Ah ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.
Faking a laugh sounds really funny if you ask me. Like, it doesn't sound right, and it honestly shouldn't sound right. I mean, when someone laughs like that, you might as well start running away in the opposite direction.
Hello, I have a name, and I'm here to talk to you about Daiquiri.
Don't ask me why, I just happen to know a bit about it.
Not only does Daiquiri have a pretty nice name, but it's also an alcoholic drink. It's a summer drink, I think, I mean, people drink it at the pool and beach all the time going 'Why yes, I do enjoy sitting and chatting in the hot sun.'
This drink was supposedly invented in 1898 by some American bloke in Cuba who apparently ran out of gin during a cocktail party. Like, why?
So the Daiquiri went through a few changes. Now, the traditional Daiquiri is made of rum, lime juice, syrup and a ring of lime for aesthetic.
Speaking of a ring of lime, I got a problem with the whole put-a-fruit-that-people-don't-eat-as-decoration thing. I get watermelon or even oranges, but who's out there eating lime fruits? I'm sure there are people out there willing to do so.
Anyways, let's get things started proper, eh?
So, today's a great day on Tuesday. The back of my head still kinda hurts when I touch it. Trust me, I can't stop touching it even though it hurts. I have a cut and band-aid above my left eye. Would have been cool if she actually nailed my eye though. I could have a cool eyepatch thing that would definitely get people to look at me.
"Hey yo Westerburg…" I groaned as I got out of bed.
I slung a leg over, but it went numb, resulting in me getting sprawled across the ground with my eye half-open. I let out an even longer groan before pushing myself off the ground. My vision was blurred green. I swept my hair back as I made my way toward the washroom to wash my face.
I let out a raspberry when I saw the cut.
Touching it, it doesn't actually hurt as much as I thought it would. Instead, it just felt kinda… normal, I guess? My routine was done and over with, but I had to carefully place another band-aid over the cut.
What a pain in the ass.
I slapped myself on the cheeks a couple of times. I put a smile on my face, the same smile I've been honing for days.
"Good morning!" I greeted my family when I left my room.
Fable took one look at me before asking, "Are you going through a phase or something? Like, why the plaster?"
"I got cut," I stated. "Got a problem with that?"
"Cut? By who?"
I shrugged. "I don't know, some random girl that follows Dear Candace around all day every day. Hell, I sure as hell wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to be gay for Candace. Actually, I think I ship it."
I gave him a double thumbs up.
I totally ship it, they're like my OTP. Other than the fact that Candace has a psycho boyfriend, butwedon'tneedtotalkabouthim right now… But yeah, ship it, 100%.
Bruh, I don't recall her name.
"So, what did you do last night out late?" I asked him as I took a seat across from him.
"Gaming all night, I bet," Dad chipped in.
"Yeah, or doing some questionable stuff just cause you turned 18, yeah?" I joked. "Can't believe you're trying to have a child at your age."
"We agreed not to talk about her," He grumbled.
"Yeah, yeah," I put my hands up. "Whatcha doing out so late last night?"
"I was… gaming," He said hesitantly.
I chuckled, slapping the table gently a few times. I pointed at him, a cheeky smile on my face. "Anyone ever told you you're a terrible liar?"
"Am I?"
"Yeah," Dad agreed. "I knew when you were lying, but just went along with it."
"Oh, destroyed," I added.
Fable made a face. "I went to the gym with Yin again. Yin suggested I visit her place to freshen up and meet her parents."
"While sweating and tired?" I asked.
"Yeah," He confirmed. "It was kind of sudden, but I went along with it."
My Mom, who probably got a sensor for whenever tea was being spilt, walked out of her room fully dressed for work.
"What are y'all talking about?" She asked.
I took my time spreading peanut butter on a slice of bread. I explained the situation to my Mom, "Fable here went to meet his girlfriend's parents."
"Without telling us?" She demanded.
"What? It was sudden!" Fable defended himself.
"We would have prepared gifts," She scolded him. "Please tell me you went there in nice clothes and a clean look."
"Sweaty gym clothes, couldn't get better," I laughed.
My Mom visibly facepalmed herself to the next country. Before Fable could get annihilated by my Mom's words, he told her, "Her parents used to be athletes, I don't think they mind."
