Everyday, I Fight! - 25 Chapter 23

The whistle sounded the end of gym class for the day. As usual, I could still feel Mr. Gragg scowling at me… and like always, I sprinted away.

He seemed to have somehow been able to guess who his so-called “admirer” was. Obvious as day, he didn’t appreciate the joke.

Yes, yes, I know what I did was wrong… perhaps, but he’s still unfair to the girls. Some (mainly me) more than others.

Although Analise and Olivia decided to apologize to him directly, both Lucy and I shared the same thought.

The only thing likeable about Mr. Gragg was that his somewhat one-sided mentality would often clash with Secretary Jo Lin. I’ll be honest, but over the past few days, Jo Lin’s crush has faded to transform into despair whenever the two met.

The sweetness of two people you abhor, hating each other while you sat on the sidelines is… magical.

However, I reckon they will love it once exams begin. First of all, there’s no telling if the principal will actually help me this time with my mana test. Ever since that little allergy incident, I wasn’t allowed to visit her, not even through the secret passages.

Secondly, despite being agile and having good reflexes, I suck at sports. I have no stamina and I’ve gotten exhausted multiple times a day. Moreover, I do not get any aid from my gym teacher, and my fallen reputation has been going down the drain even more!

All this suffering just because I had to be born a stupid girl!

“I’m a walking disaster!” I groaned.

“Right you are.” Lucy agreed.

“Thanks a lot.” I muttered.

“Your welcome.” She chuckled mischievously and after a brief pause, continued, “You know, I heard that the principal loves your secret recipe of making ice tea… not to mention there’s a bake-off competition just before the exams begin…”

“So? It’s a bake off. I make terrible cakes, remember? I burst that thermal-thingy last year.” I sighed.

“Yeah, to be fair you did… and I loved it.” Lucy’s eyes began shimmering again, “Who knows what disasters you’ll cause when you grow up… I can’t wait!”

“Right… may be you should take a break from reading all those books, a little.” I backed away slightly, “And while you’re at it, tone down on the sugar? It’s good for your health.”

“…”

“What?” I pretended, “I’m just saying.”

I couldn’t look her in the eye. By instinct, I could feel that if I had to call her crazy anytime… that time, was not now.

“What Lu-lu is trying to say is that you should form a team with me!” Analise popped up.

“Ugh! I’ve told you a million times not to call me that!” Lucy bursted.

“But it’s so cute! And it’s not like I’ve ever stopped you from calling me Ana. Go on, give it a try.” Analise commented, ignoring Lucy’s annoyed and grumpy face.

“A team…” I mumbled.

“Yeah! I heard that last year they changed some rules and this year, everyone is allowed to enter! Other than the 1st years of course.” Ana’s face dazzled even brighter while she went on yapping.

“Is that even allowed?” I asked, curious.

“Of course!” Ana replied.

“But, you’ll be needing a few more members. Before you say anything more, I’m not participating.”

“Why?”

“I have detention for two weeks straight.” Lucy sighed.

“You…?” I raised my eyebrows.

“She got busted for sneaking and eavesdropping in the teacher’s lounge.” Analise said.

“Huh?”

“I was just trying to check my scores! But Secretary Lin just pushed me under the wheel and began saying irrational things like, I was a sneaky theif trying to change my grades, or whatever.” Lucy complained getting more and more irritated by the minute.

“You know-”

The bell rang, sounding the end of lunch break.

“We better head to class. Let’s chat later in the dorms?” I exclaimed.

“I can’t believe you just said that.” Ana commented, “Where did the Glow, ‘the queen of absence’ go?”

“Hahaha, very funny.” I replied back in sarcasm, “I’m doing this… you know what? Never mind.”

“Stingy.” Analise sulked.

…

“Everyone, allow me to introduce Miss Vivian Crossfire Roxell. She is a late bloomer and thereof, a delayed student. I hope you’ll all be kind to her.” Mrs. Gilbil explained.

“What a pretty girl.” I mumbled to myself.

“Looks like you have some competition this year~” Analise grinned.

“That’s ridiculous.” I whispered back to her.

“I’m with Ana on this one.” Olivia giggled, “you never know…”

After Vivi’s introduction was over, she was seated at the very front of the class. No, actually she wanted to sit there of her own free will.

Before I had the free time to mingle with her, she had already been flocked by other people. It was too crowded and I’m pretty sure a girl like her being my friend on her first day of school would only get her into trouble… so I deemed it unnecessary.

