The School Bully

I. Book Boyfriends

I shook my head to clear my mind of these scary thoughts. A loud burst of laughter coming from the huddle made me stare at them again.

I bit my lip as I watched them with envy. I wanted to be in that huddle, too. I wanted to be with them, talking about anything, laughing and smiling at each other.

But I couldn't. I was too shy to do so. 

My family had just moved to this city a couple of months back. I then got transferred to the prestigious, exclusive school, East Private School. It was the worst of luck when I came down with a freaking cold on the first day of classes. A week went by and when I was finally able to go to school, everyone had already formed their own little groups and cliques and I was too shy to introduce myself.

It didn't help that almost everyone knew everyone since kindergarten, considering that East Private School was a combined primary and secondary school, making it even harder for me to infiltrate the different stratums. So I pretended not to care and instead, immersed myself in the world of books. And sadly, I was getting used to being alone.

It was a good thing I had my books with me. There was nothing like a good book to help me get through anything. It was my escape from the world into a story that was way more interesting than my life would ever be. Because truth be told, my life was a bore.

I brushed the hair off my face and fished another book out of my bag. I began to read, losing myself to other people's lives far more exciting than mine.

It was time to find another book boyfriend.

**********

"Hey, nerd."

I blinked as the book I was holding vanished from my hands. I raised my head in slow motion. Hannah, a classmate and a complete pain in the neck, sat on my desk, my book in her hand. I reached for it and she held her hand over her head.

My eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, my eyes glued to my book. "Umm..."

"Can I borrow a highlighter pen?" she asked.

I sighed loudly as I began to dig inside my bag. I should have known. This kept happening to me. She kept happening to me.

And I was in a really good part of the book, I thought, disgruntled.

I found one and handed it to her, resisting the urge to pull out all of her long, red hair from the scalp. She gave me my book back and I practically snatched it from her. She huffed and used my highlighter pen to mark something in her notebook.

"Can you not do that again?" I said quietly to her.

"Do what?" she asked, not looking up from her task.

"Take my book away."

She laughed aloud. "It's the only way to get your attention when you're reading, nerd. Nothing else seems to be working."

I frowned, not wanting to admit she was right. Whenever I was reading, the whole world around me ceased to exist anymore. I even forget to eat and sleep.

"Can you not call me that word?" I tried again. "I have a name."

"Whatever you say, nerd." I rolled my eyes in exasperation as she went on, "Here's your pen back, nerd. Thanks, nerd."

I growled at her direction. Hannah was the only person in my class who noticed me and kept talking to me. Usually, it was to borrow my notes or a pen, or she would ask a question about a subject she was confused with. And whenever she wanted to have a chat, she always grabbed my books from me