"How tall are they?" I asked curiously.
"Pretty tall," He told me. "Her dad's massive."
"Context," I stopped him.
My Mom interrupted our conversation by saying, "Next time you want to do something like this, you should contact us first."
"You were at work, what good would it do?" Fable argued.
"I was home yesterday," My Mom countered. "Had to leave work early 'cause some girl went insane and tried to kill —."
"It's true," I confirmed.
"Your classmate tried to kill you?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "Pretty cool way too. She stood up and said 'fuck you!' to everyone in the classroom while giving an emotional speech that was really deep. She then tried to cut me, and as you can see-"
I gestured to the band-aid. "Not as deep as her words."
"Oh god, they're gonna make a ten-minute-long announcement in the morning," Fable grumbled.
"I hope they do,' I corrected him.
My Mom went to her room to get something, so she shouted to me, "What time will you be back tonight?"
"Normal, I guess? I got club today."
"Dinner?"
"Yep."
Dad got up and started to get ready too. I pointed at Fable, asking, "Doesn't this guy take the car to get to school?"
"We've got some urgent matters at work, so Fable's gonna have to go to school himself today," Dad said.
"I'm leaving early, I'm guessing you aren't?" I asked Fable.
Fable shook his head vigorously. "No, I'm not a weirdo who goes to school early. You're an anomaly."
"I know a bunch of people that go to school this early, okay?" I debated.
"Yeah? Name two," He challenged.
I was about to say names, but I stopped myself. I tapped my chin, sticking one finger out. "Yeah, there's that popular guy named Otto I see around the place. And one of my classmates…"
Our parents waved us off, leaving.
"Name?" Fable pushed the challenge.
"Glasses girl…" I tried to think about it. "I know it's something weird. Like it's pronounced with a different letter even though the letter in the name is not that letter."
Fable looked understandably confused.
I shrugged, pushing myself to stand up. "Welp, whatever. I'm just gonna go ahead and head to school, yeah?"
"Mhmm."
He pulled his phone out and started scrolling through it.
Well, today's an exciting day. I'm really looking forward to today. Something happened to Candace, but I have absolutely no idea why she's avoiding me.
The wheels on the bus go round and round~ Up and down~
I'm at school.
Walking in, I could see a couple of people who also dyed their hair. Brown seemed to be a really popular colour. Why though? It's kinda basic and doesn't stand out that much, especially when other people are also dyeing their hair.
Okay, hear me out.
Usually, Candace arrives at school pretty late. At best, slightly later than I do. We've known each other for years, of course, I would know that. So why oh why is dear Candace waiting outside of the class?
"Good morning," I greeted her.
Candace turned to face me, her arms crossed. Usually, she was a lot louder and brasher, but today, she seemed quiet and neutral. No, something was about to explode inside of her. Her friends weren't around, not surprising after what happened yesterday.
I looked around, commenting, "There aren't people sneaking up behind me, right? Would be a real bloody shame if I was knocked out right here."
"No? Well, what's popping then?" I asked Candace when she remained silent. "You know, I've noticed that you've become a lot quieter, are you alright? Do you need help? Maybe from your older boyfriend?"
She flinched.
"What are you talking about?" She asked me.
"Well, we did meet at the town fair that one day," I explained the situation to her. "Obviously, I saw the dude you were with. What was his name again?"
Candace approached me, grabbing me by the collar just to drag me away. She scowled, "Follow me."
"But I was just talking about that older guy that's such a red flag," I commented as I allowed myself to get dragged.
We made it to a dark, isolated corner of the school. Especially this early in the morning, no one would want to walk by. She pushed me against the wall, the back of my head hitting the wall. First of all, ouch. Second of all-
"I know this place~," I said, grinning. "You used to bring me here all the time."
"Shut up!" She demanded.
I stared at her face. No, no no. That's not the face of the Candace I know. What happened to you girl?
"Are you not putting makeup on?" I asked her.
"I SAID SHUT UP!" She yelled.
I covered my ears. I then tapped my left ear a few times when a sharp ringing noise sounded in my ear. After I was done, I faced her, listening to whatever interesting thing she wanted to tell me so badly.
