Santi: The Devil's Pioneer

Chapter 23 - Threw My First Punch

            “You’re a girl,” he spits out.

“And so are you,” I spit back, wiping his saliva off my cheek. My insides felt warm. More than warm. A fiery rage burned inside me.

I had gotten into the class where, guess my luck, Kirk the jerk also attended. Just as Kiki had predicted, he held a grudge towards me, and he didn’t show it so kindly. He had stormed in when he saw me and spat out nonsense. Which leads us to this moment in time.

“What did you say to me, you bench?” He takes me by the collar and I don’t try to hold back my fury anymore.

I push him off and he stumbles to the ground, taking down some chairs with him. Other students were whispering to themselves by now.

“Whoa,” The class goes wild in an uproar.

“Touch me again and you’ll face so much worse.” I glare at him. He remains on the ground, angrily staring at me. I walk back to my seat in peace, not minding the murmurs all around me. Luckily, the professor hasn’t arrived yet. Or ever.

Just in time, an adult human arrives.

“What’s the commotion about?” She asks. Everyone mums in silence and returns to their seats. Kirk continues to sneer at me while sitting in front of the class.

“All right, today we will be tackling the basics of the English language. We will be reviewing your knowledge from past classes. Anyone wants to begin sharing their learnings?” She says with a sweet smile.

She was an older lady with a blonde bob cut. Her outfit screamed the 50s. Cinched waist, polka-dotted poodle skirt, and a cropped bright red sweater. I didn’t even have to guess from what time she was born in.

All the while I was looking at Ms. Debbie Reynolds in the front, Kirk the jerk strikes again.

“Santi would love to share her learnings.” He exclaims, raising his hand.

The class looks back at me, and Debbie Reynolds motions for me to stand up.

Oh, hell no.

“I have nothing to share, thank you,” I say hastily and sit back down. My cheeks burned red from humiliation.

Yes, I’m a devil. But I’m a devil with developing human emotions. Now, I find out I feel humiliated.

In Hell, I was never made fun of. Much less humiliated in front of an entire audience. Also, in Hell, public humiliation was one of the tortures done for particular people. I hate that tortures in Hell are just bad scenarios or experiences for people on Earth.

“Aw, come on. Didn’t they teach you English in homeschool?” Kirk speaks up. Forking jerk. “That’s right, you weren’t homeschooled. You’ve never had any education, did you?”

FORKING JERK!

I scream in embarrassment, charging towards Kirk, with my fists wrapped firmly. He’s gonna humiliate me with my past. Pretending to know me? Well, my fist will surely let him know who I am.

Before anyone could stop me, and before Kirk could put his hands up in front of his face, a loud smack could be heard. My fist makes contact with his cheek and, I swear, a tooth felt loose inside his mouth. His cheek reddens, maybe almost as red as I felt earlier, but the pain he felt was greater than mine. The sharp edges of the bones of my knuckles leave a mark on his white cheeks.

“You bench!” He screams right after. Like a reflex, he punches my abdomen as he stands up. I curl a little in pain but immediately straighten back up. My fury tends to act as a pain medication. What a fun little fact.

Debbie Reynolds in front drops her jaw in shock. The class widens their eyes. No one spoke for some time. I don’t bother to retaliate physically. I had punched him hard enough for him to lose a tooth. Me, I didn’t even lose my appetite.

“Mrs. Carter, do something. Put her in detention. Expel her. She’s not allowed to punch a man.” He was aware of the grave consequences of this institution. Consequences set for everyone except men.

“What the hell did you just say?” I spit in anger.

“A woman is not allowed to hurt a man.” A nerd behind me answers. “But a man may, essentially, snap a woman out of psychotic episodes even within the bounds of physical violence.” He finishes.

Debbie Reynolds steps closer to us. Her hands shook as she raises them, cupping Kirk in his cheeks.

“You dear boy,” She speaks in a fragile voice. “Why would she hurt you like that?”

Flabbergasted. Shocked. I was out of words. Yes, I punched him, but he punched me back, in the stomach.

“Grahams, 1-week detention,” Mrs. Carter says with a stern face at me. “And you, Kirk Hansen, 1 month of community service.” She says as she drops her hands on his cheeks. The class starts in murmurs again and Kirk’s eyes widen.

“WHAT?” He screams. “You forking bench. She hit me first. Why should I get a bigger sentence?”

“Dear boy, I’ve been around for too long to know you were humiliating her. And I have had my fair share of abuse from you men and your fragility. You should know people aren’t supposed to hit other people.”

“That’s bullshirt! Take me to the principal. I’ll sort this out. Mr. Frank will hear me out. You’re new here, you don’t know the rules.”

I stood in silence as Kirk deliberately tries to convince Mrs. Carter and justify his misogynistic beliefs.

“Yes, Mr. Frank retired just last month. The new principal will surely hear you out while you work in the clean-up drive this afternoon. A certain Mr. Decker is the new principal, I heard.”

“Ah, well, Mr. Decker sure can relate to me. He gets what it is to be a man and defend one’s honor. This bench hit me.”

“Well, boo-hoo, jerk.” I roll my eyes. He looks at me and turns back to Mrs. Carter.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to raise your case to Mr. Decker this evening as we have our weekly family dinner. He’s my younger brother, you see.” Mrs. Carter returns to her desk in front with a wicked grin.

Oof, that was a serious burn.

“Well, that’s why you’re just a teacher in this school.” He murmurs as he sits back on his chair.

Ugh, men and their egos. Just a never-ending thin line to stupidity.

She hears it and stomps towards Kirk.

“Yeah, and since I’m your teacher, I think I’ve decided to fail you in this class. Now get out.”

“You’re gonna regret this.” He whispers in anger. I’ve never seen so much anger in such a fragile male body.

“Yes, I’ll regret it while you pick up trash in the field.” Mrs. Carter shouts back.

Kirk walks out of the room, punching the whiteboard on his way out, but not creating any damage.

“Well, that was quite a spectacle, wasn’t it?” Mrs. Carter laughs a forced laugh and faces the class from her desk. “Miss Grahams, why don’t you take a seat.”

I sit down, still processing what happened. That was another first experience of human interaction. I’ve never gotten into a fight with a human before.