“I’M really sorry for what happened, sir,” Maggie apologized to the disciplinarian after explaining to her the reports Melinda and the Music Department students filed against her. “But it wasn’t really me that started it…” She looked to the directions of Melinda and friends. “They’re the ones who attacked me first.”

“Attacked you?” Melinda scoffed and raised her hand with a cast. “Can you see this injury that you caused me?”

Maggie’s eyes widened as she looked at Melinda’s hand. She can’t believe that she really did that to her. “I-I only did that to you because you provoked me—”

“I was just walking up the stairs, Maggie,” Melinda cut off. “And, then you suddenly came rushing down the stairs and bumped to me.”

“W-why would I bumped with you? The stairs are wide enough to fit four students at a time,” she said, unintentionally sounding sarcastic that only made Melinda pissed off. “I’m just stating the fact…” she added and lowered her head.

Dustin cleared his throat. “Sir, could we please check the CCTV first?” he said and looked at the students in front of them. “There are CCTVs in the corridors, and as well in the canteen. I’m sure whatever happened during the time that these students accused Maggie of hurting them was recorded.”

“Why would we have to check the CCTV if there’s clear evidence that Maggie hurt Melinda?” The guy from the Music Department that Maggie’s not familiar with intervened. “Look at Melinda’s hand; she almost got a broken wrist.”

Maggie gasped. “T-That’s impossible that I can do that to her,” she said and looked at the disciplinarian. “Sir, can we see the CCTV now?”

The disciplinarian nodded and turned the laptop to them. “This is what happened in the corridor…” he said and hit the play button. “It clearly showed that Maggie seemed to be hurrying down the stairs, and Melinda and her friends were also seen crowding the stairway.”

Maggie glanced at Melinda. The woman looked uncomfortable in her seat and constantly biting her lip. She looked nervous rather than confident that she really did hurt her. When Maggie looked at the three guys sitting beside Melinda, the two looked away as if scared to have eye contact with her. While the other one, that seated closer to Melinda, just scowled at her.

Maggie doesn’t understand his problem until she saw what happened next in the CCTV footage when Melinda tried to pull her hair. Maggie watched in wide-eyes as her alter persona in the video grabbed Melinda’s hand and twisted it without batting an eyelash. It seemed she didn’t even hesitate to hurt her.

“See? I’m right! She attacked me!” Melinda pointed her finger at her and started to cry. The man beside her comforted her immediately. “I begged for her to let go of my hand because it hurts so much, but she didn’t listen to me…”

Maggie’s brows furrowed. She looked at the video again; surely, it wasn’t really her… She looked at Dustin, but the man doesn’t look bothered about the video. Maggie heaved a sigh before she turned to the disciplinarian again to explain.

“I’m sorry…” she said and lowered her head. “If Melinda didn’t provoke me and just let me passed by, none of this would happen.”

“Maggie’s right, sir,” Dustin agreed. “It was clear that it was Melinda who attacked her by pulling Maggie’s hair. It’s just that Maggie’s reflexes were fast that she was able to defend herself from her.”

Maggie looked at Dustin and suppressed her smile. She still can’t believe that he was with her now, defending her against the other students that complained about her wrongdoings to them. Maggie knew Dustin as the prim and proper student, and having him here beside her, taking her sides in this argument made her heart softened like a cotton ball with different colors like candies.

Maggie immediately ditched the thoughts in her mind. Daydreaming about Dustin was inappropriate in this situation. And, she still has to face her problem with her alter persona. She never thought that she would deal with this kind of unbelievable problem in her life.

“Who attacked first is not the issue here, Dustin,” Melinda countered. “I am the victim here!” She showed them her injured hand. “How will I write my essays in this injury? And look at that woman; she doesn’t even have minor wounds or even scratches.”

The disciplinarian cleared his throat. “Miss Melinda, it was you who started the fight,” he said and shook his head. “It was clear in the video, you and your friends were blocking her way, and that’s not right. When Maggie bumped with you, you got annoyed and stopped her.”

The woman bit her lip. “But it was me that got injured. I am the victim here, sir…”

“Actually, sir. It wasn’t the first time that Melinda bullied Maggie,” Dustin told the disciplinarian. “Have you reviewed the other footages?”

The professor nodded his head. “It seems that Maggie loses her patience to Melinda today.” He turned to the woman and looked at her questioningly. “Am I right, Melinda?”

Melinda lowered her head. “But, sir… is it right for her to just hurt me even if I begged for her to stop? All my friends witnessed how she wanted to break my bone!”

“But is it also right for you to bully her? And, asked your boyfriend to get even on her on behalf of you?” Dustin asked Melinda. “You told him to threaten Maggie, right? That’s why they went to the canteen and splashed water on her.”

Maggie’s brows furrowed. So that’s what happened earlier? She looked at the laptop screen and asked the professor to play the canteen incident’s CCTV footage. The video played and showed the three music department students walked inside the canteen and looked around. Melinda’s boyfriend stopped his glance at her table and gestured something to his classmates. The next moment that Maggie saw was after the guy splashed water on her; she stood and lifted the chair to smash at him.

“Oh, my gosh…” she said in shock. “I-I did—”

“Maggie,” Dustin called her attention and reached for her hand. “It’s okay… All of us tend to do something terrible because of the adrenaline rush.”

Maggie’s eyes focused on the screen. She heard what Dustin told her, but she couldn’t help but watch and get amazed by what her alter persona can do. She gasped when the video reached the part where Dustin suddenly appeared in front of her to block the man’s attack.

“Dustin…” Maggie looked at him. “W-why?”

Dustin smiled at her. “Men shouldn’t hurt women.”

“What’s with those reactions, Maggie?” the guy that attacked Dustin in the video asked. Maggie doesn’t know how the hell he knew her name. “Why are you acting as if you don’t know anything about what happened?”

Maggie swallowed hard. “I-I just can’t believe that I can do all those things when I’m mad,” she said and lowered her head. “I’m sorry for hurting all of you.”

“You can do all those horrible things because you’re a freak,” Melinda commented disgustingly. “And, Dustin, why are you taking her sides? She’s harmful. She’s a threat to this university.”

Dustin’s brows furrowed as he looked at them. Maggie found his expression cute and attractive. And knowing that he was like this because of her just added to Maggie’s already giddy feeling.

“The threat in the university are the bullies like you and your friends,” he said calmly, then turned to the professor. “Sir, I suggest suspension for them.”

Melinda and the three men gasped in shock. They were about to protest when the disciplinarian spoke. “I will review this footage first. Once I have decided on their punishment, I will call your parents and tell them what you have done.” He sighed. “For now, you may go back to your classes.”

“I can’t believe this!” Melinda blurted out before storming out of the office, followed by her dogs.

Maggie and Dustin were about to leave the office when the professor stopped them. “I’m just curious, are the two of you dating?”

Maggie’s eyes widened in surprise. “D-dating? Of course not, sir…” she lowered her head in embarrassment.

“Why did you ask, sir?” Dustin asked.

The professor turned the laptop to them and showed the CCTV footage on the ground floor. Maggie’s eyes narrowed as she watched the video where Dustin pinned her to the wall as if restraining her. Then after a few seconds, something happened.

“Oh, my gosh…” Maggie covered her mouth in shock. Did I kiss him? No. It’s Maxine…

***