"I saw you with Otto the other day," She said softly, looking down at the ground.
She clutched the upper part of my arms tightly. "What the fuck were you doing at the cafe with him?"
"Making out," I told her.
She dug her long nails into my school uniform, which made it really start to hurt. I continued smiling at her, saying, "You know, I've heard a couple of stories from Mr Popular himself. You've been smitten with him for a really long time, eh?"
"You don't know shit about me," She said.
"Sure, and I don't plan to know more," I shrugged, which kinda hurt my arms. "But this attraction isn't anything like a material love or for clout, is it? You're genuinely smitten with this guy, huh?"
There was a pause. I can't exactly tell what was going through her mind since she was staring down.
"My god," I added. "And all of these fangirls are running all over the place, but you can't do anything about them except chase a couple of them off occasionally. Yet this guy you like refuses to acknowledge you."
When I noticed she didn't reply, I added, "Hey, you know that guy is interested in another girl? President of the Chess Club, I reckon."
Candace shook her head really slowly before looking up. She had tears running down her face. "I know he likes someone else."
She let go of me and pulled her phone out. Wait a minute… I don't think that's her phone. Her phone has this obnoxious hot pink cover, but this one is black. Oh my, oh my oh my. Dear Candace, whose phone did you just steal?
"Who's phone is that?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Otto's."
"Huh?"
"This is Otto's phone," She repeated herself, glaring at me. "And I found this as one of his favourited photos."
"You know the password to his phone?"
She showed me the screen, and trust me when I say my heart never dropped as hard.
Right there, was a photo of not just anyone. It's so distinct that I couldn't not recognise who that person was. Let's stop playing this guessing game. That fucking idiot has a picture of me on his phone. I was resting my chin on a hand while staring out of a window. I had my glasses on. The window was wet with raindrops. He must have been right beside me when he took that picture.
I wasn't fucking smiling.
"Oh, what the fuck?" I cursed, reaching out for the phone.
Candace pulled the phone away. She swiped and showed me, another picture. This one was taken from my back. It showed me wearing shorts and a shirt, sitting at the cafe and having a meal.
I put my hands up. "Honestly, did not see that coming."
"He isn't interested in the Captain of the fucking Chess Club," She scowled. "He's interested in you."
"Well shit," I sighed. "That sure complicates matters for the both of us, huh?"
She punched me in the face.
"Must be real tragic to kn-" I was saying until she kneed me in the gut.
She punched me in the gut once more before scratching my arm with her fingernails. Three lines of blood appeared on my right hand. Candace then pulled my hair, pulling and pushing me to the ground.
She kicked me a couple of times before crouching down. She pulled my hair. "Listen up, bitch. You stay away from him or I'll make your life a living hell."
"Haha," I laughed. "I see what's going on here."
I made direct eye contact. "You've dealt with people who like Mr Popular first, but you've never had to deal with someone who he likes. Must be real tragic t-"
She stood up and tried kicking my face. I put my arms up. My arms still hurt though. Damn, what kind of gym does Candace hit?
I ended up curling up into a ball. Eventually, she stopped.
She looked back, a teacher standing there, one of our classmates, Glasses Girl, was hiding around the corner, poking her head out. The teacher demanded, "What's going on here? What the fuck is this?"
I'm ready for Candace to spin some lie about how I attacked her first.
"I did it," She admitted to it first. "We were having a disagreement, and I got mad."
Candace was brought to the Disciplinary office, but she gave me a look as she left. I shouted after her, "Must be tragic to know you can't get rid of your competition!"
What Candace did to me here, what she did to me this entire month doesn't even compare to what she had done to me in the past. Doesn't even come close. If she thinks making my life hell is going to get rid of me, she might want to reconsider it. She has already made it hell on earth, I don't see how it can get any worse. Oh, and if Mr Popular starts talking to her about it, it might really just end all chances she might have with him.
Dear Candace, I'm sure you wouldn't want me to make Mr Popular confront you personally.
Glasses Girl ran up to me to help me out. She said to me, "I saw the two of you leaving, so I followed you. Sorry I couldn't help."
"You called the teacher over?" I asked.
"Yeah."
I hugged her. "Thanks."
