Bundles of nerves starts building up and overwhelming throughout my whole system as I raised my hand obliged to show my presence to the head counselor who happens to search for me
"I believe I am the one you are looking for Ms. Head counselor" I said loud enough for her to hear, and since I am sitting at the back bench, I had to increase my voice a little louder to be audible enough to the people in front
"I would like to have a word for you, my office Now" She demands which I complied immediately, trying not to add another ounce of flame that can augment the fume coming from her nose and ears as well as to her eyes that can suck the life out of anyone who dares to stare at her dreading orbs
Walking in front, I can already feel obvious stares from my classmates and ready to start a whole thick book containing gossips about me
Then a very friendly foot came out of its peaceful spot and pop it in front of my walkway making me tripped on the spot, good thing I gripped on a chair that made my weight in a complete balanced
I heard some snorts and stifled laughter coming from my side, probably another one of my male classmates who happens to be one of my bullies as well
I decided to ignore it and proceed on walking, like I always pin to my head to avoid and fights with airheads,
"Ignorance is the best tool to win against arrogance, it does makes sense if you used your knowledge correctly, but one scientist will only make a fool of their intelligence, once they debate it to a caveman" that quote seems to work very well for me I suppose
Walking on the empty halls, Miss Head counselor is ahead of me, striding with an average speed but she walks with small steps making it appear that she is indeed walking briskly
While me on the other hand, appears to walk at a slow manner since I'm 5'8 tall, I'm few inches taller than her, so I take long counted strides, while she walks I don't know how many steps she had made already
After a few more minutes of a sudden exercise, we reached her office, the Head Counselor's office by the way
Once the wooden door was opened, I was greeted by four pairs of eyes, glaring directly at me
And if glares could be considered a lethal action, I'd be bleeding to death right at this moment
"Take a seat" Miss Head counselor dictates using her stern cold voice,
And like an obedient student I am, I took an empty seat right next to the girl who can't seem to take her eyes off of me, in a bad way though
"Now I gathered all of you today especially you, miss Paramnesia, cause one of the students of Section Dream-2 reported that their classroom was bombarded with dirt's and dead flowers, their board was doodled with unsupervised sketches and vulgar words written as graffiti and windows are painted with red kiddy paints and some of their chairs are poured with sand and glitters, balloons are scattered with beers inside, handprint paints are crawling on their walls and creep papers are hanging on their ceilings with some letters saying 'dream on Section Dream 2, cause we will give you nightmares that is as unpleasant as you' and the only people that I suspect who made those mess is you four, since you are from Dream-4 and known as one of the biggest troublemakers of that section, also, as almost all of the teachers and students know that there are always a huge ruckus and tension between Dream-2 and Dream-4, and that news actually made my blood boil faster than the water in the Kettle I set on the stove earlier this morning" Miss Head Counselor explained while throwing glares to each of the girls
"Uhmm, miss, may I ask, why am I included in here?, cause for I know I'm neither from that section, I'm from section Dream-5" I asked in a polite manner, as I heard one or two of them scoff, which I just decided to shrug it off
"I am completely aware of that Miss Paramnesia, In fact, I'm also aware that you have a good record in terms of good moral and right conduct, you have the least- or, let's say none reports in guidance, and your name can't be found in the logbook of Detention, so as an acknowledgement to your well behavior, I want you to guide them and try to change their Deviant attitude, in other words…you are now holding responsibility to them, and this is not a request, more like a command" she declared which made the five of us widen our eyes on shock of the profound news that we just acquired right at this moment
"P-pardon but-"
"This is Bullshit!!! You think a wimpy girl like her can control us?!, *Chuckle* don't make me laugh Miss Whatever your name is, but if your going to search for someone that is right enough to change our 'DEVIANT ATTITUDE' Then better find someone better and not useless and lousy like her" she then turn towards me before spatting another words that stings more than the bruises and cut on my back
"Stupid trash like you shouldn't even breath and live in this world in the First place, your parents must've done something terrible to have a huge mistake called you"
