Class T1T5 - The Love Story

Chances

"Time to chow!" Madam Soot Beng clapped excitedly as she, Ms Siti, Mr MuthuRaja, and the students munched the daylights out of the food in front of them. Chickens were sucked bone-dry, bowls of noodles were slurped down to nothing, and even the large platter of vegetables and beef were reduced to bits. The sumptuous meal had everyone's belly close to bursting. After finishing their meals, they neatly piled their plates on the table before heading to the sofa where they formed a circle. Mr MuthuRaja smiled at the sight of his former students. Most of them were present, as JianHao has accompanied his younger sister to the doctors for her final check-up before she was cleared to go back to school. Vincent, along with Ms Sherly, was also absent as they were receiving therapy from a friend of Mr MuthuRaja to keep the incident from being heard. Madam Soot Beng gestured for him to begin.

"Guys, it's really good to see you again." he started. "Ever since I was terminated at Titan Academy, I've been following up on your guys through Madam Soot Beng. I've heard that a lot of you have been a pain in neck!"

Some students laughed while others hid their faces in shame. Madam Soot Beng shook her head at first but laughed eventually. Ms Siti, however, was not amused. She found the section to be very troublesome, receiving several complaints from other teachers and even from outside the school regarding their behavior.

"I still care about you guys even if I agree with what Madam Soot Beng said about you guys." he continued. "That's why when I found out that Terry was enrolling in this school, I immediately sent someone over."

This stirred a bit of confusion among the students. Even Ms Siti was looking flustered.

"What do you mean by that, Muthu?" She questioned him.

"Terry is Vincent's older cousin!" Debbie exclaimed. "They're both jerks!"

"Ma'am." Mr MuthuRaja explained. "Terry, Vincent, and a few other students were involved in a fight, right? Well, Terry was here just to cause turbulence among the students, particularly JianHao."

Quiet gasps could be heard from the students. Some of them already suspected that he was up to no good and they grinned when their suspicions were confirmed.

"So I brought Michael over from the Philippines to take him out." he finished his explanation. Ms Siti's eyes widened in shock. The students were also in shock but gave each other fistbumps and hi-fives. Trev and Michael looked at their classmates who were unaware of what their former teacher really meant. Ren Yi Xiang and Ben stayed silent.

"I'm surprised that you didn't send him to the hospital!" Hakim joked, but his laughter died when he noticed Michael didn't make eye-contact. The rest of the students also noticed this.

"I didn't." Michael replied, staring down. "I sent him down to the bottom of the sea."

His classmates tried to make sense of what he had just said. Ms Siti frowned at him, and then turned to Mr MuthuRaja.

"Are you telling me that you sent a hit-man to take out a student that you felt would cause harm to the section?" She asked furiously. "What is it about Terry that made you think that he needs to be put down?"

Mr MuthuRaja pulled his phone out of his pocket and showed her pictures that were captured from the drone last night. She gasped at the sight of weapons and Terry smoking a cigarette.

"Terry is a drug-user, ma'am." Mr MuthuRaja explained. "He's dangerous which is probably why Vincent had him enroll to scare JianHao."

"You could have reported this to the police!" Ms Siti insisted. "And what is the conflict between those two?"

"It's because of Denise, Ms Siti." Debbie spoke up. "JianHao likes Denise and she reciprocates his feelings for her. Vincent likes Denise but she hates him. Vincent probably wanted to force JianHao away from Denise with the help of Terry so that he could have her all to himself."

"And ma'am." Mr MuthuRaja continued. "If word gets out that our school has drug-users, how will you get to have new students enroll in Titan Academy? It would be bad publicity and the school's image would be ruined all because of two boys fighting over a girl."

"Can't believe Denise would even like JianHao." she scoffed. "She's the top student of the class as well as the school's pride. No student comes close to her academic performance. A student like JianHao might screw up her academic performance and our school will no longer be competitive."

"I beg to differ, Ms Siti." Madam Soot Beng interrupted. "These kids are human too. Sure, they have responsibilities being students of an elite school like ours but they have lives too outside school. They are still young, they need a second parent in school. Muthu is the first one to realize this. Ever since he sent Michael here, this section had changed. The students were more attentive in class and their behavior improved. It was all because of one student who took interest in the lives of his classmates outside school."

"What are you trying to say, Soot Beng?" Ms Siti narrowed her eyes at her and crossed her arms. The students were worried. It felt like if Madam Soot Beng said something their principal would not agree with, she might be terminated too.

"All I'm saying is that as teachers, our role is more than just being mentors to their academics. We have families too. They need a parent outside of their homes. They need people to turn to, people who understand their lives outside more than their own parents." she finished her explanation.

The students look at Ms Siti nervously. She had no emotion on her face. After thinking for a while, only then did their school principal speak.

