She's My Sleeping Pill

“Hey! Nerdy! Who are you looking at?”

“I...ah...I’m...not. I’m not looking at anyone.”

“Tch! Stop lying! I know you are watching Tisha again! What a creep! Stop stalking her!”

“I’m...I’m not...”

The scrawny and nerd-looking guy was none other than John Albert. His round eyeglass was too big for his small face and his classmates loved to make fun of him. Every single day, you’d see him carrying his big backpack which could make you wonder how he was able to carry it with his lanky stature.

Which school didn’t have cases of bullying? Teachers may not know about it but bullying exists everywhere. John was around 11 years old but he looked more like an 8-years old. His classmates, who were a lot bigger than him, liked to shove and push him like he was a ball or something they could play with. He didn’t do anything to retaliate just because he was a transfer student. He was afraid that if he would go against them, the school bullies would ask others to come and beat him up.

Every afternoon, after his class ended, he would hide in the toilet room until it gets dark outside. It was his only way to avoid those bullies.

As a grown man, it was natural that he would find someone attractive and during that time, his heart selfishly chose to like Latticia even though he knew that many people will beat him up if they find out about his affection.

.....

He kept it a secret. Or probably not. In one of his notebooks, he sketched Latticia who was chatting with other students, and even wrote her name below it. The sketch was beautiful but he sketched the wrong person. One of his classmates found out and tore that page of his notebook to show how gross he was. There was nothing wrong with him or his feelings. The only wrong thing was the object of his admiration. That day, he received another painful beating from the people who supported Magnus and Latticia’s relationship.

“If I find you looking at her again, I will gouge your eyes and make you eat it. Got it?!”

“Ye-yes. Yes, I got it. I won’t look at her anymore. I promise.”

“Good!” The man shoved him to the urinal and hit his head with the broomstick. It was the day that he would never forget. He was in so much pain and his heart has gone cold. He got bruises everywhere and he could barely see what was in front of him because his eyelids were swollen from the heavy punches he received.

“Are you alright?” A woman asked but John didn’t bother himself to look at her or even answer her inquiry. He just walked past her. “Come here. Let me take a look,” she said and was about to touch him when he swatted her hand away.

“Don’t get close to me.”

It was Latticia’s first time seeing that boy since she didn’t really pay attention to other male students except for Magnus. She didn’t know he existed.

The next day, Latticia thought she was just having a weird dream because that boy never showed up again. She even asked her classmates and other students but they all laughed at her, saying that she must have seen a ghost on her way home.

That incident was long forgotten in her mind and naturally, she moved on from it.

Unlike her, John was unable to forget her. Even when he moved to another town, away from the bullies and away from her, his mind would still wander back to the times he saw her laugh with other students. She looked so carefree when she laughed as if nothing can bother her. Sometimes, he’d see her with a man and his heart would break into pieces but he kept all this matter to himself. He could only keep things deep inside his heart because he didn’t have any friends to share them with.

Five years later, his uncle who worked abroad decided to sponsor him through college no matter what course he would like to take. The only condition was to pass that course whatever it takes. If he fails, he will pay his uncle for all the money he spent. If he passes, that would be great for him.

For a moment, during college, he was able to forget her. He focused himself on his studies because he didn’t want to pay his uncle for all the expenses. He didn’t have that huge amount of money.

Aside from going to school, John also applied for a swimming class which he took every weekend when he has nothing else to do. Without realizing it, he grew into a fine young man and many women started checking him out. He didn’t care.

He learned to mix and match his clothes from his cousin and when he has extra money from his allowance, he would buy good-looking clothes that fit him perfectly. It was also his cousin who brought him to an ophthalmologist to have his eyes checked again and got him a great pair of glasses.

So, even when he was wearing his glasses, he looked cool instead of looking nerdy. Yet, he was still not interested in dating. He didn’t like those girls who threw themselves at him.

“You will graduate soon and will be taking your licensure examination. Are you planning to get a job here or go back to City D?”

“I want to stay here for five more years, uncle. Of course, I’ll get a job here to help you with the expenses. I can’t forever depend on you. After that, maybe I’ll go back to City D.”

It was a typical conversation in his uncle’s household to talk about their plans and the things they like to do. He wasn’t unfamiliar with it and over the years, he learned to calm himself in the presence of his strict, but considerate uncle. He was the only one who truly cares for him when his mother and father broke up.

“You have a brain. You better use it for the greater good.”

“Yes, uncle.” This man wasn’t even directly related to his father. He was his father’s brother-in-law whose wife died a few years ago. Currently, it was the three of them – all male, trying their best to live their life.

John didn’t know where his uncle got all the money to support two grown men who were both getting into college. He didn’t dare ask him about it, though. He pretended not to care because he was worried that he would discover something that he shouldn’t know.

The doubts he had were finally answered after he graduate and got his license. That was when he met the Minato family.