Page 9 of His Untoward Hate

“Before anything else, I want to introduce myself. I am Leizel Datahan, twenty-six years old. Obviously, I am your teacher in Practical Research for this semester,” she introduced herself, and her clear and somewhat distinctive accent was somehow soothing in his ears.

“I am a Filipino by blood who dreamt of teaching overseas, and finally, I am here in front of you all,” she said with a quiet sense of pride and a glint of joy in her black eyes.

“It still feels like a dream even now,” She clasped both of her hands and lifted them a little bit, dreamily.

Not long after, she snapped out of her thoughts as she realized her actions and became serious.

“There’s only one thing that I want to request for the whole class before we begin the entire semester that we will be together, and that’s having and maintaining respect with each other. Respect me as your teacher, and I respect you as my student, as simple as that. I don’t like students who are impolite and don’t take my class seriously,” she trailed off.

Her tone grew serious as she made it clear that her subject was not one to be taken lightly. Although she was short, the commanding power and authority in her voice were palpable.

“Reminding you that you can’t graduate without passing my subject, and I am very strict when it comes to learning acquisition, especially since this is one of your majors. I want you all to learn, and I hope you will do your part as a student, because I won’t hesitate to fail you if you’re being neglectful, and speaking of…Mister from the back?”

Then her attention shifted.

“What happened to your face?” she asked, concern and confusion evident as she stepped closer to the center.

Miss Leizel’s hand was tucked into the pocket of her gray blouse, while the other loosely held a red ballpen. Her sharp gaze remained locked on Sky. Students turned their gazes toward him, but Jude remained still, staring at the surface of his desk with an open notebook that was still empty and a black Titus pen settled above, fighting the urge to shake his head.

“Were you involved in a fight, mister?” she asked earnestly.

A moment of silence, and Jude could already feel the tension in the atmosphere.

“Do you hear me? What happened to your face? I think you should go to the infirmary now.”

“Tsk…” Sky started, and Jude’s heart began to race.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, shut the fuck up,” Sky replied.

Jude flinched at Sky’s response.

“Why do you care?”

“Hey, mind your language!” she raised her voice. “I’m your teacher, of course, I’m concerned about your well-being.” Miss Datahan said, looking at him as though she could not believe what she had just heard.

“Just mind your own business,” Sky answered indifferently.

Jude’s heart lurched at the blatant disrespect. Even for someone like Sky, the response was shocking. A wave of secondhand embarrassment washed over him, yet Sky appeared completely unfazed.

Jude looked at the teacher, who was clearly taken aback at the impudent response, as if it were her first time receiving such a nasty remark from her student, out of concern.

“Is that how you are going to treat your teacher, mister? Do you even know the word respect, or were you not taught about values at home?”

Sky looked at her, and the other side of his lip turned up into a sneer.

“Don’t start preaching to me as if you know me,” Sky said.

Sky’s expression was unreadable, but you could feel the power of contempt.

“You’re being paid to teach, not to lecture me on some fucking values,” Sky said casually, without a hint of fear in his voice, knowing that he was talking to a licensed professional teacher.

Though Jude was well acquainted with Sky’s unworldly attitude, the way he spoke to the instructor still left him stunned and deeply embarrassed. He could not help but wonder if Sky lacked even the slightest sense of decency or the most rudimentary level of respect.

The instructor, visibly shaken, let out a sharp, breathless laugh.

“Wow! Really wow! I didn’t expect to be treated like this on my first day of teaching. I can’t believe this. I find your conduct deeply offensive, in all honesty. After class, I want you to meet and talk to our guidance counse—”