"ENOUGH! MS. Verbione!" Miss Head Counselor demanded with full authority, face is completely raging towards the girl, as my eyes starts to water, it's somehow stroke a huge pang in my heart, she mentioned my parents, whom I didn't even know why they left me at such an early age, maybe because they know I'll be a useless kid when I grow up, which is true, cause that's what they've been telling me through the days, weeks, months, and years growing up, even my uncle thinks of it that way
"I DON'T CARE WHATEVER YOUR PERSONAL ISSUE IS WITH MISS PARAMNESIA BUT THAT DOESN'T COUNT ON HOW TO TREAT HER LIKE THAT! DON'T ACT LIKE YOU'RE THE DAUGHTER OF THE PRESIDENT OR YOU ARE FEEDING THE WHOLE WORLD AND TAKING CARE OF HUGE REFUGEES BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT, YES YOUR PARENTS MIGHT BE ONE OF THE RICHEST COMPANY OWNER HERE IN THIS COUNTRY BUT IT IS THEM WHO WORKS HARD TO EARN MONEY NOT YOU! SO SHUT UP AND TAME YOUR LANGUAGE BECAUSE YOU ARE ONE WHOSE BEING A NUANCE FEMALE ARROGANT DOG HERE!" Miss Head Counselor lashes at her using her usual stern and dictating voice which somehow made Jinhee silent and just decided to sit down, head is laying low but I can see her knuckles turn to pure white because on how much hard she balls her fist,
"Now this will be your final warning, if you ever had another record here in this guidance logbook, You have no other choice but to pack your things here and leave this school, because by then, you will be expelled…or let's make this less intimidating, you will be kick out, as simple as that, transferring on other school as you're saying in your mind? Let's see, if some schools would still accept you once they saw your records from this school, because they won't waste some space for Deviant people who do no good and just waste their parents' money" she states calmly, but the four are actually fuming right now
"That's not fair!" The other girl said, I saw that she has a snake tattoo on her nape but it is covered by her hair so it's actually not that visible, not unless you pay close attention to it
"Deal with it, now as for you Miss Paramnesia, if you fail to control their intolerable behavior, we would need to cut your scholarship" she states while facing me, I know I said I'm far from being a nerd, and I said that I'm useless, and wimpy, but I'm actually, well just. a Little bit smart, enough to be accepted to scholarship, I needed that so it would lessen the expenses that I need to acquire from my part time job, that's why if it's still possible, my eyes got even wider, I can't lose my scholarship just because the fault of other people, but even though I'm against the wind, I gotta comply to her demand, and even though these four treats me poorly in the hallways and mess with my locker, and spat out some burglar words at me, I still feel bad for them cause it is hard to transfer school with a bad record, I do believe despite their Deviant personalities, they still have a dream too, something humanely I hope, but I'm no saint though, I also have my limits, I just don't know how far is that limit cause I can't reach it until now, so, with a heavy heart…
"I agree to the covenant miss Head counselor" I said plainly, but politeness is still audibly visible lacing on my voice, she smiled at my words then took something from her drawer then hands them in front of me
"Sign it, this will serve as your contract so none of you would get away with your promissory" she said calmly while handing me a pen which I took then signed the paper, of course reading it first before agreeing to put my signature over my printed name
"Alright, now as you four, I don't care if you don't agree with it, sign this now and you'll be dismissed immediately" she said while I put the pen down, and moved back to my sit, while the four form a line then starts signing it one-by-one, but each moment, a frustrated sigh and scoff kept escaping their clearly annoyed lips , eyebrows are furrowing while reading the contract
"What do you mean she has to stay with us?!, We don't need any babysitter here! She might even be the one we need to babysit cause she's a crybaby!" The tallest girl said completely fueled up
"Oh, that means she's moving to another section same with yours, so from now on, she'll be under section Dream-4, and for your last warning Miss Verbione!, watch your language" she explained with a warning on the end of her sentence, and move her hand up when she saw that one of them were about to protest again
"No more words from you, now that you've signed this paper, you are all free to go, and Paramnesia, I may have to give some more words with you so you have to stay for a while, the rest of you, go back to your designated class, you'll all just see each other in Section Dream-4 classroom, have a good day" she declared which they complied eventually, but not failing to leave an annoyed scoff before finally exiting the door and slumming it not too loud, but not too soft either
Miss Head counselor then cleared her throat before speaking
"I know your state right now miss Paramnesia" she starts which lead me to slight confusion
"I beg your pardon miss Head Counselor-"
"Stop with the Head counselor Honorific, call me Miss Pillarion" she cuts me off, wait…Pillarion?, why does that family name sounds familiar?
