Chapter 18

18. A friendship- I cherish....

Coraline and I decided that the day was too good to waste by going home, so after lunch, we take a detour to the park nearby.

We walk the cobblestone path that leads us around the park which looks beautiful with all its lush trees, freshly cut grass, and well as ponds filled with ducks and swans that dot it here and there. I feel myself become more and more relaxed as we glide through the path, listening to the sound of the wind rustling through leaves, people playing with their children or walking their pets, and spotting various kinds of birds flying through trees, all while engaging in pleasant conversation with Coraline. I nearly forget the altercation we have mere hours ago at Zelt Tech with Aiden and his goon of a manager, followed by the revelation of Gerald’s actual status in my father’s employment.

All in all, it had been such an eventful day. Something that seems to be a frequent happening in my life as of late.

“I hope I’m not offending you by asking this,” Coraline pipes in as we take abend near yet another pond,” but why does everyone we meet seem to hate you?”

“What do you mean?” I question, even though I know exactly what she meant.

“Before you came to the reunion dinner at the restaurant, everyone was talking smack about you,” Coraline states, “it was really confusing to hear at first, but after some time it got annoying because I realized that they clearly wanted to harass you for their sick entertainment. That’s why I thought I should get you to leave before things could escalate. I’m still sorry about the way I did it, I should’ve just pulled you to a side and explained matters to you like an actual mature person.”

“Hey,” I stop her by putting my hand on her forearm, “I’m not mad about that now. You did what you had to do. Who knows what I would’ve done if you had tried to talk to me? Knowing myself I would’ve taken my chances rather than leave the premises, effectively humiliating myself further.”

I try to laugh it off, “And I honestly got no idea why people suddenly go apeshit around me. Maybe I got one of those faces you really want to punch.”

“There’s nothing wrong with your face,” Coraline insists, her own cheeks rosy, “it’s a good face. A kind face, actually.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that, “Thank you,” I reply sincerely, and mull over her words, “maybe that’s the reason. Maybe I look like the perfect punching-bag material for the bullies.”

“Aiden used to talk about you with so much scorn,” she continues, “he always went on tirades about the cockroach who was a stain to the prestigious name of King’s College university. What’s all that about?”

“Aiden is part of this clique of bullies, along with a dude called Stone who acts as their ringleader,” I reveal, “and the whole gang got it out for me and people like me. They believe that people like me shouldn’t get to enroll at a place like King’s College. They think King’s College is for the rich elite of the country, not the orphaned poor.”

Coraline snorts, “I take it they had no idea who your father was.”

“None I tried not to let them know. I wanted to do it all on my own, just like my mom did. I managed it for a year, even with the constant bullying.”

“Aiden mentioned you having a girlfriend?” Coraline questions, almost hesitantly, and I can’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

“Some girlfriend alright No, that is so far from the truth that it could be another planet,” I grouse, “Stone and his gang had it for me since day one, but recently their attacks got more physical. So much so that they began to beat me up on the street.”

Coraline gasps, “didn’t you file a complaint?”

“Nope. Didn’t think it’ll work. Stone had some influence on campus. Besides, I didn’t want to be a snitch.”

“Forgive me for saying this, but that’s stupid.”

“I see that now. But back then, I thought I was protecting my own dignity by doing that. Anyways, Stone and his gang apparently couldn’t find satisfaction in beating me up anymore, so they planned this. elaborate prank. They made one of their girlfriends pretend to like me and coax me on a date. I was an idiot, so I went along. She wanted to sleep with me, and I was even more of an idiot, so I agreed.”

“I have a feeling this is not going to go well,” Coraline comments, and I smile grimly.

“Anyways, the moment comes. We’re in a hotel room, she’s fully clothed, and me being the horny idiot got my pants around my ankle, and in bursts Stone and his gang with a fucking video camera.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Oh, shit indeed. My junk got live-streamed around the world.” Humiliation washes over me as if it just happened, “fortunately for me, Gerald burst into the room and stopped anything else from happening. God knows what else they’d have done if not for him.”

“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Coraline says, looking sincere and remorseful, “no one deserves to have their trust betrayed like that.”

“Thanks,” I murmur, “so to answer your question, no, I got no idea why the things that keep happening to me are happening to me. I’m just a guy trying to make the best out of the opportunities I have, but somehow, I end up pissing a lot of people off by simply existing.”

“It’s not fair,” Coraline comments, “I wish everyone would see you for who you really are.”

I shoot her a smile, “so do I, Coraline. So do I.”

After the afternoon transforms into the evening, we decide to call it a day. I drop Coraline off at her current home and return to my father’s place. I got a pile of homework to do, and I decide I should better get started on it soon before night falls.

As I clean up for the day and sit down for work, I think of Coraline. She’s so different from who I thought she would be after the whole restaurant ordeal, more like the kind and friendly girl I met way back in high school. It’s nice to have a friend in her when everything seems to be so bleak now.

I just hope that our friendship remains without being soured, like everything else in my life.