Mystery of Love

10

The obnoxious ringtone of the alarm clock successfully shook Theo out of his sleep. Unlike usual, he got out of bed immediately.

Pulling the thick blanket away, he laid his feet on the cold floor. It had been a rough night and he didn't sleep well.

As he stared into the bathroom mirror, the image that was reflected on it felt unrecognizable for a split second. Upon closer inspection, a pair of puffy eyes stared right back at him.

𝘏𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱? He couldn't remember. The last thing he could recall was that weird dream that woke him up in the middle of the night.

He sat in bed and pondered about that dream. It wasn't exactly a dream. He wasn't sure what it was.

𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘒𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘣? It wasn't like he needed someone to take care of him. It really was an odd dream.

Dismissing his messy thoughts, he let out a yawn as he stretched his arms wide over his head. He was glad he felt better after a night's rest.

"Can't wait for the final week of school to be over." He whispered despondently to himself. Grabbing his windbreaker and school bag, he left the house.

As he walked to the bus stop, his fingers were busy scrolling on Instagram for the latest updates.

Breaking news: Thundery showers expected on the first half of October. Lola posted an Instagram story with Abby in it. 9gag shared a new meme. More breaking news...

He closed the app and opened Spotify. Plugging his earphones in, he boarded the bus that just arrived. He found a seat beside the window and placed his bag on his lap. "My Future" by Billie Eilish began playing as he leaned his head restfully on the window.

He avoided eye contact with a passenger that seemed to signal a hand gesture to him. She waved a hand in front of his face in an attempt to capture his attention.

"Sorry I think you dropped something."

"Oh thank you so much!" He took the folded paper that slipped out of his bag's side pocket.

It was a page of the school magazine he'd torn out. Unfolding the paper, he saw an image of the school's swim team along with a paragraph of their latest achievements.

He immediately crumpled the paper and shoved it into his pocket. The swim team consisted of only male adolescents. They were all clad in short swim trunks.

He was half-hoping that she did not see the content as it was embarrassing. Theo felt sexually aroused by looking at the bodies of those boys. It was the only reason why he kept that paper.

It felt like a rare occurrence to get the chance to look at them in full. Their glistening muscles were usually hidden from sight.

However, there was a limit to it. Some images and videos were too overkill for him. He couldn't watch porn that involved subjects who were fully naked as it made him nauseous.

Deep down in his heart, he knew that it was an unhealthy practice that he had to forgo.

Furthermore, it worried him whenever he thought about his brain development. He absolutely did not want to become a psychopath like Jeffrey Dahmer.

The serial killer possessed abnormal and crazy fetishes such as galmatophilia (sexual desire for mannequins), hematolagnia (sexual interest in blood) and even vorarephilia (aroused by the idea of cannibalism).

Many of those fetishes were extreme and dangerous. As much as Theo hated to admit, he had unhealthy fetishes as well. However, he did not ever want to become someone like him who actually carried out such desires.

The bus stopped outside the school gate. Slinging his bag over his shoulders, he checked a final time that all his belongings were taken before alighting the bus.

Upon entering the school, Theo caught a whiff of paint. The new principal had made plans to carry out paint works as the school needed refurbishment.

Upon her new posting, she was already swift in making changes. Most would not complain as they benefited from it.

Theo did not expect them to complete the painting works so quickly. Perhaps he had been so busy with his own problems to even notice his surroundings. Just like the moments when he thought of only himself, he made a self-reminder to look around and possibly empathize more with those around him.

Most of the students who entered the school were in awe at the sight of freshly painted walls in the shade of baby blue. The others either did not notice the change or had a dejected expression as if it was just another school day.

Theo was surprisingly early unlike usual. He always had friends to accompany him but they seemed to show up late everytime.

As a result, he loitered around the school blocks aimlessly. He started by touring the second level and slowly made his way up. Most of the students who arrived early were either at the school foyer or the canteen.

At the third level, he walked past a row of classrooms and made a turn to reach the school library. Through a window glass, he noticed the main librarian already at her desk working.

As he walked up another flight of stairs, he arrived at the highest level where his classroom was situated at. There were three other classrooms besides his own with gigantic potted plants that lined the corridor area.

Upon exiting the classrooms, one would be met with a wide and empty area. Theo enjoyed standing out there sometimes to take in the wind and to look out at the rest of the school.

Twisting the doorknob open, he was shocked to find that it was unlocked. He suddenly recalled that the doors were only locked in the evening and the person in charge must have unlocked it before dawn.

He almost felt like a thief, sneaking around in his dark and empty classroom. Some of the tables had plastic bottles lying around.

Theo wondered if they were still going to drink it. "They are so dumb for leaving their bottles unattended." Theo thought to himself. Someone could easily spike their drink.

He imagined slipping Viagra tablets into the water. It would only work on the male students. The worried and clueless expressions on their faces would've been priceless.

Their homie would definitely notice it and joke loudly about it, saying things like: "Not even the first period and you're already getting a hard-on thinking about bitches." The humiliation he would face. That experience was simply too good to actually happen.

The school bell finally rang. Dismissing his mischievous and silly thoughts, Theo headed downstairs to the school hall where everyone else was assembled.