Twice The Trouble

Chapter 16: Liam's Fall

Liam

*Flashback Four Years Ago*

I was that tall and skinny new kid in high school, new meat, some people might say.

My family moved back to the Philippines after years of homesickness in America.

It didn't show that I came from wealth. I had scruffy dark blond hair, train-track braces, and my sense of fashion was nothing for girls to swoon about. I wore plaid shirts and baggy slacks, and I was more interested in computers and animation instead of girls, cars, and sports. Except the Wii.

As if it wasn't bad enough that I looked and acted like an anti-social geek and nerd, girls would ridicule me, either behind my back or right in my face. And the guys saw me as easy prey to their bullying--tripping me over the hard linoleum floor, gagging the toilet with my textbooks, and marking me as a walking target in Gym class. Every day was a hardship for my first week as a high school freshman.It was hell on earth during that first, excruciating week in Pines Academy.

But in my second week, I met her.

She reminded me of an angel,but without the halo and wings.

The first time I saw her, she came to my defense when my bullies were picking on me yet again.

One of them was threatening more bodily harm unless I do his homework for him from then on.

He grabbed a fistful of my shirt and slammed me against a row of lockers, making my back sore.

"You get the picture, Garcia?" he snarled at me, baring his teeth.

"I-I...."  I couldn't form a coherent answer. My mind was spinning and I felt lightheaded.

"What? Spit it out, you nerd!" He socked me in the jaw, making my chin bleed.

"Leave him alone!"

Billy Ignacio angrily whipped his head around to glare at the person who yelled at him.

Through my hazy vision, I was able to see a normal version of my Good Samaritan.

She stood at an average height. She had her long, brown, wavy hair in a high ponytail and her brown eyes were covered behind a pair of oval, rimless glasses. A big book was clipped under her arm, and she had her free hand perched defiantly on her slender waist as she frowned at Billy.

One closer look at her clothes told me she was also a freshman at Pines Academy. She wore the standard girls' uniform of a white blouse,a charcoal gray ribbon, and a pleated green skirt teamed with black doll shoes.

"Who the hell are you?" Billy was still holding me up against the lockers.

"Sophia Ann Sta. Ana, student body president of Pines Academy," she declared proudly.

So she was THAT Sophia. I've heard students and teachers talk about her. How she was academically inclined, perfecting all her quizzes, exams, and homework. Fellow freshmen often called her a grade-conscious,straitlaced girl. Too serious and too much of a workaholic. And the faculty members always praised her intellect and passionate dedication to her schoolwork.

Not once did they mention how beautiful she was.

Her eyes were so brown and captivating, while her lashes were long, and her cheeks were naturally rosy and full. She didn't seem like a jewelry-type of girl but the half-heart necklace around her neck must carry sentimental value to her.

I must have been smiling like a lunatic because Billy suddenly shouted: "What are you smiling at?Are you going to do my homework or not?" I shut my eyes and steeled myself for the imminent punch his beefy fist was aiming for my face, but Sophia yelled at him again.