Zein's Point of View
"Go ahead. You might be late for your next class."
"But, Supremo, I still have so much to finish—"
"Just go, Zein. I'll handle it."
I walked out of the SSG office with my head down. Was I even still his secretary when he kept taking over my work, even though he already had too much on his plate? Staying out of trouble wasn't that hard if there was good enough reason to do it. I was a magnet for trouble, fine, but it wasn't like I was the one causing it. Most of the time, I was just defending myself.
But this time, I was in a pretty tight spot. Even the smallest bit of chaos might blow everything up, not just for me, but for everyone around me. As much as possible, I'd try to avoid trouble.
"Here!" I said, dropping Roxane's shoulder bag onto her table. She'd made me go all the way to the other building just to get it. When I said I was avoiding trouble, I meant swallowing my pride and letting people who thrive on conflict walk over me just so I wouldn't have to deal with them... even if it meant acting like their personal servant.
"Wait!" she called out just as I was about to leave. "I have a feeling my bag is going to fall and all my stuff is going to spill on the floor."
On cue, one of her minions did exactly what Roxane hinted at. She swiped the bag, and everything inside scattered across the floor. "I knew it!" Roxane laughed hard. "My intuition is so strong. Pick them up, will you?"
I was boiling inside, but I didn't let it show because that was exactly what they wanted—for me to snap so they could blame me for the mess they started. They played dirty, and I wasn't about to play their game. I leaned down and started picking up her things. Suddenly, I noticed another hand helping me, then another, and another. I looked up, unable to keep myself from smiling when I saw Mia, Jerome, Dave, and Matt all helping me out. Vanessa was just standing there with her arms crossed, observing.
"Thank you," I told them before putting Roxane's shoulder bag back on the table. The three mean girls burst out laughing like a bunch of hyenas, clearly enjoying themselves.
"Aww, how cute. My collection of slaves is growing," Roxane gloated. "I mean, I am the queen of this school anyway. As it should!"
I stayed silent. "I also have a feeling that—"
"Do you also have a feeling that my palm might suddenly land on your makeup-plastered face?" Vanessa interrupted. I quickly grabbed her shoulder to calm her down.
Roxane glared at her. "So that's where Zein Shion gets her arrogance. And... who are you?"
"You don't have to know me. I don't care about you anyway," Vanessa snapped back.
"How dare you—"
But Mia beat her to the punch with a slap to the face before she could say another word. We all froze. "Oops. Sorry, I couldn't help myself."
I immediately grabbed Mia, and we ran for it because I knew Roxane would try to get back at her. Raze wouldn't touch Mia, though. He wouldn't dare. The rest of our friends followed, laughing, with Dave leading the way. He looked incredibly proud of what Mia did. I couldn't help but smile. Mia was usually the quiet one, which made it clear she'd reached her limit when she took matters into her own hands. My friends really were my strength when I was about to lose it.
"You should've hit both cheeks!" Vanessa joked, still laughing. "But to be fair, that was a crispy slap. Palm straight to her cheek, and she deserved it."
"What if she tries to get back?" Matt asked. "You know her. She won't let this go until she gets even."
"Let her try." Vanessa gritted her teeth. "I'm going to make sure her other cheek hurts just as much as the one Mia slapped."
"I'm always with Mia. I can handle them," Dave added.
"Don't worry about me guys, I can handle myself," Mia said with a laugh. "Did you guys forget? I've actually killed someone."
I grimaced. That sounded so weird coming from Mia. But like everything else, that moment of fun had to end. They all headed to their respective classes, leaving me alone again.
***
"When are you actually going to learn?" I rose from my seat when Nicky suddenly appeared in front of me. "If you're going to slap me again, do it quickly," I said flatly. She gave a soft, chilling laugh.
"You don't seem to get hurt, so I'm thinking of other ways to hurt you." She tapped her chin, acting like she was deep in thought. "Emotionally. A wound on the inside can be far more painful than one on the outside. What do you think?"
What fuck was she planning? I could handle Roxane and her minions, but not Nicky. This bitch was a different breed. "Then do it."
"Oh! I forgot that this would be like hitting two birds with one stone." She paused. "What is Supremo to you, exactly?"
I thought she'd said enough already, but that last question caught me off guard. I got irritated because she was dragging innocent people into this just to get to me. That was just so unfair. But then again, what even was fair in this shithole? "What do you really want, Nicky? Stop talking in riddles and just get straight to the point!"
Why was she always threatening me? I wanted to know. They were certainly hiding something—something I was apparently interfering with without even knowing. "You don't have to know anything. Just stay away from Supremo in exchange for your peace and quiet."
"Why do you hate seeing me with him so much?" Why couldn't they just explain it so I could understand their side? Maybe then, I could consider it.
"The two of you shouldn't be together. You shouldn't be close."
"Why?! Give me one valid reason!" I demanded. "If you can't give me an acceptable reason, then there's no way you can stop me."
"One valid reason?" She chuckled. "Because you're just a hindrance." She took a step forward. "A pest in our lives." Another step. "A piece of shit in the way."
I frowned, ready to argue, but she just turned her back and left me alone, just like always. Shit! I really didn't get it. Why was I a hindrance to them? Were they planning something against Supremo?
