I think I remember when I first met the president. We were tablemates in our first year. Back then, I sought to be a ‘social butterfly’ so I enthusiastically initiated a conversation. Although what I didn’t expect was for him to turn me down so coldly, with a sweep of his head and prop of his chin, he looked so distant and unapproachable. With that I officially gave up on trying to get to know him. When we started to introduce ourselves, I vaguely remembered that his name was Kim.. Kim something. For the subsequent months we barely spoke, and I addressed him as Tablemate in my head the entire time. I never tried to know his name.

“Joomi, do you wanna grab lunch together?” Female Classmate 9 asked with Female Classmate 2 in tow.

It had already been two weeks since school started but I can barely recognise every face. Luckily, I knew the 2 of them. They were the girls who liked to gossip especially about popular students. I knew what they were thinking. What were words young people like to say? I learned from TV just the day before. Oh! Right, they wanted me to ‘spill the tea’. Even though I would like not to associate myself with the likes of them, to maintain my ‘social butterfly’ status, I smiled and accepted their offer.

As I got up to leave, I met the blank gaze of Tablemate. I hated that stare. It always make him seem atop of everything and aloof, superior to me. I hated it. I responded to that stare with a small smile and headed to the canteen. As I tuned my head though, my smile morphed into a scowl. How dare he? Did he think he was all that? I was Joomi, the top of the current social pyramid and this vile bottom dares to challenge me? The queen? I scoffed at the thought. This was utterly offensive.

Eating with the two of them was a blur. I could not stop thinking of his blank condescending stare as I pretended to listen to their yammering.

“Oh my gosh, Joomi who has caught your eye in school?” Female Classmate 9 asked vainly. 

“What about Taeyong?” Female Classmate 2 glanced at Female Classmate 9 for a response.

And respond she did, “The sophomore? God, he is drop-dead gorgeous!”, fervently. “How about you Joomi?” She asked once again.

Girls like these who do nothing but lust for guys they would only watch from afar are nothing more than a pack of hyenas that group together in cliques to hunt on the weak. Useless. To maintain my social status though, I smile and tried to give an honest answer.

“Uhm, my table mate?” I answered truthfully.

I did not lie. I had never paid other men in the school mind. To truly achieve social influence and power, I needed to be able to move the masses. Girls are a bit tricky. They are sly, cunning and can easily backstab anytime they want which was why I was expending so much energy buttering up to these lustful hyenas. Boys are easy though. If you are pretty, they follow you like braindead zombies. So to see one of these vile creatures piquing my interest was surprising to say the least though the way he ‘caught my eye’ was a little annoying.

“Him?” I hated how they emphasised on words so strongly so unnecessarily. “Well, he’s not bad but isn’t he a bit gloomy? He never smiles! Not like Taeyong though, gosh, his smile is killer-“ 

I rolled my eyes, inwardly. They were not just hyenas, they were vain and stupid hyenas. They care more about talking about themselves than the person they invited to get information out of. Quickly I ate my tray of food, bought from the cafeteria, while nodding and smiling from time to time to make it seem as if I was listening. 

It seemed like it had been forever but the school jingle finally chimed. In a rush to leave them, I returned my tray and excused myself to the toilet.

With the flick of my wrist, I shook water off my hands and left the toilet, only to bump into Tablemate. His annoyingly tall figure gave him the advantage as he looked down at me, casting long shadows over me. As if threatened, I took a step back to keep some distance between us.

“What?” I questioned warily.

“The teacher was asking where you’ve been so she sent me to search for you,” he stated.

“Oh, let’s go then,” I said as I brushed past him to class.

“You know you don’t have to force yourself to socialise, you’re just torturing yourself. Do what’s comfortable,” he said so distastefully before heading back to class first, freezing me in utter shock.

Torture? Comfort? Is he pitying me? I thought he could not possibly get worse but to be able to see through me and yet still misunderstand me was complete bull. The nerve of that guy to think that I was weak and fragile like the damsels in TV. Glaring holes into his retreating figure, I clenched my fist, ready to pummel him under the force of my wrath.
That night, as I entered the dream space, I quickly took a piece of paper and scribbled my wish. I imagined it materialise before me: 

Tablemate sneakily stealing my indoor shoes and throwing them away before getting caught by a teacher in patrol. Exposed for misdeeds, he reveals that he had been jealous of my ever-growing popularity and wanted to spite me. Finally, he get expelled out of school and drags his miserable self far, far away where I would never see him again.
With that, I willed this wish into the airplane, filling it with my intentions before throwing it out of the dreamscape and into reality. I smiled gleefully. I have never been so happy using my powers and I worry I’m going insane. But I know it is all for the greater good. Because my powers have never failed me and I was always right.

Excited to see my plan in action, I woke up especially early the next morning and rushed to school. I greeted everyone everyone a little perkier than before and practically skipped into class. Finally, the day has come. The day where I eliminate the obstacle to my originally planned fun high school life. As expected, he was not even here yet but no matter. He shall be gone today and I cannot help but to feel extreme ecstasy at that fact. Though there was no need, I even double checked the lockers today to find that indeed, my lockers did not have my indoor shoes. Since I brought an extra pair of indoor shoes, my plan was flawless and he would definitely be erased out of my existence today. He should count himself lucky for catching the attention of me, a superior being, when he himself was just a worthless crawling insect. 

Soon after, he arrived. I was so excited to witness my master plan unravelling that I almost failed to notice a sobbing 2 right behind him. Puzzled, I blatantly stared at the two, wondering what on earth happened because 2 was never part of the plan. They stopped before my seat and Tablemate beckoned 2 over.

“I am so sorry, I was just so angry and felt that it was so unfair and –“, without even finishing her sentence, she bawled like a new born baby.

In the midst of her annoying wails, Tablemate tried to explain, “I caught her trying to throw your indoor shoes away and confronted her. Don’t be too mad, she was only jealous and there was no spite.”

What?

Though I looked fine on the outside, inside I was seething. I clearly dreamt Tablemate to be the one stealing my shoes so why did 2 steal them instead? Why was he the one that caught her then, wasn’t it supposed to be a teacher? And why wasn’t he expelled yet?

“It’s fine, no harm done. If you had felt hurt because of me, you should have told me. Next time, let’s talk through our emotions alright?” I tried to say as calmly as possible.

Still sobbing, she barely whispers a “Thank you” before going back to her seat and getting comforted by 9. 

“Thanks,” I said, trying to understand his motives.

“No problem,” he replied again with that aloof and nonchalant manner, as if he had not just bested my powers that had served me well for my entire life.

In contrast to my growing hatred for him, he had gotten a lot popular since that incident. Rumours of his cool and calm demeanour when catching the culprit and how kind he was to not report it to the teachers, have swooned many. Overnight, he became a school sensation. Not only did he become immensely popular, his ‘quiet yet sweet’ demeanour had won him the position of class chairperson, alongside me.

No longer were 2 and 9 talking about that sophomore, instead their target has changed and locked onto Tablemate. If only I could openly roll my eyes at the utter hypocrisy. Like people say, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.