Chapter Text
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It was an odd year for Jane to be transferring to a new school in the second semester of the year. She walked around the campus to familiarize the place. It was a huge campus, at every corner you could see religious idols and crosses. She took pictures of the wonderful Catholic stained glasses. They were mosaics of religious images. She had seen them on the internet, but it was her first time seeing them in person. She thought they were beautiful to look at. She posted the picture on her Instagram stories. She wanted her friends to see what her new school looked like.
The homeroom teacher saw her on time. She beckoned Jane to come with her to the clothing shop inside the campus. It was a school merch shop, selling their school clothing brand. It was exclusive for the students who were enrolled there like any other private schools.
“Jane, come here." the teacher told her.
Jane obeyed. The teacher showed her the white ribbon. It was part of their school uniform. It must be the only hair tie that must be worn and no other kinds of hair ties. They stood in front of the mirror and the teacher tied it for her.
“Jane, as a new transferee, don’t forget to follow the rules. You may think some rules are ridiculous but if we are flexible enough, I think it’s doable." the teacher looked at Jane in the mirror while she was tying her hair.
Jane usually let her hair down but the school rule must be followed.
(1) Wear the school uniform properly.
(2) Skirts should not be above the knee.
(3) Socks should be only white.
(4) All innerwear must be white.
(5) Hair should be tied with the school’s white ribbon.
- Short hairs are exempted from wearing the white ribbon.
(6) Wear only black shoes.
(7) No tattoos.
(8) No gambling.
(9) No heavy make-ups. Apply only light make-up.
(10) No bringing of deadly weapons.
(11) No drinking of alcohol on campus.
- Don’t attend classes drunk.
(12) No smoking.
(13) No loitering when class is ongoing.
(14) No bullying.
(15) No pornography.
(16) Strictly no dating.
These rules were in their handbook. Jane thought the rules were doable. How hard could it be to follow them, especially rules 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, and 15?
The “strictly no dating” rule was quite ridiculous for Jane. “Teacher Nalin, the last rule sounds stupid in this day and age.”
“It is. It’s an outdated rule from my time." Nalin said.
“Oh, you were an alumna here? I wonder what kind of student Teacher Nalin was. I’m curious…” Jane smiled.
“I’ll be very honest, I was like any other student here, it’s natural to break some rules when you are young because self-control is not as easy as the adults think when you are in the stage of growing up, but that’s why we have to assess, think first before we act.” Jane turned to face Nalin. “I’ve heard this is your first time in an all-girls catholic school. It’s not so different from the other co-ed schools. Always trust your gut when you are in a bad situation. Always do the right thing.” Nalin gave Jane a reassuring smile. Looking at Jane, she hoped she would turn out fine. She looked like a good kid who would stay out of trouble.
Nalin guided Jane to her classroom, she told her to pick a seat. Jane was too early, there were barely any students in the classroom.
Jane took a seat near the window, it was the perfect spot for good lighting and she could see the green campus lawn. She pulled out her notebook and started drawing.
A couple of minutes later more students fill in the classroom, little by little. A tall girl walked in the classroom and noticed Jane. Milk Pansa sat at the back, the window side was already taken. If only she came in earlier, she could have reserved those seats for her friends.
[ Milk ] Where are u?
Hurry up
The seats will be taken
[ Emi ] oN mY wAyy (running sticker)
[ Namtan ] i’m almost there
wait
save us a seat
[ Milk ] That’s what I’m doing
I’ll try by best to ward off who wants these seats
You know some of these girls
They’re scary
[ Namtan ] Tell them I said to back off
[ Milk ] Wow~
Like they would listen
[ Namtan ] Just tell them my name 😎
[ Milk ] Who are you, the daughter of the school owner? 🤨
[ Namtan ] @Belle wake up!!
Where are you?
It’s the first day of the semester
[ Emi ] On mY Way (running sticker)
[ Milk ] Sure. I’ll save everyone a seat
Don’t worry
Suuuuure~~~
Take your time 😑
You can all arrive in the middle of the day
No worries
(rolling eyes sticker)
[ Emi ] aLm0St ThERe (running sticker)
Milk kept apologizing to her classmates who wanted to take the backseat. She felt sorry for using Belle’s name but she had to save a seat for them to sit close to each other. She even put things on 3 chairs, to serve as reserved seats for them.
Namtan saw Milk, who was glaring at her, she flashed her a sheepish smile. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“You sit there." Milk pointed to the vacant seat in front of her.
Namtan gave her a confused look, pointing at the seat beside Jane.
“Belle messaged me, she wanted to sit beside me." Milk showed Namtan the message. “She’ll be here in a moment.”
Namtan looked at the group chat and they’re mostly Emi’s annoying stickers. She kept messaging that she's coming but until now, she had not yet arrived. Of course, Emi would be late for their first day in the second semester. She combed her hair and looked around the classroom, she noticed the new student. She gave Milk a knowing look.
Milk shrugged. She had not had the chance to talk to the new student yet.
Namtan put her bag beside her desk. “By the way, Milk, there’s an upcoming event next month in a bar, most of the indie bands that I like are going to perform there. Do you wanna go together?”
“I don’t even know them, and I doubt we have the same music taste." Milk said. “Maybe Emi or Belle will go with you.”
“How about this… I’ll buy the tickets for us 4." Namtan’s lips curved into a sly grin, hoping she’d get a yes.
“Fine." Milk leaned back.
