Savage Days for the Gentle

Chapter 3: Meeting My Homeroom Teacher

I have to run back to my dorm! Right, I have my phone to dial the room. After a moment of waiting, someone picked up. "Hello, this is (name)." I opened the conversation. "I thought you were in class. How was it? Was the cash sufficient?" The bob-cut girl greeted back. "I'll explain later. About that, I need an extra 50 pesos to pay for all the supplies needed." I announced. I could hear a sigh of disappointment that I messed up real bad. "Don't worry, I'll look for a way out of this hell." I hung up the phone and started to ask for extra money. I'm losing my mind for real...

Then, somebody patted my back. "Hello, you look new? I thought you would attend your class." A woman said. "Good morning Ma'am! I'm actually buying necessities for.. " I paused for a moment to think about what I'm doing. "Oh, what's the matter now?" she asked, concerned. "Um, I didn't know I had to pay the additional tax for my supplies, so I don't know where to get the sum amount," I explained. "Don't worry, I'll pay the extra. Where is the counter?" She checked her purse for the wallet. Thank you, Lord! I directed her to the pharmacy with the napkins and compress placed on the counter.

"Good day to you, Missus!" The clerk greeted the woman. "I'm paying an additional amount for this young lady's items. She genuinely needs it for herself." She handed in 60 pesos to the cashier, and the clerk packed the items to give to me. I could not do anything else aside from thanking her a billion times. "Thank you so much!" I was filled with joy that she reached out her hand to me in these critical moments. "I am Reese Zimman, a freshman from that university. Nice to meet you, Ma'am." I introduced myself to her. "Very welcome. I'm Miss Sweeny, a teacher from that school too." She remarked. Oh no! My class starts in 3 minutes. I need to go back.

"Sorry for the short-while meeting, but I need to attend my first period hehe." I nervously permitted. "Oh! Then, I'm teaching your first class. Let's hurry!" She accompanied me to the classroom. It took me a minute to realize she is my homeroom teacher, which makes me more at ease in college. As we opened the door, all eyes stared at us like we committed a crime. Ms. Sweeny greeted everyone in the room and vaguely explained what happened. When I proceeded to my seat, I heard murmurs from my unit mates, particularly girls. One thing I heard was talking about the incident in the dorm. Huh?! I think they are about me as the "center" of the situation yesterday.

One guy in front turned to his back and whispered, "Watch out for predators." He then winked- why? What does he mean by predators? Gasped, did he mean....sexual predators?! No, it can't be true, or it can be those girls gossipping about me. They all never knew what happened there, so they should not judge who was involved. Gosh, people! For nature's sake, please-

"Are you alright back there, Ms. Zimman." Teacher Sweeny asked me. I nervously answered that I'm all right. "Probably you need some rest for today, would you like to?" She humbly asked, and everyone began murmuring. "Yes please, my whole body is drained." I pretended to feel tired since I'm feeling insecure around these people. But then, the gossip girl stood up from her desk and approached me. "Next time, don't shame us girls who are in their period. Why do you have to be so careless?" She intentionally shamed me. "Do not jump to conclusions about what happened yesterday, Carol! Reese, you may rejuvenate for the day." Ms. Sweeny defended. I heard giggles from students as I rushed back to the dorm.

What a day. I thought my first day in college would go smoothly, but it came tumbling down the hill. I noticed a notepad stuck on the door saying, "Needed to attend my other units. Please take care of Rainee while I'm gone. Thank you!" This is from Naomi Tan. Oh, she is the bob-cut girl; I'm so mean for calling her "bob-cut girl." To be fair, I did not know her name this whole time. What am I waiting for? I need to go to bed.

As I cracked the door open, I saw Rainee surprised while shuffling something on the couch. "What happened?" She asked me casually. "My teacher advised me to rest from the trip a while ago. Whew, here is the stuff you need." I handed her the paper bag with napkins and a compress. "Thank you so much, Reese! You are truly a diligent kid after all." Rainee complimented me. To be honest, I was flattered. "Not a problem. I'll just rest in my room." I replied without facing her.

I did not want to go to school at first intentionally. Not just the reckless day I had, but I had to separate myself from the world. And I'm wondering, what were those girls talking about back there? How about the guy who threatened me? What is their issue with me? Well, I need to check my phone for updates.

As I scrolled through social media, I found a post about the blood incident on our school's page. Not to be rude, their page should be upgraded with aesthetics instead of Microsoft-edited graphics. Anyways, back to the post...oh...my...gosh. My name is screened in the picture. Who could possibly hack my account since I just entered this school? Wait for a minute, I'll read the article.

"Yesterday, 3 PM, was a blood-shedding moment for the school. A girl trailed her menstruation blood around the girls' dormitory due to some PMS *insert LOL emoji.* The female victim happened to be a freshman student named Reese Zimman, who only realized her pants were stained red *insert DISGUSTED emoji.* Now, ladies, please be considerate to others when you're having bloody days. Again, we abide by the school rules that we do not touch a sick person. Thank you! *insert LOVED emoji*"

Those sick people.....Who accused me?! Hmph, my day has gone crazier. Regardless of their accusation of me, they are insensitive to publicizing a minor issue. Even when I have not menstruated, I was always taught by my teacher to respect women for their bodies. That is normal for women to experience a stage, and I can't let this slip...

Hold on, the people who know me well on this campus are either Rainee or Naomi. These two, tsk tsk tsk, I'm holding a fiery conference when the other arrives from her errands. I'm sorry, but you guys pulled the wrong peg.

*Door creaking*