1: Gale - A Piece of Trash

CHAPTER ONE

"GALE, get my package delivery from outside the gate," Danny shouted, pulling a crumpled bill from his pocket and tossing it at Gale. "Keep the change, if there's any," he added as he shrugged off his hooded jacket, the fabric clinging to his sweat-drenched skin as he returned to the basketball game in the dormitory courtyard.

"Check it first, make sure nothing's broken or missing, or I'll make you pay for it," Danny added without looking at Gale, as he was focused on shooting the ball that he'd just caught.

"Grab the water I had refilled outside too. It's already paid for."

Before he could pick the money that Danny threw, Jeric, one of Danny's teammates called out, flinging a twenty-peso note towards Gale.

"Guys, isn't this too much? Why is it always Gale who has to do everything for you?" a girl sitting on the bench, spectating the game, asked. She's obviously new here since she seemed affected by what the other is doing to Gale.

"Nah, he's used to it. If we didn't give him these errands, with how poor he is, he'll probably starve," Jeric replied with a laugh.

"Don't you know the saying, 'When money talks, Gale will dance'? It means you can make him do anything if you pay him," chimed in one of Jeric's lackeys, whose name Gale never bothered to learn.

"He'd probably even eat my shit for a thousand pesos," Kenny interjected, his voice dripping with disdain.

Everyone turned their eyes towards him when they heard him especially the new girl. But they immediately shut their mouths when they recognized him.

Known as the king of this dorm, Kenny's wealth and connections made him a magnet for sycophants. Most of his dormmates clung to him, eager to please him in every way possible. They're even fawning at him to gain his attention.

With the combination of his money and good looks, he was also the dream boyfriend for many girls at their school. Thus, not only the boys are fawning upon him, but also the girls.

Hearing Kenny's remark, laughter erupted from the group, echoing through the court.

However, Gale ignored them, quietly picking the scattered bills in the ground. Their mockery stung, but what choice did he have? Without these menial tasks, he'd have nothing to eat. His part-time job wasn't enough to cover his tuition, so he needed every bit of extra cash for his food.

Some of his roommates were kind, though. They're always offering Gale for free food for him to stop running errands for the bullies. But as much Gale appreciated their kindness, he is too ashamed to rely for his meal to them. He grew up accustomed to always reap what he sow through hard work, thus, he didn't want to always rely on his roommates' charity.

Besides, through performing these menial task, he could earn atleast fifty pesos a day, which is just enough for him to survive for the day. He was used to hardship, making him fine with just eating rice and whatever condiment he could afford.

Sometimes, if luck favored him, he’d get a taste of better food like adobo or fried chicken, thanks to their kind and wealthy dommates who are also asking him to run errands for them.

Poverty had taught him perseverance, resourcefulness, and the drive to work for survival. Meanwhile, the wealthy enjoyed all the advantages and privileges society offered. Sometimes, envy crept in, but Gale knew it was pointless so he'll just shrug this thinking off.

"Trash, come here," Kenny's voice cut through his thoughts when he turned and was about to leave. Kenny loved calling him that, as if degrading Gale made him richer.

The girls laughed as Gale approached Kenny. "Did he just let someone call him trash freely? Is he a masochist or just an idiot?" a freshman girl whispered.

"He's an idiot who knows he's trash," murmured a blonde with long, dyed hair.

"If I were him, I'd jump off the roof," added a girl with curly hair.

But Gale simply ignored their taunts as he stood before Kenny. Listening to others' negativity wouldn't change his circumstances.

"Buy an ordinary flower bouquet from the flower shop and give it to Sherly. She's currently in her dormitory," Kenny ordered, lounging on the bench with his arm around two beautiful girls. They were undoubtedly his latest chicks.

Kenny then casually dropped a bill from his wallet at Gale's feet. "Here's a thousand pesos. Keep the change."

Gale silently picked up the money and hurried away, ignoring the laughter behind him. At least he was surely earning big this time. Maybe if he could make this kind of money in a daily basis, he wouldn't have to exert more effort on picking trashes throughout the Academy.

