My back felt like a truck had hit it, multiple times. "Ah", I groaned, holding my head as I tried to sit up. "God", I breathed hard. My back hurts like hell. "She's awake", someone said. I looked up, one of the twins moved closer and helped me up. "Motherfucker", I cussed. "Language", Skyy said. I blinked, trying to clear my vision. Where was I?
"You're in the nurses' office", Starr said, a look of concern on her face. "What happened?", I asked. "Davina thought it would be funny to pour hot soup down your back", Starr fumed. "Who?", I asked. "One of Blair's clique", Skyy said. "I swear to God, if you hadn't stopped me Skyy, I would have teared off that ugly face right off her skin", Starr said, pacing. Skyy sighed. "You know why I had to stop you, Starr. Besides, I've got another way of payback", she smiled. They exchanged looks.
"Uh, why'd she do that though? My back feels like it was attacked my a sand paper", I moaned. "You know, I bet it was Blair who told her to do it", Starr said, ignoring me. She sat down "God, I just want to, gah", she said, standing up and resuming her pacing. "Relax sis. I don't know about you but when I wanna payback, I do it with class", Skyy said, still smiling.
"Uh, not to break whatever it is you guys are doing but how'd I get here in the first place?", I asked mortified. The thought of someone dragging or carrying my huge body scared and embarrassed the hell out of me. I wasn't sure said person would be alive in the first place. I also doubt he as okay after doing that. They cleared their throats and looked at anywhere else but me.
"Uh, its not like, uh, see", Starr muttered. I looked at Skyy. "Look, its not that uh, we didn't try", she mumbled. I killed someone, oh my God. Who in their right senses would volunteer to carry me in the first place? "He died, didn't he?", I said in horror, covering my mouth, as I saw myself in prison clothes. In that minute, my life flashed before my eyes. I can't go to prison, I haven't done anything with my life yet, I haven't been to anywhere. Hell, I haven't even had my first kiss.
Starr blinked. "What?", she asked. "The person that carried me here is dead cause of how heavy I am, right?", I asked. "Which means I killed him". I was expecting them to nod their head slowly while looking at me with pity. But their reactions left me gaping at them. I closed my eyes in embarrassment as I watched them laughing at me. Starr was sprawled on the floor, one leg on the bed, the other on the floor as she rolled laughing. Skyy was sliding down the chair she'd previously been sitting on, to meet Starr on the floor as both were laughing their heads off.
"Okay, so I'm going to-", someone said. opening the door. She stopped short at the sight before her. She looked at me, obviously the sane one out of us, eyebrow up as she stared at me questioningly. I shrugged, I was just as confused as she was. Judging by her clothing, she was the nurse. I peered at her tag which read Lucy. Lucy smiled. "This isn't weird at all", she said. Skyy cleared her throat before standing up, and maintaining a somewhat less embarrassing posture. She kicked Starr, who was still snickering and helped her up.
"Sorry, we were just laughing at what Jola said", Skyy said. Lucy nodded before going to her desk and writing down something. Skyy turned to me. "To answer your question",she paused. I rolled my eyes, finally. "No, he didn't die. Its Mr Williams, I mean, have you seen the guy?", she asked. "Mr who?", I asked. "He's teaches Music and he's as hot and ripped as they come", Skyy squealed. Lucy cleared her throat as she stared at Skyy.
Skyy looked away. "And its not like we didn't try carry you", Starr said, finally joining the land of the living. "We did", she finished. "Its just that", she paused, scratching her head and looking at Skyy for help. "We couldn't. God, it felt like we were trying to lift a building. No offense", Skyy finished. I nodded. "Believe me, none taken", I answered. I didn't blame them, not one bit.
"How long was I out?", I asked. Lucy came towards me, with a cream in hand. "Uh, 38 minutes, give or take", Starr replied, checking her wristwatch. Lucy opened the latched and asked me to raise my clothes a little bit up. "Why aren't you in class then", I asked. "We didn't wanna leave you alone", Skyy said. I nodded as I sighed in contentment as Lucy applied the cream, which soothed my burning back.