"Okay, Class T1T5." she started. "Since your teachers said that you are improving, I shall be watching your presentation tomorrow. If you perform well, you will be the first section to go for the field trip that I am sure many of you are excited about. Also, if you behave yourselves, I promise to bring back Mr MuthuRaja."

Cheers of rejoice filled the living room. Even Mr MuthuRaja stood up and screamed. However, the noise immediately ceased at the sight of Michael starting at Jasmine, whose eyes were were filled with hurt and betrayal.

"Who exactly are you, Michael? If that is even your real name." she asked him, her eyes narrowing with tears threatening to fall. Michael gulped at the sight before him.

"My real name is Michael Pascual." he explained. "My dad is a friend of Mr MuthuRaja. Both of them served in the Singapore Armed Forces as Commandos. I myself served in the armed forces back home in the Philippines after I graduated Secondary School. I was with the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit until its disbandment. But during my time in service, I was a marksman. It was the reason why my dad referred me to Mr MuthuRaja when he said he was looking for someone really good with an Assault Rifle."

"Why didn't you mention this to me?" she screamed as tear began rolling down her cheeks. "I may not have told you but I'm sure you would've found out from the others that I absolutely hate ruffians, especially those that secretly engage in criminal activity! You were just involved in contract killing, Michael!"

"Jas, it's because I love you-" the Filipino tried to explain himself but his lover furiously cut him off.

"If you really loved me, you wouldn't keep such a thing from me. Michael, I love you with all my heart! I really do! But, I don't know if I can still say that after what I'm hearing."

She cried in Cherylene's arms as the other girls surrounded her. Michael rubbed his forehead, not knowing what to do next. He could only sigh as the girls tried to comfort Jasmine. Mr MuthuRaja went up to them.

"Jasmine, I'm really sorry." He spoke up, confusing the girls. "It's my fault that he didn't tell you about this. I wanted this operation to be kept a secret."

Michael was about to interrupt but Vincent stepped forward. He placed a hand on Mr MuthuRaja's shoulder.

"Don't blame yourself, sir." he said sadly before turning to Jasmine. "This entire thing is my fault. If I hadn't brought Terry into my conflict with JianHao, Michael wouldn't have to do such a thing."

At last, Michael stepped up. Everyone's eyes were on him, all of them had worries looks. The Filipino Boy took a deep breath.

"It's none of your faults." He said to them. "This is entirely on me. My purpose here was to take out someone. It just happened that in such a short period of time, I befriended someone amazing. Someone who's beautiful inside and out, someone who's smart, someone who's arguably the most loving person in the world. I was about to be given a chance to be with her but I screwed up by not being honest. I know I have a mission but when a person wants to start a relationship, he or she shouldn't keep anything from the other."

Jasmine was more calm afterwards but she refused to talk to him. Cherylene spoke up for her instead.

"Michael, you're not a bad person." she said. "You had to keep this a secret from anyone else. You kept quiet because you know that if anyone else knew about what your purpose was, more people could get hurt. Jasmine is only crying because all of this is a shock for her."

"I can't hate him forever, can I?" Jasmine said to the girls to which they nodded.

"I'm actually surprised that Abbey is fine with Trev being part of their operation." Madam Soot Beng commented. Abbey simply laughed.

"At least my lover is a man now!" she giggled. Trev shook his head in disbelief.

"So you see me as a boy back then?" he asked, pretending to be offended.

"Oh please, love." she retorted between giggles. "You're bigger than Michael but when he called you to talk to him outside, you can't even stand close to him!"

Trev wanted to put up an argument but everyone was laughing too hard to pay any attention. Michael turned to Vincent, who was sitting quietly in the corner.

"Hey, Vince." he said quietly. "You okay?"

"Yeah." he answered. "Not the happiest person in the world right now but I'm really thankful that this incident occurred. I'm not thrilled about losing a family member but I'm glad that someone put me back on track to leading a proper life."

"You can thank your soon-to-be teacher-again for that!" he grinned, looking at a smiling Mr MuthuRaja.

"You may not have the best behavior in class, Vince. But, I know that deep down inside I know you are a good person. You just don't have people to talk to and you let your emotions control your actions." he spoke to him. "You and JianHao used to be very good friends until your infatuation made you do stupid things. Both of you liked the same girl but you put your own interest first before your friendship. Do you think it's worth it?"

"No, sir." Vincent answered. "I lose the only person who gets my shit means I lose pretty much everything. I'm still a student. If I can't get along with anyone, I will have problems going through school. Also, my selfishness ruined my life. If someone isn't happy being with me, I shouldn't force them. If I truly love someone, I should let them be free."

"That's my boy!" Mr MuthuRaja grinned as everyone clapped. Vincent was surprised, but promised himself to be more humble.