***
It was lunchtime, so I went to the cafeteria to get some takeout. Supremo had been so busy lately that he hadn't been eating on time. Maybe Madame Violet was working him to the bone. After getting the takeout food, I headed to the SSG office and found Supremo, alone, buried in paperwork, unaware that I came in. It annoyed me a little that he didn't even look up, so I reached out and snatched the papers he was working on.
"Finally!" I said once I had his attention. His eyebrows shot up. I dumped the papers on my desk and set the food from the cafeteria in front of him. He just sat there, watching me.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"We're going to eat, in case you forgot it's lunchtime."
He glanced at his watch. "I'll eat lat—"
"Shut up," I cut him off, making him laugh.
He really enjoyed it when he annoyed me. Maybe stuffing those papers down his throat would fill him up. Ugh. "Are you trying to turn me into an animal?" he asked, frowning at the plate of vegetables I had prepared, deliberately avoiding anything oily. "You're making me eat Bermuda grass and... what's this?" He pointed at one of the veggies.
"Bitter gourd."
"Eww. Sounds bad."
I rolled my eyes. "Stop acting like a spoiled kid."
"What? I'm not a kid!"
"Then eat. Big boys eat their vegetables."
"Is there a scientific explanation for that?"
"That's my theory! Damn it, eat now!" I snapped, losing patience with his pickiness and his constant demand for a scientific explanation. These were just vegetables. They couldn't kill him; in fact, they were good for him.
I started eating while he just stared at me with a look of disgust. "You won't get full just by staring at me."
"Actually, I feel full just by looking at you."
I slammed my spoon down and moved my chair closer to him. Then I took his plate and spoon, ready to force-feed him. He leaned back, so I leaned in. "One wrong move and I will kick your balls," I threatened, irritated.
I cringed when he instinctively covered his lap. My face turned bright red when I realized what I had just said. "How could I give you a baby if you kicked my balls?" he said with a smirk, which nearly made my jaw drop. Oh fuck!
"Okay, I won't. Just don't move away again," I said, pulling my chair even closer. I couldn't even look him in the eye because he was still smirking. He really knew how to push my buttons, and one more time would land him in trouble.
"Stop pretending, you're just scared I'll end up sterile—"
"Fuck you a million times!" I reached out, grabbed his head, and pulled him toward me. "Eat it or else..." I warned, holding the spoon against his closed lips.
"Or else what?" He moved his face even closer. "Say it."
This is ridiculous! I was about to stand up in a huff when he stopped me. "Okay, okay. I'll eat, ma'am. Please don't go." Then he took the spoon I was using. "I'll use this one so I have something to counter the taste of all this grass."
He said those words so easily, as if they didn't mean anything. As if he had no idea how much of an effect he had on me. Was he playing innocent? I swear, I wanted to ram his head into a wall. I watched him chew the bitter gourd, looking like he was about to gag. His face was beet red, and it looked like he was going to spit it out any second.
"Don't you dare spit that out," I warned.
"Pwe! This is so bitter!"
I tried not to laugh as he forced himself to swallow it. He stood up, went to a drawer, and came back to me. "What will you do with all that sugar?" I asked. I winced as he started dipping the bitter gourd into it. "Are you serious?"
He seemed to be enjoying it, while I just sat there making a face. He really could be weird sometimes. I'd never seen anyone dip a bitter gourd in sugar. "Not bad, but it's still missing some sweetness," he said, looking right at me.
"Then go ahead and eat the whole jar," I snapped back, which just made him laugh. He really loved annoying me, didn't he?
"Even if I ate all the sugar in the world, I don't think anything would be sweeter than the taste of your lips," he said seriously, his eyes fixed on my mouth.
"S-stop it," I protested, feeling incredibly awkward. He just nodded, took another piece of bitter gourd, dipped it in sugar, and ate it while still staring at my lips. "Even just looking at them is sweet enough."
I wanted to hide under the table from the embarrassment. How did we end up in this conversation? All I wanted was for him to eat lunch. To eat that bitter gourd. "Can I have a taste?" he added.
"Stop it!"
He pouted and took another bite. "Stingy."
I didn't say anything and just watched him finish almost all of the bitter gourd. He hadn't touched the spinach, though, which he pushed to the side of the plate. "You know what this vegetable is, right?" I asked, pointing at the spinach. He just nodded. "It's bad to waste food." I moved closer, picked up a piece of spinach, and held it to his mouth. "It's not bitter, I promise."
He froze and went pale. "I-I don't eat spinach..."
"Just one bite. Please?"
He looked so hesitant, but in the end, he took the bite. I laughed when he looked like he was going to throw up. "I told you, it's not bitter. One more."
I managed to get him to finish all the greens. I looked at the clock and was surprised to find out that we had spent a whole hour just getting him to eat his veggies. Getting this one to eat was a challenge. I started cleaning up our mess while he sat there quietly.
"Are you okay?" I asked, giggling a bit.
"Thank you for the lunch, Zein."
Then he started vomiting.
I froze in shock, then snapped into action, rushing to his side and seeing rashes spreading across his body. He gasped for air. "S-Supremo..." I panicked, my heart sinking as fear gripped me seeing him in this condition.
"I need water."
He tried to stand up, but collapsed. I scrambled to help him, the realization dawning on me. "You're allergic to spinach. You should have told me!" I shouted, bursting into tears.
A frail smile twisted on his lips. He gave a small laugh. "It's okay... They really tasted good, just like you promised. I couldn't let your efforts go to waste, even if my body didn't agree."
"Supremo!"