Chapter 2: Opposites attract
(Taranee x Nigel)
Taranee Cook dumped her pile of books onto the table and slumped in the chair. It was another day of studying, just like everyday and she had to coop herself in the library to stay focused. Blame it on her strict lawyer mother and upright father. Because of them, there were stringent rules in her house and she and her brother, James, were expected to obtain As or be grounded for a month. Being grounded would mean no seeing her friends and that would disrupt her W.I.T.C.H. activities. Taranee sighed and stretched before starting on page 1 of her history textbook.
Meanwhile, Sheffield's meanest and biggest bullies were hanging out at the park, mocking the little kids and old people walking by.
"That old lady looks like a haggard witch!" Uriah snorted.
"And that little kid looks like the uglier version of King Kong!" Kurt added in.
"Come on guys!" Nigel said, annoyed with his friends. "Stop making fun of other people! It's not as if you guys are that good looking."
Though Nigel was friends with Uriah and Kurt and helped them with their tasks, he always felt irritated whenever Uriah and Kurt went too far. It was as if they didn't know their limits. Nigel was also a bully but only because he wanted to feel invincible and powerful when he took on the weaker kids. He came from a broken family. His father often beats him up and his mother sleeps around with countless guys. Nigel needed the strength to endure the pain in his heart and the only way was to taunt people to gain satisfication. However, he never had the intention of hurting anybody that badly or passing unecessary comments.
Uriah narrowed his eyes at Nigel. "Are you on our side or the goody-two-shoes side?"
"Duh, your side? But can you stop criticising everyone you see? It's annoying!" Nigel rolled his eyes.
"Listen Nigel. If you are on our side, then stop being such a nag! Just accept whatever I'm doing. It's not as if I'm asking you to do it right? But if you want to boss my around, then get out of my group. Think about it, kid." Uriah grunted. "Come on Kurt, let's go!"
Nigel cracked his knuckles and stuck out his tongue at Uriah's and Kurt's backs. Uriah was such a hot-tempered person. But he knew that Uriah was going to forgive him the next day. He needed Nigel. Uriah was just too predictable.
After what seemed like an eternity, Taranee finally finished her whole history textbook. As she swiped the books of the table and into her haversack, her arm accidentally hit someone's hip.
"I'm sor.." Taranee looked up and froze. It was Nigel, the infamous bully who hung out with Uriah and Kurt. She had heard rumours of how Nigel liked to bully weak kids in their school. She certainly did not want to be one of his targets.
"Sorry.." Taranee mumbled. She quickly slung her bag over her shoulder and got up, wanting to get away as soon as possible.
As she took her first step away, she felt Nigel's hand firmly gripping her arm. She winced. What was he going to do to her? She turned to face him, bracing herself to scream for help if he laid a finger on her. But instead of shooting insulting comments at her or any of that sort, he was actually smiling and holding out a pen towards her.
"I think this belongs to you."
Taranee smiled back and reached out to take the pen from Nigel. "Thanks so much!" Taranee replied and walked briskly away before Nigel could do anything else. He seemed nice and not like what her friends described him to be. But she shouldn't get carried away. Nigel might have some tricks up his sleeve to embarrass her in the future. This was just the beggining.
Nigel gazed at Taranee as she walked out of the library. He recognised her as the nerdy Taranee who topped the cohort every year. Though she would have been an easy target for Nigel, he couldn't bear to taunt her. Somehow, he had a strange connection with her. He shook his head and sat down at where Taranee was initially sitting. He was confused about why he felt this way.
"Forget about Taranee," Nigel mumbled. "Let's get down to business." Nigel smirked dirtily. He took out his pen-knife and started vandalising the table. This would allow him to vent his anger of Uriah and Kurt. And take his mind off Taranee.
Once Taranee safely reached home, she fished out her cell phone and called her best friend, Will.
After a few rings, Will picked up the call and chirped, "Hey girl. What's up?"
"Guess what? I had an encounter with bad-ass Nigel today."
"Did he bully you?" Will gasped. "I swear I will mess him up and punch him for you. How could he do this to you? You're a girl-"
"Will! Chill!" Taranee laughed. God, she loved how that girl would always be so protective of her. "He didn't bully me at all. In fact, he was being extremely nice. He helped me pick up my pen and didn't flare up when I accidentally hit him."
Will scoffed. "Every normal person would do that. It is an expected human reaction. Don't let this small action influence your thinking of Nigel. A bully will always be a bully and as guardians, we never support the bad guys."
"I know," Taranee sighed. "We never support the bad guys."
Will continued talking about her crush on Matt but nothing registered in Taranee's mind. She had no idea why but apparently Nigel's simple act of kindness left a great impact on her.
Taranee had an extremely hectic schedule the next day and she was fumbling with the items in her locker. She had to rush off for her first lesson in the morning and she couldn't find her books. As she digged her messy locker for her books, some of her stationery dropped on the floor.
"Argh!" Taranee huffed and bent down to retrieve them. But before she made contact with her stuff, a big foot landed on top of her items. She shot her head up only to find Uriah's pock-marked face looking antagonizing down at her.
"Well..well, look what we have here? It's Taranee, the smart ass!" Uriah crouched down to Taranee's level and gave her a push.
Taranee lost her balance and fell backwards, earning laughter from Uriah, Kurt and a few of the other guys.
Taranee clenched her fists and looked defiantly at Uriah.
"Why Cook? Too weak and scared to fight back huh?" Uriah mocked.
Taranee ignored Uriah and starting picking up the items on the floor.