“Maybe later.” I heard myself mutter with a sigh.

“Too bad, I really did want to get to know her better.” I whispered to Ana without thinking, “On the plus side, she could’ve joined us for the baking competition too… since we’re short on members.”

“Wait here.” Analise inhaled and jumped into the crowd.

“I pray you be safe.” Olivia looked anxious.

It seemed that luck favored us and after Analise safely returned, we heard the good news. Vivian said yes.

However, the very next class happened to be gym and as I predicted, things took a turn for the worse. I never thought I’d miss Lucy as much as I did today.

“Well I’m impressed!” Mr. Gragg commented.

Vivian was not just book smart, she happened to have some athletic talent as well. Seeing her it seemed more like child’s play rather than something difficult.

She wasn’t a one person circus like Helen, nope. She was more a sports stadium on her own. The crowd cheered, clapped and were left with awe at the end of her little show.

“Though I have seen hopeless girls in every nook and cranny, I have never seen one as talented as you Miss Vivian, not in my entire career until now.” He complimented her.

“He’s seriously praising a girl…” my eyes widened at the thought of that.

“Wow~” everyone was dumbfounded as well.

It seemed like I wasn’t the only one shocked. Carmine, Olivia and Analise’s mouths were left wide open.

“Unlike a few students who go down the wrong path, I’m thrilled to get such a rare and well-behaved student like you, Miss Vivian.” Mr. Gragg glanced at me and turned to Vivian, as he complimented her.

“Thank you, Mr. Renis.” Vivian expressed her gratitude.

“Please, just call me Coach.” Mr. Gragg exclaimed, feeling even more delighted.

“Very well, Mr- uh, I mean, Coach.” Vivian smiled.

“Not even the principal calls him ‘coach.’” I heard someone whispering.

“Yeah, I hear that Mr. Gragg doesn’t allow just anybody to call him coach.” Someone else said.

“Well, you know what I’ve heard?” Analise joined the gossip. “I heard that once a senior ‘boy’ called Mr Gragg, coach and the very next day he was suspended from school for an entire week!”

“That’s just exaggeration.” Carmine whispered in my ear and gave me a pat on the head. “I’m sure it’s not that big a deal. Don’t worry Windy.”

I pouted.

“Why do you say it like that?” I questioned her with a slight frown on my face.

“Just a thought.” Carmine chuckled.

“Whatever.”

This year Carmine was in a separate class. However, the gymnasium is huge and so, all the classes under the 4th year curriculum gather together to gym class.

I know that Carmine was supposed to go back home as soon as 3rd year ended, but she didn’t want to. In the end it was decided that she would be staying for one more year and return home once the 4th year was over.

I still have a hard time believing that Charles simply went along with her wishes… even our parents had disagreements, but Charles was like ‘okay’.

Oh well, I’m just glad Carmine has been applying herself instead of being a snot nose royal who only orders others around. In fact I’m filled with pride seeing her grow up and having a life of her own, instead of following me all day, like she did when we were tiny.

“How old do I have to be for this small body to actually grow in size…?” I thought to myself, sighing heavily.

Shortly afterwards, the boys left the gymnasium for outdoors activity, while we girls were left with the torture teacher. The girls formed a pair of two and since Lucy was not here, I had to pair up with Vivian.

Analise and Carmine were snickering upon seeing the both of us form a pair. I stuck out my tongue and made a funny face at them.

“Ten push-ups, thirteen laps round the gymnasium both on the inside and the outside, so a total of twenty six. Finally, before you begin all this, remember to warm up and practice with your teammate. No slacking.” Mr. Gragg loudly announced.

“Yes, sir.” Everyone replied in unison.

Mr. Gragg left and we had to start our warm-up exercises. However, while I was chatting with my girls, Vivi approached us. Of course we were very welcoming, but a single sentence from her mouth caused Carmine to fall down and she ended up twisting her ankle badly.

I was about to use healing magic secretly before Miss-Too-Perfect began shouting and gathered other students in our direction.

“…Maybe you guys should go to the health room instead?” I forced a smile and basically told to leave quick.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Analise sighed and then took hold of Carmine from one side.

Olivia shouldered my big sis from the other side and the trio left. I was abandoned with Miss-Too-Perfect over here.

…

“Hey, do you mind?” I exclaimed, a bit irritated now.

