Chapter 27 - Believe In Yourself

June Wolez

On Thursday morning, I woke up at my usual time. It had been a while since I had done that. Ever since I started dating Methane—

No, June, no. You are not going to think about him. From today, you are going to start over.

I took a long soak in the bathtub and played some inspiring songs. With every scrub, I tried to wash off the memories with Methane from my brain. I tried to forget the things he did. I tried to fall back into my previous good habits, and it was working out.

I felt a thousand times better after I did my morning yoga. Then, instead of dozing off while staring at the weather outside, I sat with my textbooks at my desk and studied whatever I could. I looked out the window at the usual time Troy left for school, only to realize a minute later that he was in the hospital. He should be back by this afternoon.

I was giddy at the thought of being able to check out Troy freely without feeling guilty once again. I felt so guilty every time I had thoughts about Troy while dating Methane, that's why I was really relieved I didn't have to worry about it anymore.

I got ready into an off-shoulder royal pink dress that reached below my knees. I didn't want people to think I was mourning Methane or was a sad puppy now that we were broken up. I didn't want fake sympathy. I was strong, and my outfit would prove half of it.

Someone like Methane couldn't bring me down. I was June Wolez, after all.

I smiled to myself in the mirror and said to myself, "Best of luck, June. I know you will do great. Just believe in yourself."

###

Michael was starting school again today, but he wasn't allowed to drive yet, so Camilla drove us both to school. Throughout the entire ride, Michael was twitching as if he had something to tell me but couldn't tell in front of Camilla.

That's why as soon as we were out of the car, he pulled me to the side and whisper-exclaimed, "Dad called me for dinner tonight!"

"Oh, my God, that's great! I'm so happy for you!"

"Yes!" He gave me an excited hug.

We both knew it wasn't much. Invited for dinner at his own house? It was almost like a joke. But it wasn't. His dad was willing to try, and it was okay if he wanted to take it slow, or if it was wrong of him to still let Michael stay out of the house.

At the end of the day, we were children, and we always wanted the love and approval of our parents, no matter what. That's why Michael was willing to take whatever scrambles he could get, all for the hope of rekindling with his father while having the love of his life by his side.

After pulling apart from the hug, we both made our way inside the campus. It wasn't really hard to notice the stares I was getting. Half of them were pitiful and the other half were judgemental. But all of them were whispering. Whispering about me.

"Looks like I'm the new talk of the town," I murmured to Michael.

"Mysteriel made you famous again," Michael replied, and I rolled my eyes.

"He really can't keep anything under the covers, can he? He has to publish everything he knows."

"That he does. But you know what? I'm somewhat grateful to him for publishing everything Methane did. It freed us from the charge of cheating in the Algebra exam."

"True. But that doesn't mean he had the right to publish it without proof, in the first place. Heck, it's wrong to publish anything about anyone," I argued.

"You are right, but we can admit that it has brought us some good at least."

I shook my head and joked, "You're talking like you're Mysteriel."

"I wish I was that smart," Michael sighed remorsefully. "It would be great if Mysteriel could just come up and introduce himself to us."

"Hey, guys!" Ella called out, waving us from the cafeteria table she was sitting at with her minions.

We both waved back and made our way to her.

"Want some strawberry smoothies?" she offered, and I shook my head in refusal, but Michael agreed for a sip. "Do you know who our new English teacher will be?"

"No, do you?" I asked.

She laughed and said, "If I knew, wouldn't I have already said so? I'm waiting for Mysteriel to publish the news."

"He's not the reporter of the school, Els." I rolled my eyes. Why was everyone becoming a fan of Mysteriel all of a sudden? Though I couldn't fault Ella. She always liked Mysteriel for the hot gossip.

"He's the reporter of gossip, though," Ella joked and hi-fived Anna.

As we all started to talk before our homeroom started, a notification alerted us.

'Return of old teacher news, peeps!

Who remembers Mrs. Cathy Zoe, the English teacher who is almost never satisfied with our literature knowledge? It's alright if you still don't remember her. I know just the right thing to make you all recall her. It's the same Mrs. Zoe who got fired for engaging in a secret romance with Ex-Principal Liam Benjamin! She's back now. But with a new name. She's no longer Mrs. Zoe. She is now Mrs. Cathy Benjamin. Surprised?

Yes, you are right. Our dear Mrs. Zoe—oops, Mrs. Benjamin is now married to our Ex-Principal. Who wants to say congratulations? I know I'm saying it at least. Congratulations, Mrs. Benjamin! Hope you don't give us too much trouble!'

