I am a little bewildered by what happened. After introducing ourselves, my teacher asked me to go to the faculty during my break.
I am the only one who was called. I don't think I messed anything up or anything. So I just calmly went to the faculty. Inside, I saw my previous teachers some that I got close to, and some that I really hate. They all looked at me like I didn't belong in this place, questioning why I was here.
Most students would probably be intimidated, but I didn't bother looking at them. Man, I've faced multiple people in my life. How can these people intimidate me?
"Ma'am, you called?" I asked my English teacher. It was my break time. The same thing just happened with my other subject we just introduced ourselves, but we didn't do the talent portion.
"Yes. Did you practice singing? Have you joined some competitions? Or did someone coach you?"
She asked with a straight face. Her questions were quite confusing, but I still answered them honestly.
"No to all, ma'am. I just like singing, that's all."
She looked at me, clearly confused and doubtful. Jomarie told me that I am good, but I never really believed it because while I'm singing, I can't even hear my own voice.
"You certainly have a talent for singing. I've been looking for some students to train with. Do you want to join the artist club?"
She explained what the club was about. To put it simply, students who have talent in dancing and singing are grouped together. In this club, they sometimes join competitions outside the school.
"I won't force you. However, with the rise of K-pop groups, I want to create something like that in the school. This would be the first group created here. I've been thinking of including only first-years so the height difference won't be that big. You should consider it."
This was not a bad offer. After all, the incentives you can get by representing the school are quite good.
"I will think about it."
I need time to think. I can't just decide immediately practice will take time. I don't want to make another mistake. There's so much I need to do for my family.
—-------
After my visit to the faculty, I immediately rushed toward the canteen. Then I found Jomarie buying his snacks.
He noticed me looking at him and immediately rushed toward me.
"Hey man, what happened in the faculty?" he asked curiously while eating his snacks.
I just ignored him and bought mine because I was already a little hungry.
"One sandwich, please!" The sandwich here is the best. People say the price is worth it I also think so.
"Hey man!! What happened?" Feeling frustrated from being ignored, Jomarie asked again.
"Nothing really. Ma'am just offered me a position on her team that she plans to build."
"Oh. What kind of team is it?"
I sighed and explained to him what kind of club and team it was. He listened curiously and nodded multiple times.
"Man, how envious. With my acting, I should have been invited too," he said jokingly.
I mean… he can't be serious, right? I looked at him, thinking seriously.
"Wow. I thought I knew you well. I didn't know you were this dense," I whispered.
"What?"
"Nothing," I said as I looked around. Then a group of older students entered the canteen.
My mood instantly worsened.
I looked at them intently and saw them playing around and bullying other kids.
"They never change."
Knowing what kind of future awaits them, I just let them be. I just need to make sure not to get involved with them.
"Hey!! Before you go, 5 pesos for passage!!"
Fuck this luck.
Jomarie was about to tell them off, but I quickly threw 5 pesos at them and pulled him away.
"Hey!! What the hell was that?" Feeling wronged, Jomarie broke free from my grip. He was clearly mad based on his face.
"You should have told them off!! Why let them push you around like that? Come on, let's go back and deal with them!"
*Sigh.* This kid.
"There are a lot of them and just two of us. They're also older than us. Even your eyes could get gouged out if we fight them. Plus, it's just 5 pesos. Why bother? Our time is more important than correcting them."
Plus, I know they have a big group behind them. In my past life, you became one of their victims sent to the hospital for fighting them. I have to prevent that. That almost cost you your life.
I also managed to avoid being bullied because of my uniform. I have to avoid them at all costs.
"But man, even if there are a lot of them, they can't do anything to you. Even if you fight, our teachers can just throw them out," he said, clearly imagining the best-case scenario.
"Nah, man. From what I heard, those guys already killed someone. If you mess with them, you might not make it home."
I made that story up. I wanted to scare him so he wouldn't do something stupid. Also, the teachers he's talking about can only protect him inside the school. Outside… no one will.
However, two years from now, those kids will end up in prison. They'll start selling drugs to students. Their tattoos will expose them. Some of them will die in shootouts. Authorities will say they fought back but I doubt that.
We immediately went back to the classroom and continued our studies. Then our Filipino teacher arrived.
"We will stop the traditional introduction and jump into group activities. All the people in a row will become groupmates!"
My mind was still stuck on what happened in the canteen. I was lost in thought. Suddenly, in front of me was a group of boys talking, this included Jomarie.
Their names were Roe, Calvin, Elmer, Mark, Joshua, Ernest, Jester, and Sean
Mark took the leader role, so he listed our names. We did a mini introduction. I remembered that in my past life, these guys were already a group. They weren't bad, but not exactly good either. They didn't bully anyone, so I don't remember them much. Good people are often forgotten, while bad ones are remembered.
The activity started, and for some unknown reason maybe reflex I gave them all the correct answers.
"Huh, Brier. I didn't know you were this good. I thought you sucked at studying since you sit at the back," Mark said as he wrote my answers down. My group started cheering because we were far ahead.
"Teacher!! I think they are cheating!!" one of the students in front shouted.
"Hey! Hey! We are not!!!" Calvin shouted back. He really has a short temper.
"Yes, that's right! How can you accuse us of cheating? We just know the answers!"
As they argued back and forth, the teacher started thinking deeply. Maybe because we were all boys and seated at the back, we were the least trusted in the class.
"Okay, settle down! You boys move to the front! If you truly didn't cheat, then prove it!"
My groupmates felt wronged and started arguing, but what can they do against the teacher? They quickly moved to the front with determination.
After that, the activity continued and the result stayed the same. This time, they destroyed the others even more, with added trash talk.
I didn't do a single thing this time.
The ending?
Completely destroyed.