Zein's Point of View
I stood there, spaced out, staring at Supremo fast asleep in the clinic bed. Thank God Vice Ty arrived and helped me bring Supremo to the clinic. I couldn't help but blame myself. Yes, this was all my fault. If I hadn't forced him to eat spinach, he wouldn't have fainted or broken out in rashes.
I jumped to my feet when the door suddenly slammed open. Angel walked in, her eyes blazing in anger. Before I could even react, her palm crashed against my cheek, the impact momentarily deafening me. I'd been slapped many times before, but that was the first time I knew I deserved it.
"You are stupid! You put Supremo in danger!" she screamed right in my face.
"I-I didn't mean to—"
Her furious hand struck my face again, and I couldn't help but look down, consumed by guilt. "Just admit that you're an idiot!"
"Stop it, Angel!" Nurse Cha stepped in, stopping her just as she was about to slap me for the third time. "You don't want Supremo to find out your hand touched this girl's face, don't you?!"
I bit my lip as tears started to well up. Fuck! Why was I being so emotional? It wasn't my fault! I didn't mean for this to happen because I didn't know Supremo was allergic to spinach.
"I'm sure Supremo will punish her himself when he wakes up. He might even kill her!" Angel said, aggressively pointing her finger at me.
"Are you joking? You know better than anyone that he could never do that," Nurse Cha replied in my defense. "In fact, you might be the one punished for hurting his secretary."
Angel sneered. Maybe she wasn't the gentle, caring, and soft person Supremo assumed she was. She acted like such an angel, but she was just a demon like the rest of them.
"How's Supremo?" Angel asked Nurse Cha.
"He needs some rest."
Angel nodded, then turned back to me. "Ever since you arrived, everything's gotten messier. And you've just pushed it too far this time. No, we're not letting this slide."
"Angelica..." Nurse Cha warned.
"If Supremo won't punish her, we will!" Then she marched out.
Nurse Cha turned to me and gave me a reassuring smile. "Don't mind her. You didn't do it on purpose."
"But Supremo will be just fine, right?" I asked. That was the only thing I needed to be sure of right now. To know that Supremo would be okay.
"He's still under observation. But he will be fine."
I finally breathed a sigh of relief. I hadn't even moved on from Angel's outburst when Teacher Kath walked in next, coming straight for me. Before I could even flinch, she had a firm grip on my hair and started yanking. The pain was so sharp I thought my scalp was going to tear right off. I screamed and begged her to let go, but she only gripped tighter.
"Ms. Katherine!" Nurse Cha tried to intervene, but even she couldn't do anything.
"I knew you were up to no good," Teacher Kath hissed in rage, dragging me out of the clinic. Then she shoved me hard, sending me crashing to the ground. I landed hard on my hips, the sheer force of the impact left my mouth hanging open as I tried to process the pain.
"Stay away from Supremo!" Teacher Kath screamed.
"Zein!" Mia shouted, rushing to help me up.
"You have no right to hurt Zein!" Vanessa shouted back at her.
"And she has no right to be near Supremo either. Your friend is nothing but a nuisance!"
I forced myself to stand up to hold Vanessa back, not wanting the trouble to escalate any further. It was my fault, even if I didn't mean for it to happen. "Are you okay?" Mia asked me.
"She tried to kill Supremo!" Teacher Kath yelled.
Fuck! I wanted to slap a bunch of spinach in her face and scream out my frustration that I didn't mean it! Why would I kill him? Why the hell would I kill my life?
"Let's go," Mia whispered.
"Fuck her. If she wasn't a teacher, I would've slapped her already," Vanessa muttered.
My friends led me away. Before I knew it, I was already sitting on one of the benches at Wide Space, with Mia and Vanessa sitting on either side of me. "Why didn't you fight back?" Vanessa asked. "You don't fight back against Roxane, and now not even against Teacher Kath? They have no right to treat you like this."
Fight back? Every time I would, I'd still be the one in the wrong. I couldn't seem to do anything right. Everything would just come back to haunt me twice as hard. "What really happened?"
Mia's question made me remember everything I had done to Supremo. No matter how much I tried to tell myself it was an accident, I couldn't escape the fact that it was my fault. I told them what happened, and I didn't know whether to be annoyed that they were gushing over it. WTF?! There was nothing romantic about what happened.
"Supremo can be so corny sometimes," Mia said, looking all giddy. "But you're not at fault."
"Exactly. You did nothing wrong. If anyone's at fault, it's Supremo. He should have told you," Vanessa agreed. "He just didn't want your effort to go to waste. He cares."
He cares? Yeah, I felt that. The question I kept getting asked popped into my head: What exactly are Supremo and I to each other? I am his secretary—that has always been my answer. If anyone asked me now, my reply would still be the same. But deep down, I knew it was more than that. I just couldn't say it out loud. Admitting it would do nothing good. At least, not this time.
"Gosh! Your cheeks are so red," Mia noticed. "Did she slap you too?"
"Oh, fuck that teacher—"
"Van!" I stopped her. "No. It wasn't her."
I couldn't tell them it was Angelica because I knew they'd try to get revenge for me, especially Vanessa. "It's just blush-on," I lied. Oh, come on, Zein! Wasn't I so "good" at lying? Both of them were now looking at me with furrowed brows.
"You don't wear makeup. Tell us!" Vanessa insisted.
"Yeah! Who did this to you?" Mia added.
