Trigger warning:
Cussing
bad words
Probable mention of Fatphobia
Bullying in some way
Grammatical errors and Typos

Please read with caution .

Benedict

I looked back to the direction where the scream was and saw a girl who ran towards me. My flight or fight instinct kicked in and I immediately started to run . I ran on the flights of stairs ,skipping 2 or 3  steps everytime, trying to run to my classroom for safety.

The girl who called my name followed , running up the stairs and  was a few steps behind me .
I felt my body getting increasingly tired from running but I kept on going, the muscles on my legs started to ache as I keep running faster.  Please don't strain any muscle.
I thought to myself as I kept on running up the stairs.

BILISAN MO BEN! I said to myself, running even more quicker until I reached the hallway of the second floor.  Taking a deep breath, I looked back at the stairs and saw her shadow coming towards me .

"Oh shit. " I said in a low tone, panting heavily, sweat dripping down from my face into my uniform as my chest expands and contracts, letting the passage of Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide happen. I felt a little bit better and started to run to the classroom. I kept looking back to see if she's close behind. I muttered something under my breath and kept running.

I was running to my classroom and was looking back until I felt someone's chest against my face. I looked to the person I ran into and took a step back.

"Watch were you're going asshole." She said , glaring at me as she crosses her arms . Her two friends , one on each side , looked at me from head to toe. One went to whispered something to their friend.

"Later Drea, later. " She said, dismissing this "Drea" girl off. Drea kept quiet after that.

"O?" The center girl raised her brow at me, tapping her foot on the floor. That made me snap off my thoughts in shocked and I looked down at her . "May sasabihin ka ba?"

I remained silent, looking at the clock on the end of the hallway rather than her and her posee of friends. I felt my body being torn into two, one side is telling me to just answer her, while another is telling me to ignore her and just walk to my classroom before that girl who called out my name from the stairs would find me.

"Pa.... pasensya na..." I smattered  and lowered my head in shame. My eyes couldn't seem to meet her gaze  . My feet seemed to be glued onto the ground , my mouth felt more drier than it was before I bumped into her.

Her eyes rolled as her lips slowly pressed together. "Ugh whatever. Tayo na girls. " She said , shoving me out of the way . I stumbled upon the lockers of one of the classrooms. The thump of my body startled the people inside the classroom, making them look at me with confusion and concern. I quickly muttered an apology and started walking to my classroom.

"I lost her, thank God . " I panted as I arrived by the classroom. Not much people were there. Just the loner kid who sits at the back of the class at si Ma'am Rodriguez . I went inside the classroom, my teacher is sitting down on the teacher's chair while scrolling through her phone. She didn't bother that I have entered the room, she just looked up and went back to scrolling through her phone.

I sat down at my seat and looked at my sweat-stained uniform . Patyon ako ni mama ni karon , luh . Tatanong niya ako kung anong nagyari naman. I sat down in silence, letting the slight wind pass through the classroom. Noises of students overpowered the wind as they talked to each other about whatever they talked about.

I glanced to the door to see if anyone would enter the room. My friend , Sophie was at the door, leaning against it, trying to catch her breath. Her light skin was looking like a baby pink-like shade due to her flustered-red face and fair skin.

"HOY BEN! BAKIT NAGPAHABOL KA SA AKIN?" Sophie yelled from the door. Several people outside looked at her and even Ma'am Rodriguez, who turned off her phone to see her by the door.

"Akala ko sino ang naghahabol! Ikaw lang pala. " I answered her , getting up from my seat and went towards her.

"At least , nakatulong sa weight loss mo . " I jokingly said to her as I walked closer.

"Ang gag- " She said to me but I cut her off,

"Soph, baka marinig ka ng nanay mo. " I quickly whispered to her . Her face turned even more red, she took a step back and looked at the ground.

"Miss Rodriguez? " Ma'am Rodriguez called out to her. Sophie perked up and looked at her, "Ano po iyon mam- I mean ma'am?" She asked .

"Get inside the classroom. You're blocking the door with your body. " Ma'am answered. I looked over my shoulder and saw several students waiting by the door . Some were giggling and smirking at Sophie. Others were sitting on the floor, forming circles to talk .

