HIS SUICIDAL GIRL

❝I met the guy with his smile when my pen started to phlebotomize, and my fate has begun writing a new story.❞

02 - Training Day (Part 1)

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•ZACHREY•

I was yawning while walking on the corridor in our building. Our classes starts at six am to three pm. The schedule, however, has its upside for me even though I look like a walking dead every morning at school.

The first advantage is, we will be going home early. Second, when there is an academic contest or school activity, our building is the very first thing that will be used. Meaning, we have no class.

But the disadvantage is we wake up so early in the morning. I am a Grade Ten student, Junior High School graduating. We have so much to do, adding up our greatest enemy─the research paper that can slaughter your brain cells and make you even dumber in other English words because you get tense. We only have a little amount of time to sleep, but that does not matter since I will be graduating from high school at any time.

"Jesus Christ! This shifting is really hard to deal with! We wake up so early in the morning and we have a lot to do!" I heard my classmate Zashrell complained.

"Be quiet, Zashrell! We're JHS students, at least, we're graduating!" said Jerry.

"Hey, Jerry, I'm not talking to you, 'okay? Yes, we're graduating but remember that we still have the research paper to conquer! To those students like me who sucks at other English terminologies, chugi-ems!"

Janelle, who was writing something on his notebook sighed and said, "Good riddance, Zashrell. You're so grumpy. Can't you at least get rid of that negative vibes of yours?"

"Exactly! Why can't we just imitate Zachrey? He's so jolly like he doesn't have any problems in life at all." I was surprised by what Jeschelle said.

"S-Seriously? It's just because we should live life to the fullest while we're still young." I scratched the back of my head since I was flattered by what she said deep inside.

Everyone in the class applauded.

"It's different when we win the number one slot, isn't it?" my friend Cj said that was agreed by everyone.

Cj is my seatmate. He wears eyeglasses but I am taller than him.

And more charming, of course.

"But, seriously, it's a good thing that I'm stupid and that my grades aren't really that high and I was placed here in the regular section," he claimed.

"No one is stupid, Cj. Everybody is smart in their way. Maybe they just don't show it to others because they are lazy or they just don't like it. We shouldn't belittle ourselves nor anyone." I just laughed when they all clapped again.

"You're cool, Boss!"

"It's so different being a writer!"

"Inspired by ESP!"

"Alright, ten billion points for being so good!"

"Hephephep! Wait up!" Cj came to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Of course, Zachrey is so cool. This is my friend! He inherited it from his best friend. For sure, he'll win the press conference."

He uttered a slight yelp when I kicked his leg, but not too hard.

"Quiet, Cj. Stop bluffing. Win or lose in presscon, I accept that." I took the excuse letter and gave it to him. "Put that on the table, please, for our teachers to see."

He nodded.

"Today is your training?" He took a tape from his bag.

My best friend's such fond of Scotch.

"Yeah," I took my bag so that I could leave the classroom. "I'll go now, don't wanna be late. I still have articles to write. Ma'am Jehr will kill me if I don't finish them by today."

"'Kay! Good luck, Dude!" We had a fist bump before I left the classroom.

My classmates also waved at me goodbye and sent me their "good lucks", as if we will not be seeing each other again.

◊◊◊◊◊

It was like I was chased down by millions of wild dogs because of how fast I was running. It can not be helped. Coach said that our training starts at ten am sharp and it was almost the time. It was simply because I met quite a few acquaintances along the way, so it would be rude if I do not stop for a while and talk.

"Hi, Zachrey!"

"Hey, Bro!"

"How are you, Dude?"

"Girl, he's so cute."

All I could do to say "Hi" to them was to smile because I was darn running late.

I slowed down when I almost reached the place where we would be having our training. I saw Xiamin at the front door talking to a woman. The woman was facing Xiamin, so I did not know who she was.

Xiamin saw me and she waved her hand at me. I waved back at ran anew towards her.

"You're late," she said.

"Uh, don't tell Coach." I looked inside the classroom where we were training.

"Mom, this is Zachrey." I heard her said that.

Mom? Her mother looks younger than my mom.

"I see. The one who's in the first place, right?" I heard her mom asked.

"Yup!" Xiamin's voice was enthusiastic while I was just acting as if I did not hear what they were talking about. "Aren't you coming in?"

"Mother frickin' pumpkin!" I was surprised when Xiamin suddenly came to my side.

Her expression changed, and she raised a brow at me and said, "You sounded like a gay."

I wanted to be offended but instead, I just laughed softly. I have an elder sister, and she tells me that, too, so I am used to it.

"I'm coming in. I'll just wait for you inside." She only nodded then returned to talk to her mom again.

I entered the classroom silently. The floor was very clean and the floor was red because of the floor wax. There were two teachers inside and I sighed deeply. I thought I was late. If Ma'am Jehr finds out that I was almost late, plus I did not pass any articles to her, yet, due to my laziness, then I am surely done for.

