MARIANA

“All of this happened just minutes ago, and I wasn’t informed about it? Someone should have sent for me, and I would have come to reshape his ugly face.” Julia said, livid, after Vanessa and I finished recounting the incident.

“He’s not ugly, Julia. He’s actually very handsome. It’s his behavior that’s terrible,” Vanessa pointed out.

“That’s not the point, Vee. The point is I would have reconstructed his face with my fist and made him ugly,” Julia stated seriously, causing the rest of us to burst into laughter.

“Why are you all laughing? Do you think I’m joking?” She asked with yet another serious expression, only intensifying our laughter. The reason we laughed so much is that we all know Julia couldn’t kill an ant, let alone reshape someone’s face with punches.

“You guys need to stop laughing. You’re making fun of me,” Julia moaned, and the laughter slowly died down.

“You need to stop bluffing, Julia. We all know you can’t hurt a fly, let alone reshape someone’s face,” Damien scoffed.

“How do you know that? I could start with your face, you know? I’ve been learning karate secretly for a few months now, and I’ve always wanted to practice it on someone. I could practice on you and Anthony right now,” Julia said, pointing at Damien and Anthony, who both raised their hands in surrender.

“Nah, I’m good. You can try it on Damien, though. He’s got a pretty good face,” Anthony said.

“Don’t listen to him, Julia. You can practice it on him. His face is far better than mine,” Damien added, and I chuckled.

“That’s enough, guys. No one’s practicing karate or kung fu or whatever on anyone,” I spoke up, and sighs of relief escaped the guys’ mouths.

“Can you imagine? Two boys taller than me are afraid of a little girl like me. I can’t believe you two fell for my petty lie and are scared,” Julia laughed crazily, and the guys stared at her with their mouths wide open.

“So, you were just joking?” Anthony asked, glaring at Julia.

“Yup, and you guys fell for it,” she laughed again.

“I can’t accept this. I just got fooled by a short girl,” Damien said, advancing toward Julia, probably to smack her, but Katherine stopped him.

“You guys should stop. We came here to listen to what happened between Vanessa, Mariana, and that guy, and now the three of you want to start your own drama. I can’t stop any fights right now. If you want to fight, let me eat first so I’ll have the strength to break it up,” Katherine, who had been quiet up until this point, ranted, and we all looked at her.

“Now that you mention it, I’m feeling hungry too,” Vanessa said.

“Yeah, me too,” Anthony added.

“What time is the lunch break?” Vanessa asked.

“Let me check the timetable,” I replied and started to open my locker when the lunch break bell rang, and students who had been lingering in the hallway began walking in the same direction, probably toward the school cafeteria. Students from the classrooms began trickling out as well.

“Guess it’s time for lunch,” Damien said.

“Yeah. Who knows where the cafeteria is?” Katherine asked, but no one seemed to know.

“Let’s follow that group of students,” I suggested, pointing toward a cluster of students. “Maybe they’re going to the cafeteria.” We followed them.

It turned out they were heading toward the cafeteria, and we entered, looking as if we’d been there a million times before. The cafeteria was big and beautiful, almost like a restaurant. There were plenty of students sitting at various tables, some focused on eating, while others chatted and ate simultaneously.

Many students were staring and whispering, saying things like:

“Look at those two girls in the front. They were arguing with Tyler just minutes ago.” One girl said to her friend.

“Really? How dare they? They just got here today, and they’re already fighting with the school’s ‘prince.’ Who do they think they are?” Her friend scoffed angrily.

Various rude remarks were being thrown our way, and I felt my anger rising. I opened my mouth to say something but was interrupted when Vanessa quickly clamped her hand over my mouth.

“Swallow whatever you want to say, Marie. Remember Principal Jane’s words,” she whispered, and I calmed down.

“I’m calm now. Take your hand off my mouth,” I said, though it came out muffled due to her hand. I licked her hand, and she immediately pulled it away, glaring at me as I smiled sweetly at her.

“Eww, gross! Couldn’t you just tap my hand or something? Why did you have to lick it?” Vanessa questioned, wiping her hand on her jacket.

“I just felt like it,” I shrugged nonchalantly, and she scoffed.

“Guys, are we going to find a table or not? Because hunger is killing me here,” Katherine said, frowning.

“Oh yeah! Let’s find a table,” I replied, and we walked further into the cafeteria.

“Wait, shouldn’t we get our food before finding somewhere to sit?” Julia asked thoughtfully.

“Right, we kind of skipped that part,” Vanessa chuckled.

“Let’s go to the counter then,” Katherine groaned, walking ahead of us. We followed.

We reached the counter, grabbed our trays, and began looking for a vacant table. As I was still searching, I heard someone call my name.

