Chapter 1: He

"You're not pretty enough."

Ahh... The world was cruel when it came to love. The pain and suffering, the agony and humiliation. Dealing with such emotions could break and shatter one's heart, when one has the misfortune to be on the confessing end. That would definitely prove to be a problem in the near future.

Fortunately for me, I'm on the receiving end.

The name is Ansel Saint James, currently fifteen and a student of Mort Hans Innerworth Gregor Heathcliff. Yes, it's a mouthful, so it's recently been shortened to just Mort HIGH. No, I don't know why it has a long name.

Pardon me, I usually like to avoid questions like those in future. Cutting to the chase, once again, I'd been made to comment such as mentioned above to one of my classmates in Mort HIGH that early morning.

I still remember the way she knelt and cried before me, her face buried in her palms, as I turned around and walked away from her.

"You honestly amaze me, Ans," my best friend, Lucas, said, falling into step beside me. He was always hiding behind a tree nearby whenever I found a letter under my desk.

We've been pretty much friends since we met. He wasn't very badly built either. We had the same brownish-blonde hair, though his was just slightly shorter. We were the same height and I was only older than him by a few days. I often wondered if our lack in difference was the reason we had such a strong bond.

"How many does that make?" I asked, heading towards the car outside, where my sister had agreed to fetch me.

"She's the 5th this month and 17th this semester," said Lucas, checking his handbook. Closing it with a snap, he turned to me and said, "If you keep judging girls by their looks, you're not going to get married."

I laughed, but didn't reply. We got into my car and greeted my sister. She gave a disgruntled noise and said, "You're going to make me late for my date, Ansel. I hope you're happy."

"The guy's hardly handsome enough to catch your eye, Is," I frowned, referring to Marcus, who'd been dating Isriel for nearly a year already.

"Unlike you, Ans, I don't choose my boyfriend based on how hot he is. As long as he loves me with all his heart like I do, that's all I ask."

I gave an unsatisfied huff and folded my arms. I definitely was not going to acknowledge Marcus as her boyfriend. Isriel had the beauty of Aphrodite. She deserved a prince, not a college lecturer whose spectacles were too big for his eyes. Not to mention he looked like an absolute nerd.

"Thanks for the lift, Is," Lucas smiled as he got down the car outside his house.

"It's the least I can do since you're looking after my baby brother," Isriel smirked sideways at me.

"You're one to talk, you're turning 20 this year," I snapped.

We departed Lucas' home and drove back towards our house. Tch, at least, there's where I thought we were headed. Boy, was I wrong.

"Alright, you get off here," said Isriel, suddenly stopping outside a shop lot.

"Is, I was joking about your boyfriend and your age, now go home," I said, scowling.

Isriel looked at me through the rear view mirror and raised her eyebrow. "This is not a mistake. You get off here," she said in a monotonous voice. "Mother found your report card last semester."

I swore under my breath. "She's sending me for tuition?"

"Bingo. Congratulations on figuring that out," said Isriel, sarcastically. "Now honestly, get off. I'm really late."

"No way. Drive me home this instant. I can study at home. I don't need the extra tutoring."

"Yeah right. You've been studying comic books, Ans," said Isriel, scrutinizing at me. "Off. Now."

Hardly believing I was being forced to attend tuition, I got out of the car and my sister drove away. Sighing, I looked at the sign on the door. "Nurturing Minds." I could feel goosebumps everywhere on my body as I opened the door and walked in.

The centre was quite sturdy, but not much was done about its looks. I walked up to the information booth and asked, "Err... I'm Ansel Saint James, new student. Can you tell me where my class is?"

The woman who saw me nearly fell off her seat. "H-H-Ho my God."

"Don't excite yourself, will you?" I snarled. It wasn't the first time it had happened. Usually did with Lucas, as well. We both had our fair share of instant oohs and ahhs whenever people saw us, many thanks to our appearances. "Now please tell me where my class is."

Lifting a shaky finger, she pointed to the back, giving a loud hiccup when I said, "Thank you" and continued walking. Eventually, I found my room, it had a long name list pasted on the door. Scanning through it, I found my name to be the last and opened the door.

As far as my eye could see, the whole classroom was looking at me. Most of the girls nearly toppled over whilst the guys just stared in awe and envy. Then, as if time had resumed after a brief pause, everything happened instantly. The girls started to talk and giggle amongst themselves, casting side glances at me whenever possible. The guys stood up and walked towards me, arms outstretched.