"Did you make your articles?" My soul nearly went out of my body again when Xiamin suddenly spoke beside me. "What? Why do you always get surprised?"

She raised a brow at me anew.

"N-Nothing. Just thinking of something," I lied.

"Whatever."

"Seriously, aren't you a bit cold?"

She went to get a chair and placed it between us. She placed her bag on top of it.

"So," She sat down. "have you met that other colleague of ours? What's her name again? Tricia? Betty? Riza?"

I laughed softly because of her.

"Beariza."

She snapped her fingers.

"That's the name! So, have you met her? I talked to her earlier because I asked her if the training had started. I thought I was late, too, to be honest. She looks kind, though," she said.

She is still really loquacious, after all.

"She's kind. I also asked her before if she ever passed an article to Coach." I took the water bottle in my bag and drank some water to somehow quench my thirst.

"Then, what did she say?"

I put my water bottle back into my bag.

"Same as me. No articles ever passed."

"You don't have to worry. You can do it! In case you forgot, you won the first place," She took her phone. "and, Tricia—"

"Beariza."

"Right, Beariza. She is good. Imagine? She's just a grade seven student and she won second place. Our category isn't that easy sometimes, you know?" she said.

As I watched and listened to her, I could not help but smile.

"Same old, Xiamin. Just like last year when I first met you, you're still an English speaker," I said while laughing.

She diverted her attention from her phone to me.

"I'm not gonna deny that my parents taught me English, but when you say it like that, it sounds like I'm a foreigner or what." I laughed again. "Even if I speak English, I still have grammatical errors, too."

"That's very inevitable." I looked away from her.

"Anyway, I agree with you, Xiamin. Beariza must be good."

"I'm so excited to know more about her." I nodded at her.

"Me, too."

From our seat, we looked outside when we heard a commotion.

"I think that's my classmates." She stood up and looked outside. "It is my classmates!"

She talked to them for a moment and then returned to her post earlier.

"What are they standing on the outside for? You still have classes, right?"

"There's class but no classroom." Her tone was full of bitterness now.

Wait, did her mood just suddenly change?

After a few seconds, Ma'am Jehr suddenly entered the room.

"Good Morning, Ma'am!" Xiamin and I greeted in unison.

"Good Morning!" Coach looked at me. "Your articles, Zach?"

"I'll work on it today, Coach."

"Okay. That's what you are going to do today."

To be honest, Ma'am Jehr is kind. Like, super kind. Her dictionary does not have the word "angry". However, I do not want to see her mad. I bet she is worse than any teacher I know if you abuse her kindness.

"Ma'am, are we going to start? Tricia isn't here, yet."

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's Beariza, Xiamin." I burst into laughter and she looked daggers at me.

"You're right. Go to her classroom and get her in here," Coach commanded.

"I won't be going there." Xiamin crossed her arms.

"Go fetch her, Zach. Xiamin and I will just wait here." I saw the smirk on Xiamin's face.

"Oh, by the way, I'm parched, Zachrey. Treat me for a cola, would you?"

"Excuse me? What do you think of me? Your P.A?"

"You're the one to blame for ruining my day yesterday in chat, so that's your punishment. Okay? " She smirked again.

I was going to talk when Coach spoke first.

"Zach, that's enough. Come one, just give Xiamin a chance and go fetch Beariza."

I could do nothing but leave. Takte! Xiamin's mood changes so fast. For me, there was nothing wrong with yesterday's chat with her, so why is she giving me a punishment? Seriously, what the hell did I do?

I stopped when I reached the grade seven building. I already knew where Beariza's classroom was because I went to her once to ask about our assignment articles.

"Excuse me, is Beariza here?" I asked the girl who was standing right outside their classroom.

She looked in the classroom and then shouted, "Bea, somebody's looking for you!" Then, she looked at me again. "It's coming, Big Brother Zachrey."

I blinked many times. So, she knows about me? Amazing. My name is like a contagious disease or a pandemic, it spreads everywhere in just a blink of an eye.

After a few minutes, a cute girl came to me. Do not get the wrong idea but it is true. She is chubby and tall. He seems to be a non-grade seven student. I am almost as tall as she is!

"Are you really in seventh grade, Bea?" I was surprised at what I said. "U-Uh, I mean, don't think I'm crude, okay? It's just because you're tall! It is not obvious that you are a seventh-grader if you don't wear an I.D. "

The colors of each other's I.D slings are different to easily determine each student's grade level.

Green is for Grade 7; Yellow is for Grade 8; Red is for Grade 9; Blue is for Grade 10; Orange is for Grade 11; Pink is for Grade 12.

Since I am a tenth grader, mine is blue.

"Big Brother Zachrey, I'm not that tall. Besides, I have such a childish mind that flawlessly fits into a seventh-grader." She laughed out loud. "Anyway, has the training already started?"

"Yeah, they're waiting for you." She nodded. So, I beckoned to her and headed for the classroom.

