Chapter 11 (A Tiny Kiss)

(Joyce's POV)

"What the fuck? ... How dare he attach his stupid gum to my lips? Something that has been in his disgusting mouth for God knows how long!" I said as I cleaned my lips in disgust after getting the gum out.

I spotted Kareen from where I stood, sitting down helplessly in their circle and getting laughed at by the watchful campus students. The next thing I saw was that jerk Xavier heading outside the cafeteria and still in possession of Kareen's backpack.

I needed to retrieve Kareen's backpack by any and all means. I didn't know why he still had her bag even when he'd had his fun bullying us already.

"What are you doing, Bro?" One of the gang members confronted Xavier as he was about to take his leave.

Xavier stopped with Kareen's backpack on one of his shoulders and turned back without saying a word.

"How could the nerdy, stupid, chump backpack be of any use to any of us?" He continued

"Excuse me?" Xavier responded with a glare at him.

The once calm atmosphere was now filled with tension. I noticed the audience murmuring some things and became curious as to what would happen next.

One of the reasons for this was because the gang members were never known for disagreeing with one another or ever being in conflict with each other. They were always this supportive group and never had any arguments, but why did that just suddenly change now with this one's bullying?

"Why did you want the campus nerds at the party on Friday?" Another gang member raised the point again.

I watched as the tension increased in the air and the numerous students watching waited for Xavier's reaction. Xavier came up to the second guy who had interrupted. His eye contact was fearsome towards the other member, which made him gulp in anxiety.

"It's my fucking party and I'll fucking invite whoever I want." Xavier reminded him, and everyone else could clearly hear him in the cafeteria. The gang member Xavier confronted lowered his head in shame after Xavier made his point. Suddenly, there was a sense of power that fell on Xavier throughout the cafeteria. The five handsome boys were usually recognized as equals without either of them confronting the other, and so many people had easily forgotten Xavier was the head and founder of the gang until right now.

I am more confused now. About a minute ago, I was ready to kill Xavier with my bare hands if I was as strong as "the rock," but right now I am rather curious what plans he has for us now that he wants me and Kareen to attend his Friday party, even if it threatens the stability of his gang.

In my moment of thought, Xavier turned his face in my direction, and our eyes locked for a few seconds. I couldn't read his mind or his facial expressions because he was wearing one of nonchalance.

"Let's go!" Xavier informed his gang as he entered the cafeteria, and they all followed one by one. One thing was clear: The five-man gang was not the same right now after Xavier just exercised his superior power before everyone.

She gazed my way as she followed behind Xavier and his gang members before saying. "You should be grateful you stole a tiny kiss from my boyfriend, and trust me, that's the last you'll ever get." Bridget stopped and spoke to me with a devious smile before following Xavier out of the cafeteria.

"Yawkk!" I felt irritated by the thought of kissing Xavier and even more irritated after Bridget's words reminded me of the gum Xavier had glued to my lips earlier. "Yawkk!" I said it again.

Soon enough, all the campus students exited the cafeteria after the show was over, and then I saw Kareen sobbing and squatting on the floor.

"Kareen!" I called to her as I ran towards her. I tried to get her up from the ground onto a bench, but she resisted only long enough to speak.

"Joyce, I'm so sorry you got your ass spanked by that jerk because of me." She says it sobbingly.

Quite frankly, I wasn't angry at her but at Xavier and his gang members for bullying my best friend.

"Oh, so now he's a jerk and not your crush?" I teased her as I carried her up to a bench.

We both sat on a bench in the cafeteria. Everyone else was gone except the two of us.

"I'm not angry at you, you were just a victim, just as I am." I reassured her as I fixed her scattered hair and wiped her sober eyes after taking off her glasses, and then it hit me.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you how my interview went."

"Oh yeah, what happened? Did you get the job?" Kareen finally gets in a high mood after I remind her about my interview.

"It was crazy. Just crazy!"

"That's no juice, give me the details," Kareen insisted as she sat in a relaxed pose, ready to hear how it all unfolded.

"I didn't get the job, babe." I broke it to her, and she released a deep sigh.

"Then what was crazy about the interview?"

"I met the CEO of SCREAM TV in person"

"What?!" Kareen said, with her mouth wide open.

"Don't fuck with me, Joyce," she said, giving me a stare, hoping I am not joking around. "That's not even the crazy part Kareen"

"Then what the fuck is it? You're keeping me waiting?"

"He offered me a job as his office coffee maker with a weekly salary of $500 after he tasted my coffee."

Kareen covered her mouth as she gasped deeply as I gave the main gist.

She didn't say a word for the next five seconds but stared and blinked her eyes at me repeatedly. She actually surprised me with the way she reacted to the news; usually she would scream like someone who was being raped when we talked about good news like this or something juicy.

"Just one question, why did you make coffee for the CEO of SCREAM TV? "You never went there as a coffee maker." She curiously asked me, resting her chin on her right palm.

I took a deep breath, knowing fully well where this conversation was going to lead and how I caught the CEO fucking his secretary, a crazy missionary, on her office desk.