What I Am

4: Help

"look who's back!" Someone from class shouted.

"H-Hi," I responded with a not-so convincing smile.

"If I were you, I'd watch my back with mister Kulog," she said.

"I hear, he got arrested for molestation," she whispered.

"I'm Sam by the way, short for Samantha," she said as she takes out her hand.

I reached out and shook her hands.

"And people said you wouldn't accept any handshake," she jokingly said.

"I know you're not as bad as what people have been saying about you," she said with confidence.

"I'll be your friend, So if you feel uneasy, just say the word, yeah?" She said with a smile.

I never felt so accepted like this before, For the first time I smiled, without actually faking it.

"Thank you," I responded feeling blissful.

"We could hang out after this class," Samantha said.

"Sure, that would be great," I responded.

***
~Door opens~

"Everyone, sit down," the teacher said.

"We still don't have any lessons since its the first day so, just do whatever you want," she immediately says after sitting down.

"Just make sure to bring notebooks tomorrow, and of course a pen and some paper," she added.

"Btw, I'm Ms. Miranda, I'll be teaching english," she introduced herself while seated.

"Wow, this is pretty cool," I thought.

"~~

"Hey, Pauline," someone called.

I looked and saw Samantha.

"Come sit with me," she said, pointing on the seat next to her.

I immediately stood up and walked to her.

"This is really cool, isn't it?" She asked.

"It sure is, but I'm pretty sure we'd be doing tons of stuff tomorrow," I replied to her.

"That's right, young lady," Ms. Miranda responded.

"So, Take this time to socialize with people," she added.

"I guess we were talking too loud?" I said and laughed softly.

"So, why'd you want to be my friend?"  I asked her.

"I heard the rumors about you Pauline," she said.

"Oh," I reacted.

"Then, I observed you," She said, looking directly at me.

"Hmm,"

"Then I saw that, you weren't even doing anything like that," she said.

"The last thing I had to test is the handshake, and It worked out fine anyway," She added again.

"You're a good person," she said and smiles at me, her eyes sparkling with glee.

"Aw shucks," I replied, blushing and a bit embarrassed.

"So, whatever people here would say, I wouldn't believe it," she said.

"Coz I know who you really are," she added, full of pride and joy.

"Thank you," I responded, trying to hold back the tears,

Sorry never felt accepted like this before.

"Okay, It's lunch time, I'll be seeing you all tomorrow," Ms. Miranda says as she stands up and walks out of class.

"Alright, let's have lunch!" Sam ecstatically said.

"Woohoo!" I reacted.

We start to walk to the cafeteria, tho, they serve pretty bad food here, it's not like we have a choice anyway.

"Don't you think the food is awful?" Samantha said, feeling nauseous.

"It sure is awful, but we don't have a choice," I replied.

"Its either you eat or be hungry for the rest of the day," I added.

"Exactly!" She reacted.

"The food here is a crime," I said.

"But I'm not gonna let myself be hungry everyday," I added again.

"Food is still essential," she responded.

"You done yet?" I asked.

"Yep, ready to go?" She replied.

"Go where?" I asked, confused.

"To the room," she said.

"Oh, sure," I responded as we start walking back to class.

~~~

As we got back to class, there was a huge ruckus happening inside,

Samantha, being the extroverted person she is..

"What's going on!" She asked.

Our classmates are picking on someone else.

"Hey, cut it out," Samantha said.

"Don't be such a killjoy Sam," someone said.

"I'll kill you if you don't stop," she replied, her serene aura turning to a wicked one.

"Fine, Let's go boys," the guy said as he left with his friends.

"Who were those people?" I asked.

"That was Donnie and his friends," Sam said after calming down.

"They wouldn't cause any more trouble, right?" I asked her, feeling apprehensive.

"Not as long as I'm here," she proudly said.

"But there's someone else that we need to help right now," she said as she looks at the person the guys picked on.