Liam’s groan resonated all over the room. He lay on the bed while Luke was dabbing some cotton with alcohol on his bruises. Lewis tended to Cade’s wounds. They escaped from the chaos when the cops interfered.
“I’m sorry I got you into this,” Cade said.
“You should be. Look at my face,” Liam said while pointing at his face. “It’s no longer as charming as before.”
“Your fault is not knowing enough self-defense,” Luke said.
“For your information, I fought them back. I didn’t run like a coward. That’s why I got these,” Liam argued.
“You know how to fight, but you lack power. Is that all you got from your basketball training?”
“Are we supposed to practice jujutsu, then?” Liam crossed his arms. “I bet you practiced combat during your SSC meetings. What a clever guy.”
“I didn’t say that. It’s only natural for me to learn the basics since my family is a diplomat. For protection.”
“I can’t go to school like this. The girls should not see me like this.”
“I have an idea,” Cade said.
“That better be brilliant.”
“Why don’t you send an excuse letter and invite your girlfriend here to take care of you?”
“Not bad, Curt. Just one? How about two of my girlfriends?”
“Two? What a greedy man.”
“There’s a saying that two is better than one. You know… like threesome.” Liam whispered the last word.
Luke struck Liam’s mouth. “Don’t be too vulgar.”
“Are… are you actually doing it?” Cade asked out of curiosity.
“Just kidding! I’ve never done that.”
The boys looked at him in disbelief. “I swear to God, cross my heart, hope to be ugly,” Liam said with puppy eyes.
Cade was alone during their lunch break because The Generals were busy with their responsibilities for their co-curricular activities. Without them, Cade was an outcast. Two students approached him—those he met on the first day of school. The one with braces and the orange-hair, chubby guy.
“Hi. Can we sit here?”
“Oh, no. The seats are taken. Sorry,” Cade replied.
It was weird that everyone was ignoring him, except for his new set of friends. He always wondered why he ended up being close with the cool boys and why, of all people, they chose him as their friend. Maybe they saw potential in him. Deep down, he was once a cool kid.
“You’re back,” Cade said when he caught three shadows coming towards his table and assumed they were his friends.
“Too bad. We aren’t the people you are expecting.”
Cade lifted his gaze and saw an unfamiliar face. “Hmm. Those seats are taken. My friends are coming.”
“Are we not allowed to be your friends?” The student with some piercings said. He was Jacob Wilson, the notorious rule-breaker who was always invited to the guidance office. With him was Teddy—his sidekick, and Willow, the recruit.
Cade flashed a fake smile. “That would be great.”
“What happened to your face?” Teddy said. He was wearing a printed shirt under his uniform, which was not allowed in school. “You look like a panda,” Willow added, and they laughed.
“Some thugs made fun of me outside of school.”
“Can we try it too? It seems exciting,” Jacob said.
“Try what?”
“To have fun with you.” They grinned.
Cade gripped his fork. “I’m sorry, but I’m eating. Maybe next time.” Cade swallowed a spoon full of pasta and continued his lunch. But to his surprise, Jacob poured some milk tea on his pasta.
“It’s winter melon, my favorite flavor. It might make your pasta taste better.”
Cade’s eyes turned dim. “Really? Try it then.”
Jacob looked at him for a long time. “What? Do you want me to feed you?”
“That was unexpected,” Teddy said.
Jacob went near Cade’s ears and whispered, “Don’t you dare challenge me. I won’t forgive you.”
“Challenge? Am I a threat to you? Seriously? Why don’t you get a life? I can smell trash in you even from afar.” Cade stood up with his tray and was about to walk away when Jacob kicked his foot, making him slip and fall to the floor. He became the center of attraction.
“Oops. Clumsy spotted.”
Cade picked himself up and tapped the dirt away from his uniform. “No wonder you’re not cool. All this time, you are powerless. So you look for someone weak to feel superior. What a waste of my precious time.”
“What did you say?” Jacob pulled his collar up and was ready to punch him when someone caught his fist.
“Stop it, Jacob.”
“Luke.”
There was a shimmer in Cade’s eyes when he called out his name. Jacob dropped his hand and released Cade.
