*Lisa's POV*
Fuck! I am sure they did it on purpose. I cussed in my mind as I washed my hair carefully without getting my uniform wet.
I am here in the bathroom now. One of my stupid classmates threw the board duster at me, and now my hair is full of chalk. She said she was aiming for the guy behind me, but I know it's a lie. It's not the first time things like this have "accidentally" happened to me. I am an easy target for many students here, and they find it harmless to target me because if something goes wrong or I snap, Jennie would come back them up, and everyone knows I can't go against Jennie. It's like an unbreakable spell. I want to scream at the top of my lungs, but I can't. They all see me as an unwanted book in a library, tossed into a corner to rot.
I was still washing my face and hair when Jennie and two of her friends came in. They looked at me like they were expecting me here. Jennie was watching the whole thing when it happened, but I didn't think she would follow me.
What does she want now?
I had already completed the work she gave me in the morning. I had to work on it for the first two hours that Mrs. Bae caught during the first hour, and I got an earful for not completing "my" homework at home. She also had me standing the whole lecture. I could feel Jennie's gaze on me sometimes, and I was pretty sure she was enjoying it.
"We just wanted to thank you for your service."
Jennie's voice brought me back to the present. She was standing a few inches away from me with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. I didn't have anything to say, so I returned to what I was doing. She didn't say anything. Instead, one of her friends awarded me a bucket of water. Great, I am now thoroughly wet.
"Wha-"
I was cut off by her cold yet firm voice.
"You shouldn't avoid me, Manoban. It won't do you any good."
I gulped as she took a step toward me.
"This was a thank you for finishing your task. Jihyo was pleased with your work, weren't you?" She turned her head to Jihyo, who was standing behind Jennie. She was looking at me with such loathing in her eyes and smirked. She nodded her head to Jennie in agreement. I formed my palm into a fist to hold my anger and kept my eyes down. I could feel the tears of rage building up.
"I told you not to avoid me just now, and you are not even listening." She stepped closer.
"Jennie-"
"No need to say sorry now."
What!? I wasn't going to. Will you ever let me finish a fucking sentence?
"This was just a warning to let you know what could happen if you avoid me. Now,"
She placed her index finger on my forehead to raise my face.
"Yerin forgot her P.E clothes, so we are taking yours." She declared. Yerin, the other girl with Jennie.
"What about me?" I snapped suddenly. Our P.E instructor is super strict, and he had let go of me with warnings or minor punishments before because I am the only one who always forgets the P.E uniform, like now. The last time I missed, he made me clean our classroom for a week. So, I don't know what he will make me do this time, but Jennie looks completely unbothered.
"Do I look like I care?" Jennie countered.
"You should be grateful that we let you know, at least." Yerin spoke this time.
"But-"
Jennie cut me off again.
"We don't have time for your whining, Manoban. Bell rings in five minutes. Whether you like it or not, we are taking it. Got something to say?" She asked, arching an eyebrow.
Speak up, Lisa. Please, speak up.
I tried, but no voice came out of my mouth.
"That's what I expect. Bye, then."
With that, she walked away.
Fuck. Fuck this. Fuck her.
*Third Person's POV*
"Where is your uniform, Ms. Manoban?" The P.E instructor growled at Lisa.
"I- I forgot, Sir. I am so sorry."
"You are sorry? How many times has it already been, Lisa?"
She couldn't say anything.
He continued, "Look at everyone. All of them have their uniforms on, but you. And have you seen yourself in a mirror? You look like a wet chicken."
She held her head down as the rest of the class laughed at his brutal joke, and he wasn't going to stop. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of humiliation, Lisa was sent to her homeroom teacher. Mrs. Bae, the homeroom teacher, was not entirely fond of Lisa, like the remaining teachers. Most believed she didn't belong to a prestigious place like this. It was a place for kids who were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Few teachers or students knew it was not right for Lisa to be treated like this, but their kindness was limited to looks filled with pity or sympathy, and none dared to stand up for her.
Things were getting hard for Lisa to hold back, so finally, she decided to tell her teacher the truth.
"Mrs. Bae..." She began. She told her everything, including how others took her things, made her do their work, insulted her, beat her, how she was locked inside the storage room the day before and how she got wet. The teacher listened to everything with a frown as if Lisa were cooking up a lie.
When Lisa stopped talking, hiding the tears that threatened to fall, the teacher spoke. "Lisa, this is serious." She continued after a short pause. "I knew you had problems, but lying to your teacher's face like this? It's unacceptable, at any rate."
Lisa was shocked. She didn't expect her teacher to go against The Jennie Kim, as it was very unlikely, but she at least hoped her teacher to believe in her. "Mrs. Bae, I--"
She was cut off. "No, Lisa. Do you even know who you are accusing? Jennie is the top student in our school and one of the best students we have ever had. No one has ever made a complaint against her, and now someone like you come, make such ridiculous accusations about her, and I am supposed to believe them?"
Lisa's eyes widen at her teacher's words. If words could make you bleed, Lisa would have been out of the blood by now.