"Well, hello there," one boy came up to me and flung his arm around my neck. "Must be Ansel, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"My name's Johnston. You can call me John," he smiled, while ushering me to an empty seat in the middle of the room.

"Okay. Thanks, John," I said, dumping my bag onto the seat.

When I stood upright, it freaked me out a little to see that the boys were looking at me from top to bottom, as if to scan every inch of my body. Slightly irritated and very irked, I asked, "Is there anything wrong with me?"

"I'm kind of hoping there is. I can't seem to find a reason for any girl here to resist you. You're like the perfect man," another boy said. Noticing he had not introduced himself, he said, "I'm Harry, by the way."

"Thanks for the compliment, Harry, but I don't think the girls will like me much after they get to know me," I said, barely concealing my modesty. I looked around the classroom and thought, "Ugly, ugly, ugly, damn ugly, super ugly." There wasn't a single lady in the room pretty enough for me to even ask her name, let alone like.

"We were expecting you, Ansel, but we didn't know you would turn out to be... well... this good-looking. Your girlfriend must be a lucky one."

At that, I laughed. "Quite on the contrary, I don't have a girlfriend."

Regretted my actions, though, because the girls suddenly became hyperactive and the chattering grew louder. I could even hear one scream, "He's mine!"

Looking back at the guys, they were shaking their heads and sighing. "If only we had half your current physique and good looks, I'm sure it'd be enough to get at least one of the girls," said Harry.

I didn't know what to say, honestly, but it definitely did not make me proud knowing the amount of ugly toads looking forward to dropping at my knees. To my luck, the door opened just then and a female teacher walked in. She wore sunglasses and a cane with her right hand.

Almost immediately after she had made her entrance, her eyes found me and said, "Stand, new boy."

To tell you the truth, I was quite surprised she had not even stopped for a split second after seeing me. I stood up at once and said, "Yes, Ma'am?"

"Good reflexes, Ansel. I look forward to teaching you. Be warned that this tuition centre will not tolerate any laziness, rudeness, impertinence and whatever falling into the 'runt' category. I've learnt of your unsatisfying results in school and I will do my best to help you, but only to an extent. You will have to do the rest yourself. Clear?"

"Clearer than water."

One side of her mouth went up in a smirk. "Sit, boy."

I sat.

"My name is Emily Watson. Learn the name, fear the name, because I will not hesitate to castigate anyone who proves themselves to be a thorn in my side," Emily said, still with her sunglasses on. "There will be no need for you to use cellphones, pagers or any means of communication during my class. If any of those are seen, they are mine. You might not have been informed, but this lesson goes on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. There will be a pop quiz next week, but I'll leave you to ponder about which specific day it will be held on. So far, are there any questions, Mr James?"

"No, Ma'am."

"Good," said Emily. She then walked to the back of her study and did a roll call.

Meanwhile, I got to know more about the people in my class, with the aide of John, who sat beside me. He told me the names of the boys in the class and then moved on to the girls.

"The guys and I have actually been trying to get Janet's attention for the past two years now. It kind of pains us since we know we probably won't stand a chance against you, so don't fall for her, okay?" said John, gesturing towards to girl among a group. Most of them were the extremely giggly girls whom I already knew were aiming for me.

I made Janet out to be the prettiest of the lot. Certainly, she didn't look half as bad as the rest, but John and the others could rest assured. "She will not tempt me," I replied.

Though those were my words, I was aroused to look at her to find out what aspects she had that could attract the attentions of the guys. Janet didn't have a very beautiful figure, and she did not even seem  as though she was trying to look good. I honestly could not figure out why the guys were interested, until she smiled.

It was so sweet a smile that lit her complexion almost instantaneously. It was beginning to be a treat to see such an expression.

"Nonetheless, I cannot fall for someone who only makes me swoon when she smiles," I thought, and discarded the feeling immediately.

Just as Ms Emily finished the roll call, an administrative staff knocked on the door. "Come in," Emily said, and the door opened. I recognized her to be the lady whom I asked where my class was. "Forgive the interruption, Domina Watson, but I'd like to request for their fees."

"No worries, Opal. I've only done roll call."

"Alright, then. Let's see..." Opal started checking her name list for those who have not paid. "Mr Leonard, are you going to pay today?"

"Err... Yes, please, but only after lessons."

"Okay... Next will be Ms Fuhrer, is she present?"

Beside me, John said, "No, she's absent."

"I see. Thank you, then, Madame."

"You're very welcome." When the door closed, Ms Emily said, "Alright, that's that. Take these notes down now and hand them in later."

That marked the first Latin lesson.