I lost my senses the second I felt his grubby hand feeling up my thigh. The only thing I could think at that time was how to plan this man's funeral. Never in my life have I felt so humiliated.
Scorned by people while being abused verbally every day? Check.
Being beaten blue and black occasionally? Check.
Being treated unfairly in any kind of situation? Check.
Threatened and molested by your homeroom teacher? This is a whole new level.
I bit his hand hard, causing him to pull out his hand. Like a psycho he was, he was laughing as I growled at him. "Release me this instant. You disgust me!"
Mr. Gilbert chuckled as if he was expecting me to say that. "But I adore you very much. Nobody would take someone like you anyway. Might as well give your every first to me, and I promise I will help you."
This was the reality. Everybody treated me like a nuisance and an eyesore, so I never expected for a second that anybody would be attracted to me. I never thought anything along that line at all. Nevertheless, despite their own personal feelings towards me, I guessed some people didn't mind who their partner was as long as they could relieve themselves. Mr. Gilbert was one of those people.
He hates me. That much I knew all along. He didn't approach me out of kindness, or because he had even a shred of good favor towards me. He treated me like those convenient women whom he could call or push away anytime he pleases. That's why since the beginning, I never trusted anything he said. I would be crazy if I accepted his offer!
"Get off of me! I said I am not interested in your sick fantasy!" I said as I struggled fervently. I violently stomped on his feet, and elbowed his flank brutally, to the point he had a hard time suppressing me.
He clicked his tongue annoyingly. "Shut up."
Using one hand, he choked me from behind. His large hand enveloped my throat and squeezed it forcefully, blocking my airway and made it hard for me to breathe. I wheezed as I desperately gasped for air.
"It seems you prefer it rough, huh? I tried to be gentle, but since you resisted it so much, I don't have a choice but to play the hard way."
Tears started to pool in my eyes at my powerlessness. I recalled an almost identical situation in the past, and it wrenched me with so much pain inside. Compared to that time, I am older and stronger now. That terrifying man was long gone too. So why? Why am I still like this? Why do I need to suffer this again?
"Are you crying? Aah, that expression is so good. Your reaction is so cute. Are you seducing me right now?" He giggled maniacally as he whispered in my ear. "To have such ability to arouse a man, I guess it's in your blood after all."
I flinched involuntarily. His words were the same as that man, and it stabbed me like a knife. I closed my eyes, trying to chase away the fear that came along with those agonizing memories. My hands were busy beating and scratching his hand on my throat, but it only made Mr. Gilbert even more eager. I could feel something hard poking on my lower back, and I shuddered at the thought of what was going to happen.
'No, please! Someone! Anyone! Save me!'
"I… don't… want… to die…" Amid my struggle, I managed to choke out those words. The same pathetic words I uttered just like before. Reminding me every time of painful reality, that nobody will come. No one would save me.
Just like that time.
My uncontrollable fear and despair force a bead of tears to roll out of my eyes. At that time I regretted it. If only I could turn back time, I'd never come to this school. If only I didn't cling to false hope, I wouldn't be in this situation. In the end, no matter how much I struggled, my fate was set in stone. I couldn't change anything.
My strength gradually left my body. I put down my hand as I resigned myself to my fate.
KNOCK KNOCK
My consciousness was starting to fade when I heard the sound of a door knocking. Mr. Gilbert flinched and he stopped moving altogether.
"Excuse me, Mr. Gilbert? Are you in there?" said the person from the other side of the door. That voice...
Mr. Gilbert clicked his tongue in irritation. He whispered in my ears in a threatening manner. "Don't you dare say anything unnecessary. Remember, we will sink or swim together."
He released me abruptly. My legs were shaking so hard I couldn't stand properly without leaning on the wall. I was feeling disoriented and couldn't form a coherent thought for a while before the reality finally sank in. I was saved.
I looked at how Mr. Gilbert already put on his usual amiable smile as he opened the door, revealing Mrs. Victoria who was frowning. I was so relieved I almost jumped out to embrace her, if not for my wobbly legs.
"Mr. Gilbert. Do you happen to see Miss Williams? I was looking for her but some students said she was summoned by you."
Mr. Gilbert didn't reveal anything on his face as he made an expression as if he just remembered something. "Ah, Miss Victoria. Conveniently, you are here now. I was just about to go out and call you."
Mrs. Victoria tilted her head in confusion when she finally noticed me from the corner of her eyes. She looked surprised as she exclaimed, "Miss Williams! What happened to you?"
She walked towards me hastily with a worried expression. "Your face is so pale!" She put her palm on my forehead to check my temperature with a rigid expression, but after some moments her face loosened in relief. "You didn't have a fever, thank goodness. But your face is pale. Did your body hurt somewhere?"