"Listen to me when I talk!" Uriah roared and roughly grabbed Taranee's wrist.
"Ouch!" Taranee yelped. "Let go of me!"
"Finally, she speaks!" Uriah smirked grimly and pulled Taranee closer. "Aren't you upset, nerd? You're going to be late for your first lesson."
The other guys sniggered and Uriah burst into thunderous laughter. Some of his saliva landed on Taranee's face. Taranee frowned. She was going to be infected with Uriah's germs.
"Let me go or I'll tell Mr Collins!" Taranee spat at Uriah.
"Oh, I'm so scared!" Uriah raised his hands in surrender. "Not!" He grabbed Taranee once again and tightened his grip.
"Stop! You're hurting her!"
Everyone turned their heads and saw Nigel running towards Uriah.
"Uriah, let go of her!" Nigel hissed.
"The hero saving the damsel in distress, how sweet." Uriah rolled his eyes and yanked Taranee up with him. "So it seems like you've picked the goody-two-shoes side."
Uriah violently pushed Taranee to Nigel. "Here, have her! Go mix with the nerd and be friends with her. From today onwards, don't you dare come back to my gang. You are not longer part of us." Uriah stuck his nose in the air and walked off with Kurt and the other boys in the gang.
"Whatever, I don't mix with major bullies like you all anyway!" Nigel muttered under his breath. Just then, he realised that he was still holding onto Taranee and she was staring at him in shock.
He immediately let go of her and gave a nervous chuckle. Taranee also laughed awkwardly and scratched her head.
"Are you alright?" Nigel asked Taranee concernly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for coming to my rescue." Taranee said. She couldn't believe what had happened just now. Nigel gave up his friendship with his friends to save her. If he was mean, why did he do it? It couldn't be some kind of bad intention, could it?
"No problem! They aren't good people anyway. It's better for me if I don't mix with them. They'll just bring me down," Nigel replied gloomily and leaned against the lockers. "Just like my parents."
Taranee saw sadness and hurt in Nigel' eyes and her heart went out to him. He seemed so vulnerable. What ever happened to him and his parents? He had saved her from Uriah, it was only right if she comforted him now.
"Hey, it's alright," Taranee placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Want to talk about it?"
Nigel's eyes seemed to light up a little. "You..you are willing to hear me out? You're already late for lesson."
"Exactly! I'm already late so there's no point going for lessons now." Taranee grinned. "Besides, friends are more important than studies."
Friend? Taranee called him a friend. He suddenly felt so much secure and it made him more comfortable to share his problems. He knew that there was something special about Taranee. Not only was she smart, but she was also kind and understanding. A girl like her was hard to find.
Taranee herself also found it hard to believe that she actually called Nigel a friend. She remembered how she and her friends used to be so against him. And now, after spending a mere few minutes with him, she already upgraded him to something much better. What was this guy doing to her?
"So..want to go to the library? I have a secret corner there. Plus it's quiet so no one will disturb us." Nigel nudged Taranee playfully.
Taranee giggled and nodded. Nigel was so right. The library was a perfect place.
Taranee and Nigel shared many things with each other. Nigel told Taranee about his broken family, Uriah and why he bullied people. Taranee also told Nigel about her strict parents and even gave him some study tips.
Though she had only met him personally yesterday and had an actual conversation with him today, she felt confident in telling Nigel everything. Normally when Taranee is with strangers, she would shy away and keep to herself. But with Nigel, it was different.
Nigel also felt the same way. He never thought that he could ever be friends with someone as learned and obedient as Taranee. He was always the bad ass and Taranee was the polar opposite of him. But he was glad he met her.
Just then, the librarian approached the two teenagers who were sprawled on the ground and whispering to each other in low voices.
"Excuse me kids. There are tables in the library. Can you sit at the tables instead of lying on the ground?" The librarian instructed. "I'll show you guys where to sit."
"Yes mam!" Nigel and Taranee said in unison and grabbed their stuff to move over to the tables.
As Nigel, Taranee and the librarian walked towards the tables, the librarian noticed that there were scribbles on the table.
"What on earth?" The librarian exclaimed and studied the drawings.
Nigel realised it was him who vandalised the table and he gulped. "Oh, guess what? My next lesson is starting soon. I need to go now. Bye!" With that, Nigel dashed out of the library. The librarian recognised Nigel's handwriting and shouted after him.
"Excuse me boy! Come back here! You have to pay for the damage you have done to the school property!" The librarian chased after Nigel.
Taranee couldn't help but to laugh at the epic scene. She never saw the librarian run before. And seeing the librarian chase after her friend, it made it more humourous.
She went over to the table to see what exactly Nigel had drawn and written. She saw a stick man figure labelled as Uriah and below him, there were the words "stuck-up, arrogant, male version of a bitch". And beside Uriah, there was another stick man figure labelled as... Taranee? That was her! For a stickman, he actually drew Taranee pretty well and she noticed that he also drew hearts all around her. Did he..like her? She blushed. Maybe she did like Nigel too.
Just then, Nigel creeped up behind her and grabbed her arm.
"Taranee, the librarian is going to kill me. Let's go now!" Nigel sprinted out of the library with Taranee.
As they ran, hand and hand, Taranee felt complete and relaxed. This was much better than being the goody-two-shoes and studying all the time.
She turned to her side to observe Nigel. He kept looking back to see if the librarian was following them. Nigel met her gaze and grinned brightly, squeezing her hand. Taranee grinned back and shook her head. All thanks to Nigel, being a bad ass seemed quite fun.