I just shook my head. "It's not important. I'm hungry," I said, trying to change the subject. They just looked at me, clearly unconvinced. In the end, they just took a deep breath and nodded.
***
As soon as I stepped into the cafeteria, a sticky liquid was poured all over my clothes. Mia and Vanessa gasped. "Oh! Look who's here! The girl responsible for putting Supremo's life on the line." Her voice suddenly sounded unfamiliar, her sweet, angelic tone gone. Was all of it just an act?
I quickly shoved my friends behind me. Vanessa tried to break free, but I wouldn't let her get in front and defend me. "We've been waiting for you, Ms. Secretary," Roxane said with a smirk.
Roxane and Angelica stood in front of me. Behind them were other students who, like them, were glaring at me with pure hatred. "What is this commotion about?" Fritzy arrived.
"This is none of your business anymore, ex-secretary," Roxane snapped at her.
Fritzy looked offended. "Are you causing chaos again? I'm telling Supremo!"
"Where is Supremo?" Roxane raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you don't know yet. Why don't you ask Secretary Shion? Since she's the reason Supremo is unconscious right now."
"W-what?" Fritzy asked, her brow furrowed.
"Supremo is in the clinic," Angelica replied. "Unconscious. His life is in danger."
Fritzy backed away and ran off, likely heading to the clinic. "Are you guys just going to let this girl kill our Supremo?" Roxane asked the crowd.
The students started rioting. I covered my ears because of the nasty things they were saying about me. How could they believe such a story so easily? Were these the students I was ready to help escape this hell? The people I was willing to risk my life for in a dangerous mission? They didn't even know the whole story. Angel had clearly poisoned their minds. But were they really that narrow-minded to just believe it blindly? Maybe they were stuck here for a reason. Ignorant and gullible.
"We shouldn't let this slide," Angel said. "Ms. Shion should learn a valuable lesson today, don't you guys think?"
"A punishment!" someone shouted.
"What do you want to do to her?" Roxane asked. "Come on, guys. Give me some fun ideas!"
"Tie her to a chair!" someone yelled.
I felt weak as they slowly closed in on me. Mia and Vanessa tried to block them, but they were no match for their numbers. I shook my head, signaling them not to get involved. I closed my eyes as different hands grabbed me, forcing me into a chair in the middle of the cafeteria and tying me down. "Fuck you all! Don't hurt her!" Vanessa screamed.
"What's next?" Angel asked, laughing.
"Poison?" a student suggested.
Roxane frowned. "Where is the fun in that? She'd die too fast!"
"Strip her!" someone shouted.
"No. I have a better plan," Roxane said before stepping out for a moment.
Angelica turned to me. "Supremo is right. You are strong, Zein. But how much can you actually take?"
"You're a coward, Angel. You can't face me alone, so you have to find allies."
"This wouldn't be happening if you weren't so stupid, Zein. I bet you actually want Supremo dead. For what? To take over his position?"
"No. You're not mad because of what happened to Supremo. You're mad at me because you know he treats me differently. That he trusts me. That... I am special to him."
The smile vanished from Angel's lips. "I'm back!" Roxane cackled.
I swallowed hard when I saw what Roxane was holding. A thick metal pipe. "Please, stop!" Mia cried loudly.
"W-what are you going to do?" I asked, feeling a surge of terror. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and I was shaking. They wouldn't hit me with that, would they? That would be too much. No, they couldn't do that to me... right?
"Ready?" Roxane smirked. Then she slammed the pipe against my leg. I screamed in pain, nearly tearing my throat. My bone must've moved. I had never felt pain like that before.
"I'm begging you! Please stop!" Mia sobbed.
"Go ahead. Hurt her!" Vanessa shouted, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You have no idea who you're messing with. The person you're protecting might end up being your own enemy!"
My head snapped back as I let out a deafening scream when Roxane hit my leg with the pipe once more. I didn't know where to look anymore, but I saw Nicky in the distance, watching. Roxane grabbed my face and forced me to look at her. "You are so helpless. Does it feel good?"
I spat in her face. She grimaced before slamming the pipe into my back, and all I could do was hunch over and cough from the pain. Blood sprayed from my mouth. "F-fuck you!" I wheezed.
"And you still have the guts to fight back, huh?" Angel sneered, taking the pipe from Roxane. "Let's see how much longer you last. Goodbye, Zein Shion."
My eyes were wide open as the pipe swung closer and closer. My body likely couldn't handle another hit, so I just closed my eyes, accepting my doom. My body felt numb from the sheer pain anyway. Seconds passed, but nothing happened. I slowly opened my eyes and looked up at the person gripping the pipe, holding it still. He was looking at me with a cold, piercing gaze. Supreme.
He didn't need to act angry because everyone could feel rage radiating off him. His aura was incredibly dark; it terrified me. I had never seen him like this before. Everyone else felt it too, as the room went dead silent. It finally made sense why they warned me about Supremo, why they told me I hadn't seen the real him yet, and how he could make everyone submit.
In that moment, it finally sank in why he was called the Supremo of Hell University. "It's doomsday," Vanessa whispered.
My eyelids grew heavy, and my body finally gave out from the overwhelming pain without me realizing it. The last thing I could remember before blacking out was a demon's voice, sounding absolutely livid and cold as ice. It was enough to make my skin crawl.
"All of you, take my command. Go to the gymnasium. This is an order from the highest Supreme Student Government."