After School Third Life - 1

"I hate this world." Her footsteps echoed throughout the hallway which was a sky pass from the school's building A to building B. The azure of the sky passed through the clear glass windows, palpably opposing her uncertain mood.

Ever since she went to school, all she had been focusing on was her studies, which was quite imprudent. It wasn't like she was going to apply everything she learned in school into real life. Furthermore, everything was a test. Pop quiz, recitation, etc... She wish she could get out of those four suffocating walls and discover the world for herself instead. The world was not the top of the cliff to fear of.

Through the hall with a throng of noxious students, Natalia traveled upstairs, climbing 3 stair cases and scampered to the lonely library. The book shelves were place in a column once she reached the threshold. From left the left, the old, scary-looking librarian was sitting on her desk, watching over the students scanning the books in the library and read her newspaper. The she scanned the students again to see any changes. What a boring life. There was just no fun in it. It was life studying the same subject with the same topic all over again. Natalia lead herself to the right side of the huge room, where empty tables fit for studying waited for more people to study on to. Not so many people were there - most were her classmates from the star section. The lower sections usually study during recess time, not in the duration of their free time after the test.

The tables were scattered here and there, about five rows were fixed from the corner most shelves. The tables to the right were lighted with the sunlight whilst the rest were lighted with artificial light. The students seem to hate the sun, so most of the tables to the left were taken. Natalia could not exclude herself from them, since she hated the sun as well. She didn't really hate it in a fact that she wanted it to disappear. She didn't like too much heat, especially when appropriate. She took the table on the farthest corner, preparing her notebooks and grabbed her pen. It was a little queasy and chained when studying with people one is not really used to. But thankfully, after mentally wishing people to disappear from her table, the black haired girl - the class president - stood up and smiled before her. 'Good luck' she said. Luna seemed to be very friendly to girls, but not to boys. Natalia painted a fake smile upon her face and rejoiced when Luna took her leave. It was a successful invasion of a table.

After a few minutes of getting drowned into her studying, the library tuned up a bit. Several heavy footsteps entered the wooden-floored library. Natalia took a glance at those men to satisfy her curiosity. They were the star section's trio. Leo was an aggressive sports fanatic who gave not much attention to his academics. Therefore, he usually end up cheating. Once he was caught by a teacher but gave him one more chance. He was under probation with the cute Ms. Lii. From that day forward, he started to control his mad eyes and did his hair nicely to impress Ms. Lii. No one from the star section wanted to get embarrassed nor reported because of cheating. Their pride lay beneath their academics. To Leo's left was Jin - an average guy who helped Leo in cheating. He was been known to have bad habits such as stealing girl's diaries when they were out to change into their P.E. uniforms. And he was the only guy in the star section who wears glasses and has a clean cut of his hair. And lastly, the one to Leo's right was Xavier - the biggest pervert anyone has known. But thankfully, there were times when he would control himself - in front of Ms. Lii. It seemed like they liked and disliked her. Natalia got back to her studying until the trio finally caused trouble. Wherever they were, there was always trouble.

Bam! Leo dropped his clenched fist to the first table in Natalia's column, amassing the attention of the student's studying in the tensed place. The guy sitting before the table, a favorable student, Kai glanced at Leo, smirking. Kai usually stayed out of fights as much as he could. He avoided it because he was under probation as well. Probation for picking out in street fights. But his smirk would just aggravate the angry Leo.

"What were you doing with her?" Leo yelled and grabbed Kai's collar.

The librarian on the other hand paced to the boys and tried to stop the commotion, but Leo just threatened back, leaving no choice but for the librarian to call for the office.

"You scumbag, did you know what trouble you've caused me?" Leo continued.

Kai smirked once again and shrugged. "Can't accept that you're a chicken?" In a split second, he was sent a powerful blow to his left cheek. Leo dropped him and called for his friends, leaving.

After a while, Natalia stayed on her seat. This is not an unusual thing for the star section. They maybe smart-asses but they never knew the meaning of cooperation. There star section has been like this since the very beginning. Fights, arguments, and exemptions. This was another factor why Natalia did not want to go to school any more. They were like her parents - albeit they had every penny they needed, there was no cooperation among them. Cooperation was not the right word to start with. There was no affection. There was no love among them. But 'love' was a new thing in her vocabulary. She had never seen it.