“Checkmate." Namtan threw an air punch. She already expected Milk would decline if she’s not interested, but a little push would make her come. “I’ll buy tickets in advance.”
“Wait, you better ask the others first before deciding.”
Namtan’s brows furrowed. “Oh come on, Milk. What are they going to do next month? It's Saturday. I doubt they have plans. That’s why I made this plan in advance so you don’t have to.”
Milk and Namtan noticed that the students near the window seat started getting up when the queen bee and her group arrived. They looked at the new student who was sitting beside the window, completely oblivious of the situation.
Jane stopped drawing on her notebook when she felt a presence in front of her. She slowly looked up and saw the most beautiful person Jane had ever seen in her entire life. It felt like time had slowed, as if she were struck by how lethal a face could be. Jane’s mind went static for a moment.
“Get up." the pretty girl said in a demanding tone.
Jane snapped back into consciousness, a bit confused, because the students behind her started getting up from their seats.
“Get up." the pretty girl repeated. She flashed a strained, mirthless smile that didn't dare touch her eyes. Her expression shifted into a condescending stare, looking down at Jane as if she were nothing more than an inconvenient obstacle blocking her way.
“Why would I do that?” Jane, unaware, beamed a smile that only irritated them.
Nano let out a barely audible sigh, her shoulders dropping. “This seat belongs to our group. So, if you want to sit with us, you have to join our group.” Her tone was sarcastic.
Jane didn’t understand the situation completely, but she thought she was lucky to be in proximity to the pretty girl. “Hi, I’m Jane from Chiang Rai.” She smiled sheepishly.
“OK, Jane from Chiang Rai–”
“–Hey, I like your mole, it looks pretty.” Jane pointed out; her classmates laughed at her remark. Nobody dared to say something like that to the queen bee of their school, only Jane had the guts to say something out of pocket. Although, Jane was genuinely complimenting her.
The queen bee felt humiliated by her classmates' sudden burst of laughter. “What’s so funny?!”
By this time, Belle had arrived in the classroom together with their class’s most brilliant 4.0 GPA student, Earn. The two of them exchanged a bewildered look, silently questioning what kind of drama they had just walked into. Belle thought it was way too early for a circus, but she chose to mind her own business. She was still a bit too groggy to care about what was happening. It wasn’t like this was anything new, especially when it came to the queen bee’s group.
Earn slowly walked towards the group. She was confused by the situation. It was still early and her friends were already causing a scene. “Nano…” She tried to calm her friend.
Suddenly, the school director walked-in the classroom with their new homeroom teacher for the second semester. Everyone settled down to their seats immediately.
Nano moved Jane’s tote bag to the side, Khaopan immediately grabbed it and put it to the next vacant desk beside them which made Jane instinctively reach for her bag. “Hey! My bag!”
Namtan, who was seated next to them, could only sighed in annoyance.
Earn gave Jane an apologetic look for her friend’s unwarranted rudeness.
“Students, pay respect.” Khaopan, the class’ leader, said. Everyone starts to do the greeting routine, the school’s unique way of doing the ‘wai’. “Sawadeeka.” Everyone greets.
Jane looked confused and did the same as what the students did, doing the ‘wai’. She looked at Namtan if she could sit beside her, to which Namtan nodded. Jane sat down and settled her bag on her side.
The school director waited for everyone to settle down first before she started. “Hello, everyone." Mother Superior greeted them. “Welcome to the new semester. I hope the students in grade 11-C will study hard and be a good example for the 10th graders.”
Mother Superior gestured to the new teacher to introduce herself in front of everyone. “Hello, class, I’m Teacher Nalin. I'm your new homeroom teacher. If you have troubles, don't hesitate to talk to me.” Nalin gave them a reassuring smile.
“What about teacher Som?” Belle interjected. “Teacher Som got fired right? So you got to replace her.” Belle added.
Milk elbowed her lightly which Belle gave her a ‘What? Am I wrong?’ look.
“Regarding Teacher Thanida, it was her own decision to resign.” Mother Superior answered briefly.
“Really? You didn’t force her out because you thought she was making sex content?” Belle responded cockily, taunting Mother Superior.
The students were giving each other knowing looks, surprised by this information. The school director wasn’t happy with how Belle was acting up in class.
“Her face wasn’t even in the content. Could you even tell it was teacher Som just by seeing her naked? You’re so sure, as if you’re a subscriber, Mother Superior.”
“No one asked for your opinion, Nicharee." Mother superior was clearly pissed that she even used Belle’s government name. “To ensure no one displays arrogant behavior like yours again. I’ll be deducting behavior points from all of you. 5 points each.” Murmurs erupted. “Don’t forget that here, we are collectively responsible." Mother Superior's tone was fierce. She glared at Belle for saying such things in the class.
Suddenly, the students’ phones were buzzing. They looked at their messages and saw a pornographic video of two women having sex inside the classroom. Their identity wasn’t clear. It made the class go wild because of the scandal.
“Good morning staff and students. You may be wondering who these people are in the video. It is someone you know. You may have admired them, you may have respected them, but people are not perfect. People have different shades in them. It falls to us to think carefully of our actions. I am here to expose people who abuse their power. I am Chrysanthemum. I am here to speak the truth and challenge you, “Are these actions acceptable for us?” Let's reflect on them." The person in a silhouette figure turned off their camera, and the video ended briefly, leaving the students in shock by the information.
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