"Oh, my God, Mrs. Zoe—err, Mrs. Benjamin is back!" Michael exclaimed. "I have always really liked her, even though she was really strict."

"Yeah, I mean, who knew that woman could love? I guess someone like Mr. Benjamin suits her," Ella commented while I was off in my own world.

I was really happy for her and Principal Benjamin. When I met him more than a week ago at the food court of the shopping mall, he seemed really depressed and was broken up with Mrs. Zoe. She must have gotten back together with him, and he proposed to her. I wonder how they got married so soon. Maybe it was a rash decision.

Soon, our homeroom period warning bell rang out, and we all dispersed to our locker rooms to get our stuff. I glanced at Methane's locker and felt my heart clench. I pursed my lips and took a deep breath before plastering a smile back on my face.

It's okay, June. It's going to hurt for some more time, then it will be over.

###

It was Friday night, the day of Troy's stage play. I couldn't wait to be here and get some fresh air after staying cooped up in my room and storming through the test materials.

As I entered the huge theatre, I gasped in delight. How could Troy say it wasn't a big deal? Of course, it was.

He was going to be playing a supporting role here, not even a minor role. I was really proud of him. I looked around for some familiar faces and tracked down Troy's group of friends, but it was only his actor friends, not his basketball ones.

They all greeted me chirpily and told me they saved a good seat for me because Troy would apparently love that.

"Hey, do you want to meet Troy backstage? You know, he would be really happy if you did," one of Troy's friends, Maya said.

"I don't know. I'm not so sure," I hesitated.

"I also don't know. Troy might get distracted," another of his friends, Jackson joked, and everyone else laughed out loud. I didn't get the joke, though. "You know what? You should go meet him," he added softly later on.

Even though I was reluctant, they all insisted so much I finally agreed. Maya led me backstage where I passed by famous actors' greenrooms, and I could only imagine Troy being that famous someday. I knew he had that capability.

Maya finally stopped in front of a white door with a 'supporting cast' placard on it. She knocked on it, and a faint 'come in' came from the other side. She gave me a teasing look and nudged me to go ahead, then she left me alone there.

I took a deep breath and turned around the knob. My breath got hitched as my eyes landed on Troy. He looked totally different from his regular casual shirts and hoodies. He was dressed in a black leather jacket, jeans, and boots. His hair was done in a different way. I shouldn't have been that surprised since I already knew he was playing the role of a cold bad boy on stage. I couldn't picture him as that when he first told me and had laughed at the weird imagination. But dammit, Troy could pull off any looks.

Troy tried to smile, but nervousness was evident on his face. "Hey, June. How do I look?"

"You look absolutely perfect," I breathed out and closed the door behind me. There was no one else in the greenroom except the two of us right then.

"Thank you," he mumbled and looked back at his script. He slapped the script on his face and said, "I think I forgot all my lines."

I walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "No, Troy, you remember them. I know you do." I saw his lights being on throughout the entire night as I had also stayed up for studying. He didn't even enter the basketball court once after he returned home from the hospital. I snatched the script from his hand and said, "Stop trying to skim them right now. It's just going to mess with your head. If you forget your lines, just improvise them."

"But—"

"Remember what the doctor said? He told you to let your brain take it easy for a couple of weeks, so don't strain it, okay?" I told him softly, and he nodded after a moment of understanding. "You will do great, Troy. Just have faith in yourself, okay?"

He smiled bitterly. "How can I when my parents don't believe in my capability and my friends don't support it? How can I have faith in myself when I'm so incompetent in everyone's eyes?"

I shook my head and took his hands in mine. "No, Troy, that's not true. You are not incompetent in the eyes of the director who chose you for this part, and you will never be incompetent in the eyes of me and your friends who are waiting out there for you. We know that you are going to rock this. Your acting will be so amazing that you will have a big project offer knocking right at your door by the end of this month. Just mark my words."

He pulled me in a hug. "Thank you, June. Thank you so much for being here. You have no idea how much this means to me."

I rubbed his back until the trembles of his body calmed down and he pulled apart from the hug. He gave me that confident smug smile that he used to give me every time I asked how his basketball match preparation was going.

When I went back to the audience after that, from the corner of my eyes, I noticed a familiar older couple sneaking into the theatre. Right after them, a group of sturdy boys entered in black attires and masks, then settled into the seats in the back.

I took my seat back with Troy's theatre friends, smiling to myself as I texted something to Troy for him to see when he would be done with the play or if he needed some motivation.

June: I don't know what your parents and basketball friends think of your new passion, but I just want to let you know that they are all here today, for you, Troy.