Chapter 3: Campus Bullies

I was now in my second year at the university. I wasn’t a popular girl, but I got an enemy. He was a final-year student. His name was Miguel. I never did anything wrong to him, yet he became obsessed with bullying me in the name of love. Yes, he claimed to be in love with me and he wants me to develop the same feelings for him under pressure. I have never fallen in love, even if I will, it will never be with a tout like Miguel. He was a notorious criminal, yet never caught. My heart always forces itself out of my chest whenever I see him. His sight was that terrifying. I wanted as much to relate my ordeal with Luna, but I held back. I didn’t want her to get into trouble for my sake.

One night, I sat on an armchair close to the window, staring into the deep blue sky and smiling at myself. The full moon alone brightened up the sky with twinkling stars saying hello. I lifted my hand to the sky, doodling to form a beautiful shape. I got a favorite star, I called it the crescent moon. I love watching the star. I could tell its position because it always shines the brightest. I was still doodling in the sky when Luna came along.

“Hey, sweetheart. What are you doing?” she asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Staring at my sister,” I smiled. Confusion clustered on Luna’s face. She was going to ask what I meant. “The brightest star among others in the sky is my sister. You are the light that shines on my shadowed life. You are the beauty that glows in my clouded heart. You are my crescent moon, my Luna,” I expressed, placing my hand on hers on my shoulder. With that, she wrapped her arms around my shoulder and hugged me from behind.

“You are so wonderful, sweetheart,” she whispered in my ear. She stood up from me and walked to my front. “I can tell you are bothered, spill it out,” she urged with her thumb moving up and down my cheek. I relaxed my cheek on her palm and sighed.

“My only bother is never to lose you,” I said and pecked her palm. I held her hand and squeezed it gently. I honestly don’t know, but the atmosphere prompted such an emotional night for me. She crouched to my eye level and smiled.

“You will never lose me. I’m always here,” she said in a tone as lovely as an angel’s voice. She stood right there, beside me with her hand on my shoulder as we watched the crescent moon together.

On campus the next day, I was on my way out of the lecture room, and they were many other students going out too. As I walked past each of them, someone pushed me forward, and I came in touch with Lizzy, spilling her coffee.

“Hey!” she shouted, following a hard slap across my face.

The hit left me blind for a moment. The student's murmur echoed in my ears. Lizzy was a hothead. I understood, but she should have at least waited for an apology. When my vision cleared, I saw all the students still murmuring to each other. My eyes darted around each student. Who pushed me? I looked behind me and I saw Miguel smiling wickedly. I turned back to the fuming Lizzy. She tugged at my hair and dragged me along to the washroom. I could hear the students' chattering voices. Lizzy’s friends followed us. I started crying. My hair was pulled out of my follicle. I teared up. I tried to free my hair, but she held tight. She pushed me under the shower and turned it on. I couldn’t stand up, I felt like a drenched rabbit.

“This is what you get for embarrassing me!” she rebuked.

I couldn’t stop her, she has a team. I was simply crying and trying to wipe away the splashing water from my face. I was shivering. I’m not into cold water, I always got a lukewarm bath. Some students came at the door, snickering at me. I looked vulnerable like a child. Miguel came along.

“Hey, what are you doing?” he asked, pushing Lizzy aside. “Learn to be gentle with my woman, you get?” he held me up and led me away from the shower. My legs wobbled. He shielded me in the hallway. Lizzy and her folks trailed angrily behind us. If this was Miguel’s trick of wooing me, he has failed. We were back to the lecture room’s entrance where all this started. My arms were firmly forming a blanket around my chest. My teeth chattered with cold.

“Look here everyone,” Miguel spoke with much confidence. “No one should dare mistreat my woman ever again,” he slid his arm around my shoulder. “Tell them, babe, you are mine, right?”

I knew he was up to something. He wanted to make me look vulnerable and then make me accept him in front of everyone. I took his arm off my shoulder and moved away from him. I could see the sudden redness in his eyes.

“I will never be yours,” I declared. Nothing that happens next matters to me. The students chuckled. His face squeezed angrily.

“She’s all yours, Lizzy,” he pushed me forward to Lizzy.

Lizzy had a smirk on her face. I knew those two had something up their sleeves. She plastered a slap across my face again. I lost my balance and dropped to the floor. They laughed. As she gripped my hair to pull me up, she received a hot slap on her cheek. Before she turned her face to who slapped her, she received another one. I wasn’t in her body to feel the pain but I knew each of the slap were ten times what I got from her. Silence ensued the scene. Confusion was raised. Who was that? I could see the redness in Lizzy’s eyes as she moved back from me. Her cheeks glowed with pain. It was Luna. She probably must have waited long enough for me to come outside. Yeah, she always picks me up from campus. She yanked at Lizzy’s hair and pulled her down to the floor. I stood up.

“Apologize!” Luna ordered with clenched teeth. Her eyes were red, she was furious.

“I…I’m sorry,” Lizzy apologized in an instant, she was fidgeting. Beads of sweat covered her forehead.

“I said apologize like you mean it,” Luna commanded again, gripping more of Lizzy’s hair and bending her head to the back so she could look at my face.

“I…I am sorry, Ginevra, forgive me!” her voice tremored with fear. Luna freed her and she jerked up, hiding behind her friends. Luna turned to the other students.

“This should be a warning to anyone who dares mistreat my sister. This is just an intro to what the person will get,” she warned.

I felt so proud. I squared my shoulders. My stomach suddenly had a butterfly, if not a whole zoo. Luna led me out. I looked back and saw Miguel and other students comforting Lizzy.

AUTHOR’S NOTE ❤️

Hi, lovely readers! What do you think about the story? Want to know Miguel’s major role in this story? Then stay tuned to read each piece of it. In the meantime, who is your favorite character?