"I'm sorry for everything guys." he announced. "I've been nothing but mischief for the past few months but recently I've gone too far."

"It's okay, Vincent." Denise said to him. "I don't hate you. Nobody does, not even JianHao. He's says that he does but if he did, he wouldn't have shaken your hand."

"Yeah!" Ren Yi Xiang chimed in. "You know what? I happen to like someone who doesn't like me back. I keep trying my best to please someone who doesn't like me at all."

He swung his head to look at Pei Shi. Everyone's eyes were glued on to them. Just as he was about to open his mouth, Pei Shi spoke up first.

"Ren Yi Xiang, I'm sorry for being mean to you." she said to him as she pulled the thin boy into a tight hug.

"Sorry for annoying you too." He whispered. "You deserve a guy who makes you happy, not a timid boy who acts weird."

"You've change, though!" she exclaimed. "I've always loved the sweet things you've done for me. I just wished you acted like a man, though. But, thankfully you've changed. You no longer act like a kid. For that, I'd like to give us a chance."

Ren Yi Xiang's eyes went wide. Pei Shi laughed at this. The boy was struggling to take in what she said to him. A round of applause was given by everyone in the living room, including Kevin who was slightly disappointed. He had been carrying a torch for Ren Yi Xiang for quite some time. Now that his crush had a chance with the person he really liked, all hope was lost for him. But, he was still happy for him. Kevin was matured enough to know that he shouldn't force himself onto people who do not reciprocate his feelings.

"Now that most of you got your happy ending, I expect all of you to report well tomorrow." Madam Soot Beng announced. "Ms Siti and I will be judging. Michael will not help any of you. Remember our deal, ladies and gentlemen. Present it good, you guys go for the field trip. Have good discipline for this month and Mr MuthuRaja will be your teacher again."

"Yes maam!" The students screamed in unison, pleasing their principal and teacher. Mr MuthuRaja then gestured for the students to assist Madam Soot Beng in washing the dishes. He wanted to give his boss a "sneak peak" of the proper discipline he hoped his students would practice for the next few weeks. Once he grouped the students, they executed their given tasks quickly and efficiently and it did not take long for them to finish. Madam Soot Beng gasped at the sight of her dishes that were spic and span. Ms Siti was impressed too, not believing what she had just seen. The section that was notorious of mischief and lack of discipline had completed a task very efficiently in a short amount of time.

"Impressive!" she said. "I hope to see such discipline in school, yeah?"

The students nodded their heads and thanked Madam Soot Beng for the sumptuous meal. After most of them left, Michael, Trev, Abbey, and Mr MuthuRaja went back to the living room. They sat down on the sofa, where Madam Soot Beng and Ms Siti were waiting to question Michael.

"Wow, she didn't even say goodbye." Ms Siti commented. "What do you plan on doing next?"

"I don't know, ma'am." the Filipino boy sighed. "I feel like a dick for not apologizing earlier. I just stood like brick."

"If you want to apologize, I can help you." Abbey offered. "But, I can't guarantee that she'll take you back."

"Please do." Michael smiled at her. "But I highly doubt that she will take you back."

"I think there is something you've got to confess." Trev smirked at him. Michael looked at him and immediately knew what he was talking about.

"Share, Michael." Madam Soot Beng insisted. "Whatever we discuss tonight stays here."

Michael closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After exhaling, he looked Madam Soot Beng in the eyes.

"Before the operations, I met JianHao's sister." he started. "I found her quite pretty. But, I liked Jasmine too. But I won't deny that I wanted to find out more about her."

Everyone's eyes widened. Abbey laughed first before everyone else but it was the laugh of happiness.

"Your dad said you make very good choices." Mr MuthuRaja grinned. "I never knew it would extend to girls. Nicole's good. Easy-going, athletic, honestly one of the more behaved students of the classroom."

"You want her, Michael?" Madam Soot Beng asked to which the Filipino boy nodded his head. "Trev, Abbey? You know what to do."

"I just hope Nicole wouldn't be distracted if you two get together." Ms Siti commented. "Anyways, it's time to hit the sack, yeah? We have a long day tomorrow."

With that, everyone stood up from the sofa. Ms Siti, left first since she lived the furthest among the visitors. Mr MuthuRaja left with the three students not too long after so that Madam Soot Beng could rest.

As they walked towards the carpark, Michael spoke to Mr MuthuRaja.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" He said. "Given a chance to do what you love for the people that you love."

"Yeah." the Indian man replied. "I hope you get a chance with whoever you're going with between Jasmine and Nicole."

"Bro..." Trev chimed in. "We got your back. Once you decide, let us know."

With that, Michael smiled as he walked up to his Toyota Vellfire. He was excited yet anxious for his long day tomorrow.