I looked at the school counselor talking to me about me using the boy's bathroom. It seems Natalie's mum, Silvia had pushed the school principal to do this in the name of upholding the rights of a transgender kid. When I came to school this afternoon with a letter from my mum about my sick leave, I didn't expect to be called into the counselor's office for this. I looked uneasily at the counselor, unsure about what I should say over something that seemed like a done deal.
I walked out of her office dazedly and looked at the boy's bathroom warily. I hope I never have to use the toilet in school. Rubbing my face tiredly, I walked down to my class just as the bell rang. Now there would be only one class left. Students streamed out of the classes. Something seemed odd with the guys and girls snickering as I walked past them. I looked at them with a frown until I saw Daniella with Natalie and her friends. I waved over to them as I ran up to meet them.
Natalie huffed and left, giving me a peeved look. The girls followed suit. I looked uneasily at that and turned to look at Daniella. She also ignored me for a while as she opened her locker and took out her books.
"Um, hey Danny!" I said, trying to get her attention. She looked at me with a sigh.
"What Elliot?" She asked me, looking a bit impatient.
"Why are you angry at me?" I asked her uneasily.
She closed her locker and started walking to her next class with me following behind her.
"Why do you even ask? You pretty much announced to the whole school that you and Levi are going out. I am heartbroken obviously." She said nonchalantly.
"You..don't look heartbroken and why would anyone think that we are going out?" I asked her and she shrugged. I frowned as I stepped in front of her.
"Please, tell me!" I told her.
"You are so clueless it's annoying. Forget it! Let's go to class." She said as she dropped her arm on my shoulder and pulled me along. I gave her a bewildered look but nevertheless let her drag me to class. The day progressed a bit weirdly with people giving me strange looks. I saw Levi at school but avoided meeting him or my friends. I intended to escape without being noticed. Luckily I was able to avoid detection and get out of the school with Daniella. I told her about my new home and she seemed surprised at the development. She told me she wished she could help me in anyway and asked me to call her if I needed anything. I smiled at her as I accepted a ride from her to my workplace. We were just trying to get in the car when someone called Danny.
I turned to look at a handsome middle aged man with black hair walking towards us.
"Uncle Rowan. What are you doing here?" She asked with a small frown.
He smiled at her and then glanced at me.
"I came to meet Levi of course. I went to his home and couldn't meet him. He didn't take his call either. So this seemed like the only place I could meet him." He said. I looked at the man with more curiosity. Who was this man and what did he want with Levi? I wondered.
"Ivy is going to be three next Tuesday and I want to invite Levi to the birthday. He missed the last two birthdays but I am not going to let him miss this one." He told Danny.
"You are also invited by the way. We are having the party at our house as usual at 4pm. You can bring your friends too if you want." He said, looking at me with a smile. I smiled back at him warmly. I could feel Daniella looking at me. She linked her arm with mine suddenly and said.
"Me and Elliot will definitely come to the party. Levi is in school. I agree. He shouldn't miss the party this time." She told him.
"That's his bike by the way. You can stay there if you want to meet him." Danny said, showing him Levi's bike.
"Oh..thanks. I didn't know he got a bike and it looks pretty expensive too. That boy!" He said with a shake of his head.
"Okay. I'll go then. You seem to be in a hurry to leave." He said.
"Yeah. Have to drop Elliot to her workplace. She will get late if we delay anymore." Danny lied.
I glanced at her and she squeezed my hand as if asking me to play along. I nodded at that and the man gave me an apologetic look.
"Sorry. Don't wait on my account. You should get going." He said and Danny quickly got into her car saying an abrupt goodbye to him.
"What was that?" I asked her as she started driving.
"He can talk non-stop if we let him." She told me.
"Who was that?" I asked her again, curiously.
"Levi's step father..technically." She murmured.
"Technically?" I asked her with a frown.
"Yep..technically. Levi calls him uncle and he assumes Levi is his wife's nephew." She told me. I blinked in surprise at that.
