The Corner (12 page)

My ears hurt. My limbs felt
detached from my body. I was shaken to the core. A ball of nausea
shot up to my throat. I had an urge to run away … to absolve myself
of any connection to the mishap.

I didn’t mean to do it. It was
that corner girl. Did she know what I wanted, thus trying to fulfil
my wish? So I was the mastermind instead? I didn’t want to be
locked up for the crime. But I was a huge suspect since it happened
when Mrs. Olsen was reprimanding me.

I was going to lose everything.
My life was ruined.

Most of the teachers and some
students rushed up to the principal and attended to her: cradling
her injured arm, asking questions, saying reassuring words and
calling the ambulance. The scenario was surreal.… I was glad that
everyone’s attention was on the one who needed it the most. At the
same time, the worry of being pinpointed as the culprit had never
left me.

I didn’t stop ruminating on the
incident when the rest of the teachers instructed us to file out of
the lecture theatre in an orderly manner and go back to our
respective classrooms. For the whole day, I ignored everyone and
obsessed over the possibility of being arrested.

Would they suspect me? Would
they?

Mandy had tried to talk to me,
but I either brushed her off with excuses or pretended that I
didn’t hear her. What was the point in talking about me if it would
spoil her good mood? Besides, meaningless chatting did nothing to
make me feel better. Furthermore, I had more than enough problems
to deal with, so I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to eagerly
listen to her delving into those gory details on her love life. Any
sign of bliss would just make me plunged deeper into
depression.

I didn’t tell my parents
anything when I got home. Why should I drag them into my terrible
mess? And they might be disappointed that I had landed myself in
hot soup just weeks after starting school.

Insomnia struck me that night. I
spent the whole night surfing the web to find out what penalties I
might face if found guilty. There would be no jail term for someone
of my age. However, the thought of being booted out of school and
staying in a home meant for those wayward girls was dismaying
also.

I sank back into my plastic
chair, feeling defeated. Then I took note of the thin, neat stack
of blue papers that were held together by a flip clip attached to
the left side.

Oh yes, Jareth.… I needed to
pass that to him soon. If I didn’t, then I had no more chance to do
so since I would soon be locked up or placed under probation.

***

Pacing around the exterior of
St. Andrew gymnasium near the entrance, I was trying to figure out
a way to get Jareth to come out, without actually entering the
place to call for him. The doors were left wide open, but I didn’t
have the guts to strut in by myself. What would they think of a
lone girl going there to look for a guy? That would be so
embarrassing. If there were other ways to pass the gift to him, I
wouldn’t be showing up at a boys’ school.

Being clueless about his
schedule, the boys’ gymnastics practice on Thursday was my only
chance to get a hold on him. Luckily, he was there in spite of the
injuries he had gotten the previous week … or earlier, I wasn’t
sure. He was wearing his school uniform instead of the usual
gymnastics gear.

A glance at my watch, and I
realized that only ten minutes left before Mandy and the gymnastics
team came for training. I must act fast, or else the efforts of
rushing down to St. Andrew’s school compound would be wasted. I
disliked sneaking around like a rat though. If only I could join
Mandy to boldly step into the gymnasium.…

When I had finally calmed down
after the “showdown” with the principal, I found it scary and
difficult to approach Mandy after avoiding her for days. Would she
be put off by my erratic temper and mean ways towards her? Didn’t
help that she appeared to be distracted and downcast. All those
piled up onto my apprehension of being snubbed by her. With each
day passed, I was drifting away from the only friend I had in high
school.

Hardening my resolve and
sticking my head out from side of the entrance, I waved
dramatically before shrinking back to my hiding place behind the
walls. Jareth was facing away from me when I made my split-second
appearance. Ugh, he didn’t see me, but I really couldn’t do it
again. Perhaps I should just give up. Anyway, Jareth wouldn’t give
a hoot about the gratitude I felt towards him.

Okay, time to scram.

Then I heard quick soft
footsteps. Was it Jareth?

“Yes? Anything I can help you
with?” asked the guy in a polite manner.

