The One with the Rebel and the Nerd

Three

"You better watch out."

Connor turns to face the person who just hissed into his right ear. Holding enormous textbooks on one hand, he tries his best to simultaneously lock his locker and to deal with the person who just threatened him. Even though he was a little bit surprised to see that stoner staring at him intently with his jaws clenched and his hands behind the pockets of his black skinny jeans, he manages to not show any signs of being intimidated—at least, according to him. He's definitely taller than me, Connor says in his head, and from the looks of it, he might have a gun stored inside his jacket. When did the last shooting happen in this state?

"Look, I need to go to the library as soon as possible. I have no time for this." Connor blurts and tries to make a break for it.

Troye grabs Connor's arms forcefully and pulls him towards the janitor's closet across from them. It's a dark and musty room, with the smell of bleach and dewy mops lingering in the air. It's also tiny, especially after being jammed with various cleaning equipment. After locking the door, Troye turns to the other boy.

"Why did you do that?" Troye asks with a low voice. Even though he didn't raise his voice, anybody who knows Troye would know that that was the calm before the storm. Unfortunately, Connor doesn't know Troye.

"Well, I've been known for upholding my values." Connor replies innocently. "And also..." He trails off once he notices the redness of Troye's face and the veins of that boy's neck popping. Connor widens his eyes in horror as he's afraid of his life. What if he beats me here? I mean, I can swim. I'm good in swimming. But this attack will occur on land, dang it. I wish I took karate instead.

"WHY IN THE F***ING WORLD DID YOU DO THAT, YOU F***ING NERD?" Troye yells at the top of his lungs.

Connor hides his head behind the textbooks he's been carrying—as if that can ever protect him. "I j-just," Connor stutters, "I j-just..."

"J-JUST WHAT? OH, NOW YOU CAN'T SPEAK ENGLISH?" Troye continues to yell at Connor.

After a few seconds of silence due to Connor not being able to speak in his current emotional state, Troye calms down after breathing in and out a few times.

"You know what," Troye says lowly, "whatever. See you tomorrow after school." With that, Troye unlocks the door and steps out.

Now in the closet alone, Connor begins to compose himself. He can always report that incident to Mr. Deyes. But on what ground? It wasn't exactly an infraction—Troye did not physically touch him, cause him any kinds of damages nor threaten him explicitly. More frustratingly, Troye was just being angry, which is his right as a human being. Connor shakes his head and walks out of the closet.

The now empty corridors leave Connor alone with a lot of thinking. I need to figure out this kid. It's always been one of Connor's many strengths to learn others' behaviors in no time. He is also known to be quick friends with just about everyone. As a competitive person, he loves challenges. Now, he has one: Troye Mellet, the stoner.