17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyN0R7MLEh6
There was a time when Ruthie Villanueva smiled easily.
When she wore bows on her ponytail, and her voice was soft like petals in spring.
But the world doesn’t reward softness.
It devours it.
Four Years Ago
Grade 9. First day of school.
She sat alone in the cafeteria, biting into her sandwich with one eye on the people around her.
She had just transferred—new surname, new uniform, new everything.
But people whispered like they already knew her.
“Kapatid 'yan nung senior na expelled dati diba?”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITQ2SX455k
“Ang lakas daw mang-away ng ate niya.”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChFCJF7VpT
“Mag-ina pa lang, may record na sa guidance.”
She wasn’t even given a chance.
One bump in the hallway, and they called her aggressive.
One absent smile, and she was “mayabang.”
One perfect score, and she was “palengkera” in disguise.
She tried being nice.
She brought extra snacks for her seatmate.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlU5HaIlWH8
Helped clean the blackboard kahit di siya assigned.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJU7HglDOwc
She even gave Joy her scientific calculator during an exam.
But one week later, that same seatmate spread a rumor na “si Ruthie daw may issue sa mental health.”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvujk6tUCtS
Joy told everyone Ruthie begged for friends.
And no one defended her.
Not one.
So Ruthie adapted.
She learned that kindness was currency easily devalued.
So she invested in power instead.
Present Day
Her name was now legend in their university.
Ruthie Villanueva—student council president, top of her class, keynote speaker for the STEM conference, three-time debate champion.
Magaling. Maganda. Malamig.
And completely untouchable.
But all of it—every medal, every applause—came at a price.
They only respected her because they feared her.
They only clapped because she’d win anyway.
And they only smiled when she wasn’t looking.
Because behind every perfect girl was a story they refused to believe.
Flashback – Junior Year
She caught Marian cheating during a quiz.
Ruthie didn’t tell the teacher.
She just looked Marian in the eye and whispered,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72eki32SKO
“You owe me.”
The next day, Marian spread a rumor that Ruthie bullied her in the restroom.
Another time, Joy “accidentally” spilled juice on Ruthie’s project—the one due for a national competition.
When Ruthie replaced it overnight and still won, Joy cried backstage.
“She’s evil! Wala siyang puso!”
People believed Joy.
Because people love victims more than survivors.
So Ruthie made a decision.
If they already saw her as the villain, she might as well own the crown.
She sharpened her words like knives.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSg2IaJPlw
Practiced her smiles like war paint.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXp6f6NCjZP
Dressed in precision. Walked like thunder.
Her reputation became her armor.
Gold-plated.
And poisoned.
One Classmate Once Said:
“Ruthie Villanueva? She’s beautiful but scary. Like a rose made of glass and teeth.”
And maybe that was true.
But no one ever asked why.
In Her Diary:
"I was not born cruel. They taught me cruelty was safer than kindness."
"Being perfect doesn't protect you. It only makes your fall louder."
"I never wanted to be feared. I just stopped wanting to be stepped on."
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