I sprung onto my feet before staggering. Well, my entire body hurts, should probably get that checked out. My grey uniform was also a little bit bloodied from where Candace dug her nails into my arms. My hand was also scratched and who knows how many bruises I might have at this point.
I walked back to class with Glasses Girl.
As I walked, I started to think about the stuff Candace said to me. The more I thought about it, the less logical it seemed. I muttered to myself, "Fucking hell…"
"Did you say something?" Glasses girl asked.
"Nope," I shook my head, increasing my pace. "I'm gonna head to the infirmary real quick, you can head back to class first."
Why oh why?
Mr Popular could have literally dated any popular, rich, influential or hot person in the school or even outside the school, and he decides he might want to develop feelings for a bullied girl. Before anything gets out of hand, I better clear any misunderstandings that might be floating around me at the moment.
But how do I contact Mr Popular?
I can't exactly call or text him right now if Candace straight-up has his phone. I also can't approach him when he's surrounded by his fangirls.
Fucking hell.
At the nurse's office, I was rather surprised to see a student helping out the nurse. I just walked in, saying, "Hello, I'm here again."
The nurse turned to face me, asking, "What happened? You were here yesterday, are you hurt again?"
The male student helping out also faced me. He was rearranging some of the supplies into neat stacks. Honestly, it looked more like a game than anything. The dude had a tall, skinny frame and tied his hair into a short ponytail. He stared at me for a few seconds before pointing at me.
"Wait, you're the senior from Club!" He exclaimed.
"Huh?" I asked, extending my hand for the nurse to check.
"Do you two know each other?" The nurse asked curiously.
"Yeah, we're in the same club," He told the nurse. "I transferred in last week, remember?"
"Buddy, I don't know how to tell you this," I told him while getting my cuts dabbed with iodine. "I don't have the best memory."
"Does it hurt?" The nurse asked me.
"Meh."
She helped place a bunch of bandaids around my right hand before turning to the guy. "Could you leave for a moment?"
"It's about to get kinky," I added on as a joke.
He promptly left. The nurse guided me somewhere to pull the curtains around us, making sure no accidental walk-ins happened. I pulled up my blouse top so she could help treat the bruises as well as the part where Candace dug her fingernails into me.
"Did someone do this to you?" The nurse asked.
"Small scuffle," I replied. "With a cat, then a human."
"If you keep getting injured like this, you might die an early death one day," She commented, maybe as a joke.
"Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, yeah?" I shrugged.
"Doesn't it hurt?" She asked again.
I pressed down on the bandaids around my right hand. "Not really. I've been through worse. These kinds of small injuries stopped hurting a long time ago. Now, if you really want me to fall over in pain, stab me at least an inch deep with a knife."
"Don't overdo it, okay?"
She patted my shoulders before getting up to withdraw the curtains. She shouted, "Ted, get back in here."
I already had my blouse down when he entered. Ted… that's a familiar name.
"Ted…?" I muttered.
I snapped and pointed at him, the guy took a step away from me when I did. "You're that guy I talk to in the club! Right, right, my memory's pretty shit, huh?"
Ponytail Boy is named Ted. Okay.
"It's kinda unfair how you look decent with a short ponytail," I commented.
Pulling back my hair into a makeshift ponytail held up by my hand, I said, "I just look really weird if I tie up my hair."
The nurse sighed, rubbing her temple. "Girl, are you going to be staying here or will you be heading back to class?"
"I would love to skip another day of school," I explained. "But I'm kinda not allowed to at the moment."
I hopped onto my feet and started leaving, waving them off. "Well, bye! Loved the chat."
I pointed at Ponytail Boy. "And I'll see you at the Club."
Now that I'm all patched up and looking like I just ran through a thorn bush, I gotta get on with my day. Back in class, there was quite a bit of commotion. I placed my bag on the ground, asking, "What's all the fuzz about? Did someone die?"
Glasses Girl stood up, announcing to me, "This time, we're not going to take Candace's side anymore!"
There was muttering across the room, most of them in agreement and some of them of uncertainty. I shrugged, telling them, "You guys don't have to. I don't really care if I have to take the blame for everything."
"But we want to help," Glasses Girl insisted.
