Alina Alcantara woke with a violent gasp.
She shot upright, pressing a hand to her heart, her lungs burning as she dragged in air.
Alina felt as though she had just surfaced from a very long dream. In it, she was the pure-blooded villainess in a cliché, old-school campus romance novel. Before she even had time to be angry that she was merely a supporting character, the novel's entire plot had slammed into her.
The story described her as beautiful but vicious. On the very first day the heroine, Bianca Santos, transferred to the elite Santa Catalina International School, she accidentally offended Alina. From then on, Alina and her barkada began a campaign of bullying, tripping Bianca up at every turn.
For at least the first fifth of the book, she was the most active antagonist, Bianca's first and worst nightmare at the academy.
The novel's male lead, Miguel Ayala, was Alina's childhood friend. After he showed interest in Bianca, Alina's tactics became even more desperate and cruel. In the end, Miguel personally stepped in to protect Bianca, and Alina's schemes finally backfired. Her family learned of her actions and she was disowned, left to face a miserable, lonely end.
The dream, which had felt so real, was already becoming blurry now that she was awake.
Alina looked back on that sharp, spiteful version of herself and felt only a profound sense of unfamiliarity. She didn't even know anyone named Bianca Santos. How could she possibly bully someone she'd never met?
Maybe it was just a dream...
Alina closed her eyes, steadying her breath. It was only then she realized she was lying in the school clinic.
The school nurse pushed aside the white curtain and walked in. Seeing Alina awake, she smiled in surprise. "Ms. Alcantara, you're awake."
"Nurse? Why am I here?"
Alina vaguely remembered chatting with her friends in the corridor after class. She had no memory of what happened after that.
"The students who brought you in said you were knocked unconscious by someone," the nurse said, her expression turning serious. "But more importantly, did you skip breakfast this morning? I checked your blood sugar. It's far too low."
Alina blinked, feeling a pang of guilt. To maintain her weight and figure, she hadn't been eating breakfast lately.
"I woke up late, so I didn't have time. I just drank half a bottle of milk."
The nurse sighed. "I've seen so many girls skip breakfast because they're trying to diet, and then they stay up all night... after a while, the body just gives out. You have to eat properly from now on, hija. Don't ruin your health."
The nurse didn't dare say more. The students at this academy were all from wealthy and powerful families. This girl in front of her, Alina Alcantara, was the daughter of a member of the Board of Trustees. If she upset her, the head of the clinic would have her replaced by tomorrow.
"I understand," Alina said. Just then, she heard the loud bell signaling the main recess. She'd been unconscious for that long?
She found her shoes by the cot, intending to go back to class.
"Alright, you can go," the nurse said.
Suddenly, she remembered something. "I got you some chocolates. They're on the table outside. Take them with you. Eat one if you feel faint or lightheaded again."
Alina nodded. "Thank you, Ma'am."
Because of her family, the school staff always treated her with extra consideration.
The nurse pulled the curtain fully aside. She then noticed a male student sitting in the waiting area. He seemed to be a regular here. Seeing the nurse, he immediately got up and walked over.
His school blazer was slung carelessly over one shoulder, and the buttons of his white uniform shirt—meant to be worn neatly—were a mess. He looked less like a Santa Catalina student and more like a tambay from outside the village walls.
"Leo?" The nurse was unfazed. "What happened to your face this time?"
Alina brushed past him. Leo Valdez. There was a fresh, ugly bruise high on his cheekbone. She glanced at it once, then immediately looked away.
Leo's eyes flickered up, catching sight of Alina as she emerged. She was bright and beautiful, with long, slightly curled lashes under which her dark eyes seemed to shimmer. Her gaze was fixed on her long, cold-brown hair hanging over her shoulder.
Their eyes met for a fraction of a second before they both coolly and calmly looked away.
They had been classmates for a year but had never exchanged a single word. They were practically strangers.
Alina, whatever she was like in private, was a model student in the eyes of the teachers. Leo, on the other hand, was the problem child who gave every teacher a headache. He cut class, got into fights that earned him multiple written warnings, and treated the school like his own house, coming and going as he pleased.
"Walked into a tree," Leo muttered, his voice gravelly.
Alina's lips twitched. A tree?
What a terrible liar. It was obviously from a fight.
The nurse didn't say anything. "Come over here, I'll put some antiseptic on that. Are you hurt anywhere else?"
"No," Leo's tone was flat.
Alina walked over to the desk, which was cluttered with various bottles and jars. She immediately spotted the most obvious one, a thin, red-brown bottle. She gave it a shake, seeing the shadows of small granules inside.
She opened it and sniffed. The rich aroma of dark chocolate.
Not thinking any more of it, Alina took the bottle and left.
Two other boys were leaning against the wall outside the clinic, apparently waiting for someone. Alina glanced at them. They weren't in her class, but they looked familiar.
The two had been slouched against the wall, but the moment they saw the "Campus Beauty" walk out of the clinic, they sprang to attention, straightening their backs and flashing awkward, fawning smiles.
Alina thought their smiles were strange. She didn't linger, turning her back and walking away.
After Leo's cut was treated, he walked out of the clinic and saw his friends staring off in one direction. "What are you looking at?"
His friend rolled his eyes. "Who else, bro? The prinsesa of Santa Catalina. What, the cat in the tree? Manong Berto the guard?"
Leo didn't say anything. He put on his blazer, planning to head back to class.
Suddenly, he remembered something. He felt his pockets, then glanced back at the desk in the clinic. He couldn't find what he was looking for.
"Hey, either of you see a small brown bottle?"
"The one with the chocolates? No."
Whatever, Leo thought. Must have left it somewhere else.