"Why would he think that?" I asked her and she chuckled.
"Why else dumb? It's what his wife and Levi told him." She said with a roll of her eyes.
I stared at her uneasily. What did that mean?
"So what does Levi call his mother?" I asked her.
"Why don't you see it yourself in the party? I have a really interesting family." She told me with a smile.
"Come as my date." She told me. I gave her an incredulous look.
"But..Levi is going to be there and stop kidding about dating." I chided her.
"What if Levi is there?" She asked me carelessly.
"He might be..uneasy to see me there." I told her and she laughed.
"Is he really your boyfriend?" She asked me and I shook my head a bit hesitantly.
"But he does think I am his girlfriend. It would hurt anyone to see their girlfriend or boyfriend with another person. Not only that..I shouldn't go to his home without asking him." I told her.
"He would know we are there as friends." She said.
Or I could call and tell him. But it felt awkward to speak to him yet.
I was curious though. What was Levi's family like? I wondered.
"Or I can hide you and Levi wouldn't know better." She said and I looked at her.
"Or I could just not go." I said the other option.
"Well, I don't know. You seemed curious about him and I am giving you the best chance. It's up to you to take it." She said. I sighed. Sometimes Danny was really suspicious.
"Ye-ah." I said slowly as she stopped her car beside my workplace. I climbed out of the car and Danny stopped me.
"Let me know your answer later okay? You have a week to decide. I think it's a good chance to know about Levi." She said and I just looked at her with a suspicious frown.
I watched her chewing on her bottom lip as if she was contemplating something while she waited for me.
"I thought you were in a hurry to leave." I told her and she sighed loudly.
"Elliot, there's something I must tell you." She said hesitantly and I looked at her curiously. The whole day I had felt that something was off.
"What is it?" I asked her uneasily.
"Actually, it's about you and Levi. I can kinda understand about it but it's just that there is a photo going around of you two." She said and my eyes widened.
"What photo?" I asked her suspiciously. I watched her scroll through her phone and pull up a photo of Levi and me in the parking lot last night. I gasped. I rubbed my eyes and looked again at the photo in which I was kneeling infront of Levi and pulling down his zipper. My mouth dropped open in shock.
"This..isn't what it looks like." I sputtered palely.
"I figured it couldn't be. But it's going around the school hangouts group." She said and I cringed inwardly. No wonder everyone was looking at me so weirdly.
"Who did this?" I asked her.
"Don't know. But take a look at the pictures." She said and showed me more pictures. I frowned at the angle from which most photos were taken. It was like it was taken from directly above me. I staggered in shock at what it implied.
"The pictures must have been taken by Levi." Danny said my worst suspicion.
"But why?" I asked in horror.
"How would I know?" Danny said with a shrug.
"Why didn't you tell me about this immediately?" I demanded, feeling upset by the whole situation.
"I didn't want to upset you unnecessarily. I was trying to get to the bottom of this before talking about it to you. I thought you wouldn't believe it anyway. It first appeared in the school hangouts group but then the school administrator took down those photos. But students had downloaded the photos and it is going around different social chats." She said.
"I'll send you the pics to your viber." She said and I watched as she sent me the pictures. I was still fuming angrily when Danny said she was leaving. I nodded vaguely and then quickly went back into my workplace to ask for a leave for two hours. I had to talk to Levi, I decided.
The owner approved my leave for two hours and I quickly took the bus to Levi's home. As soon as I reached the bus stop closest to Levi's house, I stepped off the bus and ran to his apartment. The door was locked and instead of opening it, I banged on the door, because I was too angry to care to look for my key.
Levi opened the door in annoyance. He had his hand on his head with a killer look on his face.
"What in the world is wrong with you to bang on the door?" He demanded.
His anger didn't calm me down the least bit as I stormed into his apartment and whirled around to look at him.
"I know what you have done. I just need to know why." I said, trying to calm myself. Levi looked at me quizzically.
"What I have done?" He repeated curiously.