Another guy stepped up, saying, "Yeah. We always thought that Candace couldn't be messed with, but you've shown that it is possible to stand up to her."
"Kornathan," I pointed at him. "Is that your name? You're the guy with the kinda psycho girlfriend, right?"
"Huh?"
I shrugged, laughing. "Seriously though, what's gonna change? A teacher already saw her beating me up, Glasses over there saw me getting beat up, and Candace already admitted to beating me up. They aren't gonna do another one of those stupid class votings."
I waved in front of me, the class quieter now. "Love the effort and support, really do. But I don't need it right now."
I gestured to my face, then my hand. "What I need right now is rest and maybe a bag of crisps."
Ever wonder how many meanings the word 'chip' has? Think about it. Potato chips are a thing. Chips also mean french fries. Chip could also be a bit of something broken off from another thing. It could also be that technology thing I'm not too sure about. Isn't there also a saying of 'a chip on his shoulder'?
"Yeah," I shrugged, giving them double thumbs up. "Keep up the energy team."
The boy with curly hair and the psycho girlfriend walked up to me. I swear I should know his name by now. Luckily for me, he introduced himself rather quickly. "I'm Jonathan, remember?"
"Maybe," I said. "What's up?"
"Did my girlfriend do something?" He asked.
"No, why?" I countered. "She's really sweet and cute. Hey, guy talk, how did you get her to date you?"
"You aren't a guy…?"
"Wow," I said loudly before softening myself. "In this day and age, assuming genders, can't believe you. But yeah, I'm a gal."
"My girlfriend can go a little… overboard sometimes," He apologised, likely in advance. "If she does anything too weird, please tell me."
"Any examples?"
He inhaled sharply. "She once threw a table at someone."
I raised an eyebrow. He simply nodded with a grim expression on his face. "Yeah… try not to get on her bad side."
"Blink twice if you're being held hostage to date her," I told him.
"She's not a bad person," He insisted.
I nodded along with whatever he was saying while simultaneously pulling out my phone. Remember when I 'exchanged' phone numbers with Jonathan's girlfriend? Yeah, I sent her a quick text.
Bell rang, but Mr Dohl was nowhere to be seen.
That's odd.
Did someone die?
I swear to whatever God is up there if lessons are delayed because of Candace. Great, she's going to make a public apology, then a teacher will make a long ass speech about cohesion as a class and whatnot. I would love to hear Candace attempt apologising, but a speech? Nah.
My oh my oh my.
Look at all these fucking hypocrites. Talk about how they want to stand up to Candace. Yeah, took y'all about three years to figure that out, didn't it?
Just before the first lesson could begin, Candace walked in, accompanied by Mr Dohl. Did I ever mention how short Mr Dohl was? I'm considered normal, I guess, and Candace is taller than me. Mr Dohl looked like a midget.
"In light of recent events, Candace has something to say to everyone in the class," Me Dohl announced.
Candace cleared her throat.
She scanned the classroom, her eyes locking with mine for a few seconds. The fire in her eyes was diminished. No, no. Why?
Where was the bad girl Candace I had to deal with the past few years? Where is the rage? Where is the oath to vengeance for taking your man? This can't possibly be your response to what I have done to you.
"As y'all know, I have been absent from school as of late," She started talking.
Her voice was rather monotonous and dead, almost as if she had already given up on life. The class was dead silent.
"I haven't been feeling well recently," She told the class. "Partially due to pressure from my social life."
She let out a sigh. "Yesterday, Vivian attacked — despite my insistence against her actions, and I apologise for it. To my friends in this class, I also want to apologise because I haven't been honest enough with my friends."
What is this?
"To —," She said, looking me directly in the eyes. "I know I've done terrible things to you in the past, I cannot apologise enough for it. I swear that from now on, I will do everything I can to make up for my past mistakes."
My look of shock must have been too obvious.
Candace hesitantly bowed to the class. "I'm truly sorry for everything I've done to you all."
It started with one clap from one of her pals, then almost half the class was clapping. I looked around, trying to see what exactly was going on.
What in the living fuck was going on?
"---," Mr Dohl called out my name. "Are you willing to forgive Candace?"
I stared at my hands for a couple of seconds. Surely Candace must have a reason for doing whatever the hell she's doing at the moment.
