Love and Family | Port Orthos 4

chapter 13: fern's acting

chapter 13: fern's acting

~fern~

       "You know, you don't have to be a part of this plan if you don't want to," Kiro says while we're at my locker getting my stuff for first period. "I'm sure that Harlow, Kaylee, and I will figure out something else to get the list taken down."

       "No, it's okay," I say. I take out my notebook and close my locker. "All I have to do is act sad, right? I can do that. I just have to think about my dog Maisy passing away." I love animals a lot and I especially love my pets, so just thinking about Maisy passing away two years ago is enough to make my eyes water. "See? It's already working."

       "Wait, you actually look very sad," Kiro says. He pulls me into a hug. "I don't ever want to let you go."

       "You're going to have to." The first bell of the day rings. "We have to go to class now."

       "We can walk like this."

       "I think that will be a bit too hard. But we can side hug as we walk to class."

       "That works for me."

       I don't really pay attention to conversations happening around me, so I don't know if the rumour about Kiro being really mad has spread around yet. I'll just have to wait until either Kiro or Harlow lets me know but either way, I'm going to try my best to play my part.

       I really don't like the list and I hope it gets taken down soon. I don't get how anyone thinks it's okay to publicly, and anonymously, rate all the girls' looks at this school. If they were really proud of their opinion, they shouldn't be anonymous, but we all know the backlash they would get.

       I stay focused in the first two classes, so it's not until lunch that Kiro tells me that the plan is working. Well, at the very least, that people are gossiping how Kiro is mad about the list and is trying to find out who is behind it.

       We eat lunch at one of the tables by his locker since we both don't feel like leaving school grounds right now. Besides, I need to show everyone how sad I am.

       At one point, two guy students walk by the table. One of them looks at Kiro and says, "Simp."

       "I'm sorry?" Kiro says, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

       The two guys stop walking. "It's just that you're blowing the whole list out of proportion. I mean, seriously, you're wanting to threaten the person behind the list just because your little girlfriend is upset about it? And why? Because she's not first?"

       "She's upset about the list because it perpetuates the idea that the only important thing about women are their looks," Kiro says. "And she's right. Why are women being judged by their looks when men aren't?"

       The guy scoffs. "Please, the girls are being so dramatic over this. They always have to paint themselves as a victim."

        "You mean the victim of a sexist list that's ranking all of their looks?" Kiro asks. "Yeah, they are a victim."

       "Not just with that, but with everything. I mean look at them. They get a whole day dedicated to themselves, but men don't. How come there's an international women's day but not an international men's day?"

       "November nineteenth."

       "Huh?"

       "International men's day. It's November nineteenth."

       "You're making that up."

       "Look it up. I'm not lying."

       He must still think that Kiro is lying because he does take out his phone to look it up. When he gets his answer, he just mutters, "Whatever," before walking away with his friend.

        "That's tomorrow, by the way!" Kiro calls after them. "Just in case you want to celebrate!" He sighs. "Some people really need to look stuff up before they complain. But hey, that definitely means the rumours are going around if he knew I was mad about the list because you're upset."

       About halfway through lunch, Harlow, Kaylee, and Kaylee's boyfriend Freddie walk over to us and sit at the table. "The plan is definitely working," Harlow says. "So many people are talking about how mad you are about the list."

       "There are even some guys on the basketball team who thinks the list should be taken down," Freddie says. "And these guys were talking about the list all the time. Not in a judgmental way, but a way of either agreeing with the list or giving their own opinion on who should place where. Using Kiro as a threat works."

       "Am I really that threatening?" Kiro asks.

       "Uh, yeah," Harlow says. "Dude, you're a professional fighter."

       "Trained fighter," Kiro corrects.

       "What's the difference?"

       "I think it's that he doesn't take part in competitions," I say. "He's just learning to fighter." If Kiro did decide to join some competitions, I think he would be able to go far in them. I've sat in on some of his training sessions before and his really good.

       "Well, either way, people know about it," Harlow says. "They're afraid they would get beaten up."

       "I don't beat people up," Kiro says. "I only use my training for self-defence. I always wait for the first punch to be thrown."

       "Yeah, I know that," Harlow says. "But everyone else doesn't. As long as they think you will, it might scare the sexist pig enough to take down the list."

       It doesn't.

       By the end of the day, I notice that so many people are looking at their phones. I point it out to Kiro. "I have a bad feeling about this." He takes out his phone as well and a few moments later, he sighs. "The list isn't gone. A new list is made."

       "What?"

       "Yeah, the ranking is different. Some of it is the same, but others either moved up or down the list. This is so fucking stupid."

       "Am I higher or lower on the list?" 

       Kiro furrows his eyebrows. "You really want to know?"

       "I don't want to know the exact place, but maybe if I went higher, it's because whoever is behind it is trying to please you."

       "That's a good point." Kiro scans the list. "You're higher on the list. By a lot, so they might really be trying to please me. Not that you shouldn't be high on the list. You definitely should. Or maybe not since the list shouldn't exist in the first place? What I mean is that you shouldn't care about where you are on the list. You're beautiful either way."

       I smile. "Thanks, Kiro."

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sorry kiro, i agree with that guy that you are a simp. (but that's it. he's wrong about everything else lol).

my favourite thing is when i see men complaining on international women's day that there is no international men's day when there literally is. it's not our fault no one celebrates it.