Page 80 of Didn't See That Coming

It’s as though a balloon has just been inflated inside me. I could float away right now, I really could. I nod back at him and bite back the huge grin that’s threatening to take over my face. I’m not done with the presentation yet. I clear my throat and keep going.

“If you think this only happens in-game, think again.” The screen changes, going to the next slide. “These are screenshots of messages I have gotten from people I know in real life. My fellow classmates.” I nod at them, noting with some pleasure that many are squirming, their faces red with shame. “Notice a pattern? They’re all tagged with #CrazyKiki.” I turn to look at Mr.Tan. “That’s my nickname here. I got it because I dared to challenge Jonas’s vision for our group project.”

Mr.Tan looks aghast. Or maybe he looks angry? I can’t tell. I quickly launch back into my presentation before he regains enough brain space to interrupt me.

“This, by the way, was what Jonas wanted our group to go for.” The slide shows Jonas’s mock-up of his proposed game with the ridiculously curvy woman carrying huge guns. “I was tired of having the only female characters in games be overly sexualized. But voicing a different opinion led to me being called crazy.”

Jonas is sitting so low in his chair that he looks like he’s in danger of sliding off at any moment.

“You might think that calling a girl crazy is no big deal, butwhat you might not know is that it quickly became part of my identity here. It created an unsafe environment for me, because when I had a very legitimate problem, I was dismissed because, hey, she’s crazy! I’m crazy for not wanting to be Jonas’s girlfriend. I’m crazy for speaking my mind in class.” My voice rises with passion, with anger. “I’m crazy simply because I exist as my own person.” My words ring with power, vibrating in the shocked silence of my classmates.

“Now let’s talk about Jonas.” I turn my gaze to Jonas, and he actually flinches. “The perfect boyfriend. So romantic how he called us a real-life enemies-to-lovers story. Well, you know what? Sometimes, people are enemies because one of them is tormenting the other, which was exactly what Jonas had been doing to me before he found out I was Dudebro and decided it would be cool to date me. I made it clear to Jonas that I wasn’t interested in him, but because I’m Crazy Kiki, nothing I say is to be taken seriously, right? My nos are only there as obstacles for Jonas to overcome. Well, you know what? Fuck you, Jonas.”

There is a collective gasp, and Mr.Tan starts forward, saying, “Okay, that’s enough, young lady—” but Zoelle, Triss, Peishan, and Klodiya all jump out of their seats and form a protective line between me and him.

Jonas jumps out of his seat, saying, “This is bullshit!” and in a split second, Liam’s right in front of him. Jonas snorts. “Move out of the way.”

Liam shakes his head. “Nope.” My head almost explodes into a million happy pieces, because, oh my god. Liam is standing up for me! Literally, might I add.

“You can’t stop me.” Jonas tries to shove him away, but Liam stands there unmoving, blocking Jonas’s way.

By now, I have to raise my voice to be heard over the commotion. “I reported the bullying and harassment to Principal Lin but was told it was harmless good fun and to be flattered because it means that Jonas was interested in me. So there you have it, this is the truth about Xingfa and the people in charge of it. Why are we letting this happen? I guess it’s much easier for the school if a harassed girl keeps her head down and learns to accept abuse, but I am done keeping my head down. I’m done swallowing my anger and pretending that everything’s okay. I’m not crazy just because I speak my mind. I’m a person with rights equal to those of everybody else here, and I am done staying silent to make boys feel comfortable.”

Silence. A bead of sweat trickles like an ant down my back. I swallow. Well, I did my best. And now to make my exit and—

Someone starts clapping. It’s Liam. Peishan, Zoey, Triss, and Klodiya all follow suit. Before I realize what’s happening, it spreads to the rest of the classroom. Not everyone joins in,but enough people do to make my eyes sting with tears.

“This is outrageous!” Mr.Tan screams.

Making my presentation and sharing my truth has unlocked something in me. I’ve empowered myself. It feels like I’ve finally found my old, confident self, the one who doesn’t fear speaking out for herself. So I can’t resist saying, “Did the presentation go over your head, Teacher?” Mr.Tan literally turns red. I’ve never seen a human in real life do that before. Time to make my exit.

But before I can leave, I see Liam walk toward me, his grin so wide that it basically eats up his entire face. My mind explodes into a thousand chirruping thoughts. He holds out his hand. Without really realizing what I’m doing, I put my hand in his. Holding hands with him feels so right, like coming home after a long journey. Peishan, Zoelle, Triss, and Klodiya walk out of the classroom behind us, followed by a handful of others.

Outside, I see that students have crowded around their classroom windows and are staring at our tiny procession. There’s a moment of panic before I recall that Sarah Jessica, in all her terrifying brilliance, hadn’t just hacked into our classroom computer; she hacked into the entire school system so my presentation was shown in every classroom at Xingfa. She also managed to hack into the sound system to broadcast my narration in real time. In my wildest dreams, the entire school comes undone, everybody rushing out of their classrooms to congratulate me. But of course, nothing like that would ever happen at Xingfa. Instead, they stare silently as we walk by, but here and there, I catch girls giving me a thumbs-up, or nodding or winking or mouthing “good job,” and my spirits flit up to the sky. I can only hope that sharing my truth has lit a fire under them. A tiny flame, for now, but I hope that it will grow with time, that more and more girls will speak up, and that others will support them.

“What the hell is going on?” Principal Lin thunders, striding through the hallway. He’s heading straight for me, and everything inside me squeaks, but somehow, I stay rooted tomy spot, my feet planted firmly. He stops two paces away from me, breathing hard. “In all my years as principal,” he sputters, “I have never—never!—met such a disrespectful, disobedient student. You’re expelled!”

Part of me wants to quail, to drop my gaze and apologize. I guess the traditional Asian teachings of respecting my elders no matter what they do still lives on inside me. But I’ve grown past that now. I can unlearn the harmful things I’ve been taught. I am my own person. I lift my chin and meet Principal Lin’s eye, unflinching. “You can’t expel me.”

“What?” he snorts. “Oh yes, I—”

“Because I quit the school. My parents sent in the withdrawal form this morning, along with a formal complaint.”

Surprise flickers in his eyes before he manages to recover. “Well, good. Good riddance.”

“I quit too,” Liam says.

We all gape at him. Including me. “Liam—” I say, at the same time as Principal Lin says, “What?”

“I quit as well,” someone else in the crowd pipes up. The sea of students parts to reveal the slight frame of Eleanor Roosevelt.

This time, the blood drains from Principal Lin’s face. “Eleanor,” he whispers. “Hang on—”

“I already told my parents, and they agreed,” she says cheerfully. “They were honestly shocked at how unsafe the environment here is, all thanks to you.”

I gesture at the dozens of cell phones aimed at us. “There are going to be a whole lot of videos on social media about this mess. I uploaded my presentation online, so everyoneknows exactly what happened here. I’m guessing that you’ll lose more students in the coming days.”

“That’s—that’s perfectly fine, our waiting list is notoriouslylong….”

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