"Yes." I gritted through my teeth.
"Jeez, Ellie, stop talking in riddles and get to the point. My head hurts like crazy already." He said and that made me realize he had got drunk when he already had a concussion. I am not sure how much his head would hurt from that but probably it would hurt more than my head did. But he didn't drink a full cup unlike me. Still, he had a concussion. So maybe he wasn't faking the headache, I thought as I regarded him suspiciously.
"I mean what you did last night." I clarified for him. He gave me a sour look.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? You chewed off a chunk out of my hip. I probably have to show a doctor because it would probably fester." He said.
I blinked, remembering that part. It didn't make me less angry though.
"Serves you right." I said with a hmph and he glared at me a dark look entering his eyes as he crowded me.
"Shouldn't I be deserving a little bit of your gratitude? I took your drunk ass home, even when I was having a splitting headache. I tolerated your groping and biting. Instead, I get this?" He asked darkly. Something about his words made me flush. I don't recall groping him or biting him. Well, um..maybe I did. But then how dare he look mad after what he had done.
"That's nothing compared to what you have done." I retorted angrily.
"What the hell have I done?" He asked with a roll of his eyes.
"This!" I said as I took my phone and showed him a picture. He backed away a bit and stared at the picture. He glanced at me after a while and a cold look entered his eyes.
"You think I did this?" He asked me quietly, a dangerous undercurrent to his voice.
"Of course! Who else could have done that from that angle?" I demanded, ignoring the danger in his voice. His eyes narrowed at my answer.
"Why would you automatically assume it would be me? I am your boyfriend. What motive could I possibly have in doing this?" He asked me angrily.
"Why not? Don't you dare pretend to be angrier than me. You did this to get back at me." I accused him without thought.
He grabbed my shoulders at that. "Just for a moment can't you think with your head? I am your boyfriend. Why am I the first person that comes to your mind as a person to hurt you?" He asked me.
"Because you are not my boyfriend obviously." I said, pushing away his hands.
"I was trying to go along with whatever you believed. But I did it for your benefit. I pitied you and I am sorry I heard things you wouldn't have thought of telling me, unless you truly believed I was your girlfriend. Obviously you realized that and wanted to get back at me. I don't even know why you are pretending to be good to me. Just a couple of months ago, we were enemies. You obviously wanted to see me at my worst and then make fun of me. You always..always..wanted to prove that I am a girl. So there..you took this damning picture as proof that you were right, isn't it?" I said in a rush, breathing hard.
Levi looked shocked like I have slapped him. "You..pitied me?" He asked in confusion, making a pained face. Something about the expression he made, cooled my anger. I tried to open my mouth to continue but stopped, looking away uneasily. Maybe I went too far. He didn't look like he knew anything about this judging from the look on his face. I felt bad immediately and thought of all the word vomit I had uttered. I glanced at Levi warily.
"Levi, I.." I tried to apologize but he shot me a cutting look, his eyes livid.
"Get out of here. I don't want to see your face. Collect your stuff and get out." He said before storming out of the room. I stood there in shock. Levi never spoke to me like that. But then everyone probably has a limit to what they could tolerate. I rubbed my face and realized I was crying. He didn't even give me a chance to apologize. Judging from his expression, he wouldn't be open to even listen. What the hell have I done? Why do I behave so impetuously? If I had calmed down and thought about it, maybe I could have realized Levi would never do it. But then, honestly, I was suspicious of Levi.
I rubbed away my tears and quickly started packing my things. I felt exhausted. I couldn't get what he said out of my head. Probably he was feeling the same way. With sagged shoulders, I walked out of the door with my few belongings. I kept the mattress there. I couldn't move it out that easily after all. I walked out of Levi's apartment and walked slowly out of the building. Levi sat on a bench in the park. He didn't look up when I approached him with the double key I had.
"Your key." I said as I stopped before him and he didn't acknowledge me. He grabbed the key from my hand quickly and looked away.
