Dragon Girl [Hawk ff.]

--- Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

[Costumes]

***

Words could simply not describe the relief Eli felt the moment the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break. Any longer, and the boy would've crumbled under the pressure of his peers' constant stares laced with prejudice, disgust and occasional pity. He wanted none of that, yet it seemed like these were the only things people threw his way ever since he was a kid. One would think that he would be used to it by now, but the truth is, he wasn't that tough. He was never the type that could disregard other people's opinion about him, and live his life to the fullest. He took everything to the heart, and if he wanted to be honest with himself, there was barely any chance this would ever change. Eli wanted to be a different person than who he was now, and maybe that's why he was even considering taking some karate lessons. It was definitely out of his comfort zone, and maybe, just maybe that was what he needed.

"So, Eli..." Demetri's calculating voice was what brought him back to reality. The boy was so lost in his own thoughts he didn't even notice that they'd left the cafeteria and were now heading to their next class. Kim and Miguel were walking in front of them, but he couldn't quite make out their conversation due to the incessant chatter of the other students.

"What was this all about?"

Eli was somewhat confused by his best friend's question. "What do you mean?"

"Look, I might not have a high emotional intelligence, but I can tell that something changed between you and Kim. At least, it's starting to. I've known you since we were, like, 2 years old, and she came into our life merely a year ago. Now, you are siding with her? Are you trying to abandon me? I thought we were binary brothers!"

The breath hitched in Eli's throat. What Demetri said was partially true. He did start to notice Kim more and more these past couple of weeks; her small frowns when a math question was too hard to solve, her small smiles when she saw a sparrow hopping on the sidewalk, the short hugs she kept on giving him... But this matter was completely unrelated to her. Eli was considering the karate lessons because he himself believed that it was a good idea, not because he tried to impress the brown eyed girl.

"Demetri, stop being so dramatic..." Eli glanced at Demetri whose eyebrows were furrowed in suspicion. "Kim has made a valid point and I agree with it, that's all. It wouldn't hurt to know some self-defence."

"Yes. It would. If you try to fight back, they are just going to make your life a living hell."

There was some truth to the boy's words, but Eli wasn't about to back down. Not now.

"It already is a living hell. Look at what happened today in the cafeteria. We can't rely on the teachers, you've seen it!"

"As if some karate kicks would've solved this whole cyberbullying speech incident."

Demetri's sarcastic tone hit him like a ton of bricks. It hurt that his best friend wasn't supportive of his decisions. Yes, it may have been a foolish one, but some encouragement would've been nice. Especially since he was considering doing something so out of his comfort zone.

"No..." whispered Eli after a while. "It wouldn't have solved it. But it could've prevented it."

"Could've. Potentially might have happened. Knowing karate is still no guarantee that the bullies will leave you alone."

Eli lowered his head as they reached the end of the hallway. He wanted to rebut again, but couldn't find it in himself to do so.

*