November 28th. Tuesday, 7:27 PM.

"Can I tell you something?"

"Again?"

"Again? Did I tell you something before?"

"Oh, never mind. It was Lucas who told me something a few days ago".

"Oh, okay? Um, yeah. I've got something to confess, and I don't think I can tell the other guys. Only you", Ray nervously said.

"Is it something bad?" David asked, a little concerned.

"Kinda".

Ray and David were in their dorm, chilling in the main area. David was sitting on the couch while Ray was standing up.

"Do you remember when I said it was my fault for not finding the key in the second challenge?" Ray said, struggling to keep eye contact.

"Yeah?"

"It was my fault. But what actually happened was Leroy came into my house and he found the key in front of me. Then we fought for the key", Ray continued, looking at the floor.

David kept silent and waited for Ray to finish.

"We didn't throw punches or anything. It was more of a grab-and-push fight", Ray awkwardly explained, using hand gestures. "I nearly got the key from him, but he pushed me into the stair railing".

"He what!?" David furrowed his eyebrows, raised his voice, and perked up in his seat.

"Wait, he didn't mean to! I could tell he did it as a reflex", Ray replied, with his hands raised in front of him.

"Did you get hurt?" David instantly asked with worried eyes.

Ray was hesitant to answer. He wanted to lie, but he couldn't. From that hesitation, David got his answer.

"Ray, show me where you got hurt", David seriously asked.

Ray forfeited. He had to show him. Ray took off his shirt and turned around. David's eyes widened. The left side of Ray's back looked like it had been bruised. The bruise was fading, but it was still lingering on his skin. The challenge was around a month ago. If the bruise isn't fully healed now, that would mean it must have been a nasty bruise. Much darker than it was now.

David didn't want to imagine the colour it was before. He got up from the couch and gently poked at the bruise to test if it hurt him. Ray flinched due to the slight pain.

"It still hurts", David said.

"Only a little", Ray replied.

"Now it makes sense why you haven't felt like going out much because you've been in pain", David said, angry at Ray. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"It wasn't a big deal", Ray sheepishly replied, putting his shirt back down.

"Look at this! How can you not call this a big deal?" David angrily said. "Have you gone to check it out?".

"no".

"RAY MAN!" David shouted. "Tch. Tomorrow, you're going to the nurse's office", he told him. "And Leroy. I'm telling the rest of the guys, and we're gonna-".

"DON'T!" Ray shouted back and turned around. "Don't tell the rest of the guys! Don't do anything to Leroy!"

"Why?! Look what he did to you!" David replied in disbelief Ray was defending Leroy.

"He didn't mean it!"

"I don't care if he didn't! He still did it! And he's friends with Ryan".

"David! Please! Don't tell the guys. I don't know what they'll do to Leroy. They would probably bully him nonstop. That's why I didn't tell them", Ray said with desperation in his voice. "I told you for a reason. I told you because I know if I told you not to do anything to Leroy, you would listen".

"But".

"No buts! I don't want you to get revenge for me! What's done is done!" Ray said, raising his voice.

David didn't respond. All he could do was respect Ray's decision, whether he liked it or not. As much as he wanted to get back at Leroy, he had to listen to his friend.

"Has he apologised to you?"

Ray didn't answer straight away, automatically giving David his answer.

"Okay, I'm not going to do anything to him. All I'll do is make him apologise to you", David said.

"I don't want an apology. I don't need it", Ray sourly replied, looking away.

"If he's sorry like you said, he would've apologised already".

"David! I'm telling you, I don't need no freaking apology! I don't want you to do anything to Leroy!" Ray said, growing in frustration that David was this persistent.

"Why?"

"BECAUSE IT'S MY FAULT! I'M TOO WEAK!" Ray's frustration took over. "ALL YOU GUYS EVER DO IS PROTECT ME! YOU TREAT ME LIKE A LITTLE BROTHER, WHICH IS NICE, BUT SOMETIMES IT HURTS! IT'S LIKE YOU'RE ALL CALLING ME WEAK! I WANT TO HOLD MY OWN!"

Ray took a seat on the couch, put his head in his hands, and wiped his face to cool down.

David let him have his moment. He had no choice. He didn't know what to say. He was speechless. David took a seat next to him.

"I appreciate you all looking out for me, but I need to handle situations myself. All of you have your own problems. You can't watch out for me all the time", Ray said.

"We're your friends. We'll always be there for you", David replied, letting him know they will be there whatever happens.

"I know you will, but there will be times when you won't be able to", Ray said.

Ray hung his head low, and the two sat in silence. It was needed.

"David, you're strong. Train me".

November 30th. Thursday, 5:12 PM.

Delilah, Tanisha and Maria were walking back to their dorms after finishing their last lesson of the day.

"I need to go over that again. I didn't understand anything", Tanisha said, checking on her phone to see if the lesson slides had been uploaded yet.

"Same, I was so tired. I couldn't concentrate", Maria said, looking at Tanisha. "We were talking to each other the whole time".