“Mariana!”

I turned to find Aiden waving at me. I gestured to my friends, and we walked over to his table. Aiden and three others were sitting at the table, with six empty chairs. My friends and I took a seat.

“Hey, Aiden,” I greeted cheerfully.

“Hey, Mariana. Who are your friends?” he asked, glancing at my group.

“These are Julia, Damien, Katherine, Anthony, and Vanessa. Guys, this is Aiden,” I introduced them, and they exchanged pleasantries.

“Won’t you introduce us, Aiden?” the only girl sitting with Aiden nudged him with her elbow, and he groaned.

“I was about to,” he grumbled, clearing his throat.

“Guys, these are my friends Liam, Lucas, and Juliet.” He glared at the girl when he mentioned the last name, and she smiled sweetly.

“Nice to meet you guys,” the three of them said simultaneously. We began eating moments later.

“So, Mariana, I heard what happened with you and Tyler. Did you know him from somewhere?” Aiden asked after a few minutes of eating in silence.

“I knew him from my workplace, but let me assure you, it was not a pleasant experience. I came to find out he’s a cocky jerk,” I said.

“He is cocky, alright. But I don’t understand why girls don’t see that because of his wealth and good looks,” Aiden said.

“Not all girls are fooled by looks. For me, if a guy has a bad attitude, he becomes ugly no matter how handsome he is,” Julia chimed in.

“Exactly! Finally, someone who gets it!” I exclaimed, and we bumped fists.

“I like you, girl. I think we’ll be great friends,” she smiled.

“Same here,” I grinned back, and the boys groaned.

“Why are you guys groaning?” Juliet asked.

“Girls and their way of making friends,” Damien grunted, and the boys chuckled.

“Whatever,” I rolled my eyes and continued eating.

“Guys, Delilah and her crew are coming toward our table,” Juliet whispered. We looked.

“Who? Is it Delilah from the Bible who betrayed Samson?” Vanessa asked, confused, and we burst into laughter.

“No, not that Delilah, but this one’s almost like the one in the Bible. Look, here she comes,” Juliet said, eyeing something—or someone—behind me.

“What have we done to deserve a visit from the queen of hell?” Juliet muttered sarcastically.

“I’m not here for you, bitch. I came for this slut seated here,” a voice I recognized as Delilah’s said, and before I could react, she yanked my hair.

“Hey! Who the hell just yanked my hair?!” I shouted, turning around to face three girls. The one standing in the middle was clearly Delilah.

“Are you calling me a fool?” she asked furiously but then calmed down. “If I wasn’t in such a good mood today, I would slap you. But today, I’m in a good mood,” she said with a smile that seemed fake.

“I didn’t come here to fight. I just came to give you a simple warning: I don’t care if you know Tyler from somewhere or if he was the one who offended you. But the next time I hear you insult him or exchange words with him, I’ll deal with you mercilessly. You’ll regret ever crossing paths with me and Tyler. Have a bad day.” She turned to leave with her friends—or should I say, her sidekicks—but not without giving me a dangerous glare.

“What just happened? And who the hell was that?” I asked, wide-eyed.

“That was Delilah Kingston. She’s the queen bee of Royal Gate High,” Liam answered.

“Oh. Why was she threatening me? I don’t remember crossing paths with her. Is she related to Tyler?” I asked.

“I don’t know why she’s threatening you, but it’s probably because of what happened with Tyler. She’s connected to him somehow,” Lucas answered, a thoughtful look on his face.

“Is she his bodyguard or something?” Katherine asked, eyeing the girl standing next to Tyler.

“Nope, she’s his girlfriend,” Lucas replied.

“Oh, that explains it.” I nodded, making sense of it now.

“Yeah. Looks like you’ve made it onto her list of people to deal with, Mariana. You better watch your back and avoid crossing paths with her or Tyler. And Delilah... she’s really mean. There’s no telling what she could do to you,” Liam said, his tone serious. I smiled at him, appreciating his concern.

“Thanks, Liam. I’ll try to be careful, but I’m not scared of her. If she says she’s gonna deal with me, I’m going to show her I’m not someone to mess with,” I said confidently.

“Yeah, baby! That’s our girl!” Katherine, Vanessa, and Julia cheered, grinning. I couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m glad you’re not afraid of her, Mariana. If Delilah brings the heat, we’ll bring it back hotter. We’ve got your back on this,” Juliet said, her voice full of determination.

“Thanks, babe,” I said, feeling a surge of support from my friends.

“Alright, guys, let’s eat before lunch break is over,” Aiden said loudly, breaking the tension. We all fell into a comfortable silence, eating our lunch while the earlier drama settled in the background.