RUIN ME

UNLEASH THE DEVIL

The morning sun quickly crosses the sky, pushing me to move faster than I expected. With a heavy heart, I trudge toward the looming school building, dreading the day ahead.

Leo and my friends have been reaching out to me since last Saturday, but I’ve been declining their calls. I’m just not prepared to talk about what happened last Friday night. I’m already carrying a heavy load of confusion and inner chaos, and if I try to process what happened to me last week, I might go insane. I just want to bury the unsettling memory and move on.

“Have you reported Mico to the Principal already?” Leo asks as I put my bag on my seat.

I let out a heavy sigh as I settle into my chair, feeling weary. “No.”

“What?” he exclaims in frustration. “But you must!”

“Shh!” I hush him as his voice gets louder. “Please, I don’t want to make the situation bigger, especially with my family finding out—it would embarrass me to death,” I say, sounding perpetually tired.

Laughter ripples through the crowd. I turn around to see what’s amusing them, and I notice their glances shifting between me and their phones. Mico and Lucas are laughing loudly. Anxiety washes over me once more. Why is everyone gossiping about me?

Leo checks his phone, and a hint of alarm appears on his face. He glances in my direction, and I snatch his phone to find out what’s happening. “What?!” I exclaim in shock and horror as I read Mico’s recent post on his feed, tagging me just a few minutes ago with false information.

“Zeph sucked my uncle’s d**k last Friday night.”

“No, that’s not true!” I say, my voice trembling, as I rush out of the classroom, my face red with so much embarrassment. My sister could see this post any minute now, and she’ll likely tell our mom. The rumor might even reach my relatives and my old classmates from different schools, and they’ll believe it’s real, and then they’ll find out that—

I’m gay.

I lock myself in the restroom, sudden panic flooding my senses. “F*ck him!” I punch the wall in frustration, my anger making me numb to the pain. Tears roll down my cheeks as I glance at my reflection in the mirror, seeing my own reflection as disgusting and unattractive. It’s all too much to handle. I can’t bear to face anyone anymore!

“Vengeance!”

Suddenly, a woman’s voice echoes in the restroom. I look around, but there’s no one there.

When I turn back to the mirror, I’m startled to see a stunning woman standing there, replacing my reflection. It’s probably just my mind playing tricks on me. “Revenge is the only path to true justice!” she declares, a wicked smile on her face. She’s mesmerizingly beautiful; her blonde hair is crowned with devilish horns, but I know it’s just a hallucination.

“Vengeance!”

I need to see a therapist right away before this evil girl convinces me to do something terrible.

There’s a knock on the door, and I quickly avert my eyes from the mirror. When I look back, she has disappeared.

“Zeph? He already deleted the post,” Amisha’s voice calls from outside the door.

“Don’t worry, Zeph,” Yuri reassures me. “We can prove to everyone that it isn’t true. We were there last Friday night.”

I still don’t respond as Emily adds, “I have some cookies here. Come out before Leo finishes them all.”

“I’m not even eating that one!” Leo mutters.

“Shh, be quiet so he’ll open the door and come out,” Emily whispers, still loud enough for me to hear.

I finally open the door, and Leo immediately enters the restroom. Emily is about to follow him, but Leo stops her.

“This is the men’s restroom,” he reminds her.

Emily takes a step back and chuckles, glancing at the restroom sign. “Oh, my bad!”

Leo closes the door, locks it, and rushes to hug me tightly. It’s almost suffocating. “I’m sorry,” he says, and I burst into tears against his chest.

“Hey, it’s all right now,” he comforts me, holding my chin and lifting it slightly to meet my eyes. “Mico’s sorry for what he did.”

“What did you do?” I ask through my sobs.

“I just gave him a bruise on his face,” Leo murmurs softly.

I sense the girls listening in behind the door, their voices suggesting they’re having a quiet argument.

“So,” he sighs, “will you still let this pass and forgive Mico again?”