The main recess was fifteen minutes long. Alina slowly climbed the stairs to her classroom on the sixth floor.
As she reached the landing, she saw a large crowd gathered at the end of the corridor. It was mostly girls, with a few curious boys craning their necks from the edges.
Isn't that the women's CR? What are they all doing there?
Alina walked over, spotting a classmate, Sofia Reyes, in the crowd.
"What are you all looking at?"
When Sofia saw her, her eyes went wide. "Alina! You're finally awake!"
Before Alina could even respond, Sofia grabbed her arm and physically dragged her through the throng of students. They pushed their way to the very front, stopping at the door of the women's comfort room. It was locked, keeping everyone out.
Several other girls she was friendly with from the next class were standing by the door, fuming. When they saw Alina, they let out an exasperated huff, and the complaints spilled out like mongo beans from a sack.
"I don't care what Chloe and Gabby are doing, but my phone and my blazer are on the sink! What do they think they're doing, locking the door on everyone?"
"Seriously! Our stuff is in there! At least let us get our things!"
Chloe Madrigal and Gabby Roxas. Alina's barkada. Her best friends. They were in the same class, the same dorm, and their parents were old family friends. They did everything together, and the whole school knew it.
Sofia pulled Alina a step away from the door, lowering her voice. "You fainted, so you missed it. The girl who bumped into you? She's the new transferee. Her name is Bianca Santos. Chloe and Gabby think she did it on purpose to hurt you. They cornered her in the CR, kicked everyone else out, and locked the door."
"I don't need to say more," Sofia urged. "You better go stop them. The Prefect of Discipline will be here soon, and it's going to be a huge mess."
"Bianca Santos?"
The name, spoken aloud by Sofia, hit Alina like a physical blow. A massive flood of fragmented memories, sharp and brutal, rushed back in.
In the original story, on Bianca Santos's first day, she accidentally bumped into me. After that, I made her my target.
Alina's fingers trembled. As the memories settled, a chill washed over her.
Am I really just a character in a novel? she thought, horrified. Was my entire nineteen-year life just... made up?
In the novel, the "Alina" character was crushed by the male lead, Miguel Ayala, as punishment for bullying Bianca. He took away everything she had. The novel's ending just briefly mentioned her fate: she was disowned, a desgrasyada rejected by her own family, and forced into an arranged marriage before she even graduated from university.
I have to change that ending. I absolutely will not let that happen again!
The first step had to be stopping this bullying of Bianca Santos—from her friends, and from herself.
Alina took a deep breath. She turned to the girls still complaining about their phones. "I'll handle this," she said, her voice firm. "If a teacher or the Prefect comes by, please cover for me."
She raised her hand and knocked twice on the CR door. She kept her voice low. "Chloe? Gabby? It's me. Open the door. Let me in."
The words barely left her mouth before the lock clicked and the door was yanked open. A hand shot out and pulled Alina inside, hard. Before she could even get her balance, the door was locked again behind her.
Chloe Madrigal grabbed her arms, looking her over frantically. When she confirmed Alina was okay, she let out a breath. "Alina! You're awake! How are you feeling? Diyos ko, when you fainted in the hallway, Gabby and I nearly died!"
Alina shook her head. "I'm fine. I heard you two trapped Bianca Santos in here?"
"Of course it was her!" Gabby snapped, her arms crossed. "That new transferee. A charity case, probably. The teachers put her in our section, saying she's some kind of genius scholar. The whole corridor was packed, and she just had to slam into you. It was obviously on purpose, Alina. We have to teach her a lesson!" Gabby jerked her chin toward the last stall, indicating Bianca was inside.
In the past, Alina might have agreed. But now, realizing she was just a disposable kontrabida in a cliché story, she knew Bianca hadn't done it on purpose. It was just the plot, forcing them to collide.
Alina looked closer. She didn't know where they'd found it, but Chloe and Gabby had tied a thick rope—it looked like an old abacá cord—around the stall door handle, securing the other end to the heavy marble vanity. Unless Bianca suddenly developed superhuman strength, she was trapped.
"It's weird, though," Chloe mused. "We've been making all this noise, but she hasn't even tried to come out. She must be terrified."
This was too extreme. Alina understood Chloe and Gabby were trying to defend her, but in the novel, this incident was the start of the bullying.
"I fainted because of low blood sugar, not because of her. It's not Bianca's fault. She's innocent. Don't do this," Alina explained.
Chloe and Gabby both frowned, clearly unhappy with this. "Alina, what's wrong with you? Everyone in the hallway saw it. She rammed right into you!"
Suddenly, the locked stall, which had been silent, made a small noise. It sounded like someone was finally getting up. The stall door jiggled slightly, and the thick rope went taut. The person inside couldn't open it.
"Hm?" A soft, confused sound came from within the stall. Alina heard it.
"I'll explain later. Just help me get her out, now." Alina grabbed the rope, trying to undo the tight knot.
A second later, the stall door rattled violently. Bianca was trying to push it open.
Thump. Thump. THUMP.
The sound grew louder, and the floor itself seemed to vibrate. Alina looked at the stall door—it was starting to bend, the cheap particleboard warping. She suddenly realized something was very wrong.
The noise was so loud now that Chloe and Gabby both spun around to stare at the door. "Gabby, did you tie that knot properly? Wha-what's going on in there..."
The next second, an even more explosive CRASH echoed from the stall.
Wood splinters and dust burst outwards, showering them.
"Ah!" Chloe screamed in terror.
After the noise faded, there was a gaping, jagged hole in the door. A lean, muscular arm punched through the opening, right in front of Alina's eyes.