Chapter 4 - The Freak

*Pryce’s Point of View*

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“Miss Winsley, you can proceed to your classroom now. It's almost time for your first subject.” Said the principal, who was my mom's best friend.

'Was', because my mother, Prescilla Karstensen-Winsley, died in a plane crash when I was still ten years old. She left me with my dad, but I don't live in his mansion now because I already have my own house.

“Okay, Mr. Burton, just inform me if you need something or if there are any changes,” I told him as I picked up my purse and stood up from the chair fronting his table.

I have been assessing him on what to do for the future meeting with the faculty this coming Friday. One of my jobs is to ensure that my employees are all comfortable with their positions and their duties. And of course, I need to know what would be the agendas and other events that will be held in this academy.

Do you think I am pretty young for this job? Well, yes. But I grew up with these kinds of things that even when Mom was still alive, I was watching her manage this whole place wonderfully. Also, my father, Kyle Connor Winsley, is a great businessman.

“Yep, have a great day at school, Pryce.” He said to me with a wide smile.

Ronald Burton is like a father to me since he takes good care of me whenever I'm at school and because he and my mom were very close friends way back then. I let him be the principal of my academy because I want to, and I trust him as much as my mother trusted him. But he got a little secret that only I, Mom, Dad, and he knows. He's gay, but he doesn't show it. He wondered why he never really fell in love with a woman and found men more attractive than women. So, he's gay. But I don't hate him. I don't blame him for that. It's not his choice because he is born that way.

“Thanks, Ron! Don't worry. I will go to the secretary this afternoon to tell her about the things we'll need for the meeting that we have agreed on earlier. Bye!” I bid him goodbye as I walked out of his office.

Then I went to my locker to pick up some of my stuff, and as usual, students' eyes were on me, while some of them tried to avoid eye contact.

Well, no one could ever get near me or be friends with me because I owned the academy that they are in. And I'm glad that they found their places. There are times when new students want to flirt with me but immediately regret it, knowing I am the queen of this place. And if I find any student violating a single rule, I automatically send them to the principal's office and let Ron handle them. Some were suspended, and some got expelled. It's not my fault. I'm just doing my obligation as the owner to attain peace and make the students here to spend their high school life worth it.

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As I walked into the hallways, some students greeted me, and some tried to avoid me. Yep, I'm acting like a queen, but no. It's their obligation, too, to follow the rules and mind their things.

Then I went straight to the third floor and to room C-04. And once again, the students' eyes are on me, and I'm used to it. Some are happy to know that I will be their classmate, while some are worried and afraid. I don't know what comes to their minds whenever they see me. I don't bite people.

I finally went to my seat at the back of the room. Everybody knows that I always sit at the back so that I can see all the things that my classmates are doing. I just like to see who are the ones doing something suspicious during class hours.

I roamed my gaze around the room, and I'm glad to see that almost all of my classmates now were my classmates from last school year, so I guess it's not that hard to adjust.

The seat beside me was still unoccupied, and a new student came in. She's not familiar, so I assumed that she's a new student. And I'm glad that she did not sit beside me. As much as possible, no one should sit here. But, hey, I guess no one ever dares to do so.

“Good day, Miss Winsley! I noticed during this enrollment period that there are lots of new students enrolled here. And I'm delighted that we are classmates again.” Abigail Hudson said with a bright smile, who sits in front of me. She is the re-elected President of the Student Council. She looks nice with her glasses, curly brown hair, and brown eyes, and she's smart. She is what you would presume as a nerd. She's the only one who dares to talk to me because she is the council president. She needs to speak to me since she has to tell me what are the things that the council had agreed on and whatnot.

“Yes, and I'm happy that the academy is always in progress.” That's all I said to her, and I pulled out my binder notebook from my bag to write some of my schedules to do today. I forgot to write them yesterday.

First is... at lunch, I need to go to the library and the academy's secretary's office. Second, at 6 pm, I will meet Dad at one of his restaurants around the city so that we will have dinner and talk about some things—father-daughter kinda stuff. Third, I will go to the convenience store to buy some milk, ice cream, and cereals.

