The welcoming ceremony for incoming freshman students took place yesterday. My role as student body president was to welcome them. Seeing so many new faces was a wonderful experience. I have been a part of every welcoming ceremony since my own. When I joined the student body, I made friends with the previous student body president. As vice president, I automatically got the job after he graduated last year—one problem: Marcus Gram, the younger brother of the previous president. The two were close, so he wanted me to care for him. What he doesn't know is that I hate his brother. We were friends before high school. He was a good friend until he met Lori McBrier. She wanted all of Marcus' attention and devised a plan to separate us. The story goes like this: secrets were spilled, I was bullied, and then I became friends with his older brother, which forced them to back off. The teasing and general annoyance are still there, but it isn't as bad as before. Now that the president is gone, I've become untouchable now that I've taken over the presidency.
Although today was the first official day of school, my schedule already seemed full. I knew the president was busier than I was, but DAMN! About twenty-five freshman students came to chat with me during my homeroom.
"Hey, fa-um Max!? Do you have a moment?" my shoulders immediately drooped as I heard Marcus' voice.
"No, Marcus. I don't have a moment. Do you not see all of these students? You have to wait like everyone else." I brushed him off, expecting his usual explosive reaction, but to my surprise, he leaned against the wall and waited silently. It was an unusual display of patience from him. I resumed my tasks, giving directions, sorting out schedules, and reaching out to teachers to arrange class changes, all the while feeling his presence in the room. As the last of the freshmen exited, he propelled himself away from the wall and closed the door behind them. The room was enveloped in an eerie silence, amplifying the sound of my pounding heart in my ears.
"I see you're settling in nicely." I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair.
"Cut the shit, Marcus. What do you want?" he scoffed.
"I want to talk to you. Like old times, ya' know." I found his irritating words so amusing that I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Really? You want to pretend to be my friend? That's rich. Haven't we already played this game?"
"I wasn't playing with you. Not then and not now." my hands came crashing down onto the table as I abruptly rose from my seat.
"So you weren't about to yell "Hey, fag" when you walked into the room earlier, or am imagining things?" he groans in annoyance.
"Well, are you not one?" a wave of heat rushed to my cheeks, making my face flush bright red.
"Goodbye, Marcus. Whatever it was you came here for, you won't get it. And because I know you're a complete idiot and didn't come up with this ridiculous play, tell Lori she can kiss my freckled ass." he narrowed his eyes at me for a second before slamming the door open and stomping away. Heaving a sigh, I slumped down into my chair.
"Hey, president? Are you okay?" Jana entered the room with a sense of caution, glancing around as she walked in.
"Oh, Jana, hey. Everything is fine. Just forget about it." I furrowed my brow and squeezed the bridge of my nose in frustration.
"Are you sure? You look stressed." I straightened in my seat, inhaling a deep breath to steady myself.
"Thank you for your concern, Jana, but I am perfectly capable of handling Marcus. I may not like him, but the president told me to take care of him." Her lips curled into a gentle smile as she perched on the edge of my desk.
"You do know that you're the president now, right? You can call him Jayson." I smiled and nodded.
"Yes, I know," she winked and moved onto her desk. I sighed and went back to work.
As I lifted my head again, it was already lunchtime. The school bell rang, and a wave of eager freshmen poured into my office, their voices blending into a cacophony of excitement. I had just managed to wrap up the last group's requests, leaving me feeling accomplished but also slightly overwhelmed by the sudden influx of students.
"Hey, Max! Why are you ignoring Marcus?" Lori's voice pierced through the noise of the crowd. I looked up and saw her maneuvering her way through the sea of people. Determined, she made her way to my desk, and with a resounding thud, she forcefully placed her hand on top of my paperwork.
"What do you want?" She dismissed my words with an air of disdain that spoke volumes about the power of my voice.
"You're the student body president. You're supposed to listen to me." I pushed her hand aside forcefully.
"No, that's what your therapist does. I'm here for school-related problems." With a swift, dramatic motion, she flung her hair back.
"I am here for school-related problems. A new kid in our class is bullying Marcus." my face lit up with a wide, joyful smile.
"Now THAT is interesting. How about you lead me to this new kid and we can all get to the bottom of this so-called bullying." As she gave a subtle nod, her dark locks swayed slightly, and she began to make her way purposefully toward the door.
"Wait, you're leaving!?" Jana rapidly stood up from her seat, her eyes wide with confusion.
"I need you to hold down the fort for a while. Someone decided to be a bully on the first day of school. I'll be right back, Jana." In a rush, I dashed into the hallway and hurried after Lori as she led the way toward the classrooms.