I turned to them. "Wouldn't you get punished or something?", I asked. They snickered. "Yeah, I'd like to see that happen", Skyy said to Starr. "What?", I asked. "Not to brag, but we're pretty untouchable in this school", Skyy said. "Let just leave it at that", Starr said. "Punished", Skyy giggled. I sighed, deciding to leave it alone for now. "All you have to do is apply in twice a day for a week", Lucy said, handing me the cream.
I thanked her as I got up from the bed. I moaned as I realized my clothes was ruined. "What are you gonna do about that?", Starr asked. "Good thing I'm getting my new uniform today", I said. "To the Admin's office then", Skyy said. I laughed at her goofy face. I was really lucky to have these two with me. It was the best thing that has ever happened to me. Starr pushed the door as we entered, I inhaled the warm air filled with coffee and lavender.
I spotted Susan at her desk and I smiled at her. She was the first person to be nice to me since moving here. "What can I do for you girls?", she asked, beaming. "I came to collect my uniform", I informed her. She typed something on her computer before standing up. "Give me a second", she said. She came back with the outfit and handed them to me. "Here you go", she said. I took it and thanked her. I waited for her to say something, hoping she's catch my point.
"Ah", she nodded. She pointed at a room "You can change there", she said. I thanked her and moved to the room she pointed. I stripped out of my clothes, shaking my head as I saw how ruined the clothe was. I was mad bit there was nothing I could do about it. All these years, I've been bullied solely because of my appearance and my weight, sometimes it just seems so unfair to me. Its not like I did anything to those people for them to hate me this much, so why me?
Starr knocked. "You okay there?", she asked. "Yeah, be done in a minute", I called out. I cleared my thought, sniffed, as I put on the new attire. I ignored the mirror as I packed my clothes and exited the room. "You look good", Starr said. I nodded, not believing a word. Just then, my top least favorite person came out of his office. Yes, you guessed right, the dick head of a principal. Mr Ben, the asshole. "Oh, what are you girls doing here", he asked.
"Jola came to get her uniform", Skyy explained. His eyes trained in on me. "Oh yeah, the fat girl", he said, before checking his wristwatch and leaving the office. I gaped after him, how the hell did they hire someone like him? The bell rang, thinning the tensed atmosphere the idiot left us in. Susan cleared her throat. "Right then, go to class", she said, shooing us out of the office. I approached my locker, still fuming about what he said. How dare he? I haven't done anything wrong to him so why does he treat me like shit?
I closed my locker with a little bit more force than I intended.
Behind me, the twins were snickering. "Why are you all hyper", Skyy asked Starr. "Nothing. Who said I'm hyper?", she asked. "Uh, me. Cause you're behaving like a crack head expecting his drugs", Skyy replied. Starr shrugged. "Nothing okay? Can't a girl just be happy?", she asked. Skyy rolled her eyes. "This is all because of him right? Gabriel?", she asked. "So?", Starr asked cheekily. "Oh my God, just get over him already. He's made it clear he's not interested", Skyy said. "You don't know that", Starr argued. Skyy smacked her head. "You're so fixated on him, Starr. You need to get over him. Practically all the guys in this school wants to go on a date with you. Take Finn for example. That guy literally hangs on every word you say, he follows you around like a lost puppy, he's in love with you. What more do you want?", Skyy snapped.
"Gabriel", Starr replied innocently. Skyy groaned. "Besides, Finn only has a crush on me, it'll go", she said. Skyy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like it has for, I don't know, forever?", she asked. They stared at each other, fuming. Ooh, so much drama over boys. I cleared my throat, trying to cut the tension between them. I placed my arms around Starr, Skyy got the same treatment. "Enough argument about boys, okay? What class are we supposed to have", I asked. I looked at Starr, she ignored me. I faced Skyy, still no reply. Skyy's eyes held concern and worry for her sister, while that of Starr's were stubbornness and pride. "Guys?", I called. Skyy sighed before breaking the eye contact, she replied, "Music".
