Chapter 12
1118 Words
Whitney pulled up in front of the school and brought the car to a slow stop, the engine humming softly before fading into silence.
Kael reached for the door, pushed it open, and climbed out, his movements quiet, almost reluctant. He turned back to look at her, his hand still resting on the edge of the door.
“Be a good boy, okay?” Whitney said, her voice gentle but firm, like a final reminder she needed him to carry with him.
Kael gave a small nod.
She waved at him, offering a faint smile before driving off, leaving him standing there alone.
Kael turned back to face the school. The building stood tall in front of him, cold and unwelcoming, and for a moment, it didn’t feel like a place of learning. It felt like a mortuary ground, silent and heavy, as though it held nothing but dread waiting for him inside.
He had no friends, no ally, nobody to laugh with, nobody to talk to, and that loneliness wrapped around him tighter than anything else.
He took a breath, then began to walk. Each step felt slower than the last as he made his way through the school hallway, his eyes low, avoiding contact, his shoulders slightly tense like he was already preparing for what might come.
The sound of footsteps, lockers, and distant chatter filled the air. As he walked past a corner, something caught his attention.
The janitor.
He stood not too far away, slowly mopping the floor, his movements steady, almost too suspicious. But it wasn’t what he was doing that made Kael pause. It was the way he was looking at him.
That face. The same face Kael had seen outside his window the other day.
Kael slowed down, his steps faltering as a strange tension crept into his chest. He paused for a beat, then turned slightly, glancing behind him to check if the man was staring at someone else, but there was no one behind him.
When he turned back, the janitor was still there… still looking. Eye to eye. Unblinking.
Kael felt a chill crawl up his spine as he continued walking, slower now, his eyes flicking back again, unsure, uneasy and half-scared of what he didn’t understand.
And then—BOOM!
He collided hard into someone. The impact sent him straight to the ground, his bag slipping off his shoulder as pain shot through him. Before he could even react, a voice cut through the air, sharp and cruel. He didn't know the face behind it, but the familiarity of the voice made him sick to his stomach.
“Watch it, freak!” Reggie snapped, his face twisting as laughter erupted around him. Accompanied by his fellow bully friends Chase, Bull, and Peter.
Kael froze.
“Yeah, watch it, Kael the loooserr,” Bull mocked, dragging the word out as the others burst into louder laughter.
Kael stayed on the ground for a second, trying to gather himself, his hands pressing against the floor as he slowly tried to get up.
“Want a hand?”
Chase stepped forward, his voice suddenly calm, almost too calm, his expression smooth as he stretched out his hand toward Kael.
For a moment, everything else faded. 'Finally… someone kind.' At least, that’s what it looked like. Kael hesitated, his chest tightening with uncertainty.
“No thanks,” he whispered, his voice low but audible as he tried to push himself up on his own.
“Come on, let me help you…” Chase insisted, his tone soft, convincing, almost genuine.
Kael looked at him. He looked… normal. Not like the others. And maybe, just maybe, Kael needed a friend or an ally at least. Slowly and hesitantly, he reached out his hand. Chase grabbed it. He pulled him halfway up—And then let go.
Kael dropped hard back to the ground, the impact hitting him sharply as pain shot through his body. A small gasp escaped him, his face tightening as he fought the urge to react. Laughter exploded again. Louder this time. it was Crueler. It burned through every bone in his body.
Everything in him wanted to snap, to shout, to do something—anything, but Whitney’s voice echoed in his head, clear and steady.
"Don’t give them the reaction they want… they’ll eventually begin to fade away".
"Be a good boy, okay?"
Kael clenched his jaw, forcing it down, forcing everything down. He only winced in pain, his fingers tightening against the floor as he stayed silent.
“You freak,” Chase said, laughing now, the innocence completely gone. “You thought I was gonna help you? Freak!”
The laughter continued, surrounding him, pressing in on him from every side. It was humiliating. It was suffocating. And it hurt more than the fall itself.
He managed to get himself up, picked up his backpack, and looked them straight in the eye. “I don’t want any trouble.”
“i dOn’t wAnT aNy TrOuBlE,” Reggie mocked, twisting his face as he mimicked Kael’s voice, his friends backing him up with their usual cruel laughter.
“You thought it was over?” Reggie said, stepping closer. “Guess what, freak? I came with some backup. Say hello to my friends.” He gestured toward them as they waved at Kael like a pack of menaces.
But Kael stayed silent, trying so hard to remain a good boy.
That only pissed Reggie off even more.
“Hey, freak, I’m talking to you,” Reggie snapped.
“Maybe he’s gone mute,” Peter added.
“Or maybe he’s trying to act tough,” Bull said with a smirk.
“But I am tough…”
The words slipped out before Kael could stop himself, something inside him finally pushing back. f**k Whitney’s advice, he thought, anger rising in his chest. The only way to deal with a bully… is to stand up to one.
“Ask your boss, Reggie, what I did to his nose the other day,” Kael continued, his voice steadier now. “Want some more?”
Reggie’s expression darkened instantly.
“What did you just say to me, b***h?” he snapped, humiliation creeping into his voice.
“Come on, let’s beat him up,” Peter said, already cracking his knuckles as the others followed, approaching him like they’d been waiting for this.
Then...
“Stay away from him.”
The voice came from behind them. Raw. Firm. Cold enough to cut through the laughter instantly.
Everything stopped for a beat. Reggie, Chase, Bull, Peter… all of them turned.
Even Kael turned his head slowly, his eyes searching, trying to see who had just spoken.
- Writer