“Hmm? Is something the matter?” Vivian asked, innocently.

“You know Vivian, there is something called ‘a little too much.’” I raised an eyebrow.

Vivian chuckled, “It’s ‘Vivi’, call me ViVi. Vivian sounds like a grandma.”

“Right…”

I decided to ignore the mental health patient who was also supposedly my partner for today. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel bothered.

“Is she pressuring me from the other side on purpose? If not… don’t tell me that I’m just that weak??!”

“But there’s no way,” I continued contemplating, “It is her first day so she is probably trying to fit in, right? I mean, she might be more confused than any of us here! Hmm… girls are harder to understand and it’s really not my area of expertise… mmm. What shou- WHOA!?”

I saw Vivi reel past me, on her own. She looked baffled and hesitant, but her feet were sprinting and lunging ahead, unable to stop. I tried to go after her, but she was barely escaping danger herself.

“Ahhhh- Move…. Whaaaaaa…..!” She continued screaming.

One moment she would be in the middle of two girls ruining their pace and then before they collapsed, she was still rolling away.

I saw her nearly being crushed by an exercise ball and almost staggering on some marbles (?), before finally grabbing onto a rope for dear life!

Honestly, her bizarre actions didn’t stop there.

Since she was putting all her physical strength onto that rope, refusing to climb down, one thing led to another and… well, let’s just say that the gymnasium caught fire.

“Oh Vivian you stupid fool.” I mumbled to myself, letting out a heavy sigh.

“What the FRIN-INKIN HECK-??!” Mr. Gragg had a priceless expression on his face.

“Uh-oh.” I thought to myself.

The girls were all panicking. Cries and a few screams went down, but that wasn’t what Mr. Gragg had in mind… no, instead he was glaring daggers at me. Honestly, he took creepy to the next level. His eyes seemed ready to bulge out of his ugly, surly face.

Now, since it was my regretful partner who caused the mayhem, naturally I had to fix things. So I uttered a very simple water spell and the fire died down.

“Even after I cleared everything and the smoke was gone, he reported me to the principal.” I rambled on to Carmine, Analise and Olivia. “Guess what happened after that?”

“Umm… you got suspended?” Olivia replied almost in a whisper.

“Ya got that right!” My speech impaired back to old times, “That frickin’ she-devil blatantly lied and ratted me for somethin’ I ain’t done! Rotten pig!”

I gasped and panted, after releasing out my bottled anger.

The three of them blinked and stared at me intently.

“What ya lookin’ at, huh!” I shouted back.

Olivia coiled and backed away, Carmine still stared at me like I had gone crazy and Analise…?

“Oouchhh!” I winced.

“Ju-just checking.” Analise shrugged, still holding onto my cheeks.

“Leb bo.” I said, almost about to swear again.

“Oh, s-sorry.”

“Mmm…” I stated, still a little grumpy.

What was hard to believe wasn’t the fact that I was blamed by the new girl and Mr. Gragg… nope, what I found even harder to swallow was that everyone believed them. And I mean EVERYONE… even Principal Adel!

I was suspended for 3 days. Which meant that I was not allowed to get out of my dorm room until the entire suspension period was over. Not even for food. In fact, I was to be given food once a day.

The good part about this whole suspension-thing was that I wasn’t allowed to further my studies and continue classes. M.T.S has always been a very strict and disciplined school with high reputation. So, all my stationary and study materials were taken away.

My roommates weren’t allowed to interact with me either. As soon as the sun sets today, I’ll be in a prison cell again.

__________

___

| 3 days later… |

I took a deep breath and gulped down my anxiety. Sure enough, it didn’t feel as effective as Analise mentioned.

I was prepared to be pointed and mocked at. A deep sigh left my mouth and I opened the door. They stared and I heard some whispers.

“So it’s better than expected.” I reassured myself.

Just then, Ana popped up in front of me.

“AHH-” I backed a few steps, “oh, gosh, would stop creeping up like that!”

Analise loved pulling pranks on me since it was rare for me to get scared. Usually it’s the other way around, but when she scares me, she does it good.

“Haha! Got you pretty good, didn’t I?” She had a nervous chuckle to her voice, “Now how about we go outside and… well, you’ll see. It’s fun!”

She held my arm and almost pulled me away.

