5. Delilah
Chapter five
Delilah
I sat at Kimi’s desk as she was in her closet, looking for her perfect pair of shoes. I giggled as she came out and stood in front of her mirror.
“How do I look, Dee?” she asked, and I grinned.
“Like a president.”
She granted me a genuine smile, and I couldn’t help but feel happy inside.
It wasn’t that she never smiled or joked around. She just had a strong personality and barely showed her emotions. So much so that some people have also stated that she has a “resting bitch face.” Me included…
It had been a few days since our first day, and today was the student government’s presidential campaign. From the autumn semester, which was September to November, Kimi was one of the few selected to run. She had the month of December to prepare for her speech and campaign, and boy, oh boy, did she prepare.
Unfortunately, I had to be there to listen to her read her speech thrice daily to make sure she didn’t miss a word, and she even practiced what she’d say in debates. We made flashcards, for heaven’s sake. If the girl didn’t win, I would go crazy.
Kimi’s mom walked into the room, and I looked over to her.
“Hi, Mom ,” I said in Korean, as it was her native language and culture. Even though she was from South Korea, she spoke both Japanese and Korean to Kimi. And because her father was Japanese and had family from China as well, Kimiko ended up learning four languages: Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, and English by age seven. My father was only slightly jealous of her ability to learn so many languages so young.
“Hello, my little Delilah. How are you?”
“Good. How does Kim-Kim look?”
She looked over to Kimi and smiled. I tuned them out as she happily grabbed Kimiko’s face in her hands and started saying how proud she was.
Kimi gave up on trying to push her away and blushed with embarrassment. Noticing Kimi’s facial expression, her mother pulled away and went for the door.
“I’ll tell your appa all about your big day today. He will be very pleased when he gets home from Shanghai this afternoon. Breakfast is also ready downstairs.”
“Thank you, Mom,” Kimi said, switching to Japanese, and I looked back over to her, growing serious.
“So, how excited do you want me to be for you? Are we going to have a full cheerleader moment here or basic clapping from a parent who wants to make a good impression?” I asked sincerely, and she glanced over at me.
“I want a parent who will make a good impression, and I give you access to yell my name twice.”
“Four times,” I negotiated, and she shook her head.
“Three. Take it or leave it.”
“I’ll take it to go. We need to get downstairs to eat.”
Kimi nodded and grabbed her bag as I grabbed mine as well. Entering the dining room, I saw Kimi’s butler serving breakfast, however Jin had already packed up his things to leave.
“Jin, why are you leaving? You haven’t even finished your breakfast,” his mother asked, and he sighed.
“ Eomma , I-I just wanted to see if I could catch a ride with Zachary.”
“He means Ivory,” I clarified, and he looked over at us in shock that we were in the room, listening.
“N-No. What are you talking about?” he stuttered as his cheeks started to redden.
Kimi’s mom looked at us in question, and I rolled my eyes playfully.
“Little Jinny here has a crush on Ivory,” I explained, and Kimi nodded in agreement.
“It’s true. When he’s near her, he can’t take his eyes off of her.”
“Is that so?” Kimiko’s mom asked, and Jin sighed.
“Come on, guys. She’s like a sister to me—”
“Hey, no need to find an excuse. We’re just waiting until you two get married so Kimi and I can actually be sisters,” I joked, and he mumbled something under his breath before he walked out of the door.
Kimi’s mom chuckled. “Give the boy a break; he’s learning about love, and it’s his first time.”
“We’ll give him a break when we’re sisters,” Kimi retorted, and I giggled as we sat to eat breakfast.
A few hours had gone by, and I was sitting in the grand auditorium with all the freshmen, juniors, and sophomores. The seniors only attended these kinds of events if they wanted to as they mostly didn’t take part in these activities and were barely at the school as it was. They were always occupied with other important things and mainly focused on finishing their classwork early.
As the dean spoke on behalf of the students, I watched Kimi as she sat behind the table with the other candidates. Her choice of vice president, a good-looking student with a high reputation and grades, whispered in her ear as he stood beside her. She listened and pushed her hair out of her face as she whispered back to him.
It was obvious what they were whispering about as the school’s current president sat on stage alongside them, looking nervous. The entire school knew that he listened to Luca, meaning most of the decisions made by the students were really made by him.
It made me sick to my stomach how power-hungry he was. Another reason Kimi wanted so badly to be president was so we could have at least one person making decisions, not under the influence of Luca.