"I couldn't take my mattress." I said after clearing my throat uneasily. I don't know why it felt suffocating to talk to him suddenly, while he was avoiding my gaze.
"I will send it to your home." He said dismissively as if he wanted to get rid of me as fast as possible.
"Levi, I am.." I started but he growled and sat up from the bench, looming over me, looking thunderous.
"I don't need your damn pity." He said through clenched teeth.
My heart shuddered painfully and I gave him a bewildered look. I didn't think it would hurt so much to hear him talk to me so coldly.
He started to walk past me, ignoring me. I gathered enough courage to grab his hand to stop him. But to my horror, he shrugged away from my hand and walked away without so much as a glance at me. I stared at his back palely, my voice stuck in my throat as my eyes blurred from unshed tears. Why was I feeling this way? He was being so stubborn. I mean I know it's my fault but...I sighed. It really was my fault.
Dazedly I walked to the bus stop and waited for the bus to go back to my workplace. Back at the restaurant, I still couldn't forget the incidents that took place. I couldn't forget Levi's coldness. I don't know why the scenes kept repeating in my head, until I wanted to scream. I felt so guilty but it wasn't just guilt that was making the air difficult to breath. I was shaken by the whole thing. I couldn't get Levi out of my head.
"You don't look too good." One of the guys who worked as a waiter in the restaurant said.
"Y-yeah. I had a bad falling out with a friend." I said and he gave me an understanding look.
"You are crying." He said and I quickly touched my face to realize he was telling the truth.
"Your face looks like a mess. Why don't you go and wash your face? I will look over the counter for you." He said. I looked at him gratefully and nodded, taking the opportunity to quickly go to the toilet and collect myself. I splashed water on my red face and wiped it with a paper towel. I looked at my red eyes in the mirror. I am crying because I feel guilty isn't it? Why can't I get Levi out of my head? I mean I wasn't as close to Levi to be so affected by him leaving me.
"Cheer up, Elliot. People like him will come and go. I have my friends and family. There is no need for a Levi." I told myself. But then I remembered how Levi had confessed to me how he had loved me since he was a kid and how hurt he looked after my outburst at his home. I sighed loudly, my heart squeezing in my chest. What happened was not right. How can I make amends? I wondered to myself as I looked in the mirror. I closed my eyes and tried to focus. I should first focus on work now, I thought to myself as I composed myself. I walked out, feeling drained. I still had a match to focus on tonight. I already felt beat.
Slowly I walked back to the counter to find there was no one near the counter. Quickly I went and checked the counter. To my surprise, the money in the counter was gone. I immediately searched for the waiter who said he would wait beside the counter. Locking the cash counter, I went to find the guy. Thankfully, it wasn't a very busy time.
As soon as I saw the guy, I whirled him around and asked him why he didn't stay beside the counter. He gave me a weird look and then said.
"What do you mean? When did I say I would stay by the counter?" He asked me. Other staff looked at us.
"Don't lie. You said you would look over the counter for me." I said.
"Now why would I do that? I am a waiter here. Not a cashier." He said loudly and the supervisor came over to us.
"What's happening here?" He demanded.
Before I could say anything the guy spoke. "Elliot just came here and started saying I told her I would look after the counter. Now why would I do that?" He asked me.
"What's going on Elliot?" The supervisor turned to me with a frown.
"Sir, Jude came over and said he would watch over the counter for me, while I go and wash my face. But when I came back, he wasn't there and the money in the counter is missing." I told him honestly. There were gasps from all around us.
"What do you mean the money in the counter is missing?" The supervisor asked me sternly as he grabbed my arm.
"Sir, I am telling you, it's him." I said pointing at Jude.
"You nasty bitch! You stole the money and you are trying to put the blame on me?" The guy snarled, looking at me angrily as if he was outraged.
"You lying son of a bitch." I roared back, trying to jump at him.
"Calm down!" The supervisor thundered.
"Elliot! If the money is missing in the counter, it is your fault. It's your duty to look over the counter. Not Jude's." He told me sternly.