"I know your current situation right now, and I've been hearing news about you being bullied physically and verbally by different groups of students here in the campus, some of them are fraternities am I right?" she asks which left me nothing to do but nod, while lowering my head and not utter a single word
"Don't act like you feel guilty, you shouldn't feel it that way, they deserve proper punishment, but to my position right now, expulsion is not enough for them, since they're all from very powerful families, and one of them is the daughter of this University, if they found out that you're the one who reports it, they won't stop bullying you and even step it to another level, they might even bully you outside the school premises, life is not fair for all of us, but all we need to do is understand the situation, you, you are smart enough to understand, and I know by now you still won't report your situation to any higher authorities if not because of my daughter, Eunoia kept telling me all about the bad and cruel things they've done to you" she uttered then lightly patted my shoulder, no wonder why Pillarion is oddly familiar to me, because Miss Pillarion is the Mother of Eunoia, I didn't know her mother is the Head Guidance Counselor
"And other people are making it worse and making themselves dumber cause they're playing blind for not seeing what they've been doing to you, they' probably weren't taught by their parents or guardian " she continued, I just kept quiet, letting her speak, it is my sign of respect to older people, let them finish talking before you decide to interfere, my uncle taught me that lesson though, it started when I was just 4
….
Third Person's POV
Little 4 year old Epione was busy sketching in her room, she loves to draw flowers and houses and never forgets to draw the beautiful sun, back then, she's so excited to step into the world of high school despite her being a primary student, and she's still wasn't aware that she was being bullied at an early age she thought they were just friends who loves to tease her, friendly insults as she thought, and taking her lunch, but she never thought of it as stealing though, she just considered her own phrase that 'sharing is caring' and maybe they were really hungry so she considers it and never built any anger towards them, she's oblivious that she was being bullied, and continued to be all smiley and never lashes out to anyone
Once she finish her drawing, she gave her drawing a look of confidence, her wearing a high school uniform together with nine more students she labeled as classmates and friends, she was really expecting to have a lot more friends once she's in high school,
And despite her young age, she can draw fairly good, a huge step ahead from her batch mates, excited to show this to her uncle, she went downstairs to see that he is talking to another person same age as him but he looks like a business man and more intimidating than her uncle
Little Epione didn't know that her uncle was being scolded by his boss
She gently tugged her uncles' hem of his shirt earning the attention of both the older
"Epione, we'll talk later" he muttered lowly while turning back to his boss
Being a good girl she is, she complied and sat down the couch with her usual bright smile on her face, patiently waiting for them to finish, clueless about whatever they're talking about, not until she got alerted when the other older punched him across the face, Epione didn't like her uncle being hurt, that's why she meddled between them
"Hey! You don't have the rights to hurt my uncle! Don't hurt my uncle mister-I-don't-know -who-you-are!" Little Epione scold him and arms are widespread attempting to protect her uncle
"Little girl, you need to move, I'm just teaching your, uncle? A lesson" the older said patiently
"No! I won't let you hurt my uncle again!" She said defendingly not until her uncle shouts
"Epione! What have I told you about meddling by the conversation and business with other older people!?" This made Epione shocked by the sudden change of voice of her uncle
"B-but he hurt you-"
"Go to your room! We'll talk later!"