Turning my head slightly, I saw
Brian and then instinctively looked away. Strange that he was the
one who came out … my initial presumption was that he was keeping a
distance away from girls after his breakup. While I felt absolutely
neutral about him, I was hit by the nervousness from standing in
close proximity to such a gorgeous guy. Why was he the one who came
up to me? I wouldn’t be in a jittery if it was Jareth instead.

“Looking for captain,” I could
barely articulate the words properly.

After hearing my reply, he let
out a chuckle, then spun around to face his team mates. “Jareth.
The gal is looking for you,” Brian shouted at the top of his
voice.

The next moment, the boys inside
the gymnasium were making a din. I didn’t dare to query on what was
the fuss about. When Jareth had gotten to the entrance, Brian
patted his captain’s shoulder and took off.

While running towards the centre
of the gymnasium, the vice-captain punched the air in an upward
motion. “I got it correct!”

Jareth threw a glance of
disapproval at Brian before turning to me and smiled broadly. “Hi …
didn’t expect that you’ll be here. So what’s up?”

Loosening my grip on the black
lever arch file that I had been holding to my chest, I went on to
pull out the gift stuffed between the stack of notes. Then I shoved
it to him. “For you”—I swallowed a big gulp of air—“to thank you
for that day.”

I was contemplating whether to
stay put to see his reactions or run off to avoid facing the harsh
truth that he hated the present. The dude’s eyes widened as he
skimmed through the contents of the homemade magazine.

A minute had passed before he
regained his composure and looked up at me. “Food for Muscle
Regeneration and Healing? You’d shifted your interest to Nutrition?
But I’m not taking this course. So these are not needed.”

Somehow, he managed to make me
smile with his absurd assumption. I shook my head. “It gives
pointers on faster recovery from muscle damages. The last few pages
are on foods that make your body more robust … but still … being
careful goes a long way.”

He stared at me in confounded
silence. Perhaps the boy wasn’t used to getting advices from a
girl, who was hailed as a loser.

In order to cut short that
awkward situation, I decided to make a move. “Well, gonna go
now.”

“Wait.” Jareth rubbed his temple
and then straightened his back while looking at me in the eyes—it
was just as bad as scrutinizing my face, he needed to stop
that.

He held up the gift. “Thanks for
this.”

I smiled slightly in
response.

He used his fingers to give his
hair a brief comb from the fringe to the back. “Uh … are you free
to wait for me? For around half an hour. We can go down to Queen’s
Street to get a cup of coffee. And have a chat. My treat.”

He wanted me, a girl, to hang
around a boy’s school for reasons unrelated to academics and ECAs?
That would set tongues wagging. And it just sounded so wrong.
Besides, I had more important matters to settle, example:
schoolwork.

Thus I just told him as a matter
of fact, “I’m not free today.”

“Oh … how about tomorrow? When
will your classes end?”

“Two o’clock. But—”

He didn’t wait for me to finish
and replied in an excited voice, “Mine ends at half past one. I can
wait for you at your school gates.”

I frowned. “I don’t like coffee
…”

Why did people like to chat over
a cup of coffee? Chatting was chatting. Drinking was drinking. Was
there a need to mix the two together? Plus, I would feel out of
place in those posh, trendy cafes.

“I see.” The lustre in his eyes
began to fade. He did look disappointed.

While I thought that it was
unnecessary for him to go all out to reciprocate my gesture of
giving the special manual to him, I couldn’t bear to turn down his
offer anymore when he looked quite enthusiastic about it.

So I suggested, “How about
taking a bus with me to the bus stop near my home? We can chat
during the trip.”

It was the best plan I could
come out with. The time spent would be limited by the duration of
the journey. He could save on the money, and I could get home on
time.

He immediately cheered up.
“Great. So—”

“Ah, let’s meet up at the bus
stop outside St. Andrew instead. At two fifteen.” I didn’t want to
be seen going out with Jareth, especially by my schoolmates.

“Sure. I’m not going to lose to
you again on those history quizzes.”