I look downward, considering the idea of forgiving him once more, but then I hear that woman’s voice once again, chanting “Vengeance!” My head snaps up, and there she stands, right before me, wearing an eerie grin. In an unsettling twist, she suddenly enters my body, as if possessing me.

“Zeph?” Leo says, his concern evident.

I wipe my tears with my uniform’s collar, walk over to the sink, and collect my thoughts. “Of course not,” I declare, turning my head to meet his gaze with a subtle smile. “I have my own plans to settle the score with him. He better watch out,” I mutter, returning my focus to the mirror.

Once the class is over, I head to the library accompanied by someone concealed in a black hoodie and a mask. The librarian casts a wary glance in our direction as I converse with this mysterious person. To avoid drawing further suspicion, I decide to get up from my seat and casually browse the nearest bookshelf, selecting a couple of books. This way, our presence would appear less conspicuous.

“The librarian is getting on my nerves as well,” she murmurs.

“It’s most likely because that black hoodie and face mask make you appear as if you’re here to swipe a book,” I remark, handing her a book. “Let’s just pretend we’re reading.”

“I could probably get away with stealing anything in the world except books,” she says with a wry smile.

We discuss our plan for about an hour, and at the conclusion of our conversation, I discreetly pass her some money. She swiftly takes it and tucks it into the front pocket of her hoodie. “That’s just a down payment,” I say. “I’ll pay you the remaining half once the task is complete.”

“Get the money ready then,” she says with a grin. “This is a piece of cake for me.”

“What if you get caught on camera?”

She chuckles confidently, “I’ve spent half my life in this school. Trust me on this.”

Though I typically carry a quiet and kind demeanor, when wronged, I can unleash the most devious schemes imaginable to exact revenge, all while keeping up the appearance of an angel in the eyes of the world. Well, I might be exaggerating a bit, but it’s the only way I can think of to make him pay for what he did to me, to give him what he deserves.

I am your Karma, Mico. . .

(3 weeks later)

“Have you heard about the rumor?” Emily asks as she opens a pack of her cookies.

“About what?” I ask, munching on one of her cookies.

“Mico’s family is falling apart, and Lucas just went through a breakup,” she discloses. “Word is, Mico’s dad had an affair, possibly with the same girl who caused Lucas and his girlfriend to split.”

“That girl is pure evil,” Emily says.

We’re seated in a small circle of chairs inside the classroom, gathered to exchange the latest gossip about the boys. Rumors have a way of spreading like wildfire. Just yesterday, there was a major showdown involving Lucas. He accused his seatmate of stealing his wallet, and it escalated into a heated confrontation. Things got out of hand, and a severe fight broke out, causing his seatmate to end up in the hospital.

The classroom door bursts open with a violent kick from outside, capturing everyone’s attention. All eyes turn to see Mico, his face burned with anger.

“Who vandalized the restroom mirror?!” he asks, looking at Lucas as if he’s responsible. He strides over to Lucas and yanks him up by the collar of his uniform, and they exchange threatening looks.

Best friends have turned into enemies? I’m quite enjoying the show.

“Bro, what the hell?” Lucas exclaims. “Do you honestly think I’d waste my time vandalizing the restroom when my girlfriend just dumped me?” He looks to the side and laughs as if the situation is beyond belief. “And why on earth would I ever do something like that to you, huh?”

Amisha’s sudden gasp while staring at her phone grabs my attention.

“Why?” I ask.

Amisha explains, “Someone just posted a picture about the restroom vandalism that had Mico so worked up.”

Intrigued, Leo asks, “What does it say?”

Amisha shows us her phone screen, and our attention is immediately drawn to it. There, scrawled on the mirror, scribbled in bold red lipstick, it reads:

“I want my uncle to f*ck me in the ass!” -Mico

And it’s starting to get a lot of hilarious reactions from the students.

“Then who?!” He releases his grip on Lucas, his face turning red, and veins bulging beneath his skin. He then locks eyes with me, but my expression remains calm. He starts heading my way in a rush, but when he sees Leo ready to protect me, he suddenly stops in his tracks.