I smiled. Music was my refuge. Times when I'd feel sad, abandoned, and depressed, music has always been there for me, helping me through those times I'd been down. "Besides, since Jola's kinda friends with Gabriel, maybe she'll introduce us", Starr quipped. Hearing my name with his name brought me out of my reverie, quickly. "Huh?", I asked, still not sure I'd heard her correctly. But she'd gone to take a seat, Skyy sighed before going to take a seat also.
Everyone was in class including the teacher and I looked around in embarrassment, looking out of place. My beautiful classmates of course haven't forgotten about my incident and were busy laughing their heads off. It was the first time I didn't really pay them attention as my attention was already snapped away by Gabriel, who looked bored out of his goddamn mind. He was tapping the table as he stared into space. I stared at the table in jealously. At least, his hands was touching the table. Lucky bastard.
"Jola, right", the teacher said. I jerked my head away from Gabriel, hoping no one could see the longing in my eyes. Damn, this man was fine. Why was this school full of fine men, where have I been my entire life? "Yes sir", I replied. "I'm Mr Williams, welcome to Music", he said. I gaped at him. He's the man who'd carried me to the nurses' office. I looked closer at him to see if he was okay, cause I still have doubt of anyone carrying me and still be okay. When the Skyy said he was ripped, that girl wasn't joking. Muscles bulged out of the shirt blazer he was wearing, my eyes trialed down his forearms, going to his ripped stomach before going to his belt.
I gulped before looking back up, no way am I going to look any further. Skyy smirked at me, obviously tracing where my eyes had gone. She pointed at Blair, who was looking at me like she wanted to eat me, but not knowing where to start so she wouldn't choke, and her slitted eyes told me she was deciding what method she would use to consume me. Is it frying, cooking or just cave man eat me raw? "That's her man", Skyy mouthed. "Ah", I nodded. Looks like her claws not only sink into students but also teachers as well.
"Go sit with Gabriel, Jola", Mr Williams said. "What?", I asked. Recently, it seems like my ears have stopped working with the amount of times, I'd doubt them. Mr Williams pointed at Gabriel. "So sit with him", he said. Did this man hate me already? Why would he ask me to go sit with someone who looked like he was ready to kill me? My legs moved slowly as I advanced towards Gabriel. I looked at the twins for help, Skyy shrugged, while Starr just had plain envy on her face.
Gabriel looked at me, I stared back. I was expecting a reaction, any reaction, but he just looked away. I gulped, in this case, nothing was better than him hitting me or something. Mr Williams cleared his throat. "Okay guys, time for a little warm up. Come on, let's here those beautiful voices", he said. Different voices were heard, auto, soprano, bass, tenor. Beside me, I couldn't hear Gabriel's voice. I looked at him out of the corner of my eyes, his lips were moving, but I didn't hear shit. I smiled, maybe he didn't know how to sing.
"Okay, so you have two minutes to pick a partner", he said. People stood up, bickering. I smiled, standing up also and looking at the twins, hopefully one of them would pick me. Mr Williams cleared his throat, everyone paused. "Your partner has to be the opposite sex", he finished. People shuffled around, determined to pick the ones they wanted. I sat down, my smile gone as I stared, petrified. "Hi", a girl said. I looked up, she was addressing Gabriel who ignored her. "Hello". she stuttered. I had to give her props. This girl was brave. Gabriel looked up, now I don't know what she might have seen in his eyes but before I could blink, she yeeted out of there. Laughing would be mean, but how she ran was funny.
"Alright, that's enough", Mr Williams said. "Who doesn't have a partner?", he asked. I looked around. everyone seemed sorted out. I raised my hands. "You don't have a partner?", he asked. I nodded. "Good, Gabriel would be your partner", he said easily. I opened my mouth to protest but words fail me. So I looked at Gabriel, who stared at me. His brown eyes searching for God knows what. I'd expected him to shout or argue about being partnered up with me but he just looked like he didn't care at all. I looked at Mr Williams, cussing him, he smiled at me before turning away.
