"Woah, what an unlucky girl."
"Right? Of all the schools out there, she chose to transfer here."
"She might hear us. Let's just eat."
Yeonica, wearing earphones, just pretended not to hear any of her classmates' chitchats about her, obviously. Until today, the recent incident has not been blown away by the wind. Yeonica, who is currently disguised as a 17-year-old student named Yumi, feels like she instantly became the elephant in the room, as the other students obviously don't want her presence inside, for whatever reason she is yet to know.
"Ah, damn it. I should've recalled some lessons in high school, especially about this freaking science. The hell are these three science subjects?" she whispered to herself, thinking other people might become suspicious of her not actually being a student, given that she still doesn't know what's really going on inside the mysterious school.
"Oops! Sorry!"
Everyone in the room, including Yeonica, turned their eyes around when a spilling sound was heard from the back.
"Here we go again," the students murmured.
Yeonica secretly rolled her eyes. It's Mezily, the student she saw the other time. She, with her minions, is bullying the same student again. "What a destiny! Look who's here," Yeonica said in her mind after realizing she was classmates with these bullies. She doesn't mind, though, as long as she finds information about their late classmate Margareth. Well, it's surely going to be a hard task. It seems like friendship and deep connections don't exist in Class 3 after all.
"I'm really sorry, Edem. I didn't notice that you're here. I don't have a superpower." Mezily paused. "I can't see invisible things... like you. I'm sorry," she continued. The other girls laughed, and the girl being bullied, whose name is Edem, just kept her eyes down, staring at her spilled water on the ground.
"These brats," she whispered.
"Just ignore them."
Yeonica turned around and saw the student sitting in front of her. "Pardon?"
"Don't mind them. You'll be their next target if you interfere," she said. It's as if she can read Yeonica's burning urge to stop those bullies from doing what they are doing.
Yeonica looked at her and sighed. Although she doesn't feel right just watching the mistreatment of their classmate, her cover might blow up in no time if she does anything rushed.
"Why? Has it always been like this?" she asked her classmate.
Her classmate nodded. "It is. But it was actually worse before, believe it or not. That time when Margareth was still here."
Margareth?
"Margareth? Who's Margareth?" Yeonica asked, pretending she had no idea. It's her chance to know something.
"Mhm-mm. She was our classmate before. But we lost her. She took her own life."
Yeonica feigned her shock. "What? Why?"
The student shrugged off. "I don't know. None of us know. It just happened suddenly. No one can tell, even her." She paused for a moment and took a look at Mezily. "Mezily," she continued.
"Why her? Was she also bullied by that girl?"
The student shook her head. "Hmm, not at all. They were actually close with each other. That's all I can tell. That's what we can see before."
Yeonica got confused. Yamar's daughter was close with the bullies?
"By the way, I'm Zaranaia. I forgot to tell you my name," her classmate, named Zaranaia, said. She then smiled to lighten up the mood a little.
Yeonica smiled back. "I'm Yumi."
"But... what did you mean that it's worse before when Margare—" Yeonica was about to continue feeding her curiosity when a voice interrupted her.
"That's enough. Aren't you tired of being an attention-seeker all the time?"
The room became quiet when their male classmate came in and stood up against Mezily and her friends.
"Who's that?" Yeonica asked Zaranaia. "Him? That's Zarco. He's also a transferee like you. He just came here first."
Their classmate, named Zarco, broke Yeonica's judgment that no one will ever dare call out bullies inside this room, as they are all afraid they will become the next target.
"Here comes the hero again," Mezily said, rolling her eyes. "Are you this loser's boyfriend or something?
"You're the loser here, and there's no way I'll be dating you," Zarco answered, which made half of the class chuckle. Mezily's sarcastic smile disappeared in an instant, and she glared at her classmates, making them look away and suppress their laughter. "Go on. Waste your energy for this loser girl. Go fuck yourself," Mezily said, intentionally bumping into Edem as she went back to her seat.
Edem never dared to look up. Zarco, on the other hand, just took a quick glance at her and also went back to his seat. Recess is over.
—
"That's all for today, class. Dismiss. See you tomorrow," the adviser told them, and the students, faster than a light, packed their things inside their bag.
