Theresa confidently took hold of the girl's credit card and strode purposefully towards the ornate, high-end bookshop counter. She was well aware of the girl's financial struggles and had deliberately brought her to this particular shop, known for its exquisite yet expensive selection. The allure of quality books and elegant designs had drawn Theresa to this store, and she reveled in the idea of making the girl pay for her mistake.
Despite Carol's mishap with their books, Theresa's motivations for putting her through this ordeal were far from pure. Selecting the most expensive and aesthetically pleasing notebooks, Theresa proceeded to the counter, fully expecting Carol to exhaust her funds after a few attempts. However, to Theresa's surprise, Carol's reserves appeared more substantial than anticipated, prompting Theresa to continue the transaction. It wasn't until the fifth attempt that the system flagged insufficient funds with a glaring red light.
A cruel, mocking smile played across Theresa's lips as she turned to face Carol's stunned expression. "Oops... looks like you've run out of money," she taunted, barely concealing her derisive laughter behind her hand.
The girls holding Carol finally released their grip, but Carol remained frozen, struggling to comprehend the turn of events.
***
As I watched Theresa approach with a smug grin, I found myself paralyzed, unable to speak or move as my mind went blank. I felt a surge of anger welling up inside me, directed at myself, these people, and even Mr. Roman for putting me in this situation. How would I manage my expenses at school now that my hard-earned money had been squandered over such a trivial matter?
I was unwilling to burden Axel and my mom, as they had their financial struggles. Despite my young age, I was already shouldering my responsibilities, and now everything seemed to be slipping through my fingers. My eyes stung. The tears I'd been seeking a while ago started to blur my vision.
"I believe this is yours," Theresa said as she approached me with a confident stride, slipping the card into my front pocket with a subtle flick of her wrist. Closing the distance between us, she leaned in and whispered, "Thank you for being so generous. These books will serve us well," while giving a reassuring pat on my arm.
I remained motionless, fixing her with a piercing gaze as she straightened up.
She pulled away, her laughter echoing through the room, and handed the books to one of her lackeys to give to two other students who claimed that their books had gone missing. After the student had been settled, they bowed at her, expressing their gratitude for her resourcefulness.
"She would make a better leader," one of them remarked as they made their way out of the bookstore, their faces beaming with satisfaction.
Theresa beamed at their acknowledgment and then turned to face me. "Carol, standing there won't bring back your money. Everything is gone. It's time for you to move on," she advised before striding towards the door.
Her entourage sneered at me with smug smiles. As they were about to leave, one of the girls tasked with holding onto the remaining books attempted to unzip her bag, but the faulty zipper failed her. The bag burst open, and a cascade of books spilled out, leaving the girl wide-eyed in horror.
Theresa, alerted by the commotion, halted in her tracks and turned to witness the unexpected scene. Her heart seemed to skip a beat as she took it all in.
"Idiot," the other girl cursed, striking the one responsible on the head before swiftly crouching to gather the fallen books.
My gaze landed on the book, and I felt a shiver run down my spine. I squinted at the books, recognizing their familiar appearance. They were a common sight among freshmen, and I had a feeling they were the ones I had been searching for. I refrained from confronting them without concrete evidence, but instead moved towards the scattered books and picked one up.
Theresa Pierce. The name caught my eye in one corner of the book, and I gripped the book tightly. Flipping through its pages, I confirmed that it was the history notes I had been seeking.
I rose to my feet, facing the girl who had gathered the books from the floor. Without hesitation, I took the books from her hands, and she did not attempt to resist. As I examined the books, it became clear that they were indeed the exact ones I had been looking for.
I lifted my gaze to glance at them, anger overwhelming me as I continued to glare at them. Inwardly, I wondered why they had the heart to do something like this, and before I parted my lips to say anything at all, the girl who had made the mistake parted her lips to say something.
Her head hung low in shame and she was starting to cry. "I'm sorry. I was forced to do this" She said as she clutched her hands together.
The girl was from a poor background as well, but as she entered school, she found herself caught up in a facade. She imitated the behavior of girls from affluent backgrounds and lost touch with her own identity and roots. The bag she carried had been a gift almost three years ago, and despite her efforts to mend it repeatedly, the zipper eventually gave way under the strain. Her books spilled out, and the bag was rendered unusable.
