Chapter VIII: The Popularity Game

Charm was waiting for Val and me so eagerly when I came to school. I noticed she had a new hairstyle, slightly wavy and shorter. She looked so pretty. “Good morning. Why do you look so edgy today?” I sat on the bench beside her.  “Let’s wait for Val first,” she breathed. Pretty soon, Val arrived and immediately came to us. “So, what’s up? Charm, I can sense that you are about to burst with some news. If it is good, go ahead and tell us. If not, I am leaving.” Charm frowned at him, then said, “I have a new boyfriend.” I looked at her. “Again?”

“What do you mean again? He is my first one here in our school. His name is Gio, our senior from Section 15.”  I can see how proud she was. After all, Gio was our senior and may have enough popularity points to gain her attention.  “Congratulations! At least you’ll be busy with just one boy,” I tactlessly said. Charm shot me a dagger look but did not respond. Val was looking around and checking out the students milling around the campus, waiting for the flag ceremony to commence.  “Is he that cute, a bit chubby senior who plays basketball?”Val asked. Charm nodded. “I met him during one of our volleyball games. I think he already saw me and took that opportunity to introduce himself to me.” I braced myself with her endless chatter on her latest guy.

Soon, the bell rang and we lined up. The principal made some reminders again on the Final Examinations and Graduation program. He went on to give recognition to the top-performing students from First to Third Years, and the names of our classmates were read. I heard Izzie’s name announced as Most Promising Sophomore- Female.  I cheered loudly for her.  Then Archer became Most Promising Sophomore - Male. Looking at the two standing up on the platform while waiting for other Sophomore awardees, they looked so cute together. I heard the rest of the 5 honor Sophomore students, all coming from our section. 

Then I heard Lance’s name called. He was the Most Popular Male Sophomore for the morning section. He looked so flustered and almost tried to ignore it. The bubbly boys pushed him and cheered him on. His face looked so red as he walked towards the platform. I clapped my hands and giggled. Girls were cheering even louder when his name was called. Suddenly “Charmaine Yap - Most Popular Female Sophomore”. Val and I looked nonplussed. Charm walked leisurely towards the platform to accept her medal and stood beside Lance. I clapped my hands and waved at them. While Lance looked so uncomfortable and wanted the ground to swallow him up, Charm was a picture of confidence. They looked even better together: Lance with his very fair skin, chinky eyes, crew-cut hair, and tall, slim physique, Charm with her beautiful, tanned skin, flawless features, and wavy hair. I looked surreptitiously for Belinda but was unable to see her. Inwardly, I was relieved. Her group might stop checking me out with this development.  Soon, the program ended and the winners went back to their lines.  We all congratulated our classmates who got recognized. I hugged Izzie and Charm. Then I also greeted Archer and Lance. We all went up to our classrooms. The room was abuzz and we were all discussing how honored our section was for having all winners from our section. Noah and Val took over the loud discussions, as they both made snide remarks on the selection process. “There should be a Most Popular Gay Student!, shrieked Noah. Val replied, “And you will most certainly not win that one. Over my dead body.” We all guffawed on this comical exchange. The bubbly boys were checking out the medals given to Archer and Lance. Charm and Val were noisily comparing their traits, as Val questioned why Charm was selected. Soon, our teacher came in and class started. 

I skipped going to the cafeteria again, as I borrowed Jon’s notes on our Math homework. I groaned at how long the computations were. I was so engrossed in what I was doing, that I did not notice someone coming into the room. Someone sat beside me. I looked up briskly. It was Lance. “How come you’re still here?”, he said.  I went back to writing furiously in my notebook. “I need to finish this. I made incorrect computations again.” He was quiet for a while, and let me complete the work. Soon, I stretched and said, “Finally, I’m done.” I looked at my watch and groaned. “There’s no time to go to the cafeteria anymore. I’m hungry.” Lance looked at me then said, “Here. You can have my chocolate bar.” I thanked him and took it from him. As I was unwrapping the bar, I said “Oh, you and Charm looked so good together during the awarding earlier. And why did you look so embarrassed? It was still an award. You should be proud. “ I munched on the bar, while he read my notes. He grimaced then said, “I think that’s a useless recognition. Here.” He fumbled in his pocket then handed me his medal. I stared at it. “Why are you giving this to me?” He replied, “You can have it. Or keep it for me.”  Soon enough, my classmates came in. Val saw the medal in my hand. He slid to me and whispered “We both know you did not get any award this morning. So why do you have that in your hand?” 