I shook my head as I grabbed her arms. Mrs. Victoria was taken aback by my reaction. He gazed at my hand on her arms, and a complicated expression was shown on her face. "This can't do. You might get anemia. I told you to not come to school if you are not feeling well yet."
Mrs. Victoria held my upper arm as she helped me to stand straight. "Let me help you walk to the infirmary. You need to be examined again. Mr. Gilbert, she is unwell, I'll take her to the infirmary for now."
Mr. Gilbert nodded his head immediately. His face was laced with worry and anxiety. "I know something was wrong. Why didn't you tell me you are feeling unwell, Williams? Do you need me to help you take her, Mrs. Victoria?"
'What a good actor he is. If I didn't know any better, I might believe he was truly concerned with me.'
I sneered inwardly as I squeezed Mrs. Victoria's arm. Mrs. Victoria seemed to catch my signal and replied. "It's okay Mr. Gilbert. Let me take care of her. You must be busy with your counseling duty."
Mr. Gilbert shook his head, but thankfully he didn't insist. Mrs. Victoria helped me to walk without saying anything, but her face scrunched up uncomfortably.
After arriving at the infirmary, he forced me to sit down on the bed as she pulled one of the rolling chairs and sat down in front of me. She folded her arms in front of her chest and looked at me with a frown on her beautiful face.
"Care to explain now?"
I avoided her gaze by looking down on my lap, but I guessed it's useless since it was obvious Mrs. Victoria was able to catch something fishy was going on from her short interaction in the counseling room.
Due to my scuffle with Mr. Gilbert, my hair and uniform were disheveled, and I was found leaning on the wall weakly, which was highly suspicious from an objective perspective. Unless Mrs. Victoria was super dense, she ought to notice something.
She stared at me so intently, waiting for me to start talking. I bit my lips, unsure of where I should even start. In the first place, would she even believe anything I said? I had enough facing against an adult. It's too exhausting with a high risk.
Nevertheless, I also realized I couldn't handle Mr. Gilbert alone. He caught on to my weakness and is now trying to take advantage of me. Fighting against him directly meant I should say goodbye to any hope of continuing study in this school. I wanted to avoid that.
I let out a bitter laugh. Just moments ago, I was so determined that if I could turn back the time, I wouldn't come to this school, but here I am now. After being saved from a step into that abyss, I ran straight towards that abyss again. Should I call myself persistent or shameless?
My train of thought was interrupted when Mrs. Victoria's displeased expression appeared in front of my face. "Be honest. Did Mr. Gilbert do something to you?"
What a disgusting man. He shouldn't become a teacher with that conduct!
Mrs. Victoria to the rescue! Oh yeah!
What do you think of this chapter? Let me know by leaving a comment! (>.<)
"Did Mr. Gilbert do something to you?"
Mrs. Victoria stared at me intensely. Her hand reached out to mine and grasped it firmly between hers. I could tell she was trying to encourage me somehow. She must have thought I was scared to reveal the truth. In reality, I was just wondering how I could make use of this opportunity.
Mr. Gilbert was a formidable opponent. If I wanted to get rid of him, I needed allies whom I could trust. I had some ideas in mind, but I was still unsure of how to start. Not to mention, Mr. Gilbert was a sly person, so the normal method won't work on him. One mishap and he will turn the table on me.
He was dangerous. I had to find his weakness as soon as possible before he found another chance to harass me again.
I bit my lips before looking at Mrs. Victoria with wistful eyes. "If I tell you, would you believe me?"
She held my hand tighter as she nodded her head slowly. Her mouth curved upward in a reassuring smile. "I believe you are a good student and won't tell me any lies. Could you believe in me too?"
Her gaze was so earnest I was stabbed with guilt. I kinda feel bad to do this to her, especially when she was being nothing but caring and supportive of me since the first time we met. If Mrs. Victoria didn't come in time, I didn't know what would happen to me. I had given up at some point, but she kindly reached out to me without hesitation.
Initially, I planned to make Mrs. Victoria be my shield as I confronted Mr. Gilbert. What Mr. Gilbert did was a crime and he would be shunned in society if the rumor got out. While she was not exactly a witness, her testimony would be proven useful if I could get her to cooperate somehow.
If Mrs. Victoria said something about this matter, then even due to some luck and Mr. If Gilbert got away with it, his reputation would still be affected. At that time, I would deliver the final blow.
However, based on Mr. Gilbert's nonchalant reaction earlier when Mrs. Victoria came into the counseling room, I had a feeling that Mr. Gilbert might already have predicted that. Considering how calm his reaction was, I assumed he was confident that no harm could happen to him. Either he had prepared some counterplan, or he was so sure that he would be protected by his backing.
Whichever it was, it was a very dangerous move to fight against him directly. That's where Mrs. Victoria came in. If I was the one to spill everything, I'd dig my own grave. No one would believe anything came from my mouth, but that was not the case if Mrs. Victoria was the one who did it.
