MISS NOBODY STRIKES BACK

Ivan

As someone hugged me from behind while I was crying, I tried to turn to see who it was. As I turned, I saw that it was Ivan. I was so shocked. "Why is Ivan here? How did he know I was here?" I thought to myself. "Don't cry, Suana. Everything will be fine," he said as he wiped the tears off my face. He sat me down to calm myself and asked what made me cry.

Because I was so hurt at that time, I needed someone to express my pains to. I couldn't lie to Ivan, so I told him the truth of how everyone hates me.Because of my ugly face and how the girls always bullied me, Ivan felt so sorry for me. His eyes filled with tears and looked like the cloud that was about to rain. Ivan hugged me and whispered to me, "Don't cry, Suana, I am here for you."

I couldn't control my tears at that point because of how bad I felt, so I continued crying while Ivan hugged me and comforted me. Ivan then let go of me and raised my face up to look at him.

"You are beautiful, Suana," he muttered. "You are smart and strong.""Don't let what others say about you be a bother to you. It doesn't matter what they think of you; all that matters is what you think of yourself," Ivan said, trying to make me feel better. I couldn't say a word to him; I just smiled.

"You will be fine, Suana. I will always be here for you," Ivan said with a smile. I couldn't believe it. "I thought to myself, how can someone like Ivan think I am beautiful? What does he mean by he will always be there for me? The whole thing just didn't make sense to me.""Did Ivan say all that because he had pity on me?" I just couldn't stop wondering why. "What are you thinking, Suana?" Ivan caught me in my thoughts. Immediately, I answered, "Nothing.

"Thank you, Ivan," I said with a smile. "You are the first person who thinks of me as someone beautiful. No one has ever showed me..."

"Don't thank me, Suana," Ivan cut me off. "That's what friends do for each other." I smiled at him.

"Can we go for a drink after school?" Ivan asked as he stood up. "Yes," I answered."I have class now. I will see you when the school is closed, and make sure you don't cry again," he said jokingly as he left.

I smiled. I was so happy after Ivan left. He had made me so happy. I decided to sit in the garden until the school closed. I fell asleep in the garden, unaware that school had closed while I was sleeping.

Then suddenly, my phone rang. It was Ivan. I realized the school was empty. Ivan had called to know where I was so we could go for a drink.I told Ivan where I was, so he asked me to wait for him. Ivan was in school the whole time. When he came, he said he had an assignment he needed to finish up. He didn't know I was still in the garden; to him, I had already left for home.

We talked while we walked outside the school. It was the first time I had a long chat with Ivan. I realized Ivan was so gentle and kindhearted as I got to know him more. We arrived at a beer shop and ordered drinks. We laughed as we both drank. Ivan told me some things about himself.What amazed me most was that Ivan was from a very wealthy family, yet he became friends with a lowly, ugly girl like me. We drank a lot that day, and then we parted ways at the beer shop.

It was my first time going back home so happy and drunk that day. My parents were wondering what had happened to me.

"Are you drunk?" my mom asked as she saw me walking as if I was going to fall. "You reek of alcohol," she said as she came closer to me. "What is wrong with you? You always come home sad, but you seem happy today.""Did something happen at school?" my mom couldn't stop asking.

"Let her rest at least for today since she is happy," my dad immediately cut in.

I didn't respond to any of their questions; I just went to my room and slept. The next morning, I woke up early to avoid my parents seeing me before I went to school.

"Ah, my head is banging," I said as I walked down the road. I took a taxi to school and got dropped off at the school gate. As I arrived, I saw Ivan standing in front of the gate.

"Good morning, Suana," he said as he walked up to me."Why are you here, Ivan?" I asked without answering his greetings.

"I was waiting for you," he hurriedly answered.

"Why?" I asked, surprised.

"So we could walk in together," he said.

I was so excited, but I couldn't let Ivan know, so I bent my head and walked. Everyone was looking at us. I knew it was going to be another bad day for me because the girls would come for me once Ivan was gone. Ivan kept staring at me as we walked. He noticed how tense I was.He asked if I was scared that I was going to be bullied because of him, but I said no. He knew I was lying, so he just laughed at me. I wondered what made him laugh. I left Ivan and went straight to my class, waiting for the girls to come and my classmates to laugh at me. However, no one was in the class; it looked like they all went to another hall for a class.

I went outside the class, and I saw others walking down to the hall, so I followed them.When I got there, I heard the girls saying that it was a student who wanted to address them. I wondered what it was about. Suddenly, Ivan walked up to the podium of the hall.

He first formally greeted everyone and said he had something important to say to everyone. Everyone was quiet. Then he said there is a student he would like everyone to treat with respect and to show love to that student. Everyone started to murmur. "Why would he gather us here just for some student?" They all murmured.Ivan was one of the most intelligent students in the school, and because of his family wealth, he was highly regarded. "It's normal for the rich to do what they want," I thought as I turned to leave.

"Suana!" I heard my name called out loud. Everyone turned and looked at me. I stopped for a bit. "Suana," Ivan called again. My heart started to pound, and I turned to face him.

"That is the student I asked you all to treat with respect and love," Ivan said as he pointed at me."I was already trembling in fear as I stood still.

"Anyone who says bad things to Suana should consider himself as my enemy because an enemy of Suana is an enemy to me as well. You all should treat Suana just as you will treat me because she is my friend," Ivan declared.

I couldn't believe what I just heard. It was like a dream to me.

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