Wintercrest Academy

Stinging Slaps

150, 151, 152— Okay, Bren grunted as he pushed himself up. He was going to do 250 push ups, but his arms were giving out. He casts a glance at the gift bag on his table. He still hasn’t opened it, and isn’t planning to yet. He’s sweaty and icky but it feels like a perfect time to go for a run. Even though he’s usually more of a night runner and it’s just 4pm, he throws on a sweatshirt, tightens his shoe laces and just as his fixes one AirPod into his ear, he hears a knock on his door.

           “Going out?” his father asks when he comes in, clad in a khaki coloured two-piece suit that looks super amazing on him.

           “Yeah.” Bren straightens out his bedsheets and fluffs his pillows.

           “We need to talk.”

           “Can we do it later?” Bren gives him a cold stare, already knowing what this is about.

           “Brennon,” his father calls, soft and almost pacifying.

           “Dad, I need to go. I feel irritated in my own skin right now.”

           “You’re not doing enough, Brennon.” His Dad cuts right to the chase. “I need you to finish as number one. This family needs you to. That girl—”

           “I won the freaking Metleys Awards. No student in Wintercrest has ever done that,” Bren says, taking one word at a time. “Don’t you dare tell me I’m not doing enough. I have enough caffeine in my system to keep me running for two years all because I was trying to be enough for you. I’m not having this conversation with you, Dad. I gotta go.”

           “That girl—”

           “What the f**k does she have to do with this?” Bren has never raised his voice at his father. Not even once in his 17 years of existence. “She’s smarter than I am. What am I supposed to do? Smash her brain? Kick her out of the school? What the heck am I supposed to—”

           Jacob’s palms meet his son’s face in one swift motion that leaves Bren’s face reddening immediately. “Don’t you dare cuss at me. I’m your father!” he says through gritted teeth in Korean.

           Bren rolls his tongue in his cheek, the part his dad had slapped stinging so much. Anger was rising like steam from a kettle inside of him. He could punch down a brick wall if he found one. Shoving the second AirPod into his ear, he pushes past his father but a firm grip on his wrist stops him.

           “If you leave this house now, don’t you dare come back.” There’s no music playing yet so Bren clearly heard what his father had just said. That doesn’t have any effect on him, because he just shakes himself off his father’s grip and keeps walking away. He runs nonstop from 4pm to 6:30pm, and when he finally stops in some secluded part of town, his tears stain his still red cheeks.

                                                                                   ****

           Kaia’s been having a relatively good week. Classes have been good, the articles have been blowing up, calling her and Bren ‘genius kids,’ Adan and Astrid have been around and as sweet as always. They’ve actually all had lunch together, the twins and Love inclusive. Yes, it was chaotic cause Charlie and Astrid savaged each other the whole time, but there were a lot of laugh in between. She’s also decided to hang out at Astrid’s place one of these days.

           “Kaia,” Mr Ariel comes to sit beside her when she’s alone in the field, letting the warm September air soothe her. It’d be October in 2 days.

           “Mr Ariel,” she smiles. “How did you find me?”

           “Intuition,” he taps his temple. “You don’t have any classes right now?”

           She bobs her head up and down. “Baking class ended early today so I’m free till English. Oh,”—she dips her hand in her bag and returns with a foil. She unwraps it to reveal cookies. “Oatmeal banana. Super healthy. Have some.” She picks out one for herself and hands him the foil to take out his, but he eats straight from her hands, biting the tip of her forefinger in the process. Kaia instantly feels weird.

           “Sorry. It looked too appetizing.” Mr Ariel laughs and Kaia just makes a nervous sound that’s supposed to be a laugh. He gets up. “I’ve got frog liver to check out for freshman biology. See you later?” She nods and he waves before leaving. That was . . .weird, to say the least. She stares at her fingers, where he had bitten and she wonders what in the world prompted him to eat a cookie out of her hands. She shakes off any thoughts, picks her bag and heads to her homeroom class.

           “You’re sleeping at Rosco’s? When were you going to tell me this?” she hears Shira saying when she enters. There are about seven students there, Shira, Bren and Rosco included. Kaia just looks straight ahead, goes to her seat and picks out her book read or that day.

           “It’s been two days. It’s not a big deal,” Bren says like a shrug.

           “Two days?! We’re best friends, Bren. You can’t just decide not to tell me things. The same goes for you Rosco. Why didn’t you tell me?”

           “Because, you were going to react exactly like this. Chill. It’s really not a big deal,” Bren says and Kaia hears Shira heave, like she’s trying to actually chill.

           “What happened? What got you kicked out for two days? Does Willow know?”

           “Nothing happened. And no, Willow doesn’t know. Let it stay that way.” Bren’s voice is firm and final.

           “Tell me what got you kicked out, Bren.”

           “Shira, look. I’d tell you if he doesn’t. It’s not something we should discuss here. Okay?” Rosco says and their conversation ends. Kaia wonders why she was listening to their conversation instead of reading. Now that she’s listened, she can’t stop her mind was thinking about why Bren got kicked out. That day at Principal Jan’s office, Bren didn’t look excited to see his father. He avoided eye contact all through and when his father had thanked her for not letting Bren disappoint them—which by the way made zero sense to her— Bren looked like he wanted the ground to c***k into half so he could hide in it.

           “Wait. Is it because—of her?” she says with contempt and that feeling you have when you know that someone is talking about you even when they’re not looking at you, she feels it so strongly.

           “Shira,” Rosco warns but Kaia already hears Shira’s heels clinking in her direction. She gets up just in time and swirls to face Shira.

           “I knew it,” Kaia says, staring Shira dead in the eye. “Are you actually obsessed with me? Why won’t you leave me alone?”

           “Because I don’t want you here. You’re making things hard for Bren. You need to leave.” Shira replies through gritted teeth and Kaia casts a glance at Bren. He doesn’t look at her and that is all it takes for Kaia to question it. To see things in a slightly different light. Does his feeling threatened by her have something to do with his dad? Whatever it was, Shira didn’t have the right to ask her to leave.

           “Leave me alone, Shira. I’m warning you.”

           “Or what?” she pokes Kaia’s chest. Once, twice and by the third time, Kaia catches her hands mid-air.

           “Bren has a mouth. He can speak for himself about the things that concern him. If you keep acting like this, I’d be forced to think you’re a paid messenger.” Damn, Astrid would be really proud if she saw how well her friend was standing up to Shira right now. That thought doesn’t last long in Kaia’s head though, because before she knows it, Shira has slapped her senseless across the face. So hard that she staggers backwards into her chair and topples over, trying to drag her skirt to cover her now exposed thighs.

           “Shira!” she hears Bren’s voice through her echoing ears and when she tries to get up, she feels strong arms encircle her shoulder. Woodsy scent. Unmistakably Bren. What the—Why is he picking her up and not siding his best friend?