“Looks like karma is serving up one asshole at a time.” Leo chuckles.

“Well, you’re lucky it’s just a lipstick,” says Yuri. “Because I would have used a permanent marker if I were that person.”

His rage gets the best of him, and he throws his phone away. “Screw you all!”

Tin walks into the classroom, holding a stack of papers, and is surprised by the chaos. “What’s going on?” she asks, and the class falls silent. “And why are the chairs messy? Go back to your seats!” With her command, everyone swiftly shuffles back to their original spots. She casts a quick glance at Mico, who appears visibly distressed and frustrated.

“I have the results of your examination right here,” Tin announces, and proceeds to call out our names while returning our graded papers. The room is so quiet that not even a single clap can be heard. “Yuri Kim, 86 out of 100,” she says, and Yuri reluctantly steps forward to retrieve her paper, clearly dissatisfied with her score.

“Amisha Dhar, 88,” Tin announces next. The room remains eerily silent, with everyone still absorbed in the ongoing drama between Mico and Lucas. “Emily Liu, 75,” Tin briefly pulls the paper away from Emily just as she reaches for it. “You’re fortunate to have earned an extra point; otherwise, you would have failed,” she comments, and Emily takes her paper with a frown.

"Leonardo Forbis, 90." Leo receives his paper, and Tin offers praise with a smile.

Tin continues calling names until she reaches mine. “Zeph Mckee, 98!” I stand up happily to collect my paper from her, and this time, there’s a faint round of applause from the class. “Well done, Zeph! I’m proud of your achievement!”

“Thank you, Professor Tin,” I respond.

“Lucas Brown, 68.” Lucas walks to the front, avoiding eye contact with his classmates. Tin jests, “Well, that’s unfortunate!”

“And the last one with a perfect score is,” she continues, breaking the silence and sparking chatter among students as they guess who hasn’t been called yet. All eyes turn to Mico. “It’s Mich Carter! Fantastic!” Applause fills the room as Mich proudly walks to the front to retrieve her paper.

As they overlook Mich not being called, Mico breaks the silence by asking, “How about me? Where’s my paper?”

Tin raises an eyebrow. “Are you seriously asking for your paper?”

Mico seems puzzled. “Uh, yeah? I want to know my result.”

Tin sighs with disappointment. “You got a zero.”

“What?!”

“You’re in serious trouble, Mico.”

“For what??”

“Besides not taking the examination seriously and deliberately answering all the questions wrong, you also vandalized the back sheet of the paper with extremely disturbing words. This could lead to your expulsion from this school—”

Mico laughs in disbelief. “What is happening in this world?”

“They’ve already contacted your parents, and only one of them appears to be coming today.”

Mico stands up, his voice rising. “I didn’t do anything! I may not be the smartest, but I’m confident I didn’t get a zero on my exam, and I didn’t vandalize it! Do you have any evidence that I did?”

“We don’t,” she says.

Mico bursts into laughter again. “See? You’re accusing me of something I didn’t do. Do you want to get sued?”

“Someone sent us a tape of you shouting at the top of your lungs, saying you wanted to burn this school down,” she explains. “That should be enough evidence that you’re in an absolute mess right now.”

“I was drunk at that time!” he insists. “I swear, someone tampered with my answers!”

“Let’s put an end to this,” she says. “If you have concerns about the matter, address them with the principal later.” Mico seethes with anger, tears welling up in his eyes. When he notices me looking at him, I quickly avert my gaze.

Leo notices the faint grin on my face and says, “Zeph?”

I meet his concerned gaze and ask, “Why?”

“Did you, by any chance...” He glances at Mico, implying whether I was involved in the chaos unfolding.

“Nope,” I respond firmly. “Do you really think a quiet guy like me could do such a thing?”

Doubt lingers in his expression as he studies me. “But you had a plan.”

“I forgot about it,” I claim.

To stop the conversation, I quickly shift my gaze away from him. As I look towards the corner of the classroom where Mich is seated, I catch her smiling at me.

But her smile is anything but sweet.

It’s evil.