Mystery of Love

3

Theo had a corrupted mind. It had been a long time since he could remember thinking like a "normal" person. He was not proud of it.

𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦? No matter how hard he tried to change, his efforts would always prove to be futile. He never understood the boys in school who would proudly declare their keen interest in watching porn.

During his leisure time, Theo enjoyed reading erotic novels. His viewings were kept strictly online to avoid getting exposed.

Recently, he read a fictional story about a dystopian society operated by a corrupted system. The bureaucracy would abuse their power against the vulnerable members of society. Furthermore, there were secret partnerships between the government and rich oligarchs in mutual exchange for money and to satisfy their sadistic desires.

One of their misdeeds was depicted in a juvenile prison that housed male adolescents who were convicted. They were treated in a dehumanizing manner, like being forced to work out intensively beyond their limits.

The fruits of their labour were for the purpose of public spectacle. The public being the rich oligarchs. They were willing to pay a great sum to choose the body of their liking.

They would be stripped of their apparel and force-fed with aphrodisiacs, subsequently made to engage with their pairing in oral sex, among other gruesome acts. Their assets were completely exposed while they performed such acts for the audience.

The author made the story without the intention of glorifying the idea of sexual violence. Instead, it was to highlight the misuse of power through a creative depiction. Theo, though, simply thought it was porn.

In a way, he could relate to Otis from Sex Education. He also struggled with his sexual urges and had a lack of experience with love. Or at least at the beginning parts of the show. Nevertheless, the idea of a romantic relationship never crossed Theo's mind.

After orientation week, everyone had a rough idea of who they wanted to become friends with. They were not very close to each other, but Theo and Jovan had spent orientation week together. The activities planned were cringy, to say the least. An example was mass dancing, where various classes gathered together and made awkward body movements. Theo wasn't exactly sure who thought it was a good bonding activity.

Something interesting happened though. During one of the recesses, the pair of friends found themselves eating with another pair of female classmates.

It was just a casual meal until one of them made a staggering remark.

"You know, the two of you are like the most good-looking guys in our class. Almost like Elio and Oliver from Call Me by Your Name." Theo could remember the exact words she said.

It was such a coincidence that he watched that film just days prior. He thought it was the most beautifully portrayed couple he ever seen. But to be compared to that duo would be an over-exaggeration. Besides, they were just friends, or not.

By the end of orientation week, Theo successfully managed to avoid Jovan. It took very little effort really, he simply had to hide in the toilet cubicle during recess and find some kind of excuse to rush home after the last class. The new seating plan was favourable since it helped to avoid any awkward interactions such as: "I didn't see you during recess...Where were you?"

If Theo were to be honest with himself, he could not come up with a good reason for ditching Jovan. Jovan was the kindest anyone had ever treated him in the longest time, yet he was simply too much for him. This was what Theo often did - pushing the good people out of his life.

The first week of school was frankly boring. Everyone could generally cope well with the workload. Theo was seated beside a lovely girl named Chloe. She came from a rich family and had an amiable disposition. She had a pleasant, femine voice and were pratically friends with everyone. They naturally got along well with each other.

"So what extracurricular are u signing up for? I'm thinking of joining netball but I'm scared I can't cope with them." Chloe was the kind to initiate a conversation.

"I don't know. Maybe basketball but I have no experience though." Theo replied.

It was a lie. He walked by the band room the other day and was intrigued by the pieces they played. He loved music and wanted to sign up for concert band, but he lied because band had been lowly regarded.

A week later, he successfully got into band though basketball was his first choice. He basically skipped the basketball trials because he regretted his decision and eventually chose to follow his passion.

Theo did not expect to be in the same performing group as Kaleb. He didn't even know they went into the same school until the first band practice.

Kaleb had been friends with him for the longest time. They were both in taekwondo back in middle school and were in the same classes for several subjects. In some strange way, it felt like they were forced to be friends with each other based on circumstances not within their control.

Theo did enjoy the companionship, though he felt like they were too different. Kaleb was in a "lousier" class based on ranking and often hung around with his rowdy group of friends. It was the same in middle school as well.

He was shorter than Theo, but he had lean muscles from being so active all the time. Soft, dark hair covered his forehead, barely touching his eyes. He had flawlessly smooth and fair skin, a pointed nose, and delicate, pinkish lips.

Theo always thought he was still at his prepubescence stage judging from the size of his body and his baby-looking face.

𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺. Theo once caught himself remarking.

It was hard to imagine someone who could never sit still join an extracurricular activity that arguably, required stillness and focus.

"Perhaps band wasn't his top choice." He thought.

In middle school, the boys from taekwondo were notorious for causing trouble.

A serious incident once left a boy with a deep wound. Kaleb and four other boys from taekwondo were just playing a silly game of dodgeball. Everything went smoothly until Kaleb tossed the ball, which was successfully evaded but instead broke a classroom window. A piece of fragment from the shattered glass pierced into the skin of a boy. Blood immediately oozed from his injury.

Instead of helping him, the rest of them sprinted away, hoping to stay out of trouble. They were not supposed to be playing in that area to begin with. Eventually, all were caught and reprimanded, including Theo, who just happened to be nearby.

Kaleb tried to vouch for Theo by explaining that it was purely coincidental that he was there when it happened.

"Well, he should've reminded his friends not to play at such a dangerous location." Came the unreasonable reply.

The discipline committee had originally considered expelling them but decided to be merciful. Instead, they were told to be given extra-vigorous taekwondo training as punishment.

Upon hearing about the news, their taekwondo instructor wasn't pleased and wanted to teach them a harsh lesson about discipline. He intended to set an example for the other boys by using the one who came up with the dodgeball idea.

"Take this as a form of training for your body." After his cold reply, he made the boy hold the split position. When the boy struggled with his form, three other boys were instructed to assist him.

Two of them pushed both their legs against each of his spreaded legs. The other grabbed his wrists from behind and pulled his upper torso upright. The pain surged through his body as he immediately threw his head back and let out a groan.

"This is what happens when you lack discipline." The voice interrupted the poor boy's plea to release him, but to no avail.

The female taekwondo members simply carried on with their warm-up, occasionally taking a quick glance at the boy who was screaming like a baby that captured everyone's attention.