The Itch

I have a cousin, Rachel Guerrero, and she was a bit naive when it came to relationships.

She often mistook kindness and politeness from a guy as romantic interest.

Although she had gotten hurt more than once, she never seemed to learn a lesson.

During the New Year, my boyfriend, Braydon Wheeler, peeled an apple for her...

Then she gazed dreamily at him and said coquettishly, "You're my cousin's boyfriend. You cannot do this to me."

1

Braydon was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to do after he heard her words.

My mom and Valda, my aunt, gave us strange looks.

I quickly stepped in from the balcony to help Braydon out.

"What's the big deal? He is my boyfriend, and you are my cousin. Can't he peel an apple for you?"

My mom and Valda took back their gazes and resumed chatting and snacking on nuts.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

But Rachel didn't let it go yet.

She pouted and said, "Why don't you peel one for the elders?"

Braydon regained composure and said, "I was just about to. I thought it wouldn't be polite to interrupt them while they were chatting."

I grabbed a knife and peeled an apple, too. Then Braydon and I handed the peeled apples to Valda and my mom.

Then, I used the excuse of showing Braydon around the neighborhood and dragged him outside.

2

As soon as we were out, Braydon began to complain, his tone filled with anger. "What's wrong with your cousin? She has no sense of boundaries. Others might think I had some interest in her."

I put my finger to my lips and signaled him to lower his voice, as the people inside the door could hear us.

Braydon lowered his voice. "Seriously, how can she be so self-centered?"

Of course, I knew Rachel well.

I patted Braydon on the shoulder. "It's not your fault. She fell for her instructor during school orientation camp, for her boss at work, and even for her hairdresser after she had a haircut. You see, you peeled an apple when you visited my parents, and she misinterprets it again."

Braydon couldn't stand it and was eager to explain himself to me. "I was just being polite and thought she was the same age, so I tried to talk to her. Her eyes were practically glued to the apple in my hand, so I had no choice but to give it to her."

I gave Braydon a sidelong glance and said, "Be smart about it from now on. Don't hang around Rachel too much. She misinterprets every polite behavior from a guy as romantic interest."

3

Rachel's behavior was even worse than being lovestruck.

In simple terms, she always thought about having a romantic relationship with every guy she met.

Before eighth grade, Rachel and I were very close.

Back then, she would share all her girlish secrets with me.

According to her, the cutest guy in her class, her deskmate, and the English teacher all had a thing for her.

For example, the cutest guy would always sneak glances at her during class; her deskmate would help her move her desk every week; and the English teacher would always explain questions to her.

Among them, she disliked the English teacher the most because he was nearly forty.

She nicknamed him "Creepy Old Man."

Every time she mentioned him, she looked upset.

After hearing about it so many times, I developed a dislike for the English teacher.

Whenever I saw him in the office smiling and explaining questions to other students, I would scoff at him internally.

"You just keep pretending," I thought.

Later, when Rachel came to me in tears and told me the English teacher had touched her inappropriately, I didn't doubt her at all.

She cried her heart out, and I was furious and cursing the English teacher.

I comforted her and promised to seek justice for her.

4

I was quite naive back then.

I first anonymously posted on a forum, saying some male teacher with the family name Gilbert at a certain middle school was behaving inappropriately with female students and asked for advice.

Many people used the forum back then, and some students from the same school saw the post.

Someone directly commented and asked if it was Mr. Gilbert, the English teacher.

So the English teacher's name was directly given.

Others suggested gathering evidence and reporting it to the education committee.

After reading through the comments, I thought calling to report it to the education committee was a feasible idea.

The matter escalated later.

Someone even called the police, and all the blame started pointing at me.

Initially, I confidently vouched that Mr. Gilbert had the problem, but when I asked Rachel to testify, she remained silent.

The story then became that I had tried to seduce Mr. Gilbert and failed. So I falsely accused him.

Because I couldn't provide evidence, the school expelled me.

My parents were ordinary employees with little education. They beat me black and blue after they heard about it and even considered making me drop out and find a job.

I had to threaten my dad with a knife, crying my heart out, to get him to transfer me to another school.

I didn't ask my mom for help.

She sided with Rachel and always trusted relatives from her parents side.

From then on, I disliked Rachel.

Later, she apologized to me and told me that she was grateful that I stood up for her. But she didn't want the matter to escalate and hoped I'd forgive her.

I didn't cut ties with her.

Her guilty behavior made me suspect there was another side to her story.

When I finally uncovered the truth, I realized the fact was nothing like what Rachel had said.

The cutest guy in her class had a girlfriend and never even glanced at Rachel.

She brought her deskmate breakfast every day, so he reciprocated by helping her move her desk.

5

But thanks to her, I grew up a lot after I had been expelled from my previous school and faced my parents' punishment.

After transferring to another school, I focused on my academic learning.

I was admitted to a top-tier university in the country, while Rachel only attended a less prestigious local college.

I met Braydon in college.

We were from the same city and both went to college away from home. So he took extra care of me. Over time, we developed feelings for each other.

Our relationship stabilized this year, and I brought him home to meet my parents. I hadn't had the chance to tell him about staying away from Rachel before that incident happened.

Over the years, Rachel and I kept in touch. She still liked to share her romantic stories with me.

She loved bragging about her feminine charm.