I did not waste a single second. I immediately stood up and ran after Rogie. If I did not, maybe the girls inside the canteen would attack me right away. I still remembered how they glared at me after that... that... uh, what Rogie did.
"Rogie!" I called. I stopped for a moment and panted hard as I watched him walked ahead. "Rogie!" I yelled again.
I ran after him as I saw him walked towards the back of the sophomore building. My forehead creased but I did not stop.
I turned at the alley where he walked right into and before I could yell again, someone pulled me into a hug. My face hit that someone's hard chest and my cheeks burned hot. I smelled the familiar scent of Rogie so I pushed him away. I heard him chuckled at what I did.
I glared at him. "What do you think you're doing?" I spatted and hissed. "You really think I'm joking with you?"
"Hey, chill." He raised his hands up in the air in the form of surrender and then grinned at me. "I do you a favor, ya' know."
I squinted my eyes and crossed my arms. "Since it's my last day here, I might as well take my revenge for bullying me since last year!"
I charged at him and slapped him hard again in his right cheek. "That's for threatening me!" I raised my hand again and slapped his left cheek. "That's for being a jerk!"
I raised another hand again and before I could hit him, he caught my wrist and looked straight at me. "No more slap available for you, Sydnee." And he let go of my wrist and held his chin. He winced in pain. "You have heavy hands," he commented.
I rolled my eyes at him. "Eat my scholarship if you like! You shameless jerk," I cussed and turned around to leave.
But Rogie held my shoulder to prevent me from walking away. I harshly removed his heavy hand on my shoulder but to no avail. I hissed. "Take off your dirty hands on me!"
"Dirty?" He laughed a bit. "Since when you learned those words, Sydnee? I never knew that you're this brave."
I forced myself to face him again and squinted my eyes. "I only stayed low for years to protect my scholarship, and since you revoked it..." I gritted my teeth and glared at him. "I don't see any reason why I should hide my anger now. You made me like this, Rogie!"
He raised his brow and the side of his lips crooked. "Really? I haven't revoked your scholarship yet. Do you want me to forget my plan so you will hide your wild side again?"
"Jerk!"
I used all my strength to free myself from his grip, but Rogie pinned me on the wall and moved closer to me. I could feel his heavy breathe fanning my face so I looked at the side. "Let go," I warned.
But he chuckled and moved his face closer to mine. His lips touched my ear and I heard him whispered, "I will revoke your scholarship 'cause I want to be your benefactor. So be kind to me, will you?" He blew on my ear that made me squirmed under him.
He laughed and let me go. I watched him walked back to the entrance of the alley as he whistled a happy tone. I sneered.
But I knotted my brows as I tried to process what he meant by his words. Then, my eyes opened wide and my lips parted. He wanted to be my what?
I followed him to the entrance of the alley but he's no longer there. I heaved a sigh and had decided to go back. I need to clean my desk and prepare myself. Someone from principal's office might fetch me in my classroom later. I might as well clean my desk.
This was the life of scholars in that school. Students like me would always experienced being bullied and incident like revoking scholarship was common.
The school did not want to offend those rich kids, and the administration would obey those rich kids, to the extent of revoking scholarship. They would only reasoned that the student had done things that broke the school's rules and kick that student out like garbages. I used to think that the admin would rather lose one scholar than to offend the powers holding the whole city.
Maybe I was not fated to change the status of my life.
Being poor in this society where people in poverty do illegal things for survival, it was usual to be bullied by those higher than us. They saw us as criminals, and even if we were just kids, they would think that we would soon follow the steps of our forefathers.
But I was not born as poor. I was born in a middle class family but after my father was thrown into jail, people would always thought of me as criminal who would soon follow the path of my father.
I sighed again and erased those thoughts from my mind. I should not think of the past. My father was comfortable in the jail so why bother thinking of him?
After all, he was the reason why me and my mother lived in isolation and distress. If not for his crime...
"Sydnee," someone called my name.
The voice came from behind so I stopped walking and turned to face that person. I saw Teacher Anthony. When I looked down, I saw the folder in his hands. I gulped hard. "I see. So you're giving it to him. Go on, Sir. I don't care anymore," I said and turned around and walked towards my classroom.
Teacher Anthony did not stop me or called my name again.