"It was so boring, I didn't want to listen", Tanisha replied. "What about you, Delilah? I didn't hear that much noise from the back".

Delilah put her phone in her pocket. "I made notes, but I need to go over them to make sure they're right", she said.

"You didn't joke around with Malakai?" Tanisha asked.

"Nah. For the later lesson, he can't be bothered, so he's more chill. He'll only mess around if someone else does, but everyone else is tired, so nothing happens", Delilah replied.

"The later lessons are killer", Maria said, stretching her arms.

"Apparently, in the next semester, we'll be using the lecture halls. So, we'll be with every other class listening to the same lecture", Delilah said.

"Really? How'd you know?" Tanisha asked, looking at her.

"My roommate Akari told me. She said her homeroom teacher told them by accident", Delilah replied.

"I don't know how to feel about that. That would be scary", Tanisha said. "I feel like a lot of fights would happen".

"It would be so noisy, too", Maria added. "I prefer our classrooms".

"Yeah, I'm not looking forward to the idea myself", Delilah replied.

"Hahahahaha".

They all heard laughter in the distance.

"You bitch!”.

After hearing the word bitch being shouted, they looked at each other in confusion.

"What's going on?" Maria quietly asked.

"I don't know. Where is it even coming from?" Tanisha asked, looking around and seeing nothing.

"It's around that corner up ahead", Delilah said, pointing towards it.

The girls were already walking towards that direction. They weren’t going to turn the corner, but they would pass it.

“Should we check what’s happening?” Delilah asked as they got closer.

“We should take a look”, Maria replied, curious.

Tanisha wasn't too sure. “I think we should mind our business”, she voiced her opinion.

The trio got closer, and the laughter and what seemed to be insults got louder. They passed the corner and peeped at who was making the noise. They saw three girls with their backs turned.

“What are they doing?” Delilah rhetorically asked, seeing them face a wall.

“Maybe they’re smoking. I don’t know, let’s leave them be”, Tanisha said, wanting to walk ahead, but Maria noticed something.

“One of them kicked something”, Maria said, looking closely. She moved her head forward to get a closer look. “That’s a person. They’re kicking someone!”.

Delilah focussed her vision, “Oh my, they are”, she said, covering her mouth.

“We need to help them”, Maria worriedly said.

Tanisha wanted to help but was scared they would get hurt in the process.

“Let’s go”, Delilah said, taking the lead and walking ahead.

Maria joined and followed behind her, leaving Tanisha with no choice but to follow her.

“Hey! Turn around!" Delilah shouted as she approached.

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The three girls turned around. One had short black hair, one had long brown hair, and the other had a blonde ponytail.

“Who are you kicking?” Delilah asked with an attitude.

Maria peered around the girls and saw another girl cowering on the floor. Covering her body with her arms, she was trying to defend herself. The girl had light brown hair with straight bangs. Her glasses were almost off her face, most likely due to them hitting her.

“It’s none of your business”, the girl with black hair replied, holding a vape in her right hand.

“None of my business? You’re ganging up on one girl”, Delilah said with her arms folded.

“I told you, it’s none of your business”.

Delilah glanced at the three of them. “You three are real bitches, you know that”.

“Huuh?! Say that again bitch!” The blonde girl said with a screwface.

Delilah smirked. “You three. Are. Bitches”.

The blonde girl scrunched her fist and was about to swing, but,

“Wait! You know who that is, right?" The girl with black hair asked.

“Of course, I know who she is. She’s Delilah. Malakai’s girlfriend”.

Delilah scoffed. “That rumour is still going strong”.

The girl with black hair saw Delilah's reaction. “Oh, it’s just a rumour?”.

“Yes, we’re friends. That’s it”, Delilah replied.

The girl with the black hair stepped closer to Delilah. “There are a lot of rumours about you”, she said. “One of the rumours said that when you were in high school, you never lost a fight, and one or two of those fights were against boys. Is that rumour true?”.

“If you wanna know so badly. Why don’t you find out yourself?” Delilah confidently replied, smiling and showing her teeth. Being around Malakai made Delilah better at trash-talking and taunting.

While those two squared up, Maria went closer and tried to help the girl against the wall.

"Where do you think you're going, Ms celebrity?" The brunette girl asked, blocking her.

"Move out of my way. I'm going to help her", Maria fiercly replied.

"I don't think so", she replied, stepping closer and looking down at her.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Tanisha shouted, quickly rushing to Maria's side and putting her arm across to protect her.

Delilah saw the commotion by her side and smirked. "I wouldn't lay a hand on her. She has some scary friends. From Class A, B and C".

After that comment, the realisation hit. The girl with black hair realised their situation and who they were dealing with.

"Sigh. Girls, let's go", she forfeited.

"Why?" the blonde girl behind her asked.

"I don't want to start something I know we're not going to win. We will beat them up here, but they'll get us back harder. Everyone likes Ms celebrity over there, and Delilah's friends with Sabrina", she replied.

"She's friends with Sabrina?... shit. How?" the brunette girl said, looking towards Delilah.