"Ms. Amuelga, can I talk to you for a second?" Mrs. Estiva requested. Yeonica stood up and went to her.
"Why, ma'am?"
Mrs. Estiva waited for the room to be emptied first before answering Yeonica. She seemed like she didn't want her other students to hear.
"Take a seat, Yumi," Mrs. Estiva said. Yeonica politely obeyed her and pulled up a chair.
"I know you've been hearing rumors and other things about this school, especially that you got transferred to Class 3," Mrs. Estiva started. Yeonica just intently listened to her.
"The truth is, one of my students before has died. She took her own life. The news flew all over the school, and of course, rumors have also begun. It's inevitable."
"I'm telling you this because I don't want you to overthink your classmates' behaviors inside the room. They might make you feel uncomfortable as they are still adjusting to the recent incident. All of us were shocked," she continued. Yeonica slowly nodded at her, simply agreeing.
"I apologize on my students' behalf if they ever make you feel like an unwanted classmate sometimes. I hope you understand. Don't worry, I'll also help you adjust inside this class."
Yeonica nodded as she flashed a smile. "Thank you, Ma'am Estiva. Actually, I've been wondering since earlier. I don't feel welcomed at all. Now, I finally understand why."
Mrs. Estiva also gave her a smile and an apologetic look. Not too long later, they both said their goodbyes and walked out of the room. Yeonica was slightly flattered, as she didn't expect a teacher to be that nice and soft. At least not in this grade level.
"Ah, she's a little unlucky with her students, though," she said to herself, remembering the bullying that is happening inside the class.
—
"Oh, look who's here! My beloved niece!" Leana jokingly said and laughed, looking at Yeonica, who just came back from her undercover inside the school.
"So, what do you've got?"
Yeonica shrugged her shoulders off. "Nothing crucial yet, I guess. Let me process everything first." She then snatched the coffee Leana was holding and made it her own.
"Bitch! Get your own!" Leana complained, but Yeonica had already licked the lid. "Ew. Living up your student life again, Miss Yumi?" she said as her eyebrow rose. Yeonica just laughed at her. "My apologies, Atty. Secre."
"Bitch. I can't believe I'll be seeing school bullies again because of this disguise. Where do they get the audacity to stamp on someone's dignity and life?" Yeonica ranted. Leana chuckled. "Most of them are unloved at home. Those freaks want attention."
"Still. Their misery and bad experiences are never a reason for them to hurt other people. It's unfair for them."
Leana agreed. "Yeah. Also, being tired after an undercover is never a reason for you to steal my coffee."
Yeonica grimaced. "Anyway, can you help me at something? I want to know backgrounds about my classmates."
Leana couldn't help but laugh. "Wow, your classmates. Good job, Yumi. I hope your salary will be raised so I can buy whatever I want."
"Shut up. Let's go first with these names," Yeonica said, handing a list of names to Leana, together with the master list of the class.
Zaranaia Watson
Edem Xiago
Mezily Cuanco
Zarco Imiaco
"Who are these?" Leana asked. "Nothing. Just interesting classmates. Watson told me Yamar's daughter was close with that bully girl Cuanco. I couldn't ask her thoroughly earlier. She might be suspicious of my actions if I continue questioning her like a witness," Yeonica explained.
"And this, Xiago and Imiaco?"
"Xiago is being bullied by Cuanco. If Margareth was close with Mezily before, there might be a connection between them. That Zarco Imiaco stood up for Xiago earlier. Watson told me that he's also a transferee like me."
"Woah. Standing up for someone. Maybe Zarco has a crush on Edem?" Leana said, which made Yeonica punch her weakly.
"You and your shits. We might get answers at those four, especially to that Mezily Cuanco."
"Hey," Leana said, facing her. "Are you sure you want to continue? What if there is really something and it gets you into danger?"
Yeonica gulped the coffee down before answering. "I don't know. I don't want to know. I just need to know my former client's whole story. If only he hadn't gone wild, I could've gotten more info."
"Let's start doing this. I need to do schoolwork later. This is what I hate about being a student. Freaking schoolwork," Yeonica said. Leana just shook her head, laughing.