“Lance gave it to me for safekeeping. I think it makes him feel icky to get one.”I kept munching on the bar while looking at the medal. Val noticed it, then said, “Where did you get that chocolate bar?”

“Oh, I got it from Lance. I missed going to the cafeteria, remember?” 

“I saw one girl giving it to Lance earlier. It was right before he left the cafeteria.”

“Well, I was hungry. And I think he does not really care for chocolate bars, anyway.”

Val smirked at me. “You really are thick. So clueless.” I ignored his remark. What’s the big deal about getting a free chocolate bar?’ I pocketed the medal and turned my back on him.

Charm was in the hallway talking to some boys from the Junior section. She was indeed the prime example of a popular girl. She deserved getting the recognition.  She waved at me, and I approached her. “Hey, this is my best friend, Nia. Nia, these are the boys from III-1. I said hello to them, and one came up to me. He was a burly Junior who looked familiar. “So, this is No. 7 from your volleyball team. Hello, Nia.” I was startled when I heard this. “Are you also a volleyball player?”, I asked. “Yes, I’m Leo. I saw you play. You were really good and cute.” Upon hearing that, I became self-conscious. Charm giggled. I was quiet, then told Charm we needed to go.  She said goodbye to the boys, then wrapped her arm in mine. Together, we went back to our room. “I think that boy Leo likes you. He asked me about you earlier before you came.” I scowled. “Not really interested.” Our teacher was already in the room when we arrived. We hastily took our seats and were kept busy with the lessons. 

I was walking home when I heard someone behind me. It was Leo and some of his friends.  I became uneasy so I tried ignoring them. He called out my name. “Hey, Nia. Can we walk with you?” I could not answer right away.  There were 3 of them, and I really did not know how to handle them. Then I heard someone call me. “Nia, let’s go.” It was Lance. I breathed a sigh of relief. “Sorry, Leo. Here’s my friend. We’ll go home together.” Lance quickly walked beside me and nodded to the boys. Then he took my bag. I gave him my brightest smile. 

“Who is that?”

“His name is Leo. Charm met his group earlier and introduced me.” I looked at him. He was frowning slightly. I hurriedly added, “It’s a good thing you came. He was asking if they could walk me home.”  He said quietly, “I know. I saw them following you. I did not like it.”

I beamed at him, “Well, you’re here now. I feel safe.  Thanks again for saving me.” He gazed at me. “Nia, don’t go home immediately. Ask me or anyone from our class to walk you to the jeepney stop. It’s better to go in groups than alone. And tell Charm not to introduce you to just anyone. She’s your friend and she is supposed to also look after you.” He looked so grim, I was rueful. I think this was the first time I saw him looking like that. He was right. I should not be too complacent. I made up my mind to always ask him or Val to walk me to the jeepney stop after class moving forward. Even with the tense scenario earlier, it was reassuring to have someone like Lance watch over me.  We were silent throughout the ride. I can feel he was still annoyed. I did not talk to him as it might make the situation get worse. 

As we reached my house, he turned to me to hand me my bag. “Are you still mad?”, I asked quietly. He shook his head, then replied “Maybe I was a bit tired. Here’s your bag and I’ll try to call you up later.” He turned to walk away. He did not even look at me. I really was bothered but did not respond at all. I went inside, vexed at what happened and thinking of calling Charm.  She may not be at home yet but I will have to tell her about what happened.  I made a mental note to avoid getting introduced to dubious characters in the future.