Kissing The Wind

I looked around. There were a lot of students inside the canteen. Most of them were paying for their tuitions because they looked arrogant and cheering for the girl. I then saw a handful of students silently eating their food. They did not raise their heads nor look at my way. I then knew that there were scholars like me because they would never interfere in situations like this.

They were afraid that they might end up in the same situation if they would help me out. I understood them and I did not hold a grudge for them. I would be happy if they would not interfere. At least, their scholarships were safe.

I spat. “I don’t think highly of me,” I said, disdain was in my voice.

The girl looked down at me and then sneered again. “Scholars like you think highly of yourself. Because you excel in every subject, you think that you can trample us down. Well, I tell you, you can’t trample us down!”

“Excel in every subject?” I laughed bitterly. I crooked my brows as I looked up at her. A smile made its way onto my lips. “It’s you who think highly of us.”

“How dare you speak that tone to me!” She breathe deeply and squinted her eyes on me. “You only have the privilege to study in this school because of your scholarship. If not because of your high grades, you wouldn’t step a foot in this school.”

I burst into a laugh that stunned everyone inside the canteen. “I think you made a mistake there, Miss. Who said that every scholar was genius? We were just lucky to get a scholarship because of hard work. Unlike you guys, you depend on your parent’s wealth to enter and study in this school.”

“You!” The girl stepped forward and raised her hand.

I immediately closed my eyes and waited for her slap, but seconds passed that I did not feel any pain. I opened my eyes and I saw Rogie standing over the girl. He was holding the girl’s wrist, preventing her to slap me again.

Rogie spoke, “Enough, Azalea.”

The girl squinted her eyes on Rogie and harshly withdrew her hand back. “You were slapped by her. I would not just stand here doing nothing.”

“You had slapped her once and we’re even. Slapping her again means she owed me another slap.”

Rogie’s words silenced the girl. He then helped me to stand up but I shoo his hands away. “Don’t touch me,” I said.

His forehead creased. “I know that you are not done taking your revenge. Why not do it in private so others won’t interrupt?”

I glared at him. “I’m done with you. If you want to revoke my scholarship, then do it. I don’t care anymore.” I looked away.

He held my chin and forced me to look at him again. I knotted my brows when I faced him. Before I could utter a single word, Rogie brought his lips onto mine and kissed me. My breath hitched and my mind went blank.

After a few seconds, Rogie pulled away and smirked at me. “There, you owed me one kiss. If you want to get even, then come with me in private.”

Then Rogie stood up straight and walked out of the canteen.

I did not waste a single second. I immediately stood up and ran after Rogie. If I did not, maybe the girls inside the canteen would attack me right away. I still remembered how they glared at me after that… that… uh, what Rogie did.

“Rogie!” I called. I stopped for a moment and panted hard as I watched him walk ahead. “Rogie!” I yelled again.

I ran after him as I saw him walk towards the back of the sophomore building. My forehead creased but I did not stop.

I turned at the alley where he walked right into and before I could yell again, someone pulled me into a hug. My face hit that someone’s hard chest and my cheeks burned hot. I smelled the familiar scent of Rogie so I pushed him away. I heard him chuckle at what I did.

I glared at him. “What do you think you’re doing?” I spatted and hissed. “You think I’m joking with you?”

“Hey, chill.” He raised his hands in the air in the form of surrender and then grinned at me. “I do you a favor, ya know.”

I squinted my eyes and crossed my arms. “Since it’s my last day here, I might as well take my revenge for bullying me since last year!”

I charged at him and slapped him hard again on his right cheek. “That’s for threatening me!” I raised my hand again and slapped his left cheek. “That’s for being a jerk!”

I raised another hand again and before I could hit him, he caught my wrist and looked straight at me. “No more slap available for you, Sydnee.” And he let go of my wrist and held his chin. He winced in pain. “You have heavy hands,” he commented.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Eat my scholarship if you like! You shameless jerk,” I cussed and turned around to leave.

But Rogie held my shoulder to prevent me from walking away. I harshly removed his heavy hand on my shoulder but to no avail. I hissed. “Take off your dirty hands on me!”

“Dirty?” He laughed a bit. “Since when you learned those words, Sydnee? I never knew that you’re this brave.”

I forced myself to face him again and squinted my eyes. “I only stayed low for years to protect my scholarship, and since you revoked it…” I gritted my teeth and glared at him. “I don’t see any reason why I should hide my anger now. You made me like this, Rogie!”

He raised his brow and the side of his lips crooked. “Really? I haven’t revoked your scholarship yet. Do you want me to forget my plan so you will hide your wild side again?”

“Jerk!”

I used all my strength to free myself from his grip, but Rogie pinned me on the wall and moved closer to me. I could feel his heavy breath fanning my face so I looked at the side. “Let go,” I warned.

But he chuckled and moved his face closer to mine. His lips touched my ear and I heard him whisper, “I will revoke your scholarship ’cause I want to be your benefactor. So be kind to me, will you?” He blew on my ear that made me squirm under him.

He laughed and let me go. I watched him walk back to the entrance of the alley as he whistled a happy tone. I sneered.

But I knotted my brows as I tried to process what he meant by his words. Then, my eyes opened wide and my lips parted. He wanted to be my what?

I followed him to the entrance of the alley but he’s no longer there. I heaved a sigh and had decided to go back. I need to clean my desk and prepare myself. Someone from the principal’s office might fetch me in my classroom later. I might as well clean my desk.

This was the life of scholars in that school. Students like me would always experience being bullied and an incident like revoking scholarship was common.

The school did not want to offend those rich kids, and the administration would obey those rich kids, to the extent of revoking scholarship. They would only reason that the student had done things that broke the school’s rules and kick that student out like garbages. I used to think that the admin would rather lose one scholar than offend the powers holding the whole city.

Maybe I was not fated to change the status of my life.

Being poor in this society where people in poverty do illegal things for survival, it was usual to be bullied by those higher than us. They saw us as criminals, and even if we were just kids, they would think that we would soon follow the steps of our forefathers.

But I was not born as poor. I was born in a middle-class family but after my father was thrown into jail, people would always think of me as a criminal who would soon follow the path of my father.

I sighed again and erased those thoughts from my mind. I should not think of the past. My father was comfortable in the jail so why bother thinking of him?

After all, he was the reason why I and my mother lived in isolation and distress. If not for his crime…

“Sydnee,” someone called my name.

The voice came from behind so I stopped walking and turned to face that person. I saw Teacher Anthony. When I looked down, I saw the folder in his hands. I gulped hard. “I see. So you’re giving it to him. Go on, Sir. I don’t care anymore,” I said and turned around and walked towards my classroom.

Teacher Anthony did not stop me nor call my name again.