A plethora of students started to flood the hall for our last class today with Mr Andre which I was the only person who was assigned to present today. At the corner of my eyes, I could see that Barbara and Gabriel were taking their seats behind me but I neglected them.
"Here's your bread and mineral water," Eleanor took a seat beside and handed me the bread and a bottle of water.
"Thanks," I smiled and I put them into my bag.
"Hey, Katie! How much money you want for me to sleep with you?" One boy in a group that sat behind me, called out on me.
"Shut the fuck up!" Eleanor yelled. "Just ignore them, they're all manwhore," she shrugged and quenched her thirst by drinking a bottle of milk. "What the f-" Eleanor gasped, as she was seeing a ghost.
"What?" I asked, looking at her facial expression.
"What the hell is Chris doing here?" Her eyes followed the steps that Chris took before sitting just a few lines behind us. I closed my eyes, couldn't believe that I would see his figure again.
"Katherine Winter," Mr Andre called out my name after he took a seat at his table. "Katherine Winter?" He called again after I wasn't answering.
"Yes, Mr Andre," I answered, shocked by his call.
"Your turn," he smiled. I stood up after I nodded and went straight to the stage, bringing my laptop along.
I set up my laptop and the screen to show the slides I had prepared for this theme.
"Hi everyone, I am Katherine," I waved at all of them.
"Uhm uhm... slut... uhm uhm," someone coughed in a whisper tone but so loud for the whole class to hear.
"I don't allow students who used foul language in my class. If I caught who it is, I might fail him or her," Mr Andre yelled but his head was still facing me. "Continue," he demanded.
"I'm Katherine Miller. I choose to go with Medusa for the enlightenment of struggle." All eyes were on me as I started speaking. "As far as we know, Medusa was a fair and beautiful maiden who was cursed or blessed by the goddess Athen. She respected Athen as the goddess and because of that, Medusa remained pure. Hence, she became the priest of Athena temple. All of us know that Medusa was so beautiful that an abundance of people would visit Anthena's temple just for a glance at Medusa."
"Mrs Miller, I am not here to hear your narration on the Greek myth," Mr Andre cut me off and everybody laughed.
"Sorry, Mr Andre." I apologised. "The reality that we aren't ready to discuss is actually Medusa was raped thus Athen cursed her with venomous snake hair. Medusa has always been seen as the monster who turned people into stone every time they looked into her eyes albeit she was the victim," I caught Chris's eyes out of sudden and I immediately pulled away from him. "She was raped but she was deemed as the monster. In this era of postmodernism, how many women are suffering from rape and violence? It is countless and the numbers have progressively increased day by day. Do you know how much women struggle to live their life after each of traumatic incident? They struggle to fight for their right against the predators. They struggle to fight for their rapist's children and be a single mother without their willings. Not to mention, that they are struggling with people's stigma against them. They struggle for something that they don't even initiate!" I didn't know why I felt emotional during the speech. "Nevertheless, they always get blamed! What do you wear when you got raped? Are you alone? The victim has to answer all the unwanted questions!" I continued.
I showed them a few slides of news regarding the rape and abuse cases that occurred these days. Moreover, I even explained about all the struggles that the victims encountered after the incident. The gory and traumatised experiences they have gone through.
"Ladies and gentlemen, one day if people stated the Greek myth regarding Medusa is faux, I will still stand over here for the people. Rape and abuse can happen to both men and women. No sexual discrimination in this one. According to a study, women and girls experience sexual violence at high rates. The rapist might get himself or herself out of this but the struggle of the victim is what we concern about. Don't be sceptic towards these people. That's all from me. Thank you," I bowed.
Mr Andre and the rest of the students clapped their hands as I turned off my laptop and climbed down the stair. Then, Mr Andre took over the stage.
"That is the last presentation for this class. Thank you, Katherine," he nodded towards me and I carved a smile. "That was a fantastic presentation. Anyway, this is the last year for you guys at highschool and next week is your final exams week. I hope all of you have prepared for it. By the end of this week, I will put your carry mark grades in front of my office so if I keyed in the wrong grade, you can let me know," he explained.
Later, the bell rang indicating the end of the class. Everyone started to dismiss and I met Mr Andre at his table because he instructed me to meet him before leaving.
"Katherine," he said.
"Yes, Mr Andre," I smiled.
"I like your presentation. I like your idea. Your forte shouldn't be wasted," he praised me.
