Love is Beautiful (She's so Ugly)

Chapter I

"Did you guys see Merida today? She looks like a goldfish!" a redheaded girl said, bursting into laughter with her friends.

Jacob couldn't help but glance over. He wondered who Merida was. He'd been hearing people at school say she was really ugly—and now he was curious if it was true.

He shifted his gaze to the basketball beside him, picked it up, then grabbed his bag and headed to the shower room. While washing up, he asked a few of the guys about this "Merida."

"You haven't seen her? How? She's in the same class as you," said a guy named Brandon.

Jacob turned off the shower. As he soaped his body, he replied, "Nah. I don't think I've heard anyone named Merida in class."

"Well, check her out tomorrow," Brandon said, chuckling. "She's so ugly."

Those words—"she's so ugly"—stuck in Jacob's mind. Even now, lying in bed, they wouldn't fade. He was too curious.

An hour passed, and it was still bothering him. So he got out of bed and went for a walk outside.

Down an alley, where street children often gathered, he saw someone handing out food. The person wore a hoodie, so he couldn't tell if it was a guy or a girl.

Jacob was about to walk away when the person pulled down the hoodie—and yes, it was a girl with long hair. He smiled at the kindness she showed the kids.

As he walked closer, she glanced at him. Her smile immediately faded, and she quickly pulled the hoodie back over her head, as if trying to hide her face.

"It's nice, what you're doing—giving food to these kids," Jacob said, stopping beside her.

She didn't reply. Instead, she kept her head down, doing her best to stay hidden.

"Mister, are you here to give us food too?" a little boy asked Jacob, tugging on his sleeve.

"Not tonight," Jacob answered with a small smile, "but maybe tomorrow."

"Oh... this beautiful lady named Merida gives us food every—"

"Wait, you're Merida?" Jacob interrupted, turning to the girl beside him.

She froze. Shock flickered in her eyes—he knew who she was. Panicked, she ran.

She didn't want him to see her face. He probably went to the same school. He'd laugh, or mock her like the others did.

Jacob stood there stunned, mouth slightly open. Then he turned to the boy.

"Uhm... I'll come back here tomorrow. Right now, I've got to follow her. Be safe, okay?"

With that, he took off running.

Being a basketball player gave him the advantage—it wasn't hard to catch up. He could already see her ahead.

"Merida! Wait! I just want to talk!" he called out.

Merida's heart pounded. No, I can't let him see me, she thought. He'll just say the same things everyone else does.

Jacob knew this was crazy—chasing a girl down the street in the middle of the night—but something inside him needed to reach her. Something told him not to let her go.

He was close enough now. He reached out and grabbed her hoodie.

Merida stopped and looked back. For Jacob, it felt like everything moved in slow motion.

Their eyes met.

He saw her bare face.

And for a moment—everything just stopped.

Tears welled in her eyes. She pulled the hoodie back over her face, sniffled, and said softly:

"I know. I'm ugly. You don't have to say it."

And with that, she ran.

Jacob didn't follow.

He just stood there, frozen.

The image of her face burned in his memory.

Indeed, she is ugly...