors. Even I would not have known it despite being the vice-chairman’s daughter if I didn’t have a secret of my own. I guess prominent schools were not always flawless. Obviously, the administration didn’t know about it. The students, including me, were doing so well to keep secrets a secret. It would be a nightmare to be expelled from this school. I heard this was everyone’s dream school. 

The new guy must already know that — unless he didn’t care about his parents hearing what he did or, worst, to be expelled.

Could it be? Could he be the same transferee Sue mentioned earlier? The one from a delinquent school? 

“Are you okay?” Jean asked as I stopped in front of them. “Did you have lunch? You look pale.”

“Uh… I…”

“What’s the smell?” Sue pinched her nose and leaned to sniff on me. “Where have you been? What’s that smell?” The two also covered their noses and grimaced. It’s probably the foul smell of garbage stuck in my uniform. 

“Uh… that…”

Sue gasped all of a sudden. Her eyes widened. She stepped in between us and grabbed my arms to whisper in a hissed, “you smell smoke!”

I rapidly blinked and stepped away from her. I searched my bag for my gum but couldn’t find it with the rush. What I noticed was my missing case. It caused yet another panic in me. 

“What's wrong? What’s happening?... Sue? George?” Jean was worried, too. 

I couldn’t find a word to use as an alibi. My thoughts were haywire. The class was yet to start. I’ve got to pull myself together or else… 

“She needs to change clothes,” Sue announced when she noticed my panic. The announcement was not only for our friends but also for the benefit of the other students probably listening to us. They must have smelt the garbage on me, too. “You have extra, right?”

I absentmindedly nodded and was about to run for the changing room when another commotion commenced in the hallway. My eyes widened at the familiar group taking up space in the hallway, as usual. But this time, they lowered their faces to the ground to try to hide the bruises and wounds. They roamed around here often with pride, although it’s not their building as seniors. 

The leader was in the worst state. His face was almost unrecognizable. He was taller than everyone, so it's pretty difficult to hide his bloodied face. His pride was still intact, and he refused to use his coat to hide his face like his friends. Everyone gasped at the sight of them. Sue was the most audible because she’s the one closer to me. 

“Huh?” Sue pointed at their uniform. “They’re seniors. Why are they in our building?” The color of the tie for boys would tell the difference. White for the juniors and brown for the seniors. It’s the same with girls, but the small ribbons were sewed on the right chest of our blouse. 

Sue meant why they were with the head of the junior school counselor. They were leading to the guidance room; I assumed. I bit my lower lip and waited for the last in line, expecting to see the guy who did this to them and confirmed if he’s part of the Silveros I knew or not… But there’s no new face. 

The last in line was the shortest among them and the same height as Sue. He noticed me staring, so he stared back. He had the slightest wound among others. I remember him cowering away after receiving one punch. He frowned and glanced down at my bag in front of me. Recognition brightened up his face. When Tanner noticed it, he pushed the guy away from me to follow his friends. 

“What’s wrong with them? It looks like they’ve encountered the devil,” Jean murmured. 

“Right!” Sue exclaimed. “Someone saw the transferee washing his bloodied hands in the men’s washroom. It must have been him.”

“Then why is he not coming with them?” I have the same question as Jean, but my lips were tightly shut.

“We’re still not sure if it’s him, though. Some said this group fought with each other. Look how badly mauled their leader is. They must have fought together against him. He’s the most repulsive among them, that’s why. A revolution!” Sue giggled at her own conclusion.

“Hey, Sue! You sure know a lot of things going on around here!” Tanner scolded while barely pointing a finger at her.

“You guys just keep minding your own world. Everyone was talking about it everywhere.”

“But you were always with us?” Jean frowned in wonder.

Sue shrugged with a big smile. “It’s good to listen to others' conversations at times, too, so you won’t be as clueless as you are now. Right, George― oh, right! You should change now. Let me take your bag inside.” She grabbed my bag before I could say anything else and pushed me to change clothes. 

“Why would she always bring her bag during lunch, anyway?” I heard Tanner mutter as I turned to leave. “She could just leave it like us.”

“She doesn’t trust our class,” Jean added.

