Second Encounter

Three head-pounding examination papers later, it was already half past two. The lounging areas near the cafeteria are slowly becoming packed with students every hour that passes.

The morning started with a drizzle of rain and a cold breeze that sent shivers down everyone's spine. And it also enhanced everyone's fears.

The weather also sent signals of threat looming by, and that's the sudden occurrence in the lobby. Though some were excited for Darius to be on campus, some students found it annoying. It was an unnecessary disturbance on an early examination morning. Overall, the air that surrounded the school was ominous and exhausting.

Nonetheless, the sun still managed to appear and fight away the gloomy clouds in the sky as the day progresses. By noon, it shone its brilliance on the traumatized faces of those students who are either still in their classrooms taking their papers or have finished.

Giselle has always been part of those students that finish their papers quickly and confidently. However, it is different today. She came out of the classroom after her papers, looking glum.

The teacher in charge of her last paper caught a glimpse of Giselle's face and could not help but be shocked that she became one of the few remaining students to finish the exam. It was unlike the confidently intelligent Giselle that the teacher knew.

Not only was Giselle the first few people to finish their papers early, but there was always the confident aura that she would always emit once she passes her papers. The teacher did not feel such an atmosphere from the diligent student and could not help but ask the question.

"Is everything alright, Ms. Verano?"

She could only answer a quick yes and a small smile before quickly leaving the classroom to take a deep breath of fresh air outside. Giselle felt hot wearing a hoodie with the sun up, but she knew that she could not bear to reveal herself to others.

Before heading toward the location she was supposed to meet with Yvonne, she decided to go to the girl's restroom. Giselle only wanted to wash her face with cold water and forget about her performance on the examination. It was unsatisfactory, and she haven't felt this way after her exams in a while. 

She found the restroom empty, which she was grateful for, so she pulled down her hoodie and opened the faucet to wash her face. Giselle felt better now that she had splashed coldness on her cheeks and forehead.

Giselle reaches for her face towel when the sound of the door opening and loud laughter startles her. She looks to her left and catches the familiar-looking group of juniors.

Her fright causes her to make eye contact with one of them. And that person recognized her right away. The junior gasped and pointed at Giselle, halting the noisy chatter they had.

"You're the girl in that video that went against Darius last night!" she says aloud with wide eyes. Her friends caught on quickly, and they all held the same stunned expressions.

Yes, that was she. 

Giselle could only sigh, ignoring the finger that pointed at her as she wiped her face. The day was finally ending, and she thought that she was feeling lucky today that no one else came to recognize or bother her. But that could not be the case.

Even though Giselle wanted to ignore their attention and excuse herself out of the restroom, one of the girls with dyed red hair halts her. She has her arms spread open to stop Giselle from passing through.

"Excuse me, but I have somewhere to be," Giselle says politely though her eyebrows were both meeting in frustration. Her stomach lightly grumbled.

It frustrates her even more that she's starving, but these girls are putting in the effort to stop her from having her very late lunch with Yvonne.

"Halt! We have questions for you, Giselle," one with short hair and bangs cuts in, folding her arms and pouting her lips. Giselle's left eye could only twitch, looking at how dumb the girl was looking at that very moment.

They could be about two to three years younger than Giselle, which explains their behavior and deep admiration for Darius. However, this is getting ridiculous. What does Darius have in him to make every girl fall on their knees for him?

"Why did you slap Darius?" one followed.

"You know people will try to get his attention but not that way. Are you seeking clout?" another one mentions, making Giselle blink dumbfoundedly.

"What?" Giselle breaks into a bitter laugh, going extremely red upon hearing their ridiculous curiosity. She continues to speak after her exclamation, "If you would have looked at the video clearly, I was the victim in the situation."

"Girl, but you were on his way," the redhead spoke again, snapping her finger as if she knew that she was right.

As Giselle had expected, these girls were mindless and absorbed with nonsense. She could not waste any more of her time trying to explain herself. They will never listen to what she says while the girls keep praising Darius in their heads.

"I think you girls have better things to fret about besides a guy with anger issues and deep arrogance. He has no manners, no respect, and no conscience. If anything, he deserves getting slapped and I really hope that you girls get slapped by the reality that men like him don't deserve your admiration or your time," Giselle furiously snaps.

The juniors gasped loudly. Their faces fell and dulled upon hearing Giselle's critique. None of them liked what she said and with that, they try to stop Giselle from going for the doorknob.

Giselle is taken aback when she felt two hands on both her shoulders pulling her away. Their fingernails were long and bony, she could feel their long nails digging on the thickness of her hoodie.

Giselle is against five girls however, she still had an advantage in strength over the girls that were smaller in size. Her luck graced her when she was able to push herself forward and get ahold of the doorknob.

"You're not going anywhere, Giselle! We're going to teach you how to apologize to Darius."

When they pulled her again, Giselle twisted the knob and pulled the door open with her. All of them go stumbling backward when the door flies open.

The girls screamed in disgust when they dropped on the wet tiled floor of the restroom. Giselle fell on the legs of two girls that were pulling her by the shoulder, and she could only hear them cursing in pain.

The commotion in the restroom attracted students nearby to spectate what was happening. Within seconds, everyone comes rushing to the crowd outside the restroom. They laughed at the scene that they caught.

Giselle could only give the students dirty looks while pushing herself. She glances back at her juniors, who were still on the ground and rolls her eyes before walking out without saying another word.

She pushes herself through the students until she reaches a clear area. Giselle lets out a sigh of relief. Her hands were still on her bum, feeling for wet stains on her pants. Thankfully she landed on those girls.

Her phone rang inside her bag and she knew that Yvonne must be going insane that she was taking so long. While she looks down to dig for her phone, she feels a strong presence nearby. It was the kind of presence that made her shiver. It was familiar. It made the atmosphere dull in horror. 

Giselle's actions halted right away when she notices the pair of leather shoes stopping inches away from her. Her eyes went wide. She was afraid to look up at the person hinting that it might be someone she had been trying to avoid. 

But he spoke, and she had no other choice.