Sophie went inside the classroom and sat down on her seat. The students waiting went inside.

"Finally, nakapasok tayo. " One of the students snickered to his friend.  Other students started to go inside as recess time comes to an end. The recess bell rang throughout the building, screams of shock from lower grades could be heard from upstairs as everyone ran back to their classrooms. Ma'am Rodriguez turned off her phone and got up from her seat. She went to the open door and closed it . Students who nearly made it stayed outside. They went to the windows and begged to enter the room.

"Yan kasi, late kayo. " Ma'am Rodriguez scolded them from inside the room.

"Sorry na pa po ma'am!" One of the students said in apology. The others nodded their heads and muttered apologies. Ma'am sighed and went to the door and opened it.

The students who went inside said sorry and went back to their seats. By the time the last student entered, she left the door open and went back to the teacher's table.

"O? Ano ang hinihintay niyo? Tayo bilis. Magdadasal tayo. " She asked all of us . We all got up and the person assigned for the prayer today, a girl named Jennalyn Cortez stepped in front of the class and lead the prayer.

***

I was at the locker room when the girl I bumped into showed up.

"Hey you the dude who bumped into me!" She called out . I looked to where she's at and closed my locker,

"What do you want?" I asked her.

"I want to say sorry for what I did to you this recess. I wasn't in the mood a while ago. " She said to me .

Joke ka ba gurl? I thought to myself as I looked at her suspiciously. I tried to look at her body language to see if she was lying to me or was just kidding around. You think maniniwala ako sa sinabi mo ?

My tongue felt dry as I try to say something to her . I was stuck in a situation whether to say yes or to say no to her .
"It's okay. " I answered her.

She nodded her head at me and left the locker room. I sighed in relief and opened my locker once more, grabbing one of textbooks and then immediately closing it after. I went downstairs, my book , science activity,and lunch in hand . I soon reached the canteen and went inside, looking for where Sophie and our other friend, Albert would be. Albert instantly saw me and waved . I looked to where he was and went to the table.

"Nasaan si Soph?" I asked him.

"Sumama kay Ma'am Rodriguez ngayon . " He answered me and went back to eating.

"Ah...ganon ba. Sige , kakain na lang tayo. " I said , placing my book and activity on the other chair so that it won't get wet or stained by us eating. I got my lunch and did the sign of the cross before eating.

While eating lunch, Albert and I would talk about how our morning has been and what's been going on with our lives.

"Okay na ba ang lola mo?" I asked him , looking up and placed my pen down.

"Mas okay naman siya ngayon. Nandoon sa probinsya. " He answered me . I nodded and went back to answering the activity.  I glanced at the clock.

12:35 pm .

And back at my paper.  Kaya ko toh! Matatapos ko ito! I thought to myself as I answered the last question. I placed my ballpen down and leaned against the table.

"Finally na tapos na . " I whispered to myself, weakly gave myself a pat on the shoulder for a job well done.

I grabbed my lunch box, my book and the activity and got up from the table.

"Saan ka pupunta?" Albert asked , coming back from the water refill area of the canteen.

"I'm just going to pass the activity I worked on. " I answered him and started walking away.

"Oh sige! Mamaya na lang tayo magkita. " He said and walked outside by the other door. I walked outside into the canteen and walked to the facility office.

I looked at the clear glass window and saw the teachers were having lunch , others were trying to get some rest and others were talking to which each other. I tried to signal Ma'am Ortiz who was in her table. Another teacher seemed to notice my dramatic gestures as I was trying to call her attention. They went over to Ma'am Ortiz and told them that I was waiting for her to notice me, she got up from her seat and walked to the door and opened it.

"Yes Benedict?" She asked me. I opened the book where I have been keeping the activity , " Heto po yung activity namin ng partner ko sa science. " And handed the activity over to her. She reviewed over the paper , scanning quickly through the answers I have written.

"Thank you for passing your activity , Ben. Have a good afternoon. " She said to me before closing the door. I sighed in relief and went to one of the greenhouses that was around the campus. It was by one of the ponds the  school has and has a stone pathway that connects one building to another. I sat down and looked at the ceiling , observing the simple details of it .