“Now we will listen to Kimiko Masahiko’s speech for her campaign.” He stepped away from the mic, and everyone clapped.
I managed to throw my first cheer, “Go, Kim-Kim!” over the clapping. She looked over to me discreetly and held up a hand that had two fingers, letting me know I only had two more times.
“Students of Highland Bridge Academy. Faculty, family, friends. We need a leader. We need someone who will take control of their students’ wishes and bring them to life—”
I listened to her speak, saying it along with her since I knew it like the back of my hand.
She called upon her choice of vice president and spoke.
“My team and I have worked for the last month to discover how to expand our horizons and better the students.” She continued for a few minutes, and I didn’t miss one word, saying it with her. When she finished her speech, she said, “Thank you,” and the entire auditorium stood up and clapped.
“GOOD JOB, KIMI!” I said happily, and she smiled as we all cheered for her. I was even tempted to yell,”‘That’s my best friend!” as if everyone didn’t already know.
We took a seat after a minute, and only then did I notice the other candidate still looking very nervous, almost sure he wouldn’t win again—though he was probably more afraid of Luca than he was of actually losing. I could only imagine what would happen if and when he didn’t win.
After the campaign was over, Kimi had to take care of a few things, leaving me to have some time to myself before my next class. I walked into the courtyard of the school and enjoyed the smell of fresh air. We even had a bridge over a small lake. Though it was gorgeous, I didn’t see the point.
The committee of the academy spends a lot of money on meaningless things, and the families who don’t have a lot of money to pay the tuition have to suffer because the school thinks we may need facial recognition to enter the gates. Having Kimi as the voice of the students would bring these issues to light, and I could only hope that the board members would listen.
I was brought out of my thoughts as someone bumped into my shoulder as they walked past. Scoffing, I looked over to see a boy walking casually as if nothing had happened.
“‘Excuse me’ would have been the polite thing to say,” I said, annoyed, and the man stopped as his shoulders tensed slightly. I would have simply turned and left had he continued walking, but as he moved to face me, my heart dropped as Kimiko’s words rang through my mind once more. Delilah, I need you to promise me you’ll stay away from him at all costs. And here I was, like an idiot, poking the beast.
Luca looked at me curiously as he tilted his head. “Forgive me. I’m not one to be known for my politeness,” he responded, and deciding to listen to Kimiko, I swiftly turned and continued my walk.
After a few moments or so, my arm was roughly pulled back so I was face-to-face with him. His grip on my arm was tight, and I flinched slightly.
“Didn’t say you could walk away, did I?” he asked with a tilt of his head, and I gulped softly.
Images of the boy being beaten to a pulp by Luca and his posse came to mind again, and although I considered myself rather confident, I felt powerless in his grip. Nonetheless, I still responded in a somewhat snarky way, despite my arm burning in his hold.
“ Forgive me for not knowing I had to wait for your command,” I retorted, and a small smile graced his lips as he leaned in slightly.
“A little attitude, hmm? Not a problem… I like breaking pretty little things that don’t know their place,” he said menacingly as I glared in response.
“I am not a pretty little thing.”
Without any effort, he jerked me closer to him by the arm as he shook his head.
“You’re not just a pretty little thing, doll… because now, you’re mine, ” he said as if anything about this situation wasn’t abnormal.
“What does that even mean?” I muttered in confusion, and he didn’t say anything as his hand held me tightly. It was almost like he was trying to understand something as he looked down at me in curiosity.
“You’re not familiar with how things operate around here, are you, doll?”
“If I was, do you really think I’d take time out of my day to talk to you?” I asked, and winced only slightly as his hand tightened.
I bit my lip as my arm was practically trembling under his hold. “Can you let me go, please?” I asked, trying to find my voice after a moment, and he leaned in closer.
“And why would I do that?”
“Because she asked nicely. It’s the least you could do,” someone said, and I heard Archer’s very familiar voice as he walked over to us. For some reason, I felt happy to see him, but another part of me knew he was going to bring me hell, too.
Luca let go of my arm and looked very displeased to see Archer.
Archer looked over to me and checked his watch. “You’re going to be late to class, Delilah. Let’s go.”
The tension grew thick as Luca stared daggers at Archer. I nodded my head and blushed profusely when I felt Archer grab my hand. It was always a weird feeling when he touched me, so odd that it would be too hard to explain how it felt.
He spared Luca one last glance. “Stay in line, Crawford.”
