Chapter 11: Maria Stands Up Against the Bully

It was the most heartwarming meal she'd had since she arrived there. When Maria returned to her room, Julie was already there. She was in a glittery pinkish leotard, pacing the length of her bed and blaring away on her mobile. She didn't look pleased. Maria's eyes quickly fell onto the ice-skating boots dumped carelessly on the floor. Oh! Does she do figure skating? That's remarkable. She's never met a figure skater and smiled with respect and admiration for the young athlete when a rude voice jarred her back to reality. "What's with that disgusting smile? Eeew! And why are you looking at my boots? Are you planning to take revenge or something?" Maria froze and hastily whispered, "I wouldn't dare. You know I wouldn't." "I thought so. My warning always works." Julie cast a threatening glare and turned away. Maria blinked. That's it? Isn't she going to scream in Maria's ears, throw her things to the floor, or mess up her bed? She stared at Julie's back until the girl turned again, caught her staring and frowned. "Hang on. What the hell are you looking at? I swear to God–" "Nothing." Maria smiled. Julie threw her a distasteful glance and returned to her little walk. It was then Maria really caught Julie's words as she cursed angrily into the phone. "That little b*tch! How dare she comment on my backflip… Yeah! Why is it not a skating jump? Who said it's banned? Who the hell banned it? Why wasn't I told? If I wasn't told that it's banned, then it's not banned!" An angry Julie could surely turn a person's world upside down. Maria wondered who that unfortunate person was as she closed the bathroom door, shutting out Julie's screams of profanities that would make a nun blush. Immediately the following day, Maria found who that little b*tch was. She had gotten a sandwich and was on her way out of the cafeteria when she saw it. Julie and four of her friends were like vultures, circled around someone hidden from plain sight. It's none of your business. Walk away. The tip of her canvas shoes pointed at the exit like a compass needle, showing her the way to secure her peace. Maria felt warmth seeping through her fingers. She looked down at the sandwich clutched in her hand and remembered that warm bowl of soup. Strangely, she could endure people playing pranks on her, but she couldn't just sit and watch another person get pranked. She forced her feet to turn the other way and stepped toward the group of girls. Each girl, including Julie, had a glass in her hand, and they were raising it like they were making a congratulatory toast. Is that… oil? Are they going to pour the oil on her? Oh, God! Maria halted in her breath. She moved closer and noticed that it wasn't boiling oil. She breathed normally again, but a surge of anger shot up her chest. What if it wasn't boiling? It's still dreadful! How is the girl going to get all the oil off her? "S-stop it!" A terrified squeal burst from within the circle of girls. "Shut up!" Julie's voice shattered her cries for help. With a smug face, she tilted her glass and the yellow liquid slid to the edge. "Stop it, Yani!" Maria heard her voice over the cafeteria incessant chatting. Everyone stopped and stared at her. The beautiful figure skater paused her glass. She turned. A pair of confused and annoyed eyes glared in Maria's direction. "What did you say?" her sweet voice asked in a chilling tone. "I said," Maria inhaled sharply and stared firmly at the bully, "stop all this nonsense." Before Julie said the next word, Maria took another step forward and retaliated in full force, "What you're doing is bullying. I thought the school has strict rules against bullying." Those curly lashes fluttered furiously as the hazelnut eyes grew twice as large. Maria thought that Julie's eyeballs were going to fall out of their sockets. Fear stung her, but she clutched tightly onto the sandwich. Remembering her promise to Sarkon, she continued in a loud and firm voice she thought she never had. "I don't agree with some of the things you do either, but I tolerate it because we're from the same school. You need to learn to respect differences, Julie. Stop targeting us!" Suddenly, two students in T-shirts and jeans stood out of the shadows and gritted their teeth at Julie and her friends. "Yeah! What did we do to deserve this?" they chorused. Another group of four students with colored hair and funky clothes pulled off their invisible cloaks and came to Maria's side, taunting back, "Leave us alone!" Five more similar students, dressed in plain clothes, appeared next to Maria and stared at Julie and her friends, who immediately went meek. "W-what are you doing?" Julie stamped her feet like a child who was refused candy. An enraged finger pointed at Maria and the others around her, "How dare you! All of you! Know your place!" Maria strode over and, to her surprise, grabbed the glass of oil from Julie. She glared at the rude girl. "Our place is here. The same place you're standing. There's no you or me. There's only us. We're from the same school, Julie. Stop dividing the student body. This has to end." The group of students around Maria threw their fists in the air and chanted furiously. "This has to end! This has to end!" Sensing a change in the atmosphere, Julie threw Maria another one of her death stares before she stalked off in a trail of inaudible grumbling. Maria turned to the rest of the girls who were with Julie. They exchanged helpless glances, then hastily put down the glasses and scrambled off after their queen. The small group of civilian students erupted in applause and cheers. A member of the funky-styled group stepped forward with a huge grin. "Thanks, Maria! You reminded us of our rights!" Another student in a plain T-Shirt and faded jeans grabbed Maria's hands in a warm handshake. "Yeah! We are part of the school just as they are! They can't treat us like vermin just because we don't wear expensive clothes." The group broke into random murmurs of "Yeah," and "Well said." Then, everyone started thanking Maria, but the smiling brunette humbly excused herself and went straight for the cafeteria exit. She was still determined to keep a low profile so she'd be out of trouble. As long as she stayed out of trouble, Sarkon wouldn't be burdened with the unnecessary. "Maria?" Maria turned to the soft, quivering voice. A girl as doll-like as Julie, but with kinder eyes and a friendly smile, stood before her. "Are you alright?" Maria spread her rosy lips into a warm smile. The girl beamed back like a happy kitten and nodded. In her feathery voice, she said, "Thank you for saving me." Since it was the first sincere appreciation she received, Maria felt cozy toward the girl and asked for her name. This could be her first friend on campus. "Sophie." The girl grinned with her eyes in two cheerful slits. "Sophie Baxter." Maria's eyes widened in surprise. Sophie? Was she destined to save this girl? What are the odds of meeting someone who shares the same name as the person you're close to? "Is there something wrong with my name?" Maria shook her head and chuckled lightly, "No, no, no. It's just that I know someone who has the same name as you." "Really?" Sophie lunged forward for Maria's hands and grasped them tightly. "Then, this makes us friends!" Though she was slightly taken aback by the hyper bubbly personality, Maria appreciated the friendliness behind it and returned a nice smile. "Baxter… The name sounds familiar," Maria wondered aloud. Sophie stared at the ground and replied sheepishly, "We make fertilizers." "Oh!" Maria exclaimed, "That makes sense!" It was the name on the bags of fertilizers that Albert and Uncle Karl often used when working on the plants with the gardeners. "What about you?" Sophie beamed up at her. "My dad's a retired officer," Maria answered briefly. She was careful to leave Sarkon's name out. For some reason, she didn't want the people on campus to know her relationship with one of the most influential figures in Lenmont. "Can you bring me around, Maria? I've only been here for three days, and this place looks like a giant maze." Sophie looked perplexed and pouted, "Don't you think that this place is oversized?" Her new friend reminded her of a fluffy, white kitten. Without taking her eyes off, Maria grinned for the first time since she got here. "I think it's a good size. I like to take walks sometimes and explore the place. You never know what you'll find." "Let's explore this place after our lectures," Sophie suggested with a light-hearted tune. Maria gladly agreed. It was nice to finally have a friend.