"Thank you, it's nothing anyway," I said.
"Don't be too humble, Miss Winter. You have potential. I want to ask if you have a plan on what to do after you finish high school?" He asked after taking a seat at the edge of the table.
"Kinda. I mean, I really want to go to NYU for journalism," I answered.
He nodded. "Great! I have a friend who owns a publishing company. If you're interested in publishing then, I supposed you can apply for his company's scholarship," he said.
My eyes went wide and I could feel the excitement seized in me. "Are you serious?" I couldn't hide the joy that overwhelmed me.
"Yes, I will give him a call and I will recommend you to him. I will let you know if there is any news from him," he said.
"Okay," I smiled widely. "Thanks, Mr Andre," I left him and went to meet Eleanor outside of the hall.
"Wow, what happens?" Eleanor smiled as I stood in front of her.
"Hooking up with Mr Andre, huh?" I could hear Barbara's voice as she walked, exiting the hall with Gabriel.
Eleanor rolled her eyes. "You know what, you aren't always right, you know?" Eleanor shouted but Barbara ignored her.
"Don't," I looked into her eyes while shaking my head and held her arm.
"She annoys me!" We walked by each other sides. "Anyway, what happens with you in there? You seem happy," Eleanor exclaimed.
I chuckled softly. "Mr Andre ask me to apply for a scholarship from his friend's company and he will put me as his recommendation for the company," I explained.
"That's amazing!" Eleanor smiled. "Everything seems so bright for you when you leave all the negativity behind. I'm so proud of you," Eleanor patted me on my arm.
"Grace," I could hear Chris voice far behind me. Both of us stopped and I turned my back to look at him.
As Chris approaching, I increased the volume of my voice, "Don't." He didn't stop approaching. "Stop!" I yelled and my voice sounded firmer. After that, he stopped.
Eleanor tapped me on my shoulder to give a sign that she was going to give us space and I nodded. I looked at him and he did too. Both of us silence for several seconds.
"I will return the money into your account," I broke the silence. "Just message me your account number and everything."
"No, just take it," he said.
I was too lazy to argue with him so I nodded, "Okay."
Seconds later, Phoebe came out of nowhere and hugged Chris from behind. "Baby!" She sounded so excited but Chris never took his eyes on me and we both stared on each other. They planted a kiss on each other's lip before Phoebe realised that I was there too. "Hey, Katie! How was the presentation? I'm sorry I couldn't attend, family problem," she stated.
"It's fine," I smiled insincerely.
"You guys know each other?" Phoebe asked.
"Yeah, I saved her during the choking incident," Chris answered immediately but still he never pulled away his eyes from me.
"Oh yes, I remember!" She exclaimed. "Katie, this is actually the guy that I wanted you to go to prom with. You remember?" Phoebe said.
I nodded. "I think I should go. El is waiting for me," I said and I left both of them alone.
-
After the unexpected encounter with Chris that day, I never saw him in my sight ever again. This week was finally our final examination before we finished high school.
I got the highest grade for Mr Andre's and Sir Andy's class which were surprising but expected. Barbara congratulated me after all but I didn't care much. I still consider her as my friend although she did nasty things to me.
Even though it was the last week for all of us in high school, they were still trying to take advantage on me like pasting my photoshopped photos on my locker and the bulletin boards, calling me a whore and gave me jeers every time I walked in front of them. It hurt me, to be honest, but I would always remember Diane's advice. The hardships and experiences that shaped us to love something or someone.
I did go to the hospital to check on Louis sometimes because he was so nice to me despite Chris's behaviour and decision. Nevertheless, I never came across Chris when I was there. On the contrary, I met Judy and Mary a couple of times and I admitted to them that Chris and I didn't work out together.
After a week of examination, we had eventually finished our highschool. I was happy and sad at the same time. We gave each other's last hugs before leaving school. Some of them apologised to me for their nasty behaviour but I didn't take them way too serious so, I forgave them.
Barbara didn't talk anymore to me and vice versa. We should keep it that way because I knew she hated me so much. Besides, we would no longer see Phoebe after this because she wouldn't come to the prom due to her family matter so that was our last hug and last goodbye for her.
I met Gabriel too in the hallway. He thanked me for teaching him Math and he also said sorry for Barbara's attitude towards me. I was glad that Sir Andy paired us together because if it wasn't of him, Gabriel and I wouldn't be talking comfortably right now.