NMW I Love You

Chapter 2 Chasing Shadows of Love

On her way to the classroom, Imogen’s anger flared after an unexpected encounter with a group of unfamiliar faces who taunted and jeered at her. For a moment, she considered ignoring them and heading straight to her classroom, but something didn’t feel right about brushing off the nasty comments. Imogen’s response was not restrained; her anger erupted without a moment’s hesitation.

"There goes a salad dodger. Holy! Look at her," shouted a boy with disheveled hair and piercing blue eyes, unaware that his life's worst nightmare was about to smack him down.

"When I already know about your mom, why are you referring to her in my presence?" retorted Imogen, responding to his derogatory comment; she was ready to put him in his place.

"Hey, heffalump!" another boy began to defend his friend. "Don't you think you are going a bit too far?"

"Absobloodylutely not!" Imogen's waning patience was now getting the best of her.

She didn't give a damn about the possibility of getting sued; what mattered to her was her unwavering spirit to reject anyone's attempt to define her. As one of the tallest girls at Dwight School, Imogen was an imposing figure.

With a doughty glare, she squared up to the boy who had mocked her. "You think you can just belittle me and get away with it?" she challenged, her voice steady and resolute. "Well, think again."

"You should apologize to him now!" asserted the crime partner of the blue-eyed fellow.

"What if I don't? What are you going to do about it? Cope and seethe." Now, Imogen felt the ground fleeting beneath her feet. Her presence commanded respect, and her refusal to be intimidated was palpable. Her confidence and refusal to back down only amplified the unease among the group of taunting students.

"We'll just come up with more names for you, and soon everyone at school will be calling you those names, I promise," the naive boy didn't see it coming.

"What are you on about, you little bitch?" 

The boy remained oblivious to the sudden turn of events, only to realize moments later that he had collided with the wall, his head taking the impact, while his friends stared at him, gobsmacked. Standing before him was Imogen, her patience finally exhausted. A resounding slap from Imogen echoed through the halls of Dwight School. She knew that the incident would be the talk of the school for days, but she didn't care. For once, she had stood up for herself without reservation, and that was all that mattered to her.

Although the boy contemplated retaliating with a slap of his own, his embarrassment made him hesitate. As he considered his options, Imogen swiftly delivered a forceful kick to his groin, causing him to crumple onto the floor. The boy lay gasping and clutching at himself, his earlier bravado completely deflated.

His friends stood in awe, unsure of how to respond to the unexpected sequence of events. Meanwhile, the blue-eyed boy realized that the tables had turned, and it was now his moment to face Imogen's wrath. When he pivoted around, Imogen seized him by his shirt collar.

"Your welcoming words were thrilling. I can't recall! Could you remind me? Oh, yes, you called me a 'salad dodger,' didn't you? Well, allow me to turn the tables and create a 'salad' out of you now."

Just as Imogen was about to let her anger loose, Basil, her boyfriend, showed up right on cue.

"What are you on about, honey? Hold on a second. He's just a kid. Let go of him!" Basil intervened.

Imogen's eyes met Basil's, frustration evident in her gaze. "Basil, should I let these kids get away with mocking my appearance? Someone just affronts me, and I’m not doing anything? Never happening. I can't let him off the hook without teaching him a lesson," Imogen asserted.