He lashes out at her, with tears in her eyes, she ran to her room not wanting to make her uncle to be more mad at her, she doesn't like people to be mad at her, it makes her sad
Her room was filled with nothing but silent little sobs, completely forgetting about her drawing that she have been wanting to show to her uncle, not until the door was opened after some few minutes revealing her uncle, fuming in anger staring directly at her
"Uncle-"
"I thought I already told you to stop interfering with people's business and conversation huh?!" Her uncle's lashes out
"I-im sorry uncle he's just-"
"Shut up! You need to be taught a lesson" he uttered while taking off his belt, leading the poor little Epione confused
"Uncle? W-what are you doing?-"
"Get down on your knees" he commands which she complied immediately
"Now turn around" which she did, now her back is facing her uncle while kneeling down, she felt a cloth shoved into her mouth
Then what happens next still remained to her memory, the first punishment
She was beaten up with a belt by her uncle while she was left with stifled cries and muffled begs since her mouth was covered with rolled towel as her uncle whoops his belt to her legs, back, and arms mercilessly…
That's the way she learned her first lesson from her uncle, never interfere with the business or conversation between other people specially those who are older than you
"You have to be bruised and hurt to learn your lesson, so every time you see those dried wounds and scars, it reminds you of your mistakes" a quote that she made and pinned to her mind eventually
…..
Epiones' POV
"Do you have any questions miss Paramnesia?" Mrs. Pillarion asked
"Well, with all due respect, may I ask if why do I have to be included to the four, I know it's because of my record but are there any more answers that's beyond to my qualification to be the chosen one to take responsibility to them?" I asked not forgetting to show my manners
"You know those four?" She asks back
"Yes I do" Is answered shortly
"Are you included to them?"
"Yes I am ma'am"
"Are they one of your bullies?"
"…yes, yes they are" I answered hesitantly
*Sighs* "I know it will be hard for you to cope around with them, knowing that they are actually one of your bullies but this is the least I could do to make your life…less miserable, I'm here to help you since I can't stand my daughter anymore, I'm getting tired about how she complains about you going to the clinic more often as usual and how she can't stand your 'pitiable state' every time you visit the clinic each time you have an encounter to each other, so for her to have some peace of mind, and make her stop dashing out to me every middle of the night just to remind me to plan an action about your situation, let me help you on this one, though I'm just a head counselor here, one of my goal is to keep the students here safe and tamed, and you're a student here which means you are also under my responsibility" She explained
"The contract will somehow stop them from bullying you to any extent, since they have fear of getting kicked out, surprisingly…those kids have dreams too, despite their intolerable attitudes, and I'm expecting a lot from you, what I mean is that I'm expecting you to change their attitudes, they, they're just not into the right direction, their parents are their problem, not you, before I even called you to come to my office, I called them out first, and we had some personal discussion, and they have confessed to me about their family problems at home, one was neglected, one was pressured by her parents and relatives, the two were sisters and they were both abused physically and mentally by their adoptive parents, so, I need you to make them see the positivities in life, just like how you see yours despite those monsters lurking around you, I trust you on this one Miss Paramnesia, also, my deep apologies if I went hard on you earlier, it's one thing for me to not be addressed as a biased head counselor, as you know how other people's mindsets work, it malfunctions properly, however, I can completely assure, that they can help you, they look like someone who can defend you from those bullies despite their appearance as if they could actually commit mass murder at any moment as they please, hopefully, they'll make your life less…bully prone" she muttered using her soft voice, it's like I'm talking to my mother, though I haven't met my mother before I even gain consciousness…but I'm hoping to see her along with my dad someday
After the discussion, Miss Head Counselor- I mean miss Pillarion dismissed me as well so I could return to my next subject, good thing she gave me an excuse letter that I could give to the subject teachers to give me some consideration in attendance and to some activities that I might've missed, before I completely left her office, she reminded me to return to her office tomorrow so I could get my confirmation letter that I will be transferred to another section and pass it to the registrar's office right after