And as I was writing, I heard the door open and then close. Then I looked at my wristwatch, and it was almost time. 

It must be Mr. Colton now. I just knew that he will be our English teacher because I asked him to. He's strict and a decent man.

The bell finally rang, and I heard him murmuring something about finding a vacant seat, and then I heard my name was mentioned by him.

There must be another student who just came in.

“She can sit here, Mr. Colton,” I said without looking at who would be the one sitting beside me, but I could see in my peripheral vision that it’s a girl.

Our classroom arrangement is by two seats in one column, and we have five columns and six rows. The last row consists of only two chairs, and that seat is mine and the unoccupied one beside me. So, I guess I have no choice but to sit with someone for the whole year since there's no other vacant seat here.

“You can go to your seat now, Miss Blair… right beside Miss Winsley.” Mr. Colton ordered, and I heard footsteps getting nearer where I was.

And as I look up at the person, who is going to be my seatmate, my eyes meet those ocean green eyes that I've dreamed about last night and the many other nights since we first met. No. Is it really her? Impossible.

I saw that she's as shocked as I, or I am more shocked than her. 

Damn! It really is her!

“What are you doing in my school?” I asked her calmly, but my heart is beating so freaking fast.

I'm still not over with her because she was the one who stained my favorite dress with my iced coffee. And maybe this time, I could finally take my revenge. The odds are finally in my favor.

“Your school? Mmm... Sounds fun.” She amusedly uttered and smiled a sweet smile. 

Damn, that's the same smile that I dreamed of last night. And it surely gives me shivers like this is a Deja Vu. Sh*t, why do I feel so uncomfortable right now? No, she is just a nobody.

And then she finally sat beside me on my left.

I should start making a plan to get that pretty smile off of her beautiful face. 

What am I thinking? She's not attractive. She's ugly, and she got brown hair that was so straight and shiny and a perfect set of white teeth. And a perfect face. Oh, no, I should make a plan on how to make her life a living hell in this academy. No, I'm not a bully type of student, but this girl needs to learn her lesson. She should not have messed with me back at my bookstore.

And as usual, the teacher let us introduce ourselves to everyone in the room, so I went first since I am at the back.

“My name is Pryce Winsley. And for those who do not know me yet, better know your places, or you will know where you should be. There is a handbook that states everything you need to know as a student here in my academy.” I glared at her as I said the last part. Then I took my seat, and it was now her turn.

“Uh... First of all... My name's Blair. Blair Kendall. Just call me Blair because I don't want to sound like the Science teacher.” That's all she said and took her seat.

So, she is the daughter of Miss Margarette Kendall. I thought she doesn't have a husband? Well, maybe she was widowed or something. But this girl doesn't look like her at all. Miss Kendall has blonde hair and blue-gray eyes, while this girl has straight brown hair, a perfect nose, a quite pale skin, and the most amazing ocean green eyes that will look deep down your soul, and wait… I already described her earlier. No, I should get her off of my mind. I'm not thinking straight anymore.

When something popped up in my head, I wrote, 'What a small world we have, Freak. Remember me?' to her on a small paper that I tore from my binder notebook, and I shove it in front of her on the tabletop.

She smiled and wrote something at the back of it and returned it to me. She's grinning like crazy that made the teacher call her attention.

“Miss Blair, is there something funny that you can tell the whole class?”  Mr. Colton asked, and I just acted normal. I don't want to be dragged. That's so unprofessional of me, if so.

And her note said, 'Well, yeah! So, you did miss me, huh?'

Damn, this woman is so full of herself.

“Um... No. Nothing, Sir.” She answered and bowed down her head. 

And she saw my response to her with a new sheet of small paper. 'Never in your freaking dreams!'

She read it and kept the paper somewhere in her jeans' pockets. Then she focused on listening to our other classmates introducing themselves.

I frowned when she did not reply. And I don't know why but I feel disrespected.

Oh, wait until I get my revenge, Freak. I'm sorry, but I will never be nice to you, Blair Kendall.