I stopped in front of the canteen first to buy food for my lunch later.

"You go on ahead, Bea. I'll buy a viand for later," I was startled when I suddenly remembered Xiamin's order to me. "I still have to purchase a cola for that shady girl."

Bea looked at the classroom where we had been training since it was only visible here in the canteen.

"I prefer not to do that, Big Brother. I'll just wait and go with you," She turned to face me again. "I'm sort of afraid of Ma'am Jehr. I haven't any article to her, yet. She even got infuriated at us in the group chat."

"Okay, if that's what you prefer." I could not blame her. Both of us are screwed.

There were not much any students in the canteen, yet, so it was easy for me to by food and drink. Then, we returned to the classroom immediately.

"Here you go!" I gave Xiamin the juice I bought.

"What exactly is this?" She raised it for me to see it. "I wanted a cola, not a juice."

"Don't be such a choosy girl. In case you forgot, I used my money to pay for it."

"Whatever!" She rolled her eyes at me before looking at Bea. "Hi, Tricia!"

She even threw her a chummy wave. I sighed and pat her head.

"Beariza, okay, Xiamin?" I laughed again when she removed my hand from her head.

"Mind your business. Zachrey. Anyway," She sat up in her chair.

"Beariza, I'm looking forward to getting to know you."

Bea sat next to her.

"Me, too. I would like to get to know you as well "

"Let's be formal," Xiamin said. "That jerk's name is Zachrey Mizuno, while my full name is Crystal Xiamin Sandoval."

"Okay, I'll give you time to know each other. I'll go get something to my office first. I won't take long." Ma'am Jehr left us. She went to her office just next to this classroom.

To be honest, if she had not said goodbye to us, I would have forgotten her completely that she was here.

"Beariza Lim is my full name, Big Brother Zachrey, and Big Sis─"

"Big Sister Xiamin. I would ask you to just drop the formalities, but then, I wanted to feel what it's like to have a little sister." Xiamin chortled.

"Guys, we're family here. I'm the big brother and you two are my little sisters," I said and Xiamin agreed with me.

"Me, too." Bea agreed. "To be honest, I thought you were terror, Big Sister Xiamin. Your face is so serious and fierce."

I chuckled, so Xiamin's eyes hit me again.

"That's what I thought as well at first, Bea. I also thought she was not loquacious and just serious about everything," I smiled at her. "Turns out to be just the opposite."

She looked kind of flattered.

"W-Well, looks can be deceiving. Anyway," She looked at Bea again. "are you an otaku, Bea?"

Uh-oh, here we go again.

"Not really. Though, I watch it sometimes. Only sometimes."

Xiamin's expression softened.

"How about K-pop?"

"A little."

"Same. I'm not a K-popper, though, I love Seventeen. I thought that you were an Otaku so that there's someone whom I can share my knowledge with," She sighed and pouted. "Dono yō ni kanashī."

"What does that mean?" Bea looked at me as if she was asking what Xiamin meant.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Anyway, let's start writing with our articles, especially the two of us Bea because we have a lot of pending tasks. I have a feeling that Coach will give us another one," They both nodded. "Not to mention that we still have our Math Dance competition."

"Big Brother, you also joined the Math Dance? We're the same, then," Bea said. She is so cute.

"W-Wait, if you two are Math dancers, elimination will be tomorrow, right?"

"And?"

"What do you mean 'and'? Meaning, I'll be the only one who'll be training here tomorrow!" I burst into laughter because of her reaction. Even Bea also laughed.

She pouted again and crossed her arms. To be frank, there are times when Xiamin is also overloading with cuteness.

"Oh? What happened to you, Xiamin?" asked Ma'am Jehr who was now in front of us.

Xiamin pouted even more so I laughed again. She is so childish.

"Ma'am, it's because of Bea and Zachrey! They are both are Math dancers. Tomorrow will be the elimination and I'll be the only one left here!"

We all burst into laughter because of her.

"Then, you'll do the articles that I'll assign to you. Besides, they'll come back. You won't even know about it." Is it me or does Coach have some different meaning?

"Yes, yes, Ma'am Jehr's right. We'll be back, Big Sister Xiamin," Bea said.

I nodded.

"Yes, Xiam. We'll be back in no time, so don't you worry about it."

"Oh, see? They'll come back, Xiamin. Bea and Zachrey aren't like the others that don't do anything but keep other people's hopes up that they'll come back. When in reality, they don't."

I was right. I knew Coach has another meaning for it!

"Okay, fine! But no one's buying your cringy pick-up lines, Ma'am Jehr!" Xiamin said. She is so bitter. "Guys, what do you say we start writing an article now? It's almost lunchtime already."

She even pointed at her wristwatch. Coach just laughed.

"Okay, sure. Here is what you are going to write..." She gave us topics on what we would write. She gave us more than enough time to write all of the articles she wanted.

I smiled as I grabbed my pen and started writing.

This is probably one of the best training I've ever had.