Promise Me Love

The Rejection

One. The Rejection.

            I was running late. AGAIN. The cacophony that rang in my ears was unbearable. Damn Rebecca Black. Friday played everywhere – and I mean everywhere – tauntingly reminding me that I should have woken up at seven AM. I was steps away from the campus when I heard the bell ring. Great. Just great. Naturally, I’d blame my brother for not waking me up on time, but two weeks ago, he’d stopped doing so, arguing that “he’s not my mother to wake me up every morning.”

            I tiptoed through the hallway with high hopes that I wouldn’t get caught. Being punctual was a must in this horrid school. Just as I was about to open the door to my classroom, I felt a warm hand on my shoulder.

            “We seem to be running late, Miss Aidou.” Mr. Ledger greeted me.

            I sighed, and shut my eyes tightly, ready for a one-hour talk about punctuality and attendance. “My apologies, sir. I’m just not used to not having anyone wake me up in the morning,” I responded, embarrassed of what I just said.

            He smiled, and then laughed. It annoyed me, actually. Mr. Ledger was the most loved teacher in the campus. He had those weird pheromones that made every girl fall in love with him – every girl but yours truly, that is. He had the looks, undeniably, but his kindness was sickening, and I could tell that he was a fake. I wasn’t drawn one bit by his charm, or at least, that’s what they called it.

            “Is something funny, sir?” I impatiently asked, putting up the fakest smile of the century.

            “I’ll let you off this time, Risa. You should be grateful to have a homeroom teacher this nice. Although it’s quite embarrassing for the student council president to be tardy,” he smirked as he tightened his grip on my shoulder.

            “Thank you, sir,” I replied, jerking off of his grasp. I was half-relieved that he let me get away despite the school’s strictness on punctuality, although he did have a point. On second thought, it wasn’t my decision to get involved with the student council in the first place.

I entered the room as he followed me in. Just then, I could see all the girls heat up with envy. I bet they were secretly cursing me to my deathbed. I seriously wanted to flip them off, but as student council president, that’s the last thing I ought to do. And so I just walked to my seat with all the pride I could display. I took my seat and noticed half of the guys smile at me with their disgusting fantasies. Nu-uh. Dream on, suckers. I just rolled my eyes and took out a book from my bag, not that I was actually gonna use it. Since I entered high school, dealing with all those helpless, sad excuses for men had become a daily routine. But somehow, the whole thing made me feel a little more fortunate than the rest of the girls. Other girls would just kill to be in my place – the popular teen queen who has it all: from beauty to brains to money. But surprisingly, I wasn’t number one on the hot list. Victoria Hornberry, one of my classmates, was. She was... well, the stereotypical Blondie. Hot, gorgeous, stylish, conceited, selfish, and brainless. She was the whole package for dim-witted guys who cared solely about sensual stuff – the complete opposite of me. Everyone knew that there was practically a sign above my head, saying “This girl is off-limits”. So yeah, I was Risa “Idol” Aidou, everyone’s role-model. On the other hand, people would just cross out four letters from Victoria’s surname to get it done: Victoria Hornberry.

Victoria looked at me sharply. “Stay away from Mr. Ledger.” I could tell that those were the words her eyes spelled out. Geez. She’s even after the teachers. I stared back into her eyes, conveying the message, “He’s twenty-eight. We’re seventeen. Are you for real?” But I knew she was probably clueless of what I’d meant. But she just rolled her eyes and faced her textbook, which she tilted up a bit. Not smart at all. The book was upside-down.

            The bell rang. Dismissal. Finally. My best friend, Rachel Donnel, walked up to me cheerfully. “Starbucks? My treat.”

            “It’s okay, Rachel. I can pay for my own bill,” I smiled, grateful to have such a generous best friend.

            “No, I insist,” she smiled back, tugging on the sleeve of my lavender top.

            “Alright,” I responded, as I got up from my seat.

Rachel grasped my wrist and hurriedly dragged me out of the room. “Hurry up! I’m craving for that Banoffee Pie.” We walked speedily across the hallway until I saw her. Victoria Hornberry. Her presence alone wasn’t what baffled me, it was her presence with my brother. What the hell was Jun doing with that witch?!

I halted, jaws dropped, eyes wide open. I glanced at Rachel, who had the same expression as mine. We quickly walked toward a rather large beam near the hopefully-not-an-official couple.

“Jun, please!”  Victoria pleaded. It was a very rare moment, to hear her plead to someone – and to my brother at that.

“Victoria,” Jun started. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

“Why not?! I’m the hottest girl in this school! Rejecting me shouldn’t be an option for you!” I peeked a bit and saw her pound her fists on my brother’s chest.

Jun gently pushed her away. I could tell he was trying his best not to hurt her. Well, not too much, at the very least. “Listen, Victoria. Dating? That’s not my thing, you know? So please, just stop, before you start to embarrass yourself. Lots of guys are in line just to ask you out. There are tons of guys out there who’d surely make you happy.” Jun ended his little speech with a beaming smile.

 “F-fine. But you’re so gonna regret this day, Jun Aidou! I won’t let this pass without tormenting you,” she yelled as she stormed off in tears. Boys crowded around her, trying to comfort her. Jun walked off in the opposite direction, and passed us by without even glancing at Rachel and I.

“Rachel, I’m sorry, but can we have coffee some other time?” I asked my best friend.

She frowned and murmured, “Alright. But you owe me.”

“Thanks! I promise to make it up to you,” I said as I followed Jun quickly.

As soon as I caught up with him, I slapped his shoulder to get his attention. “What the hell was with all that drama?” I laughed.

“Can’t you mind your own business, Risa?” he asked, clearly annoyed. “And who allowed you to spy on me?”

“It wouldn’t be called spying if you allowed me to eavesdrop, would it?” I smiled impishly. But he just shook his head, and walked on, completely ignoring my attempts to irritate him. “Do you mind?” I finally said. “I’m trying to start a conversation here!”

“And I’m trying not to,” he grumpily replied. “And are you sure you want to follow me home?”

“Duh, it’s not like we live in different houses. And I have nowhere else to go anyway. Now spill! I want details!” I said excitedly.

“What’s there to ‘spill’? You’ve heard enough. Look, if you want details, I’ll have to save it for later. I just want to get home, okay?”

“Fine.”

The walk home seemed to take like, forever. East High was just a fifteen-minute walk away from home, but today, the trip seemed like an hour. It was probably because of the silence between the two of us.

As we entered home, he rushed upstairs and into his room. I heard the lock of his door click. I sighed and drowsily went up to my room, just across his. He wasn’t ready to talk. I guess ‘saving it for later’ was just another lie of his.