If I could get her to be my support, I'd be saved from the impact of direct confrontation, but it'd risk Mrs. Victoria. She could be his next target, or worse.
From short interaction with Mrs. Victoria, I could tell she was an upright and sympathetic person. She was the type that would take in an abandoned cat left in the rain. That's why I was sure I could get her to 'cooperate' with me if I could just correctly push her button.
Or so was the plan…
I pressed my lips in a thin line, before answering in an aggrieved manner. "Mr. Gilbert called me to the counseling room and gave me and scolded me for misbehaving. It's so unfair!"
"What do you mean? Please explain it in detail."
"It's just as I said. He called me, questioned me about how I accidentally injured Harry Michelson and offended Mrs. Gabrielle. He didn't believe me when I said I regretted my action and wanted to apologize to them. Then when I was about to get out of the room, I got dizzy and had to lean on the wall. Maybe the scolding stressed me out more than I expected." The words flowed out of my mouth smoothly as if I was reading a script.
Even if I lied and said nothing happened, Mrs. Victoria wouldn't buy it. I needed to persuade her in a way that won't put her in danger. I owed her, after all. This was the least I could do for her.
Mrs. Victoria's face loosened a bit, but she still had some doubt in her face. "Are you sure that's all? You looked frightened earlier."
"Did I look like that? You must be imagining things, Mrs. Victoria. I was just worried I'd need to take a sick leave again from my part-time job today. It'd cut down my salary even more and I don't like that."
I sweated a bit since the excuse was kinda far-fetched. However, from the eased expression on Mrs. Victoria's face, it seemed my excuse finally convinced her. "So it's like that. I thought something bad had happened to you since the situation earlier…" She stopped for a moment to look at me, then she shook her head. "Nevermind. Let me check on your condition."
She examined me for a while, checking my body temperature with a thermometer, asking me a few questions about what I ate, and stuff like that. After examining me, she concluded I might still feel weak after resting for three days, so she gave me some supplements and vitamins to drink.
"Say, Eirlys. Actually I… know now," She said after making sure I had taken my vitamin. Her face looked unsure, anxious, and sympathetic at the same time.
"About what?"
She paused a bit before replying in a barely audible voice, "About your situation. And your parents as well."
Ah, so it's about that.
I shrugged my shoulders. "So you found out already. I'm pretty sure whoever informed you about that added one or two nasty words about me as well right?"
Mrs. Victoria appeared upset, but she didn't rebuke me. I smiled amusedly. "Now you understand what I meant. Nothing would change even if I said something. Nobody will care, and it'll be bad for you if you were spotted with me."
"That's not true! You are nothing like what they said. I… never knew you had such a past. I.. am sorry."
I chuckled. "Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything wrong. It's the truth, and I had long accepted it as my identity."
Mrs. Victoria hung her head low as she spoke softly. "I didn't know anything, yet I said something insensitive like how you should rely on adults. That's why you looked in pain when I suggested that. You tried before, but they didn't listen to you, right?"
Did I look like that in Mrs. Victoria's eyes? Must be because my eyes were glistening due to my fever that day.
"You don't have to feel guilty. It's my problem after all. No one should help me with my problems. It's not their obligation."
"No one is obliged to do that, yes that's correct. But does that erase the fact that you need help? No."
"What difference does it make? No one will help me anyway."
Mrs. Victoria held both of my hands in hers. Her eyes were blazing with determination. "There is one here. One who will help you."
Her enthusiasm startled me. I never had an amicable interaction with females other than Nina. Especially the one who already knew about my origin. Because usually, people would automatically keep their distance from me after they found out about it.
"Eirlys. I understand you had suffered so much in the past years, and you had long lost your trust in other people." She gripped my hand tighter as if she wanted to send her positive energy that way. "But at least believe this. None of this is your fault. You are just a victim of unfortunate circumstances. That's why you should lift your head and walk confidently. This world is not as cold as you think it is. Now that I am here, I want to be friends with you."
I was taken aback hearing her heartfelt words. She held my hands warmly, and no trace of deviousness in her face. There was only tranquility and sincerity in her eyes, and her smile was gentle and comforting.
Maybe because she gazed at me so strongly and gently at the same time, I suddenly remembered Grandpa. The only one who stood by my side even when the world was against me. I never expected I would find another person like Grandpa. Especially within this school which was full of my enemies.
'Can I trust her?'
I gazed at our intertwined hands, and a warm feeling surged inside my heart. Her words touched me deeply, making my chest tighten comfortably. It's been a while since I felt so safe, and alive. From behind my closed eyelids, I felt like my future started to become clearer.
At that time, I knew I had made a decision.
'Let's try again, once again. I want to trust this person in front of me.'
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GOT IT