Brian pulls Jody as fast as he runs. Jody looked back to see if Zev was following them. When she knew no one was after them, she stopped running, and Brian did the same.
Jody watches Brian breathe heavily. "Thank you."
Brian took a quick look at Jody and then asked. "Are you okay?"
Jody said, "Yes," and then turned around. She took another look at the man. "You think I'm doomed?"
Brian laughed. "I believe so. You humiliated them. "
Jody put her hand on her head. "Damn, I wish I knew..."
She was anxious because she knew what she did would start a war between her and Zev. She glanced at Brian.
"Why did you steal their things?" Brian asked.
"Joining the group is a kind of initiation for me, and if I had known that Zev was part of the team, I wouldn't have done it." Jody was walking back and forth around the parking lot.
"You can't just run away," Brian said.
"But you got me to leave," said Jody.
"They would have had fans waiting for you if I hadn't done that."
When the bell rang, they both turned toward the main building. Now that lunch is over, they have to return to class. Brian gave Jody a quick look.
"What? Can you go to your classroom alone?" he asked.
Jody smirked. "Yeah, thanks for whatever."
Brian chuckled. "Go to your class now. Professors won't do anything to you when they are around."
Brian turned his back on Jody and then walked away. Jody took a deep breath. She attended class with Zev, and everything would be challenging for her.
——
When Jody walked, her eyes were everywhere. She had seen the Meteor Garden series and didn't want to be the actress in the movie. Jody couldn't stand having bumps and cuts on her body. Not because she's scared but because she doesn't want to get a mark on her skin. All her friends were jealous of her skin, which was smooth, pinkish, and had no scars or dark spots.
"Ah!"
Someone grabbed Jody and pulled her quickly into the bathroom, which surprised her. She fought until she could get away. She couldn't believe that Zev was there.
'This is it. I'm doomed.' Jody thought.
"You are declaring war between the two of us." Zev moved towards her.
Every time the man comes near her, Jody steps back. "I did not know you were a part of the team. I'm sorry."
Zev gave her a slight nod as he walked toward her. "Why did you do that? Are you a pervert? You were fantasizing about us, so you took our clothes."
"Of course not! And I'm not a pervert."
"But you humiliated us, do you know that?"
"If you don't come out of the locker room, things will not turn out like this."
Zev smirked. "And now it's our fault, being naked because a pervert took our clothes..."
"I told you I'm not a pervert."
They both turned toward the door and heard a sound outside the bathroom. "Oh, shit!" Jody knew who was talking.
She hurried up to Zev and pulled him into the cubicle. She put her hand over Zev's mouth when they were inside the stall. Zev just held Jody's hand after he took it off. Zev looked at Jody while she looked at the door. It scared her when the IT girls saw them.
"Did you see their six-packs?"
"Kendra, your idea is superb."
"Yes, you persuade Jody to steal the players' clothes."
Zev's eyebrows rose. Jody took a quick look at Zev. Zev whispered, "You got them to convince you like a fool? I can't believe this."
"I'm not gullible, okay?" Jody whispered.
"How do you refer to what you did?" Zev whispered.
"Did you hear something?"
"Hear, what?"
"It looks like someone else is here."
Jody's eyes widened as the girls unlocked the doors to each cubicle. She forced Zev to sit on the toilet bowl with the cover, then sat on his lap. It surprised Zev.
"Damn, Zev, lift your foot... Jody whispered.
Zev glanced outside the cubicle at the shadow creeping slowly toward them. The woman immediately pulled the door open when the shadow fell on the stall at the rear. Jody had locked it so that the woman couldn't open it. But the woman wanted to open the door so badly that she peered through the breach. Zev immediately raised his feet and carefully positioned himself against the cubicle wall.
"You know what you're doing makes you look stupid."
The woman named Jhen got up, walked toward the sink, and washed her hands. "I think I'm just paranoid."
"Yes, you are."
"What are we going to tell Jody when we meet her? She'll be furious. She will think that we're a traitor."
"You stupid. We're traitors. What do you suppose we did to her? And she knew Zev meant it when he said this semester would be a failure. If she's clever, she'll understand what we're saying."
"Let's go. Prof. might be in the room already."
Zev and Jody waited until they heard the door close. Jody let out a breath and moved away from Zev's lap. She left the cubicle right away, and the man went after her.
"You want to join that group of women, so you did what they said?" Zev asked.
Jody didn't answer. Zev walked closer to her until she leaned her hip into the sink.
"Do you know why they're so well-known here? It's because they're so beautiful. And what you accomplished proves you should be one of them. She has beauty but no brains," Zev said as he swiftly turned around and exited the washroom.
Jody put her hand on her chest. "That's what Brian said. They are beautiful with brains." Jody bit her lower lip and ran out of the washroom quickly.
As she walked toward their classroom, she saw Kendra's group sitting next door. They are laughing outside the room as they watch something on the phone. When Jody walked up to them, they looked at her.
"Jody, here you are," said Yumi. "Have you seen the most recent video of abs?"
Jody said nothing. She just looked at them. "What's with that stare?" Kellie asked.
"Do you know why Isaac Newton came up with his theory of gravity after seeing an apple fall in 1665 or 1666?" Jody asked them.
The five women couldn't believe it. Everyone was watching them. Kendra looked around and saw that everyone in the class was looking at them.
"W-what?" Kendra asked.
"What are you saying?" Esha asked.
"Why are you asking that?" Yumi asked.
Jody smiled at them. "Because Isaac Newton was curious about why the apple fell straight down. I'm asking myself the same thing right now. Why did I believe in people like you? I'm sorry, but I don't want to be the group's leader." Jody turned her back on them, rolled her eyes, and went straight to her classroom after she said that.
Zev smirked. "Isaac Newton? What does he have to do with them?"
Zev watched as Jody walked towards their seat and sat in the empty chair beside her.
"It doesn't mean you're smart because you know Isaac Newton," Zev said.
Jody looked at Zev with a raised eyebrow. "You're not handsome just because you have abs. In my eyes, you still look like a monkey."
Zev did not speak. He just closed his eyes and put his head on the chair's backrest as he sat down. Jody sulked and averted her gaze from the man.