"Sure!" I replied with a big smile. "Let's get along from now on, okay?"
Oh, what a redemption story! Oh, what a turnaround. A beautiful friendship was brought about between the bully and the bullied. My, what a shitty drama that would be, eh?
I continued to stare at Candace as she made her way to her seat. She held eye contact, and I could tell the plans brewing inside that brain of hers. Huh, maybe dear Candace wasn't as big of an idiot as I thought.
She put her palm to her mouth and blew me a kiss.
Okay, pause.
What in the f-
"Fuck was that?" One of our classmates asked, maybe a little too loudly.
Candace was not smiling as she sat back down in her seat.
I messed around with my fingers a little, crossing my arms and then uncrossing them. I couldn't pay attention to much of what the teacher was trying to talk about. Hell, I couldn't care much about whatever the teacher was trying to teach.
Let's think of a game plan, yeah?
I'm not sure if Mr Popular has his phone back, and I would really want to know who his actual crush is. If it really is me, god damn am I in for a whole shitshow with his fangirls and Candace.
If it isn't me, great! The plan goes on as per normal.
Break.
Candace approached me. I guess the restraining order isn't in effect anymore? Well, it lasted a solid week.
"Dear Candace…" I started to talk when she got closer.
The class was basically holding their breaths in suspense.
"Why the sudden change in heart?" I continued.
I can see the hesitation in her eyes~
She let out a sigh and extended a hand toward me, asking, "Would you… want to have lunch with me?"
"Sure~"
I took her hand.
Basically, we just had a meal together without much talking. Her two other friends were nowhere to be seen. It was just the two of us. We didn't talk much, we kinda just went about the break as if we were strangers.
I'm still confused.
So I brought it up during club.
Okay, some explanation first. My club does this thing where you can choose who to partner up with at the same table. The remainder will be randomly slotted in with each other. Usually, I would be one of the remainders, but now, I'm commonly partnered up with Teddy Roosevelt over here.
I brought it up to him, just to see if he had any useful insights. Of course, I didn't bring up the whole Mr Popular thing.
"That's… weird," He commented.
"Yeah, and she's totally throwing off my vibes," I complained, making sure to still smile while doing all of this.
Ted nodded. "Is she why you got injured?"
"Meh, small thing," I sighed. "Maybe a couple of scars, but that's about it. Nothing makeup can't fix, innit?"
I started forming rings with the doughnut dough.
"Why are they called doughnuts if there aren't any nuts in them?" I randomly brought it up.
"That's random," Ted commented.
I shrugged, throwing one of them into the oil. There was a bit of silence before I broke the silence, "So… any interesting men lately?"
"Huh?" Ted asked, choking on his own spit.
"I don't know, seen any hot men lately?" I asked, making sure to take care of the frying doughnut.
"W-Why would you bring this up with m-me?" Ted stuttered, trying to keep his composure while laughing nervously. "You trying to f-find a date?"
"Meh, I dunno."
I folded my arms. "I've been having trouble identifying what is attractive and what is not, you know? Like, everyone's idolising Mr Popular but I just don't seem to get it. Even some girls guys like, I just don't see what guys see in those girls. Especially what popular guys see in unpopular girls."
"I guess it's a matter of perspective?" Ted suggested.
Huh.
Club ended. I had a couple of doughnuts in my bag I was thinking of sharing with my Mom when I got home. But who do I see at the gate other than Fable and his girlfriend? They seem happy together. Fable tried to keep a stoic expression, but I could tell he was happy on the inside.
I stopped in place, waiting for them to disappear from sight first before continuing.
My phone buzzed right before I left the school. A text from Mr Popular.
'Sorry, my phone got taken by Candace. I heard she roughed you up really badly, are you alright?'
I looked at it. I genuinely thought about throwing my phone to the side, but instead, I texted him back.
'I'm fine. How did she even steal your phone?'
He replied rather quickly.
'I was chatting with one of my pals outside of my class, so she snuck in and stole it.'
I put the phone in my pocket and made my way back home. I could feel the slight vibration the phone gave off when someone sent me a message, but I ignored it for now. Instead, I waited until I was back in my room.
'Get home safe.'
Who do you think you are?