As I continued my staring off into space , I heard footsteps that sounds like they were  coming towards me.

Act normal , act normal!
I thought to myself as I quickly snapped off from looking at the ceiling to humming a slight tune while looking at the pond.

"You're Benedict right?" A voice asked . I snapped off from my day dream and looked at where the direction of the voice was.

It was from a girl, she only looked a few months older than me . She was thin like a sheet of paper , her wavy dark brown  hair tied into a ponytail that was placed on her right side. Her skin would considered on the "dark " side of the skin spectrum , brown but not too brown. She was wearing the girl version of the school uniform. White blouse with a tie and a checkered navy blue skirt that reached below  her knees . Short white socks and black school shoes.

"Uhhh... " I answered and laughed nervously, "Yup! Thats me . Benedict Reyes at your service. "

The girl sighed in relief, "Akala ko maling tao pinuntahan ko. " She said to me , laughing. I laughed along, trying to ease the tension.

"Available ka mamaya? After class?" She asked .

"Oo naman pero hangang 5:00 pm lang, bakit naman?" I answered .

"May ipapakilala lang ako sa iyo. She really needs your help. " She explained briefly .

Ako?  I thought to myself, Sinong gusto kumuha ng tulong mula sa isang gago kagaya ng sarili ko?

"Okay, saan tayo pwede magkita?" I asked her. On the inside, I can imagine myself doing a facepalm after shaking its head in disappointment as the rest of my braincells panic and slowly die.
Oh shit bakit ako ang nagtanong?!
I asked to myself . 
Ewan ko sa'yo ,Ben . Ang assuming mo kasi.
I tried to answer back and now have become an inward spiral of fear and irrationality.

"Sa Milktea shop. " She answered me . "Yung malapit sa school natin na milktea shop. " She added.

"Yung Sunshine and Cookies Milktea shop? " I asked her. She nodded her head , "Yup! That's the one!"

The one , the one ka diyan!
I commented internally. Wala naman "the one" tangina!
I added.

"Okay. See you mamaya?" I asked . She nodded and left.

Wow hindi pa niya sinabi yung pangalan niya...
I thought to myself . I sighed and leaned against one of the poles that was giving support .
Ako? A person who basically does nothing sa life will be looked for help?
I asked to my thoughts and started a string of thoughts .
Bakit ako?
What specific help does that girl even need from me?
Bakit hindi na lang siya yung pumupunta sa akin and not some "Messenger" .

I looked at the wrist watch in my hand for the time.

12:50.

I looked around and saw much less people around , some where going up the stairs to their respective classrooms. I got up and left the greenhouse, my lunchbox and book in hand and went to the stairs.

Just go , Ben. No one's going to chase you.

I thought to myself as I faced the stairs of the highschool building. I took a step on the first one and strated to climb up the stairs.

--------------------------------------------------
A/N:
Hello! Kamusta kayo? I hope okay lang kayo diyan! Here's chapter 4 of  15 Pesos.

I wasn't expecting this to be my current longest chapter written ...idk why , it just happened out of nowhere and I surprisingly passed my word count per chapter (which is like over average is like... 1.1k? 1.2k? 1.3k? That's with NO AUTHOR'S NOTE INCLUDED)
Am I proud that this chapter exceeded the word count? YES. VERY PROUD OF MYSELF!

But G , there's another authors who can write more words than you , you only wrote 2.3k words (not including the author's note)

Yes I know that in the eyes of others, that would be seen as "short" BUT HEY!!!! I WORKED HARD FOR THIS BOOK AND I AM SUPER PROUD OF IT!!! yay!

And I'm so so sorry that I didn't publish soon enough. School , other books I'm working on , my fan accounts and my mental health is hard to juggle or even balance , so I'm really sorry if  I don't publish a chapter like... 2? 3?  Times a month.

I'm very sorry sa maling kong Tagalog dahil hindi ako medyo marunong magsulat at magsalita .
Constructive comments are allowed and would be kindly appreciated but do not straight up insult me.

Also please don't bully people! Bullying is very bad and could damage what people think about themselves due to it so don't bully!

That will be all ! Thanks~

(Stay safe!)