First Blood: The Perfect Mistress

CHAPTER 8 – Year 2012

 The year 2012

It had been a month since my father died but my mother remained in her mourning outfit. I had to eat whatever the cook prepared for me because she wasn’t herself these days. When the man she loved the most died, it seemed that she wanted to die too but she couldn’t because of me.

Sometimes, I could feel that she hated me for being alive!

“Cassie, can I borrow your red pen?”

I tilted my head to check who called me and when I saw him, I glared at him immediately. The boy who wished to borrow my pen was the youngest brother of a woman who stole my Dad from Mom. I arched my eyebrow at him, questioning his motive for borrowing my pen. “I don’t think so!” I replied with so much hatred in my voice.

I hate Rachel.

I hate her brother.

I hate everything about her!

On my father’s grave, I told him that I would seek revenge on what happened to Mom. The woman he loved would suffer under my wrath and my vengeance would include anyone closed to her. On second thought, I smiled at the boy who was rumored to have a huge crush on me. Well, he wasn’t ugly but he’s just not my type. Nevertheless, an idea popped up in my head and I decided to become friendly with him.

“I’m just kidding, Dave. Here you go,” I said when I handed my red pen to him.

“Thanks, Cassie, wanna grab some snacks later?” He asked and I didn’t hesitate to agree.

I needed him to meet Rachel in person and just the thought of seeing that woman in flesh made my blood boiled! If I had to kiss Dave just to meet his sister then I would gladly do it. My desperation and hunger for some answers made me want to do some things I didn’t normally do.

I gave him my sweetest smile and a blush crept on his cheeks. “Why not?”

So it was settled that I had to accompany Dave to the canteen later. The idea should have been repulsive but it wasn’t! Or maybe it was, but it’s something that should be done to accomplish my goal.

After my family was ruined, something inside me has changed. I dreamed of perfections. No, it’s not just a dream! It was something I wanted the most! Before our adviser for the first subject came in, I opened my book to study.

“Are you studying now? Your father’s death must have opened your eyes, Cassie.”

I glared at my seatmate for bullying me. I may not be the top in our class but I wanted to take that place badly. I wanted to be number one in my class then they wouldn’t suspect a thing, right? “So what if I am?” I inquired and she just waved her hand at me.

“Oh no, please don’t take it the wrong way! I am just amazed at your changes! They’re shocked at first but it’s for your own good,” she explained and I had to fake a smile. “I heard that you’re going to eat with Dave later, can I join you guys?”

“No,” I replied curtly and I bed that she was disappointed. Everybody knew that she has a crush on Dave and her secret was also written in my slum book. “Some other time, Nancy.”

Nancy was heartbroken when she left but why should I care? I couldn’t allow anyone to ruin my plan! I resumed reviewing for our quiz and tried to ignore the murmurs behind me but from time to time, I heard that others mentioned my name casually. Whenever I looked at them, they would just vow their heads as if they didn’t say anything against my father. 

 I was disappointed at my classmates for being hypocrites! All of them were hypocrites! Why did I conclude that they’re all hypocrites? For the record, our school was managed by nuns and under the supervision of our parish priest! We were all taught to respect others but my classmates acted the opposite!

I couldn’t blame them!

I blamed myself for being flawed but it would change anytime soon!

When the bell rang for break time, I went straight to the canteen and ordered ahead of Dave. As I sat at one of the corner tables, I checked my phone to read my Mom’s messages. They were all sweet and they all made me happy. When my father died, I vowed to protect my mom no matter what!

After waiting for ten minutes and Dave didn’t show up yet, I decided to eat first. I just convinced myself that maybe he forgot about his invitation but it shouldn’t be the case since he’s old enough to know what’s right or wrong!

When the varsity players entered the canteen, I hurried up to finish my snacks because they were noisy and I didn’t like to be in loud places. I got up and exited from the canteen discretely. No one noticed, that’s what I thought.

“Did you wait for Dave?”

 I was shocked to find Nancy outside the canteen and she had an evil smirk on her face. “Not really,” I lied.

“He regretted asking you, Cassie. Haven’t you noticed? No one wanted to be with you anymore, no one wanted to talk to or befriended you! Did your mom kill your father? I heard the rumors that he pushed him.”

“No!” I screamed.

“She’s the kindest human being in the world,”

I defended my mother’s honor but Nancy just smirked at me. “You said that no one wanted to talk to me anymore, but why are you here?” Nancy was aghast that I questioned her underhandedly.

“Just checking if you wanted to die after knowing that Dave stood you up,” she said and chuckled at the same time as if there was something funny about their action.

I stared at her for a moment and then arched my brows, questioning her sanity for mocking me through Dave. “If someone’s dying because of Dave, it’s not going to be me,” I whispered and Nancy stepped back away from me.

“It’s you! You killed your Dad, right?”

With Nancy’s question, I should be agitated. I should be worried, scared, and terrified that the truth would be out. However, I didn’t feel anything. I didn’t even bat my eyelashes when she dropped the question. I just stared at her and she seemed scared.

I took a step or two towards her and she ran away as if a devil chased her. For the first time since my father died, I laughed and it was because of Nancy. I followed her to our classroom and everyone kept their mouth shut when I entered the room. I just ignored them and strolled towards my seat.

For a moment, I tried to concentrate and blocked all the negativities, but Nancy’s taunting smile at the canteen earlier continued to bother me. All of a sudden, a scream reverberated through the walls of our classroom, and our teacher came running to check.

“What’s wrong, Cassie?” She asked. “Cassie, are you alright?” She repeated her question.

I nodded but I wasn’t okay. I couldn’t clear my head and bothering thoughts continued to distract me. “Can I go out for a moment?”

As soon as the teacher gave her permission, I ran towards the door. I stayed outside for a moment to calm down. When I felt that everything’s back to normal, I returned inside, retrieved a purse from my bag, and proceeded to the powder room.

I tied my hair into a perfect ponytail, applied a lip balm and face powder, then sprayed perfume all over my body. I checked everything from my shoes up to the necktie and when I saw that I looked perfect in my long-sleeved polo and blue skirt, I smiled at the girl in the mirror.

No one would know.

Nobody should know.

When I entered the room, my eyes immediately went to Nancy, the top one in our class and I was determined to beat her. I walked towards my seat, opened my book, and listened to the discussion.

“Why do we need to study History?” The teacher asked and before Nancy could raise her hand to answer, I raised my hand. “Cassie?” She gestured for me to start talking.

“Aside from knowing what happened in the past, I think history books were written to teach us a lesson. We should take note of the mistakes from the past and learn from them,” I answered.

“Good, you can sit down now.”

It was the first time I joined in the class’s oral discussion and I felt good when Nancy was threatened. All the time, I ranked second to her but the difference was only small. After the class ended, I approached her. “You shouldn’t have provoked me,” I warned her and she knew better than the competition to the top would be bloody.

“Murderer!” She accused me in a low voice.

“Can you prove it by dying?”