"But, he offered to look over. I didn't think.." I started but the supervisor stopped.
"What didn't you think? Even if you are telling the truth, it is wrong to just leave money in the counter like that. You could have taken the key with you." He said and tears started brimming in my eyes. I looked at the guy who had cheated me.
"Please sir. I didn't take the money." I told him.
"Check the cameras." I said as I recalled the CCTV in the restaurant.
"It was damaged a week ago. You know that!" He said and I gave him a bewildered look. I didn't know that!
"I didn't know that!" I said and he just shook my head in disbelief.
"Everyone knows it Elliot." One girl said with a shake of her head. I looked at the girl. All the girls working in the restaurant hated me because of my seemingly close relationship with Levi. The boys usually hung out in their own social circles. Because of that, I usually just do my work and leave. I didn't hang out talking with my colleagues.
"Elliot, come to the office." The supervisor said as he asked everyone else to resume work.
"Sir, listen to me. You must check that guy." I implored him but the supervisor didn't listen. He went over to the counter and tallied the records to find out how much was missing.
"Elliot, 2,560 dollars are missing." He told me. I stared at him in shock.
When I started today there was already 1500 dollars. So the amount he said was missing made sense. But I couldn't understand why he was looking at me as if he was asking me to cough it up.
"I don't know why you are looking at me. You should be checking Jude." I told him.
"Enough of your lies Elliot. I will bring the police here or you give me back the money you have taken." He told me, folding his hand on his chest as he looked at me.
I gave him a devastated look. "This is not fair." I exclaimed. I watched him call the owner.
"Please wait here until the owner comes." The supervisor said as he took on the counter and asked me to stand beside him. The owner came after a while. He looked pissed at me as he also checked the records and confirmed the missing amount. I tried explaining the same to the owner but he was more rude.
"You can save your explanations for the Police." He told me as he tried to call the Police.
"No! Wait!" I said, my heart thrumming in my chest. If this goes to the Police, I would have a Police record and it could mess up my career prospects. There was no way the evidence could be traced back to Jude because there was no CCTV. But what if his finger prints were there?
"Okay. Call the Police." I insisted and the owner glared at me before he called the Police. I sighed as I looked at the clock. It was already almost 7 o'clock.
The Police came and took our statements before taking the fingerprints of the counter. They took mine and Jude's finger prints. I had to accompany the Police to the station. It was a huge mess. My mum came in and she was told of what had happened. After two more hours at the station, they sent away Jude. I slumped in my seat as the Police came and told me Jude's fingerprints were not there on the counter. No one also had seen Jude near the counter. So, my statement couldn't be verified. Tears fell from my eyes at that.
"I really didn't take the money." I told the officer but he didn't look like he believed me either. Another officer came into the room where I was kept and told me gently.
"Honey, we know you are going through tough times. You have an incentive to take the money. Why don't you return the money and we could settle this instead of making this a legal proceeding?" He asked me. I slumped in my seat, feeling defeated. It was already past 9 and I remembered the match Eric had planned for me. I had to get out of here. God know how long they would keep me here.
Just then a police officer came into my room and whispered something to the officer who had talked to me earlier. He went outside with the officer who came in. I looked warily at the officer still remaining in the room. A while later, the same officer came back.
"Let her go. It seems the owner took the money." The officer said and I gaped at him. I was escorted out of the room and my mum rushed over to me, hugging me. I looked around for the owner. I saw the lady who helped me get the job talking to the officer and signing some documents. She glanced at me when she saw me staring at her.
"Let's go home." My mum said as she started to take me out of the Police Station. The lady came over to me and looked at my mum. My mum nodded and let her speak to me alone.
"Elliot. What had happened today was not right. If Levi hadn't returned the money for you and asked me to make lies for you, I wouldn't have done it. I did this only as a favour for my brother's wife's nephew. I am very upset and disappointed in you. You don't have to come to work again." She said and left without even waiting for an explanation from me. I gave a sad look as she walked to her car and drove off. I walked back to my mum's car. She looked at me sadly.