After class dismissal, I went straight to the backyard to search for my case, but it’s nowhere. All I saw was what was left of my cigarette. I forgot to eliminate the smoke earlier and definitely did not step on it, but now it’s flattened and looked like it had been stepped on and squeezed tight enough to scatter the tobacco and ashes until they stuck on the ground. 

Of course, other students smoke, too, and most of them carelessly threw their s-hits here. They would know how expensive mine if they’re really into it but could tell everyone afford that. They wouldn’t think it’s from me as long as they wouldn't recognize the case was mine ― if they had indeed taken my case. 

But wherever it was, I needed to find it before they found out what its real purpose was. Plus, my initials were engraved on it. GD

I headed to the lost-and-found booth to check if someone returned it. They said there was none. I did not specifically tell how it looked in case something out of hand happened. No one returned any kind of case, so there’s no need to elaborate. I didn’t tell them to tell me once someone returns it either. 

I was sure someone would have returned it earlier if they planned to give it back. Besides, there’s a great possibility that the only ones who could find it were unruly students. They must have taken it and the cigarettes ― if they’re smart enough to be curious about a girl's stuff and open the mirror. 

It’s designed according to its purpose, so it shouldn’t be my worry. Those kinds of students were more likely to take what’s inside than find out who the owner was. And as if it would lead them to me, despite the initials. 

I nodded to reassure myself and so as not to worry about anyone finding out my secret. 

Still, I couldn’t get it out of my head. The case was from my mom, and she may look for it one day. I needed to create an alibi on how I lost it. I guess I must find a new case at home to hide my sticks. 

Joe parked the car in the driveway after dismissal. The engine started as I stepped out of the opening. My shoulders fell heavily. I stopped and checked my phone, not really wanting to go home yet. But it's time to go. The unsent message from my mom was still there, so I quickly deleted it. 

There were no new messages except for the group chat I had with my friends. I never joined other school group chats because I hated random notifications. My friends would forward the most important messages from the other group to me. But I rarely checked them, too.

They had to either inform me the next day or call over the phone. 

The driver stepped out after noticing I didn’t move. I sighed and planned to go to him when I noticed another shadow next to mine. I glanced at the guy looking ahead at the school driveway. There’s no other car waiting for him, and he’s not staring at my driver, so I have no idea what exactly he’s looking at. The nothingness, I guess. The first thing I noticed was the silver piercing in his left ear. They strictly prohibited it in school, but he wore the single jewelry with pride without care to the world. Plus, he’s only with his white long sleeves. The dark blue coat, which was part of the school uniform, was missing. 

It’s a must, too, to wear complete uniforms at all times. What’s wrong with this one doing all the inappropriate things? He’s a senior looking at his inside tie.

I rolled my eyes and glanced away but my eyes landed on his hand as I caught fresh wounds. There’s little blood on it and it looked red as new. My lips parted. When I looked back at his face, he’s already staring back at me with a displeased expression. His eyebrows and lips were frowning. The longer I stared at him, the longer his eyes bore into mine. 

And I was not even aware I was staring back for so long!

I was not familiar with all the students here and couldn’t identify who was a transferee or not, but I could tell this one was the one Sue kept on mentioning. And in a blink, his frame and built became familiar. My eyes widened in recognition. I was confident it was him! 

I could say now he’s indeed unfamiliar. We definitely had never met before. But there was something in his look that reminded me of something. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I was sure there was something. 

And Sue’s right. He had a pretty face. Prettier than Dayshawn or anyone I’ve met. Perfect, even. But still imperfect. The likes my father would appreciate, but would still, despise. I couldn’t help but smirked bitterly as I wondered what my father would think once he met with this particular student. 

I had no idea of the look I made staring at him, but he frowned. I blinked and cleared my throat, suddenly reminding me of how he thrashed the bullies. I looked away as if afraid he would recognize me when we never, in fact, met until now. 

I was contemplating whether to apologize for gawking at him and probably making him feel uncomfortable, but he rolled his eyes. They were cold enough to make one shiver. To uncover the disinterest in his face because of my presence, let me know I was not worth his attention. 

He’s clueless about how that had put me at ease. I had no intention to be of any relation to a troublesome guy like him. My father would never, in this lifetime, appreciate that.