"Now that that's sorted", he nodded at me. "Jola, wanna come up and let's hear your voice?", he asked. There goes my ears, failing me again. "Huh?", I asked, I should clean my ears when I have the chance, hopefully very soon. Mr Williams sighed. "Please come up and let's see what you've got?", he asked politely. "No?", I piqued. He smiled. "Welcome Jola, everyone", he said. Scattered applause were heard as I struggled to get up. Why was this man punishing me? Was it because he had to suffer carrying me? Was this payback?
I gulped, as I finally reached him, noticing Gabriel looking at me and me avoiding his eyes. "I want you to sing a song, any song of your choice", he said. He went to the keyboard, played some notes, before looking at me pointedly. I looked at the class, most seemed disinterested and bored as they stared at me and I gulped. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my nerves down. 'Remember, Jola, when they look at you, don't look at them. Stare at the wall, and sing, pour your heart out, and you'll find yourself comfortable in your skin. Let the music flow in you, let it float from your soul, around your body and pour it out', I remembered his voice.
Taking a deep breath, stared at the wall, as I sang. "Tell me something I need to know, just take my breathe and never let it go. If you just let me invade your space, I'll take the pleasure take it with the pain", I sang with my high soprano voice. I closed my eyes. "Cause if you wanna keep me, you gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta love me harder, and if you really need me, see you gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta love me harder", I sang. I opened my eyes as I hummed the last key.
Skyy's jaw was opened, so was Starr's as they stared at me with pride. I cleared my throat, as I looked at Mr Williams. "Wow, that was so beautiful, Jolayemi. Your voice was like that of an angel's", he beamed. I smiled. Maybe he wasn't so awful after all. "Thank you sir", I said. "I see you have an incredible soprano, how about we mix it up with say bass or tenor?", he asked. I stared at him inquisitively. He beamed before pointing at no other than Gabriel. "Gabriel, how about a duet with Jola?", he asked. I take it back. He was just plain awful. Why was this man just bent on humiliating me?
Gabriel shrugged and came to stand beside me. His fragrance was pushing me into overdrive, as he stared at me. I could feel the intense gazes on my head as everyone stared at us. Mr Williams hummed a key. He looked up. "How about perfect by Ed Sheeran?", he asked. I gaped at him in annoyance, he beamed at my face and I just realized that this man was tormenting me on purpose. "Go on, don't let me stop you", he said, that stupid smile still on his face.
Gabriel was looking at me pointedly. I stole a glance at him, something about the way he stared at me makes me so nervous. I cleared my throat, as I glanced at the wall again. "Wait, you guys have to look at each other for this one", Williams smirked. This man was even worse than Mr Ben and that's saying something. How did he expect me to maintain eye contact with Gabriel, while singing such a romantic song, when just one look was enough to make me look like an idiot?
Gabriel obviously had no problem with this obviously as he stared at me inquisitively. What was he hoping to find? While I on the other hand, having the pleasure of being scoptophobia, looked like I'd rather be in any other situation than this one. "I found a love, for me. Darling just dive right in and follow my lead", I sang, staring at Gabriel's head. If I couldn't stare at a wall, the middle of his head would have to do.
"Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me", Gabriel sang and I gaped at him, my eyes finally meeting his. Gabriel's voice was incredible, totally out of this world, and I blushed remembering how id thought he didn't know how to sing. He looked at me pointedly, hoping for me to catch on. "Cause we were just kids when we fell in love, not knowing what it was, I will not give you up, this time", we harmonized.
At the end of the song, even I was shook. It was awesome, our voices blended in and we together. Mr Williams clapped and I broke eye contact. "That. Was. Amazing", he piqued. "It was perfect. No pun intended", he smiled. I rolled my eyes at the same time as Gabriel did, and he smiled at me. Nothing about Gabriel was less than perfect. If I thought his smile was beautiful from far, up close, it was spectacular.
The bell rang, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Okay, that's a wrap", Mr Williams said. Two bodies crushed mine. "I didn't know you could sing that well", Starr said. I shrugged. "That was nothing", I said, suddenly shy as we left the class. "Aw, modesty at its highest", Skyy beamed. I rolled my eyes at her as I hugged them. This is the first time I'm this happy. Guess today was a good day after all.