"I know you would never steal. I didn't teach my children to steal. Now tell me what happened." She asked me. I cried at her trust in me and told her everything that had happened.
"Darling, when it comes to money you can't even trust your closest friends. You never know who is desperate for money. Don't give a person who has an incentive, an opportunity to steal. The difficult thing is not knowing who may have an incentive. That's why when you handle money, you never trust the key to your counter to anyone else unless it is time for handover and your cash has been handed over properly according to procedure. I was a cashier once too. So I know." She said and then sighed.
"I think you must be very tired. Let's go home." She told me softly. I looked at my watch and saw it was only twenty five more minutes until ten o' clock.
"Mum, how did Levi come to know of what had happened?" I asked her.
"I called him because I've seen him working in the same place. I thought he could sort out the issue." She said. I sighed. Levi doesn't hesitate to help me even when he is really mad at me. Maybe that's why he is so hard to forget. I had to go and apologize to him. But I had the feeling he would be mad and confuse it for me pitying him.
"Mum..I need to um, get something from Levi's place. I mean..I'd like to stay over at his place tonight." I mumbled the only excuse I could come up with to stay out so late. The difficult thing about living in such closed quarters was that I couldn't keep a secret about when I returned home. I glanced at my mum. I hope Levi hadn't sent my mattress home yet.
From my mum's expression, she didn't look like she knew anything was off between us. My mum looked at me and sighed. "I thought Levi would come here to pick you up after what he did for you." She said.
"He..wanted to. But I asked him not to. I can go back home to him." I said uneasily.
My mum chewed on her bottom lip. "Do you love him?" She asked me, making me blink in surprise. I could tell my mum expected me to say 'yes' if she was going to allow me to stay with him.
"Y-yeah. I do." I said, rubbing my arm and looking away. She touched my face and turned my face towards her.
"Say it again." She said and my eyes widened slightly.
"I..love him." I whispered, my face flaming at the lie. My face burned was because I lied wasn't it? I thought as my mum smiled at me.
"You both would make a fine pair. Just make sure you don't get into any funny business. I don't want grandkids from you before you finish school." She said, making me gape at her. My mum laughed at my expression.
"I am so glad you finally realized who you are." She told me with a smile. My smiled faltered. Did I know who I was? I wondered at that.
"Come. I will drop you off at Levi's place." She told me. I looked uneasily at her but slid into the car, checking the time. I had only twenty more minutes now. I slid into the car quickly. I put on the music in the car to stop my mum from asking me any more awkward questions and pretended to listen to the music. Thankfully she didn't ask any more questions either. It was slightly drizzling outside when she stopped beside Levi's apartment building. I waved at her and pretended to go in to the building. When I was sure that mum had left, I turned around and quickly hailed a taxi. By the time I reached the stadium, it was already 10.05pm. I ran inside and a furious Eric greeted me.
"Your opponent has just walked in to the match. You don't have time to change. Get in!" He snarled. I looked with wide eyes as I heard my name being called out in the stadium through loud speakers. I gulped as I dropped my bag onto the bench and nervously walked upon the stadium ground. Loud boos greeted my entrance. There was no music or none of the drama that usually followed an entrance. I gritted my teeth in embarrassment as everyone screamed "Boo" at me and I saw countless faces making gestures that signaled for my defeat.
"Die!" I heard someone scream from somewhere in the stadium. I grimaced and backed away. Their faces and voices seemed to surround me. I glanced at my opponent and saw a tall beautiful girl with black hair, wearing black boots, black leather shorts and tank top that showed her belly ring. The bell rang to signify the start of the match. To me it sounded more like a death knell. I was physically and mentally exhausted after today's events. But I was facing off against a girl. Perhaps I could still win the match since she looked like a skinny. Surely, there wasn't much a girl in high heeled boots could do.
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AN: Please vote and or comment if you liked this chapter :)