“Is she trying to be casual and comfort me?” I thought to myself. “I guess girls around our age do not like being isolated… aww, it is good to know she cares, but I don’t think avoiding everyone is the solution…”

“No, no.” I got out of her strong grip and pulled her towards our desks, “Its nice to see you care, but we really shouldn’t skip classes,” even I couldn’t believe what I was uttering, “come on, let’s ta-”

I heard Analise click her tongue in the background, but my eyes didn’t sway anywhere. It was focused on the desk… more precisely, on the word on top of the desk, “OUTCAST!”

“Glow, we can explain…!” Lucy appeared in front of me, trying to distract my attention.

“Really? Explain what?!”

My mind went crazy with doubts, frustration and a hint of sorrow. Truth be told, I was hurt and felt betrayed.

“Its not what it looks like!” Analise tensed up.

“Oh, so you knew about this too?” I questioned Ana, though her reaction said it all.

“Calm down Glow, let’s talk about this-”

“Okay Class, everybody take your seats.” Mrs. Staksby entered the classroom.

I ignored Lucy and went up to the teacher. Once I informed Mrs. Staksby, she was very sad and mad at the same time. She warned the class that this type of behaviour is not accepted in M.T.S and when the school finds the real culprit behind this, he/she will be severely punished.

“Umm… what about my desk?” I asked her.

“It will be taken away dear, don’t worry. In the mean time, you’ll have to do your classes standing up.” She said.

“Wait, I thought M.T.S had available desks…?” I exclaimed, slightly suspicious.

“Not that I know of. Perhaps for handicapped students, but you are perfectly healthy!” She grinned.

“Uh huh,” I went along with her statement, not sure myself.

After class was over, Lucy and Analise came to me and told me the reality of things. Indeed, there were plenty of other desks available, but not just for handicapped students.

“Then why?” I asked them.

They looked at each other and then towards me. “We don’t know.” They spoke in unison.

“I was in detention, remember?” Lucy rolled her eyes.

“I was sick in bed.” Analise sighed.

“Okay, so none of us were in class for the past 3 days… Now what?”

“I’ll try to ask some classmates,” Analise mumbled, “maybe they’ll talk to me?”

“And you?”

“Well, I’ll go to the cafeteria I guess?” I shrugged.

“Figures.” Lucy yawned and left.

…

While I was eating alone, a paper ball flew right into my lunch. The good news was that I didn’t need to eat the salad, the bad news was perhaps the glimmer in their eyes.

“I better escape.” I thought to myself before anything more was thrown at me.

But just as I made an exit from the crowded lunch hall, someone grabbed me by the arm and I was taken into a very narrow corner. Whoever built this school made this cramped place similar to a dark alleyway. Even the feeling was the same.

“Bullying, huh.” was my first instinct.

“Shh. Stop mumbling.” an almost fimiliar voice whispered.

“You’re…” my eyes widened when I saw who this kidnapper was.

Casy! My old classmate from last year!

“I don’t have much time to stick around. If they see me with you, I’ll have to quit school.” Casy’s voice sounded shaky.

“So you’d rather have me being bullied than you? What a friend.” I rolled my eyes.

“First of all, I cannot be as fearless as you, Glow. Neither am I good with mana control. We all have situations.” She spoke curtly, “You should be aware of all these rumours floating around school, yes?”

I nodded and almost opened my mouth.

“Most of them are baseless. I’ve been around you long enough to know.” Casy sighed, “I’ve heard your new classmate gossiping with some of my classmates, but I’m not sure whether she’s the one behind this or not.”

“How can I trust someone who has been ignoring me all day?” I questioned her, staring directly into her eyes.

“You need not trust me. But be careful around her. I don’t like her.” Casy had a tiny smile on her face, but sadness in her eyes.

She pushed me and ran away. Not even a goodbye.

Stunned and almost wary, I felt the need to hide somewhere else. Numerous times I had convinced myself throughout the day that everything was alright and I shouldn’t feel overwhelmed by some pre-teen drama… now however, I felt I wasn’t just engulfed in all this stupidness, but that I was in fact, at the centre of it.

Throughout the rest of the day Ana, Lucy and I tried to gather as much info as we could. There weren’t many people who wanted to talk to us.

Never expected gossiping to be as tough as it seemed today.

Finally, we concluded there was someone who could help us, but that someone was not in school at the moment. Thank goodness Analise had somehow managed to overhear the principal’s routine.