Yes, picking trash was his part-time job.

Upon enrolling, he had pleaded with the school administration for work to support his studies, as he was an orphan with no family in the area. With his excellent academic record in highschool, the Academy granted his request.

But for some reasons, he's a favorite target of bullies. Initially assigned to the library as a student assistant, a certain bully pulled some strings and have him reassigned to trash collection.

Using his barehands to collect garbage, the job was definitely humiliating, but he couldn't sacrifice his future to protect his pride. So, he accepted the job.

As he walked outside the dormitory gate, Gale spotted the delivery boy waiting. Thus he immediately approached him and asked, "Is there a package for Mr. Salve?"

The delivery boy nodded, glancing at the box he held. "490 pesos," he said.

A bitter smile crossed Gale's mouth. Danny had given him 500 pesos. So he'll just have 10 pesos for him as payment for this errand.

But still, for Gale it was already something as he could use it to buy some cheap bread enough to fill his stomach.

After checking the package and signing the delivery receipt, Gale headed to the water refilling station nearby.

"Ma'am, I'm here to pick up Jeric Sanchez's refill," he said to the woman at the counter.

With a mere glance, the woman just pointed to the water container placed in the right side of the counter, and Gale immediately retrieved it without a word. They knew him well enough as the errand boy for the Ordinary Men's Dormitory, that's why they're acting like that.

Back at the dormitory, he delivered the items to Jeric and Danny's rooms which is situated in the first floor of their dorm. The students living in the Regular Rooms in this floor are mostly well off, that's why they had better facilities than the Simple Rooms on the ground floor where Gale stayed. The second floor housed the Standard Rooms, where Kenny and other rich students resided. They enjoyed the best amenities and special privileges, like unrestricted room activities.

For those in Simple Rooms, many things were forbidden. They couldn't even visit the second floor unless summoned by the dormitory manager or a resident there. Such was life—fair only in its inherent unfairness.

After completing his deliveries, Gale set out on Kenny's errand. A twenty-minute walk brought him to the flower shop, where he purchased an ordinary bouquet for 899 pesos. The price was steep.

Sometimes, it confused him why men loved giving this kind of thing to girls when it's just a splurge. But, well, Kenny was wealthy, so it was just loose change for him. At least he had 101.00 pesos left.

He examined the flowers in the bouquet, they looked beautiful. But he didn't recognize the names of these flowers as he only knew roses.

After buying the bouquet, he swiftly took it to the Women's Dormitory where Sherly was staying. The women's dormitory in this school was similar to the men's dormitory also having four different economic classes of which were: Ordinary, Advance, Special, and VIP. Inside each of these dormitories, there were also different room classes, namely Simple, Regular, and Standard.

Discrimination had become normalized in the Academy because of these systems which made equality a foreign concept inside. And as students, they had no choice but to accept and comply with it.

Soon enough, he reached the Advance Women's Dormitory. Sherly's family was probably wealthier than Kenny's as the former's dormitory was categorized as Advance, while Kenny's was only Ordinary. The opulence of this dormitory was evident; it looked more lavish and grand compared to the Ordinary Men's or Women's Dormitory.

"What do you need?" The guard at the gate of the Advance Women's Dormitory scowled as he approached.

"I just have something for Ms. Sherly White," he politely replied to the guard.

The guard scrutinized him from head to toe before speaking. "What's your name, and what are you giving her?"

"Gale Rushton, sir. I'm giving her flowers." He responded.

The guard nodded and picked up the intercom mic for the entire dormitory. "Ms. Sherly White, there is a certain Gale Rushton who's looking for you. He wished to give you a bouquet of flowers. He's waiting here in the front gate's waiting lounge. Thank you."

After relaying the message, he gestured for him to sit in the dormitory's waiting lounge.

And later he already saw Sherly came out of her dorm. Gale was about to say something when Sherly angrily walked towards him.

"You piece of trash!"

Shit. Gale thought in embarrassment as he saw the dark expression in the beauty in front of him.

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English is not my first language, so if you happen to see some errors, feel free to point it out.

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