"Also, what changes if I do believe you? Other students are just doing fine here, and if it's only you who get bullied, then don't you think the problem is with you?" She let out a scoff and continued, "I mean, you are indeed different from others here. None of us have ever seen your parents, and that drunk man who came with you once or twice died a few years ago. We even have serious doubts about how you managed to get a scholarship here. Have you seen your grades, lately? You should focus on that more instead of feeling jealous towards your classmates. " She wasn't going to stop there either. "Even if your friends do something, you shouldn't take it to your heart. At least they acknowledge your existence, unlike your parents." With that being said, Mrs. Bae laughed and turned her face. "Leave, Lisa, and you will be cleaning all the washrooms on the floor for a week starting tomorrow as punishment."
Lisa wanted to scream at her, but some things were true. She left without a word. As soon as she got out of the staff room, she ran. She ran without knowing where to go. Finally, her legs stopped at her classroom. No one was there since they all went to P.E class. She got in, leaned against the door, and gave in to the tears. Those words were mere words for Mrs. Bae, but for Lisa, they were daggers that pierced right through her heart. Her parents don't care about her, so why would her teacher be?
She closed her eyes, reminiscing a moment.
FLASHBACK
Lisa was crying in front of her kindergarten. All the other kids had left, and she was waiting for him to pick her up. She ran towards him as soon as she spotted him and hugged his legs.
"What happened, Lili?" He asked, kneeling, worry evident in his tone.
"My-- my classmate called me-- an orphan." She said, sniffling.
"What?" His eyes widen with anger. "Did you tell your teacher?" She shook her head no.
"Why?"
"I want to tell my parents, not my teacher. What can a teacher do?"
His heart broke at her words. He knew how much she missed her parents and longed for motherly love.
"Look, Lili. If something like this happens again, I want you to tell your teacher first. You are a student, and a teacher has the at most right on a student. A teacher is equal to your parents. Do you understand?"
She stared into his eyes. He could see the pain in them.
"Appa will talk to your teacher tomorrow, okay? And no matter what they say, my Lili is not an orphan. She has got her Appa, isn't that right?"
Tears fell down her cheeks again, but this time, she smiled, nodded her head, and hugged him tightly. He picked her up, made her sit on his shoulders between his head, and walked to get her favorite ice cream.
PRESENT
Lisa slowly opened her eyes. Her tears have dried down on her face.
"Appa," She whispered and imagined his hands running through her hair. Another tear escaped her eyes.
Lisa did find her parents after her granduncle's death, but they were no longer together. He had only told Lisa about the time till she was given to her grandmother. What happened to her parents after that was a mystery to Lisa, but she wished they were happy together somewhere.
She clearly remembered the day she first went to meet them. Her father became the assistant to a big shot and was doing well in his life. She waited in front of his house on an early spring morning. She could barely contain her happiness but was shaken up when he walked away, even after she called him Dad. She called again, but he didn't even stop to look at her. She cried, but she convinced herself that maybe he was surprised or couldn't believe that his daughter had come to find him. It was the same with her mother as well. She was happy -- with another man, but Lisa didn't dare to go to her. What if she will also walk away as her father did? She decided she won't be a burden to them. She had lived thirteen years without them, so she could also manage a few more years. She promised herself that she would go to them once she was in her senior year, on her 19th birthday -- her mother's age when she had Lisa. Then she could prove to them that she won't be a burden and that it might make them proud. Even on the darkest nights, even when thunders roared in the sky, sending shivers down her body, even when she fell sick without anyone to take care of her, even when everyone made fun of her, she held by this belief and lived.
Only a few months left for her to reach her dream, but little did she know what awaited her.
School ended for the day as Lisa guessed; long and eventful. As she got her punctured bicycle out of the spot, she was approached by a few guys.
"Hey, Lisa. Need a hand?" Jongin, the tall guy among them, asked, filled with sarcasm. Lisa ignored them and made her way out as the guys laughed at her. However, she was suddenly stopped by a hand on her bicycle handler.
Jennie? Lisa recognized those hands.
"I see that you are getting braver, Manoban. Did you really think you could get the teachers to stop me?"
Shoot! Mrs. Bae must have told her. Fuck, she's going to eat me alive. She told herself.
"What's wrong, Jen?"
Oh! The mighty Jongin to the aid.
Kim Jongin was the star of the school. Most of the girls literally drooled over him, but the only girl he had eyes on was Jennie. The whole school was aware of the crush Jongin had on Jennie, but she never acknowledged it.
"It's nothing for you to worry about, Jongin." She responded politely.
It was an amazement to Lisa always how Jennie would be all soft-spoken and a cute kitten to everyone else but would look at her like an angry lioness.
"It was a colossal mistake, Manoban. But," She paused for a moment and continued. "You must be going home now. Get going, then. We can talk tomorrow."
Lisa gulped. Jennie wasn't just saying things. She was threatening her. She came close to Lisa and whispered, "Brace yourself, Manoban." With that, she walked away, followed by Jongin and his guys. Lisa stood there, unable to move or predict what tomorrow would hold for her.
*Lisa's POV*
"What a day!" I sighed, threw my bag on the bed and lay down. It's almost close to midnight. After the whole drama at school, I had to face my Boss's daggers. At least he didn't fire me.
'At least they acknowledge your existence, unlike your parents.' Those words keep stabbing me. But then, Jennie's words hit me. I could say she's even more pissed with me now. Only if I knew what I did wrong, I could have just talked her out of it and gone back to being the invisible Lisa.
Should I not go to school tomorrow?
As if it was easy, even attendance counts when you are in high school. And I almost forgot I had to clean the washrooms from tomorrow. I better be early.