After few more steps and I'm finally back to the classroom, which you can hear is nothing but full of murmurs by some gossip groups and exchange of playful banters and not-so-funny and pretty offensive jokes on one another of some students, online games were heard and trash talks of one another each time they lose or win, I guess miss Persophiona left the class earlier and our next subject teacher haven't arrived yet, making this classroom sound like a regular supermarket day, but not until I entered the classroom, although my presence wasn't enough to silence them all, but half of the class's attention was on me now, some rolled their eyes while some scoff and return to what they are doing, obviously annoyed of my sudden appearance, but I'm somehow used to it now
"Hey stupid, how's the guidance? Are you kicked out finally?" Kiro, One of my male classmate asks
"N-no I wasn't" I answered shortly while proceeding to go to my seat
"Aww, shucks, that's bad news then, we still get to see your ugly face" I heard him say while he laugh with his friends, which again, I ignored then shrugged it off
Then while walking, innocent crumpled papers starts shooting against me, while there's also wet tissue papers and yellow paper where there's a stone hiding inside, making me wince In pain, but I don't think they would ever care at all no matter how much I complain
After few throws, I've finally made it back to my seat, the usual back bench
One lesson that I've learned so far after all those bullying sessions that I've experienced, that when you are alone, unpopular, and a loner, you are fond to bullying
"Look whose here, a wimpy kid! Where's the babysitter of this girl cause I think that she's about to cry!" One girl said in a teasing tone and mocking a sound of a whining baby
"Yah, don't tease her, if you make her cry you will be accused of child abuse cause she's gonna tell you to the boobooliicee and then we'll be forced to take her to the whaaambulaance!!!" One girl followed then they all started laughing at me, tears are starting to water, but I'm fighting the urge not to cry
"Aww look at that ugly baby crying, here! A tissue oh wait it's not a tissue though, it's BABY wipes" she then gave me some baby wipes then aggressively smudged it on my face
Of course, their laughter won't falter at any moment now
"S-stop it" I shakenly said when one girl starts poking my forehead
"W-what? I can't hear you" she asks, mocking my way of speaking, then keeps on poking my forehead aggressively
"I-I said stop it!" I yelled at her but then regret it when she slaps me really hard
"Say that again huh!" She demands while pulling my collar really hard making me choke a little
"Come on, say it again!" then she shouts out to raise her hand again ready to give me another slap and I was left nothing to do but close my eyes and prepare for the hard impact, but after some seconds I feel nothing, that's when I decide to open my eyes and look in front, that's where I received another slap, harder than the first one making me almost lose my consciousness
"Haha Idiot! *Slap!* You think some dumb heroine or hero would stop me from slapping you huh!?, No one in this world would ever waste their effort and time to save a useless trash like you! Why?! *Slap!* Cause they *slap!* don't give *slap* a damn *slap!* to shits!!!" *slap!* She states while continuously hitting my now reddened cheeks with her palms then I let my tears roll down my cheeks that's slowly turning into a cry
"Aww there there, don't worry, just few more slaps and you're good to go" she said with a teasing laughter as some of our classmates are cheering her, while some, actually don't care at all, just peacefully minding their own business while some just sing a song not looking at us, they're honestly so painful to look at
"GO Ssatihs!!!"
"Yeah! Go slap the soul out of her!!!"
"Just do whatever you want with her! She's useless anyways!"
"Just slap?! Why don't you scrub her face to the wall or something?! That sounds better!"
"Boo! That's no fun! dump her face to the toilet instead! I have the key to our Latrine here! Take it! I just took a dump there earlier!" a voice heard from our male class secretary
Those chanting are burning to my ear while those teasing faces and amused laughter are too aching to look at
So I closed my eyes again, sobbing loudly, and I'm just preparing for another slap to be received by my now burning cheeks, my back was pressed uncomfortably to the backrest of my chair since she's pushing me, making the pain on my back to come back, I ignored the pain cause there's no point anymore, I continued to close my eyes… but…nothing came, no hard slap, nor punch, so reluctantly, I opened my eyes thinking if she's pranking me again, but this time, it is real, cause what I see is the girls' hand was stopped midway from slapping me when another hand was grabbing it forcefully
"W-what are you doing?"
"Stop it" the other voice of a person said using their cold tonality that can run throughout ones spine, I took a glance at them to see…
There's no way…
"Chaeryoung?"