I almost laughed. It wasn’t
possible for him to digest all the historic details in a short span
of time. “We shall see. Anyway, I really have to go.” I waved my
hand.

Jareth relaxed and leaned
against the wall. “Cya tomorrow.”

Then I turned my back to him,
ready to get a move on. After three seconds, I sensed eyes on me.
The steadfast gaze was unnerving me. Clutching my file tightly and
trying to steady my breath, I looked back to see … Jareth still
standing by the door, staring at me. Shouldn’t he go back to his
team mates already? What was so interesting about my back? Was my
uniform dirty at there?

“Bye,” I said, expecting him to
catch my hint to stop hanging around there.

He replied, “Yeah, bye.”

I didn’t respond while waiting
for him to move it. The bloke then finally got it, flashed a
sheepish grin and took two steps back. With an unnatural smile
plastered on my face, I stood there like a statue until he headed
back into the gymnasium.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I
hurried down a small trail that snaked through the lush carpet
grass patch besides the gymnasium building, routing to a back gate.
The probability of encountering Mandy should be low since she would
likely be using the main pathway in front of the gymnasium
entrance. After a quick look at the broad path whose surface was
lined with red bricks, I made my way down the one made with plain
old cement.

When I got to the corner of the
building, the hairs on every part of my skin stood up due to a wave
of cold air brushing against my back. How was it possible for it to
run directly over my skin when I was wearing a blazer over my
uniform?

Gritting my teeth, I whirled
around to see what the cause was. The corner girl was standing in
the middle of the dusty red pathway, about twenty metres away from
me. Why was she there after disappearing for almost a week?

But I was more concerned about
another matter: Anton was walking up that main path. He was getting
closer to her by every second. Knowing what she was capable of, I
went into panic.

Didn’t want to face him, but …
couldn’t let her hurt him.

I released the hold on my bulky
folder. Whether it was on purpose or due to fear, I didn’t have a
clear mind to ponder over it. The file laden with sheets of paper
dropped onto the floor with a loud thud. The mild breeze sent my
notes flying in all directions.

Anton glanced at me and then
checked his watch before stepping onto the lawn—away from the
waiting ghost—to gather my scattered belongings that landed onto
the grass. Feeling touched, I sprang into action to do my part by
picking up as many pieces of paper as possible.

While I was cramming the
retrieved notes back into my file, Anton came up and passed to me
the last batch of runaway stationaries. “Here.”

Bowing my head to keep my
blushing face out of sight, I grabbed the pile from his
outstretched hand. The insides of my stomach was boggling like mad.
“Thanks. Sorry for taking up your time …”

He smiled. “Helping a friend in
need is not a waste of time.”

My eyes were getting misty when
I heard his reply. He regarded me as his friend … what more could I
ask for? That was enough to make me felt very blessed.

Giving me a quick pat on the
head, Anton continued, “An important person in my life had said
this: when you feel that the burdens are too much to be carried by
yourself …”

As he paused, I wondered if he
was going to tell me to count on my friends.
Or him … nope, fat
hopes.

The moment of truth then came.
“Search for that strength hidden within you. It’s always there, and
it’ll help you through.”

Lifting up my head slightly to
peek at Anton, I felt puzzled. Why did he say that to me? Who was
the important person in his life? Could I really find that strength
I needed?

As if he had read my mind, he
shrugged and said, “Just hoping that this advice can help another
besides me.”

I could only smile and nod.
Gratitude had drowned out any coherent thoughts of mine.

The next moment, from the corner
of my eyes, I saw a group of girls trekking up the brick pathway.
With great foreboding, I looked up to realize that the apparition
was gone, and in its place were the first year members of Lawson
Gymnastics team.

They continued to walk towards
the gymnasium, but the focal point of their accusing glare was
always on me. Hurt and confusion were apparent on Mandy’s visage.
They must be thinking that I was there to hook up boys. Would they
spread rumours to our schoolmates?

My fears had become reality. It
was far more terrifying than facing the corner girl.