Immature Mistakes | mj.q✓

Twelve

The next day, Jiaqi felt a bit better. Sure, he wasn't completely okay, but there was something about the bright morning that managed to give him a different feeling from the one he had felt last night. As expected, his parents didn't let him go to school alone with what happened the previous day. They thought he was going to jump into busy traffic, so they weren't taking any chances.

He walked into the school halls, and as usual, nobody talked to him. However, he noticed his only friend Chengxin reading something off the notice board. He walked over to him curiously and stood next to him.

'Oh hey,' Chengxin greeted him and put an arm over his shoulder.

'What are you looking at?' Jiaqi asked him.

'Just some...stuff. I didn't even know people join the chess club around here, that's lamer than the guidance and counselling club.' Chengxin pointed at one of the posters on the notice board.

'Cause you're not smart enough for it.' Jiaqi teased.

Just then, Chengxin's friend and Jiaqi's former showed up.

'Hey dude what are you doing out here all alone?' Yaowen asked Chengxin, peering over to Jiaqi and not putting any effort to hide his spite.

'Was just checking out info on some clubs.' Chengxin answered awkwardly.

'Fine hope you're done, let's go.' he started to pull his friend.

'Hey!' Ava's voice suddenly rang loudly in the hallway.

Everyone looked in her direction, she seemed angry as she approached the trio of boys by the notice board.

'Liu Yaowen!' Ava declared once she got closer, her sister Evelyn standing behind her and seemingly confused. 'What was that about!? You got me in trouble!'

Yaowen smirked. 'Oops. Be a little more clever next time kid.'

Ava narrowed her eyes at him in anger. 'I'm gonna mess you up Yaowen. I mean it.'

'I'm so scared.' he answered sarcastically and laughed.

'Wait what!?' Evelyn suddenly asked as she approached the two. 'He's the reason you got in trouble!? Ava, I thought you were much more clever than that. I mean...you claimed to be.'

'Oh shut up.' Ava answered with an eye roll.

'Shut up!? No...wait till I tell dad!' Evelyn laughed.

'Don't you dare!' Ava warned her.

'Uh no, I'm not scared of you. After finding out you got tricked by Yaowen, I pretty much think you're a fool.'

The boys watched the scene that was now unfolding as an argument between Ava and Evelyn rather than Ava and Yaowen as expected.

'I'm out of here, you'll catch me in class.' Yaowen patted Chengxin's shoulder and walked to his classroom.

Jiaqi and Chengxin watched as the argument quickly escalated, and then became hands on. He almost gasped when the two started fighting, hands gripping each other's hair.

'Oh no,' Jiaqi said lowly. 'Those are our people.' he told Chengxin, referring to how they were responsible for them within the club.

'So? It's a fight, let's watch it.' Chengxin laughed.

'No we should probably stop it...' Jiaqi continued to watch for a little while. 'If the principal or any teacher finds them, they'll get in trouble.'

'Not our responsibility.'

'We are responsible because we were assigned to counsel them, they're our people.' Jiaqi removed his backpack from his back, then handed it to Chengxin. 'There, hold this.'

'Hmm alright.' Chengxin smirked.

Jiaqi walked over to the two girls, trying to stand in between them. 'Guys! Stop!' Jiaqi pleaded.

But it was almost like his voice couldn't be heard. Their hands were flying all over the place and hit Jiaqi several times as they tried to hit each other.

Chengxin chuckled at the scene, happy that he hadn't thought of helping like Jiaqi had.

Jiaqi finally made it between them, facing Ava. 'Guys stop! You're going to get in trouble. Nobody wants you to get in trouble.'

'Out of my way!' Ava answered angrily, mindlessly pushing Jiaqi from between them with all her strength. The only thing she had on her mind was destroying Evelyn, regardless of whatever trouble that would put her into.

Jiaqi hit his head against the wall next to him, not very hard but enough to make him shut his eyes in pain. He took a deep breath to recollect himself, then attempted to go back to the fight to stop it.

But Jiaqi started to lose his balance. He put his hand on his head painfully, then fell to the ground.

'What's going on?' Chengxin asked the people around him.

Ava stopped fighting Evelyn and turned to Jiaqi, and Evelyn consequently did the same. She wasn't concerned, but she was curious.

'Jiaqi,' Chengxin said as he ran over to him. He kneeled next to him and dropped Jiaqi's bag which he had asked him to hold on the floor. 'What's wrong dude?'

He got no answer. But looking at Jiaqi's closed eyes and his rather limp body, Chengxin could tell that he was unconscious.

'Look what you've done!' Chengxin said to Ava.

'It wasn't my fault that he interfered.' she folded her arms defiantly.

'He only interfered because he was trying to protect you from getting in trouble again.' he defended him. 'I have to take him to the nurse's office.'

Chengxin lifted Jiaqi in his arms and started to walk away.

Ava felt kind of bad for what had happened. She rarely felt bad, but when it came to Jiaqi, it was another case. Not only because he was her former crush, but there was something else no one knew.

She walked over to where Chengxin was initially standing and grabbed Jiaqi's bag from the floor, then started to follow Chengxin to the nurse's office.

'Hey where are you going!?' Evelyn asked her. 'You feel bad for what happened to Jiaqi!? Are you serious!? You are totally losing yourself!'

Ava almost turned around and said something to Evelyn, but she decided it was not worth it. What was important at the moment was at least attending to Jiaqi for something she caused.

She continued to follow behind Chengxin as he walked into the nurse's office. She stood outside and watched as he put him on the bed.

The nurse examined him for a moment.

'Hmm I think we need to take him to the hospital.' She said to Chengxin.

It made Ava feel worse for what had happened. Was the issue bigger than it appeared?