The chair across her moved and Kai sat on the vacant seat. He made himself comfortable before Natalia and started to lean on his palm. It was not noticeable but Kai's hair was not short and brown. It was actually shaggy, shoulder length red hair that was usually concealed with his mid-high ponytail that held 1/100 of his hair.

"What do you want?" Natalia asked, closing her notebook.

"Nothing," he laughed. "Made up your mind?"

Natalia shook her head. "I can't possibly do what you ask me to. It's too much."

"It's part of your revenge... for him ra-"

"Shut it," She scowled. "Give me more time to think of it thoroughly."

Kai raised both of his hands. "Yes ma'am" he smiled. Kai was a mysterious man for almost everyone. Now, he would seem to be very friendly. By later, he would try to kill everybody. Girls in class liked that kind of guy. Why? There was no point in liking somebody who has a double personality. It was like liking two persons in one body. There was no direct direction to it. Pointless.

She walked through the sky pass once again and reaching the main building, the trio hid in the janitor's room with Leo peeking out of the door. Natalia glanced at his golden orbs but Leo kept it locked, as though he was trying to tell her something. It was nothing sincere for he was never sincere. He was too hostile for anything like that. Natalia stole her glance at once and kept walking to her classroom.

As expected from the star section students, the examinations were a piece of cake - except for those who did not study like Leo and Xavier. Classes were at once dismissed and Natalia placed her pens in her small bag and wore it over her shoulder. 'You're going home already?' The class president approached her, 'We need to prepare the backdrop for the competition.' Natalia smiled and politely excused herself. She hated doing  backdrops, anyway.

The afternoon sky was the same with the morning sky. School may be tiring and sometimes boring. But if she was to pick between school and home, she would prefer school. Home was worse for her that even the sight of her own house makes her want to puke. It was a prison. Natalia walked to the school's pavement which led to the main gate. Behind her was a clear view of the school. The left most building was a tower like structure and the buildings to the right were connected by a sky pass. The pavement was a boulevard. It was filled with trees and meadows. The birds happily chirped as they flew up the sky. It was so tranquil, as though Natalia was the only one living in that area. She listened to her footsteps against the pavement and heard the same three heavy footsteps in the library. Either way, she had no business with Leo, Jin nor Xavier. Absolutely nothing.

"You're running away again!" Leo grabbed her wrist. But Natalia's reflexes kicked in and stole her wrists from his hand, allowing no romantic things to pass. She opened her mouth to speak, but decided not to. She turned back and continued to walk as if nothing happened.

Leo ran before Natalia, blocking her way. "Hey, I'm still talking to you!"

Natalia turned the other way to the right but Leo kept on blocking every route there was. So, Natalia turned back to see any other way. But there was Jin and Xavier, helping Leo. She sighed, in the brink of surrendering. "What do you want?"

He, Leo painted a cold smirk on his face and pulled her arm to him, embracing her. "Forgive my, princess."

Natalia submitted in the process but as soon as he finished his sentence, she shoved Leo away from him and took steps back from the man she hated the most. "You stole something I could never have ever again, and you expect me to forgive you?" She exclaimed.

The cold wind passed through the school. Everything became tranquil once again as Natalia glared at Leo's pitiful face. 'you don't deserve to be treated like a real man,' and she turned away passed by Leo's side.

"You really are soft, aren't you?" Kai teased as he started to poke Natalia's cheek. "You sure do don't wanna accept the offer?"

"Didn't I tell you to give me time to think?" Natalia sighed and took a sip of her soda. Unbeknownst to her, Kai has been watching the whole story about what happened to Natalia and Leo just a while ago. Kai was really a stalker, but he was just desperate, Natalia believed. He was too desperate to take his revenge upon Leo. "...And for the record, you're acting like a girl."

They were approaching the intersecting streets. Ahead was the street to Kai's home and to the right was the street to Natalia's. The roads were surrounded by towering houses and posts. Here, Kai scratched the back of his neck and stopped his pace. On the other hand, Natalia kept on walking until she reached the opening of the road leading to her house. "What's the matter?" She asked. Kai continued to walk and smiled. "You should do it before it's too late."

Natalia crossed her arms. "Is that a threat I'm hearing? Remember, you're the one who need me."

"And you need me as well. It's you're time to shine..." Kai whispered.

Natalia kept on walking together with Kai. "All right," she sighed. "I just need to fool him, right?"

Kai nodded. "And then leave the rest to me. This will be your revenge for him violating you."