"I'm sorry, I was forced to do it. Please don't report me" She continued to cry. Now that she had been caught, the consequences weighed down heavily at her. She got into Crown by scholarship means and if she was to get reported for something like this, she might get withdrawn.
I found myself in a difficult situation. The girl pleaded with me, tears streaming down her face as she begged for mercy. As I gazed into her eyes, I felt a moment of compassion, but then my attention was drawn to the other girl standing nearby. She seemed completely unaffected by the situation, meeting my gaze with an unwavering, almost challenging look. It was as if she was silently daring me to intervene, as if to say that the deed had already been done and there was nothing I could do to change it.
That didn't mean I would forgive any of them. They succeeded in putting me in a tough spot.
Theresa approached us with deliberate, unhurried steps. As she drew near, a gasp escaped her lips, and she instinctively covered her mouth with her hand. Her gaze landed on the books clutched in my hand, and then she turned to me with a look of feigned confusion. "This is mine. Where did you find it?" she asked, her acting skills almost convincing me that she had no involvement in the disappearance of the books. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that she was fully aware of what was going on.
I fixed her with a penetrating stare, trying to understand why she was pretending to be innocent when she had clearly been caught. "Your girls had it," I informed her, closely observing her face for any sign of deception, but she remained composed. She was a masterful actress.
"Seriously!?" she exclaimed angrily, wheeling around to glare at the girls. "Why would any of you steal my book?" she demanded, advancing towards them and smacking them across their heads. She paid more attention towards the girl who had caused the books to fall.
The girl, exhausted from the relentless abuse, turned to confront Theresa with a defiant look in her eyes, causing Theresa to freeze with her hands suspended in mid-air. "Just stop it. You're the one who asked us to do this, remember?" She reminded Theresa, whose expression remained unyielding.
"You said it was because of Carol..." Her trailed off as Theresa's hand met her cheek with a resounding slap, sending her reeling to the ground.
As I observed Theresa's interaction with the innocent girl, a wave of anger surged within me once again. I felt infuriated because she had placed me in a difficult situation, and also because she was physically harming the girl, which was clearly unjust.
I advanced towards Theresa and grabbed her hair from behind just before she started beating the girl again. She yelped in pain as she reached for my hand to make me stop inflicting pain on her, but that wasn't going to happen. "You're hurting me!" She yelled.
I tugged at her hair even harder. "you hurt me a while ago, nobody heard me blaring like a siren" I countered angrily.
I had to teach Theresa a lesson so that she wouldn't think of bullying me or any other person again.
As her body arched, her face bent towards me, I kicked her legs from behind causing her to stumble on the ground. I didn't give her any moment to recover as I started dealing with punches and scratches over her face. I intended to ruin it so that whenever she looked into the mirror, she would recall this embarrassing moment.
Theresa also didn't lie down like a weakling. In fact, she was a tough opponent. She grabbed my hair harshly and tugged at it until she was certain that I was growing weak. Then she pushed me off her before rolling on top of me and slapping me across the face. I dodged most of her slaps while some of them hit me. I reached for her breasts and grabbed it hard. She began to whimper at the pain and her arms grew weak from fighting with me. I pushed her off me and sat on her this time. The fight was a long-lasting one. We were oblivious to the crowd that had begun to gather around, taking pictures and videos.
Some had begun betting, wondering which of the girls was going to win the fight.
The bookkeepers tried to disperse the crowd that was growing large but the students roughly pushed them away, as they were trying to stop them from having fun.
It was only when a loud noise blared from a microphone that I stopped fighting with Theresa; my hand stopped midair as I glanced up to see a middle-aged woman who glared at me with a look of disapproval in her eyes.
I hurriedly stood up from Theresa. The girl rolled on the ground and stood up as well. However, she was quick to point fingers at me, "She started it. She grabbed my hair first"
The woman was displeased, even disinterested, by Theresa's complaints, as she made another announcement, "Everyone, to the detention room. Now!" She yelled loudly.
Some students tried to make a run for it but were blocked by the security personnel. Even the innocent students who were just watching the fight were not allowed to leave. Nobody was escaping the detention room. Nobody.