Luca didn’t respond, and Archer walked me inside the building. His hand holding mine made my blush deepen, and I stopped in my tracks as I pulled away.
“I can walk myself to class, Archer.”
He clenched his jaw. “Sure, you can. You should be thanking me for getting you out of that situation. It would be the… polite thing to do.”
“I’m a big girl, Archer. I can handle myself.”
He scoffed, and I took multiple steps back as he approached me. My back hit the wall, and he placed his hand by my head as I was reminded much of the first day and many other encounters I’d faced with him in this similar position. I wanted to push him away, but I knew better than to aggravate him… He made sure I knew that.
“If that’s your idea of being a big girl, then you’ve proven my point again that you aren’t ready to come back to the academy.”
“You don’t know anything, Archer.”
“I don’t, Princess ?” he asked, false concern laced in his voice, and a blush rose to my face as he leaned in slightly. “I know this school practically crawling with people like him—”
“And like you too?” I asked him boldly, and a small smile graced his lips.
“Watch your little attitude, Delilah… we both know that’s already gotten you into trouble,” he said mockingly, and I pushed him away as best as I could, leaving him in the hall as I made my way to my next class angrily.
It was the end of the day, and I was on my way to the main office to grab my schedule and other things. Entering the office, I went to the desk in the corner with everyone’s information and started looking for mine. I looked through the R section for my last name, Russel. While searching, I overheard the conversation behind me.
“Is there any way I’ll be able to switch? I can’t be in the same class as him this semester again,” I heard a pleading voice, and I looked to see the boy who had been bullied on the first day. He glanced over at me, but I quickly looked away as if I hadn’t seen him.
“Mr. Brooks, the schedules and classes for the students have already been set for a specific reason. I’ll have to consult the dean, and even then, he may not accept... It costs $5,000 to switch a class.”
“$5,000?!” he asked, and I couldn’t help but feel bad.
“Yes, the switch is costly and may even be more depending on what major you switch to...” The boy groaned, and the woman spoke again. “You have one class with him. Other than that, you’re fine.”
He sighed. “You don’t understand... Nobody will.”
“This is why we cannot let these little differences between peers affect us. This is an expensive school, and your father went through a lot to get you here.”
I looked over my shoulder one more time as he closed his eyes in anger.
“I guess I’ll just have to endure it then,” he said and stormed out of the office.
I grabbed my things quickly and felt a sudden urge to go after him. I ran out of the office and watched as he walked down the hall angrily.
“Hey, wait up!” I yelled, and he stopped in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder and sneered as he continued, only now he was faster. I was about to prepare myself to run, but I heard a voice.
“Don’t.”
I looked over to see Archer, and I made a face.
“What do you mean, ‘don’t’?”
“He thinks we’re all the same. They all do, and as sad as it sounds, you need to accept it.”
“Didn’t I already tell you before, Archer? You don’t know anything,” I said angrily, and he crossed his arms as he approached me.
“I do know that you are the only one who doesn’t recognize the consequences of dealing with Luca. Don’t go after that kid. He doesn’t want any confrontation...”
I groaned loudly. “Who the hell cares about Luca?”
“You should. You have a reputation to uphold. Mingling with these people won’t benefit you.”
“Is that how you think? He’s a regular person, Archer.”
He nodded. “You’re right. He is a regular person. You’re not. It’s not that I don’t want you to help them, but you can’t change something that’s been going on for years in a repeating cycle. Do you want to be a ‘big girl’? Hold onto that reputation. If you don’t, you’ll be in the same boat as him.”
“Thanks for the heads-up,” I said blankly, and he shrugged.
“I’m just letting you know you can’t have it both ways, Princess,” he replied, and maybe I was going crazy, but I could have sworn his eyes went down to my lips.
I turned away before he could see my flustered face and wordlessly walked to the school’s door. Looking over my shoulder one last time, I noticed his eyes lingering on me until he looked away and walked the other way.
I sighed heavily and pulled out the phone to call Kimiko.
“Hey, Dee.” I didn’t say anything as I leaned against the railing outside. “ What’s wrong?” Kimi asked quickly, and I sighed.
“I’m just ready to go home.”
She told me she would be by the door in a minute, and I watched as the students cheerfully walked out of the building.
Seeing Kimi after a few minutes, I walked over to her, and once she was near me, she noticed the drained look on my face.
“What happened?” she asked softly, and I shook my head.
“Just another very, very... long day.”