Hate Me. [A Bapa Story]

chapter one

A fist fight on the first day of junior year. Classy.

The day had started out normal enough. It was quite dull, but to be fair how exciting could the first day of school be? Especially considering everything had practically been the same since highschool started, with the same people, same teachers, same classes, etc, there was only so much that could change. Fights were common- not every other week common but common enough for the teachers to make an effort to put forth an anti-bullying campaign. Bose was mostly just happy to not have been one of the bullied ones. He wasn't exactly popular, but he was just social enough to make it seem that way. Sure, his friends were kind of assholes, but he quickly learned that if he wasn't a part of the cliche, he became a target. And thus, he forced himself to tolerate and pretend to like them for the sake of survival. He more or less just followed them around in the hallways and made his appearance at gatherings while playing Subway Surfers on his phone until it was over. Sure, it was lame, but it was always better than getting picked on.

So he wasn't exactly surprised when he walked into the cafeteria to see two of the people he hung out with attempting to initiate a fight, but he was surprised when he saw who it was with. Usually it was one of the same random kids the jocks liked to pick on, but as soon as Bose noticed their target it wasn't too difficult to pick up on why they had decided to mess with the kid. For one, Bose didn't recognize her. She must've been new, and it was natural for the new girl to get picked on to some capacity. That, in addition to how despite the fact that she was cozied up in the way back corner of the cafeteria, she undeniably stood out. She was a bit edgy, sporting a jagged leather jacket and kicked up doc martins. She had short fluffy hair which was dark in color save for the bangs which framed her face which instead were bright red. Her foot tapped impatiently, which Bose initially believed must've been from anxieties of some sort, until he realized she had ear buds in, and was likely tapping her foot to the tune.

She seemed extremely focused on whatever she was doing, which was interesting because she didn't seem to be doing anything. She had a tray of food in front of her, but she wasn't touching it. She just sat there, staring at her food and tapping her foot restlessly. Either the label on the side of her milk carton was startlingly interesting, or she was intentionally blocking out the outside world. Whatever the reason, it was a damn good excuse for why she hadn't spotted the two jocks staring at her.

"Why is that kid dressed like James Dean?" the first one spoke, "She looks like a damn greaser,"

The second one hummed in agreement, "We should go bash her nose in. Teach her a lesson,"

"I don't know man. It feels kind of weird beating up a chick-"

The second guy lightly shoved his friend, "Don't be misogynistic bro. She's emo she can take it,"

The first seemed to take this as an acceptable answer as they both stood and skated towards the corner of the cafeteria where the girl sat. It was only then that Bose realized he definitely should've stepped in and stopped them.

Oh shit.

The girl glanced up to notice the guys marching up to her, slowly rolled her eyes, and pulled out one of her earbuds, "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I just have a question," the first guy said while he slammed his hands onto the table. It was an obvious gesture that was meant to scare her, but the girl didn't flinch whatsoever. He continued, "What did your girlfriend say when you told her you were moving to Swellview Arizona?"

She chuckled, almost in the amused sort of way, "Why don't you ask her? You still live with your mom right? Or did she kick you out for having a GPA in the negatives?"

Clearly, neither of them found this as funny as she did. One of the second guys' hands shot out in an attempt to grab the collar of her shirt, but she stood, jumped back, and avoided his reach. As she stood, she grabbed the carton of milk, and promptly flung it into his chest. As the guy stumbled back, his friend swung a fist, and she grabbed the tray off the table, using it to deflect his blow. He pulled his fist back, and she used the opening to smash him in the face with the object.

Damn. She was good. Bose couldn't help but to stare as he had never really seen someone stand up for themselves like that. He came to regret the staring when she suddenly looked up and made direct eye contact. Just his luck, out of all of the on-lookers, she had to look directly at him. He could've sworn she smirked, whether at him or at the mere carnage she caused with a single tray of food, he wasn't sure. He just wished he could've warned her, but he also didn't see the second guy jump to his feet and grab her by the back of her jacket.

While one hand tugged her back, the other balled into a fist and smashed into her nose. He hit her twice before letting go, seemingly satisfied. Bose couldn't see her reaction, just the blood that dripped from her nose, down her chin, and onto the floor. Somehow, she seemed completely unfazed, as she slowly wiped the blood away with her thumb and pulled out her other earbud. She knocked him to his feet, and kicked him in the stomach once, twice, three times before a teacher grabbed her by the arms.

Bose blinked, trying to process what just happened. He wasn't surprised that those guys were dumb enough to try and start a fight on the first day of school, but he was surprised that they had gotten their shit rocked so badly that they were both groaning on the floor. He was even more surprised by the way everyone moved on so quickly. He was so deeply engaged staring at the crime scene that he didn't process that an invite to a party was shoved into his hands, nor did he process the conversation being had with him, just that whatever the person was saying he said yes to. He only really realized after the fact, as he glanced between the invite, and recounted the conversation.

He accidentally agreed to make an appearance at a party. Bose hated parties. Crap.