Chapter 16

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  My supposed cousin sometimes left me notes and gifts in my locker. All though it was quite risky believing in him since he could even be a stalker who has serious issues, I couldn't help but feel a little warm whenever I saw his gestures.

  Ever since the washroom incident with Justin, I've been avoiding him all the time.
I mean, it's not like I've not been doing that almost all my life.

  Now, he just stares at me anytime I'm around and sometimes these stares turn to glares although I have no idea what I've done wrong to deserve this treatment.

It's like the queen bees of the school have noticed Justin's extra attention on me and they try to pick on me almost all the time.

  There was this time they were bullying me when William entered the cafeteria. He got so angry he almost bitchslapped one girl but remembered in time that she was a girl. It was so funny but I was busy crying so I couldn't laugh. Now, I regret laughing because anytime I remember I burst into laughter which is always at the most uneccesary times.

When Justin saw William's reaction, he became angrier and intensified his bullying antics. Now, he jumped at any chance to bully me and mock me.

  His hatred for me had infiltrated his siblings' heart and now they also hated me.

So when I'm not speaking to his parents or working, I'm holed up in my room doing my own thing.

Today, his parents were not around since they had to attend this ball that Kevin's company was hosting so we were the only ones left in the house.

  They had just finished with supper and I was done cleaning the kitchen and doing the dishes.

  I was going to my room when I heard sniffles coming from Justina, Justin's younger sister's room. She's like thirteen, I think?

  I know she hates my guts but I couldn't help being concerned.
So I knocked and entered to find her crouched beside her bed with puffy eyes.

I waved shyly at her and sat crosslegged beside her on the floor. I awkwardly patted her back and tried not to cringe at how awkward this was fastly becoming.

  She turned to me and placed her head on my lap as her cries intensified. I run my fingers through her hair and whispered soothing words into her ear just like my mum used to whenever I got mocked for  being poor at school.

  When her crying subsided, I wiped her tears with a tissue I had retrieved from her bedside drawer.

"Why are you crying?"

She sniffled again and I desperately hoped she wasn't about to cry again.

"They were laughing at me today and called me a nerd. Even Lucas laughed along with them..." She said softly.

"Who is Lucas?"

She blushed and shyly looked away. I got the inclination and smiled at how adorable she was.

Justina was a really smart kid who wore braces and glasses and dressed like a guy. From my experiences as a kid, I knew how painful this could be.

"Do you know how we could pay them back?" I whispered to her with a cheeky smile on my face.

"How?"

"Let's change your style of dressing. Come on let me braid your hair for you."

She sat down on the bed while I sat behind her and started braiding her hair. I threw in a few beads to make it extra nice and when I finished, I was proud of myself. I walked her to her dressing mirror and smiled softly as I watched her tear up after gasping.
She turned to me and hugged me tightly and I guess ... It felt nice.

"Now... Let's change your glasses. If you're gonna wear glasses, wear them with style."

  We contacted her optician and ordered her new glasses, stylish ones though.

"I want some of your nails." She said shyly.

"Those aren't acrylic dear. I just grew my nails a little longer and applied nail polish."

"Really?!" She asked.

I nodded and took her hand in mine.
Luckily enough, her nails were a little grown. I could work with that.

I shaped up her nails and applied the nail polish and added a few extra beads. I had an obsession with beads.
When I was done, I took a step back and nodded in satisfaction.

"Do you wanna change how you dress?" I asked her. I wasn't going to let her change her style of dressing just for some probably stupid guy who didn't even deserve her attention.

"I guess."

She seemed unsure so I decided we wouldn't really change it completely. Step by step.

I helped her choose her outfits for the week and smiled at her.

"Justina, you don't have to change yourself for people to like you, you know? If they truly like you for who you are, they should learn to accept you for you. Although it may hurt, never forget that all that matters is that there's at least one person who loves you, okay?"

She smiled at me and nodded.

"Now I have to go to bed and so do you. Goodnight and sweet dreams. Don't forget to give me all the little details after school tomorrow, okay?"

I watched her climb her bed and kissed her goodnight and then headed to my own room.

My heart felt light at the thought of the thirteen year old not hating me anymore. Although, I do believe her hatred was influenced by her older brother, I didn't really wanna play the blame game so I packed my bag for school tomorrow and headed to bed after plugging in my phone of course.

   A/N
 
I'm sorry for not updating in a long time. I was at boarding school and their internet connection sucks and you know what's worse, no phones are allowed. Hope I'm forgiven??

Anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Love ya😘😘

~Efyalyrical

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