"They were partners for the last challenge. I saw them happily talking to each other. They're obviously friends now".

"Yikes. This is so not worth it. Let's get out of here", the blonde girl said, sounding uninterested.

"Yep", the girl with black hair took a hit from her vape and blew the smoke in Delilah's face. Delilah kept a straight face while the smoke blew in her face. "Let's forget this happened. We won't hurt her again", she said, smiling.

She walked past Delilah, and her friends followed, giving her dirty looks as they passed. Delilah turned around to see if they were still looking at her, but all of them had their backs turned, walking away.

"Are you okay?" Maria instantly went to the girl sitting against the wall.

"I'm okay. Thank you for helping me", she timidly replied.

Maria helped her up, "What's your name?"

"Monica, I'm in class E".

"I'm Maria".

"I'm Delilah".

"I'm Tanisha".

They all quickly introduced themselves.

"I already know all of you", Monica shyly replied, looking at the floor.

"Why were they hitting you?" Delilah asked.

Monica was too embarrassed to say.

"You don't have to tell us", Maria said.

"No, I'll tell you", Monica replied, brushing some dirt off her uniform. "I overslept, so I was rushing to class. I accidentally bumped into one of them. I apologised straight away, and I thought nothing of it. But I was walking back to my dorm after class, and they saw me. They started insulting me. I listened to their insults and waited for them to finish, but they didn't stop. I tried walking away, but they dragged me here and started beating me".

"Just for bumping into them?" Delilah asked, confused.

"It's also because I'm in class E. Those girls were in class D. The girls in my class don't like the girls in class D, and the girls in class D don't like us", Monica replied, wiping her glasses.

"Why did something happen?" Maria asked.

"There was a little argument between the girls in our classes. It's because the girls in class D look down at us, and the girls in our class don't like that", Monica replied. "Most of the arguing happens online. In person, it's mostly dirty looks and minor comments".

"That sounds bad. I didn't know that was happening", Tanisha said, surprised she hadn't heard anything.

Monica rolled up her sleeve and saw a few bruises forming on her right arm. She was sure that there were a few bruises on her leg already.

"We should get you an icepack", Maria said after seeing her injuries.

"You don't have to worry about me. I'll go by myself", Monica shyly replied, rolling her sleeve back up.

"No, I'll come with you", Maria insisted. She turned to her friends and told them, "You two can go without me".

"I'll come too. I don't like you two being alone. They could still be around", Tanisha replied with no hesitation.

"I've got nothing else to do", Delilah shrugged. "We can all go out to eat after as well".

"That's a great idea", Maria happily said. "Let's get your ice pack".

Maria grabbed Monica's hand and walked ahead while Tanisha and Delilah followed them.

"What scary friends does Maria have in class A and B?" Tanisha asked.

"I don't know, I was lying", Delilah replied, lifting her shoulders.

"Huh?"

"Well, I wasn't totally lying. She has friends in both of those classes. I'm guessing she's friends with Ryan now, and you said both of you had a friend in class A", Delilah said. "Whether they're scary or not is up to you. But her friends in our class are pretty scary. If you get on their bad side".

Tanisha had a reassuring smile on her face. "At least I know there will be people to protect Maria if she's ever in trouble", she said. "Talking about scary, is that rumour about you never losing a fight true?"

"No, I've never been in a fight in my life", Delilah replied, shaking her head.

"You lied?! But you were so confident", Tanisha said with a shocked face.

"I wasn't going to admit I've never fought just before potentially getting into a fight", Delilah replied.

Tanisha shook her head, "I don't know how you were so confident. I was terrified", she admitted.

"You weren't scared when they were about to touch Maria", Delilah smiled.

"No, I was still scared, but I didn't want them to hurt Maria", Tanisha replied.

"How she stepped up to those girls surprised me. She didn't look scared at all", Delilah said, looking ahead at Maria walking with Monica. "She's stronger than you think".

"I know, I just can't help it", Tanisha replied, also looking at Maria.

"You don't have to worry so much. If someone does hurt her, that person will regret it", Delilah said. "I guarantee that person will be hurting a helluva lot more", she chuckled.

Tanisha didn’t join her chuckle. Too much worrying was going on in her head.

"I don’t want her to get hurt at all", Tanisha quietly said.

Delilah looked at Tanisha's anxious face. She just about heard what she said.

"You know that's impossible, right? Everyone gets hurt in life. It's inevitable. In the future, someone might hurt her by accident or on purpose. She might get a few bruises, even some scars. But as long as she doesn't let those injuries affect her, she fights back and overcomes the pain. She'll be fine", Delilah said. "And if she can't do it alone, we'll be there to help".

Tanisha understood that Delilah wasn't only referring to physical pain but also mental and psychological pain.

"She's a strong girl. And remember, as much as you worry for her, she worries the same amount for you", Delilah continued.

Tanisha listened and kept looking straight ahead at Maria. Everything Delilah said, she heard. She understood. She knew what Delilah said was facts. However, her only thought was,

"I don't want no bruise or scar to taint her skin".