In the classroom, I could hear Marcus screaming, "Will you shut the fuck up! ?" Lori took off down the hall and into the room. I followed her closely behind. We were on a serious roll at this point. The door was open, the teacher had gone, and Marcus was standing next to the windows, yelling at a guy who did not seem to be bothered by the situation.
"Oh, calm down. You don't want to work yourself up. All that toxic masculinity might pop a blood vessel." Marcus clenched his fist, ready to throw a punch.
"Hey! Marcus, back away from him!" all eyes in the room shifted to focus on me.
"What the hell, Lori? Why would you go get him!?" she shrugged her shoulders.
"You! What's your name?" the guy gestured towards himself with a puzzled look on his face. I responded by nodding my head, as if expressing "obviously," and pointed back at him.
"I'm Aiden Lee. And you?"
"I'm Max Doherty, student body president. What's going on in here? It's only the first day of school, and there's already a commotion in this classroom."
"I was just making conversation with Marcus, and he got angry with me. Why?" I folded my arms across my chest.
"Because Lori says you're bullying Marcus." he tilted his head toward me and narrowed his eyes.
"Right. So you'll believe your friends without any proof?"A chuckle broke free from my lips before I could stifle it.
"Friends? As if. I'm just doing my job," he smirked and nodded toward Lori.
"He gave that girl a bracelet, and I told her it was fake. He got pissed and decided he wanted to fight. I guess he didn't want to admit he's too broke to buy his side piece real diamonds." Marcus threw Aidan's desk to the floor and grabbed him by the shirt, ready to fight.
"What the fuck did you just say," Lori yelled. "I'm his girlfriend."
"Oh, so the girl he was kissing this morning was the side chick? Got it." I was utterly shocked as my jaw fell open. I had always had a hunch that Marcus wasn't genuinely in love with Lori, but I never imagined he would be unfaithful. Lori looked distraught. In a trembling voice, she screamed, "It's not true! You're lying!" tears filled her eyes. The betrayal on her face was evident. I was enjoying their misfortune even though I didn't want to admit it. As good as Jayden is to me, Marcus has treated me badly for the past five years, and he deserves this.
"What the hell are you talking about, you bastard? Quit lying!" Aiden shrugged his shoulders before removing Marcus's hand from his collar.
"You gave her a similar bracelet to the one you gave Lori. We could go talk to her if you want." Lori nodded her head in agreement.
"No!" Marcus was shaking with anger at this point. "No one is going anywhere!" Lori slowly approached him.
"So it's true? You're cheating on me? Why didn't you just break up with me if you wanted her?!" the entire room went silent, waiting for his answer. I found myself completely immersed in the situation, so much so that it took me a moment to realize that Aiden was staring at me from across the room. As our eyes locked, he gave me a cute smirk. Normally, a gesture like that would make my heart flutter, but this time it genuinely creeped me out. It was like this had already happened before.
"I'm sorry. I was going to tell you at some point, just not right away," he shot Aiden a dirty look and clenched his fist tightly.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I don't see why you need me. Lori, is there still a problem?" She shook her head slowly, her eyes lingering over Marcus as she took a step back, carefully scanning him from head to toe.
"No, but I would love to change classes." I nodded my head.
"Right then, let's go back to my office." She glanced in my direction, her body frozen in place.
"I'm sorry, Max. I ruined everything for you just to get closer to Marcus, but honestly, it only put me where you were heading. Marcus isn't good for either of us." I rested my hand casually on my hip, feeling a wave of confidence and anger wash over me.
"Ha! Oh, please, Lori! You're not sorry, you're pitiful, is what you are. You wanted him all to yourself, but did you ever stop to think that Marcus only wanted you to spread your legs? In all honesty, you saved me from years of dealing with his shit. Just look where I'm at. Above both of you." her teeth lightly grazed her bottom lip as she emitted a soft, carefree laugh. She looked around the room at everyone present. Everyone was staring and whispering.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. You're above me…but you're still alone. No friends, no boyfriend, no one who gives a shit about you! I have it all!"
"No, Lori, you had it all. I believe you just lost all of those things. Jayden's gone, so you have no power, you're boyfriend cheated on you, so you have no man, and I'm guessing your superficial friends will run off once they see how far you've fallen. You're nothing without everyone's constant praise!" I took a sharp exhale. I had held those emotions in for far too long, and I finally got the release I needed. I wanted both of them to feel even a fraction of what I felt over the past five years. Karma had finally caught up with them. "Oh, but please do come to my office to change classes. It is my job, after all."