Emma looked at Calvin with an insulted feeling. But of course in Calvin's eyes, Emma looked like a weak girl who justified his words. "Those losers won't come near you guys again. I'll make sure of that." He continued proudly.
Hearing that, Emma laughed a little. Seriously, it was annoying to be belittled like this. Luckily she was able to think positively to just realize that Calvin's intentions were good. She also didn't deny that she currently looked like a weak girl. And that was exactly how she wanted others to see her.
"Sorry..." Roger said suddenly. "I know your intentions are good by helping me. But I beg you, please don't show up again like earlier. This all is my problem. You really are cool, but there are a lot of things that you don't know." He spoke while looking at Calvin meaningfully.
"But.."
"Emma.." Calvin grabbed the girl's shoulder. He smiled kindly at her as those beautiful eyes stared at him in protest, "If that's what Roger wants, we have to respect it."
"Thanks again, for your help. Excuse me." Roger said as he picked up his belongings that were scattered on the floor.
"Ugh.. Seriously.." Emma groaned, unable to think. Her eyes kept rolling as she turned around. Felt unwilling to let Roger just run away like that. In fact, she still expected an explanation from Roger for his attitude.
Calvin chuckled as he picked up Emma's bag of clothes that was still lying on the floor, patted it to remove the dirt and gave it to the very annoyed looking girl, "It looks like, it's the first time four you to meet someone like him in your life."
"That's right. In my entire life, it's the first time I've seen such a person." She answered to confirm.
"Hmm.. Your answer makes me think that you rarely socialize. Did you go to an all-girls dorm?"
Emma shook her head, "No. I rarely leave my house. But I went to a regular school. My parents were a bit restrained." said her, with some hint of lies. Of course, she couldn't tell Calvin the truth.
"Oh.. I see." He nodded. Then he looked around. "Are you going home? The campus is already very deserted."
"Yes. I should have gone home earlier. However, something unexpected happened like this." She shrugged her shoulders.
Calvin smiled understandingly, "I'm going home too. Let's go out together. A deserted campus like this must be dangerous for a girl wandering alone."
Emma accepted Calvin's offer and they finally walked towards the parking lot together. Actually, Emma was a bit awkward when she met Calvin for the first time. But over time, she had gotten used to it and felt quite comfortable around him. Moreover, Calvin was very polite and gentle. His soothing smile made Emma think, no wonder why, this tall guy was always loved by the college students.
"People like Roger are not easy to be close to. Even though his attitude is annoying, he doesn't have that kind of intention. If someone is bullied and ostracized, his heart will be closed to anyone who approaches. Because they have built strong forts to guard against being hurt even more. Sometimes they'll think it's better to be hurt by bullies. Than to be hurt by friends who end up betraying them. Therefore, I hope you didn't take Roger's words too seriously." Calvin said in their leisurely steps.
Emma looked at Calvin with a look of confusion and amazement. This was new to Emma. All this time, she had never known anyone's background for her to study. Especially, the victims of bullying. It was very clear that Calvin had wandered all over the place.
"I.. I.. Just found out there was such a thing." She muttered.
"It's okay. Not everyone understands that. Even just a few people could understand other people's feelings. If we haven't experienced it ourselves, or not those closest to us who have experienced it.. then we won't know." Calvin took a deep breath.
Calvin's words and sighs brought Emma to her senses. The girl then slightly squinted her eyes "Have you ever been bullied before?" she guessed.
Calvin chuckled then shook his head lightly, "Never. But I've known someone who had experienced it. And it was really hard and complicated."
"Oh.. By the way, I haven't thanked you yet. You helped me earlier." Emma said.
"Ah.. Haha.." Calvin waved his hand in front of his mouth. "Don't mention it. I just happened to be passing by and heard the commotion." Then his face turned serious. "But, I warn you not to do something risky like that again. You should know clearly what those hoodlums can do to you."
"Ok.. Ok.. I know. I also intend to avoid people like them, anyway.. But, when I found out it was Roger.. Somehow I even went forward to face them." she said before laughing smugly.
Seeing Emma's response, Calvin laughed too. Then he nodded in understanding, "For a popular girl like you, it's very strange to see you stood up for a bullied guy. In my whole life, I see only you are that weird." He'd been honest.
"Popular? I don't even feel like that. I don't know since when that label was put on my forehead." Emma didn't even like it. "When I first entered the class. Roger was the first person I interacted with. He did a small thing for me, which was sharing his eraser with me. It was indeed a small thing.. Nothing special. But somehow I immediately felt that he was very worthy of my consideration as a friend. I want to be friends with him." Emma continued, completely honest.
"I'm sure Roger is a nice guy. He's just confused between people who really want to be his friend or just who want to make a fool of him. You're a very nice girl, I'm sure it won't take long for Roger to figure that out." comfort Calvin.
Unconsciously, they had arrived at the campus parking lot. The sky had started to darken. What's more, it's winter now. Even though it wasn't night yet, the sun was already very dim.
The parking lot was very deserted, only a few motorbikes and two cars remained. One was Emma's and the other was a very nice old car belonging to one of the Fashion major students who always left it in the parking lot for some reason. It turned out that Calvin's motorbike was also parked not far from Emma's car. Even so, the guy insisted to walk Emma until she finally got into her little car.
"You go first. Be careful on the way." Said Calvin.
"Okay. Thank you." Emma waved her palm and closed the car window. "Huft.. Looks like I'm not going to study tonight." She muttered as she looked at her watch.