When morning came the next day, Lucy applied Ana and I into the principal’s so-called welcoming committee. Sponsored by Secretary Jo Lin, of course.

Weird how Lucy managed to pull this off, but nonetheless, I had work to do.

Everyone was divided into groups and much to the Secretary’s dismay, I was in the cooking division. Of course, she managed to convince the other teachers to put me at the very end of the function.

The Secretary went out of her way to create something utterly ridiculous just for me. She made an entirely new division of five members and put us in charge of “after-party beverage duty specifically for the principal.”

I should’ve been humiliated, but this would create the perfect opportunity to meet the principal privately. Finding gold underneath bankruptcy as I’d like to call it.

The team had two boys and three girls. Camirez, Jenos, Vivian, Analise and me.

When we were about to decide what type of beverage the principal would like, Ana suggested my ice tea. Now, since the boys were aware of the rumours floating around, they were hesitant on the idea. Vivi, however, approved of it.

She acted like a saint and blabbed about how someone deserves a second chance when they’ve wronged. All I heard was blah blah bla, bla, blah.

Afterwards, throughout most of the cooking period, she stuck to me like glue. It was a nightmare.

She would apologize to me and then she would spout the same nonsensical chatter. If either of the boys appeared, she would either laugh out loud, or go away.

When it was time to decide who would be going to the principal, everyone voted for me except Jenos. He was doubtful whether I’d leave a good impression or not. He apologized to me and I also did the same. His reason for doubting me wasn’t just rumours, but he had also witnessed my prank.

What surprised me more was Vivian. Was she really apologizing? Or was this another scheme?

Sure, I was wary of her, so I also had asked Ana to keep her on check whenever my back was turned around. Nothing happened.

There wasn’t really any proof that Vivian was the one who spread the rumours. All I had was Casy’s word for it. Then again, I haven’t spoken to Vivian regarding the gymnasium incident…

I sighed as I knocked the door.

“Come in,” the principal stated.

“I really hope she isn’t angry with me anymore… I desperately need her help this time.” I thought to myself nervously, opening the door.

I gulped and a fake smile naturally appeared on my face.

__________

___

The three of us yawned at the same time. My heart felt at peace and a part of me hoped that Vivian was not the originator of the rumours.

“Don’t worry Glow! We’re with you!!” Analise was fired up.

“Analise is right. You should ignore these baseless what-nots. Just that…” Lucy stopped short.

Standing in front of us was Vivi. She had noticed us and waved. There was no ignoring her now.

Vivi tried to grab Lucy’s arm first, but Lucy, who was in front of Ana and I, quickly dodged her and linked our arms together. She pulled me away from Vivian and poor Analise was stuck with her.

“Thanks.” I whispered.

“Oh please, I don’t want to make this an everyday trend.” She whispered back to me, her expression grim.

“R-right.” I agreed.

Lucy’s blunt and straightforward nature, combined with her observation skills formed a deadly weapon. Sometimes I’d wonder whether she was bipolar or not, but there wasn’t any real evidence. Just that at times she can be… really scary.

I was thankful she ended up being my friend and not vice versa.

The door opened and as we entered the classroom, what greeted us were glares. Students, sure. But even the class teacher looked at us this way. Why?!

I heard Ana and Vivi arguing a bit, but before they could enter the classroom, someone pushed them aside. I let go of Lucy’s arm unconsciously and felt slightly surprised.

An angry Secretary stood before me.

“Miss Jo Lin?” I muttered.

But before I could say anything else, she pulled me by the collar and screamed unbelievable nonsense.

“YOU LITTLE BRAT! HOW DARE YOU!!” She was so loud that her words rang in my eardrums. “I should’ve never allowed a criminal such as yourself to participate!”

My face paled. My heart almost stopped at the term ‘criminal’.

“What does she know?” I couldn’t help but ask myself, but didn’t feel courageous to speak up.

“YOU poisoned her didn’t you!? Confess!!!” The Secretary’s eyes were watery. It was the first time I realized she had feelings… not for herself, but for others too.

“Cat caught your tongue eh brat?!” Her anger was clearly visible.

“Eh? Ahh-”

Clenching even tightly to my collar, Jo Lin dragged me out of the classroom. My neck felt sour and I was trying not to stumble or lose my balance.

“Hmm…? I think I’m missing something here… wait, she just accused me of poisoning someone, didn’t she??! The F**K!” My brain boiled up, I couldn’t possibly have… could I?