"It's just my habit, sir. You are a smoker as well, aren't you?" He answered.
"You are going against the school's rules, you know that!?"
"Well you, too, know that as well, right?" Ricky talked back. I was frozen in place when I saw that Principal Hamdan was about to smack him again. Ricky looked down and said "Rules are meant to be observed by everyone, no? If the teachers smoked at school, why can't we, the students, do the same?"
"Ricky!"
"Apologies, Principal Hamdan. It was I who brought Ricky here. I will get him out immediately. Excuse me."
I pulled his muscular arms away from the office. Ricky did not resist. It was the first time I touched him. For a moment, I was thinking to myself; why would I do that?
"Sorry."
"Yea."
He goes away while rubbing his head. I should not have said sorry. Instead, I should have thanked him.
Was I wrong?
@@@
"You were in the teacher's office with Ricky? Do my ears deceive me?" Lala was shocked. To be honest, I was shocked as well.
At this moment we were having our lunch at Uncle Ujang's eatery. It was located right next to the school's cafeteria, at the far end to the back of our school.
"Bet he was bullying you again like he did last time." Genta commented. Unfortunately, he commented with a rather loud voice. So does Lala, who had asked with a loud voice. The thing was, the person in question was just within an earshot.
"Nah, he was helping me."
"For real? He? Ricky? That trouble maker?"
His name was already badly stained in the eyes of many students. That was why nobody could believe when he did a good thing. If there was a student that liked him, that must be the girls who wanted him. I just could not understand why those girls wanted him. While he was a handsome boy, I believe that could not be the only reason.
"Genta, lower your voice, would you? He could hear us from here." I whispered.
"I'll be sure to make him pay should he harm you."
"No way, you'd run away with your tail tucked between your legs when he actually confronts you." Lala mocked him. Hopefully, they won't goes into debate mode again.
"Rick, the boys from the Harapan Bangsa High School challenge you, will you accept them?"
Olan, the big boy, came while breathing heavily. He talked as if he was reporting something to his boss. Ricky himself was still lazing around as if nothing had happened, while smoking his heaven knows how much he had by now.
"You're a pussy if you decline it."
"Rendy was right. Our pride is at stake here."
All I did was listen to them, I tried my best to not get involved with them. Different things might have happened had it was not me, a student council member, who heard it. Other student council members might report it to the teachers.
"I need to go to the library, see you both in class." I decided to leave the scene before he catches sight of me within his vicinity.
"Aw, crap. That freak must have heard us. She'll narc us again this time, no doubt."
Apparently, they were aware of my presence.
"You're right, Olan. I really hate those student councils. Acting all high and mighty."
"Let her be. That's just how it is now in this world. Many people hide their true self behind a white mask. Acting all high and mighty to judge us, pretending that they were better than the other people. Our role is to be the people who are true to ourselves. To keep everything perfectly balanced, as all things should be."
Somehow, Ricky's remarks have hurted me more than it should. I did not know if I would ever recover from this.
Snitch? I was no snitch.
@@@
I need to get things straight, I believed that Aldi knew it all, he was the head of the student council. He was the one who told the student council members to stop the school fighting. Did he make me his scapegoat back then?
I stopped walking toward the library then doubled back to the student council's office. It was pretty much unoccupied for the past few days.
"Hi Nilam!" Sekar greeted me, she was one of my classmates and a colleague at the student council's office. She hasn't been able to make it to the school for the past ten days because she was sick. The doctor who took care of her said that she was mentally stressed, that was why she fell ill. It was quite obvious, though, as to why it happened to her. This school and everyone inside it would surely give any students an illness to some extent.
"Where is Aldi? Do you know where he is?" Sekar looked at me and pointed at the partitioned section of the office.
"He's in a meeting with Maya." She answered
"You?"
"I had to work on this."
"Let me help you."
How could I let her work on that alone? Sekar has just recently recovered and Aldi already gave her so much assignment. Aldi was not the only person who would issue such a cruel order, everyone else did the same because Sekar was just like me and Rian; the lowest link in the food chain.
"Nilam, you're here?" Maya was surprised to see me sitting beside Sekar, she should not have shown me that expression; I knew full well who left me alone back then.
It was them who set me up.
"Aldi, Maya, can you help us? We got a lot of work to be done."
"Nah, I got my hands full at the moment."
I believed that he was purposefully avoiding it.
"I got something else to do as well, I gotta check up on the sports hall."
I could not believe that as well.
"But this–"
"Alright, see you around."
Before I managed to say anything, Maya left the office. She didn't even want to look me in the eyes. Maybe she felt guilty, or regret, whatever.
"Aldi."
"What is it now? Why are you calling me again!?" He seemed to be irritated.
Did he really deserve to be mad at me?
"About that incident, was it you who called the cops?"
He remained silent, he did not answer my question. I was disappointed when he ignored me. "Was it you who made me the scapegoat? I mean, you told me to go forward, yet you hide behind a bush!? Was it–"
"No! Why are you asking about it again!?"
Lies! He blatantly lied to my face!
I could see in his eyes that he was lying. How dare he throw me under the bus just to save his skin?
"I don't believe you, I knew that you–"
"So what? Is that a problem for you!?"
Frankly, yes. Ever since then, they incessantly harass me.
"Get over it, I'm sure that they would do nothing to you. You're a girl, they won't punch you in the face. The worst thing they'd do would be mocking you. They wouldn't take the risk of being called a bunch of pussies for hitting a girl! You're such an annoyance!"
He left while slamming the door from the outside. Sekar tried to console me. That was the best thing she could do since she was just like me, a lowlife.
"I've heard about that and I can't believe that they do such a thing. Be patient, friend. I'm sure that Ricky and his gang won't bug you for long. Trust me."
Well, I hoped so. I didn't know if it held any truth or not, but I was certain that they wouldn't forget it anytime soon.