“You enjoy staying in the detention room, don’t you? Unfortunately, detentions are only for minor misbehaviour. But you’ve come far enough,” Luke said. He pointed the ruler he’s been holding at Jacob’s piercing. “If I see you wearing that thing again like a sassy chick, you’ll be automatically at the bottom of the ranking. Got that?”
Luke pointed the ruler at Teddy’s uniform. “You. If I see you wearing that childish shirt again, I’ll make you walk around the campus half-naked. You’ll be wearing a tag saying ‘I am an illiterate weirdo and my stupidity is contagious.’ Mark my words.”
Luke shifted to Willow. “And you. Do not hang out with these jerks if you don’t want to get kicked out of this school. I still have mercy for newbie bullies, so I’ll let you pass. But if I see you doing some same old shit with these guys? You’ll see what I can do.”
Jacob got no words to say and turned his back with a pissed-off expression together with his group.
“And you.” Luke averted to Cade. He stiffened his back. “Why didn’t you wait for us? You’re such a traitor,” Luke joked and wrapped his arm around his shoulder.
“I thought you weren’t coming.”
“Take a quick shower first and wear this,” Liam said, and handed his university jacket to Cade.
“Thanks.”
***
The London boys had the chance to have a video chat when Cade was alone in his room.
“Did you know? I saw Cade reciting some bluff in his art class,” Theo said.
“What bluff?”
“In war, there is love and in darkness, we see the light.” Theo sounded like a poet.
“But it’s true,” Cade replied.
“Let’s put it this way. Your claim is there is love in war. So, in the context of bullying, you fight with a person because you love him?”
“That’s absurd! I would never love them.”
“Well, there is love in bullying. In Cade’s case, he loves himself. The love that is beyond normal,” Stan said.
“Is that an insult?”
“And in darkness, we see the light. Does it mean there is goodness in him?” Theo chuckled.
“Why does it make you laugh? I am a good person,” Cade said.
“You don’t sound convincing,” Stan said.
“According to the Yin Yang theory, the good complements the bad, which means there must be balance. There is no darkness without light and vice versa,” Cade explained.
“In short, there is no Cade without Stan and no Stan without Cade. How romantic,” Theo said while daydreaming.
“Are you saying I am on the dark side?” Cade complained.
“You said it yourself.”
“I don’t know you guys.” Cade shook his head.
“By the way, what happened to you? Last time I checked, I was the one who got beaten up by some insane students,” Theo said, referring to Cade’s bruises.
“Thank God you asked. Listen, guys. Someone knows my real identity and they’re here in New York.”
“What do you mean?”
“A group of gangsters is trying to harm me. It’s because of Buck Blair. He wants revenge. They could be after you, too. So be careful.”
“That’s crazy. He’s obsessed with you now, and he won’t stop. We have to be cautious. He might reveal your identity in no time.”
“Speaking of being cautious,” Stan interrupted. “We saw you earlier at the canteen. You should’ve stayed quiet instead of fighting back to them.”
“You know I can’t do that, Stan. I can’t let anyone talk shit about me or belittle me.”
“I know. That’s why we had training on how to be Curtis Fleming. What you’ve done was out of character.”
“What’s the big deal? Luke was there. He can handle them.”
“The point is, they will bother you more now that you fought back. You were once a bully. Let me ask you why you continued to bully Arthur.”
Cade thought for a while. “Because I want him to know his place. That he should fear me and he cannot mess up with me.”
Stan nodded. “See? That’s the mentality of your bullies now. They will come after you and find the right time to hurt you.”
Cade shrugged. “Let them come after me. My friends are reliable. They will defend me.”
“Do you trust them more than us?” Theo asked.
“Of course not. What we have is nothing compared to you.”
“That’s good. Don’t rely on them so much.”
Cade heard some footsteps outside. “I got to go. See you on our movie night.”
Liam entered with a sly smile. “Was that your girlfriend?”
“What? No.”
“I heard you’ll have a movie night,” he teased.
“How much did you hear?”
“So, it’s your girlfriend,” Luke said.
“It’s not. I swear.”
“Monogamous relationships are not allowed in this squad,” Luke said.
“Because of that, you’ll be punished,” Liam added.
“Dog pile!”
“Ah! Get off me!”