Expect the Unexpected

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 1: 𝑀𝓊𝓃𝒹𝒶𝓃𝑒 𝐵𝑒𝑔𝒾𝓃𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈

It's been two years since my mom died. My dad and I were never the same again. We transferred to a new town called Inville, and I enrolled in their only school there, Inville Academy. My daily routine starts with once I wake up, I take a shower, go to school, get bullied, go home, get abused by my loving father, go to bed, and the cycle repeats itself. Again...and again...and again...

Not until this girl grabbed one of my bullies and leaned back as the guy she was with hit the bully with a piece of wood. The bully, Riley Bennett, is an insecure tomboy who has been discriminated against ever since she came out of the closet the same year I enrolled here, which was last year. She thinks everyone would respect her decision of gender if she made them fear her. Respect isn't respect if it is gained by force. Also, she uses bullying as a way to get what she wants.

In this particular situation, she wanted me to do her essay since I am a campus journalist here at Inville Academy. I had many articles to finish writing up, so I did the most unexpected thing she would ever hear from her victims: "No". Riley's eyes widened, and she tilted her head with a raised brow and her arms crossed over her chest. "You know what to do with him, boys", Maverick Jones pushed me, which made my glasses fall off my face as my butt went straight to the ground, and then Axel Smith pulled my shirt up in a threatening way. Riley then proceeded to place her foot on top of the glasses, slowly forcing it to break until I gave her the response she wanted to her requests. "Last, chance Eric, are you going to do my essay? or go blind?" Riley threatened. "No," I responded. "Breaking my glasses won't make me blind. Those are anti-radiation glasses, stupid," I say as I stand back up to face her, and I hear the breaking sound that came from under her shoe. I looked down as an unexpected uppercut came towards my face, which made me lose my balance.

Afterwards, these new kids scare off the bullies. I picked up my broken glasses and the piece of wood they used to hit Riley. All I could think of was revenge, and I saw the perfect opportunity to give Riley a taste of her own medicine. The helpless body of Riley lays on the floor, about to be beaten up by the piece of wood grasped between the palms of my hands. I closed my eyes, swung the wood, and then came to a halt as a hand grabbed the wood from my hands. "Stop! I know what you're thinking. But beating her up until her last breath won't relieve your conscience that you unalived a person."

"Anyways, I am Jia, and this is my twin brother, Finn. You are?" The girl who helped me asked with her hand in front of me, ready to shake mine.

"Someone who didn't need any help. Someone you don't need to know." I replied and walked away.

"Hey, if it weren't for us, you could've gotten yourself killed by those bullies," Finn says.

I walked back to them with my hands curled to a fist, facing both the twins. "Oh, I will get killed. Riley, that bully laying on the floor, is the daughter of the Mayor of Inville. If you had let me finish her reign of terror, she couldn't hurt anyone anymore. Look, I'm sorry if you guys got into my mess, but in this town, you've got to mind your own business."

"Alright, we're sorry if we got into your business. My brother and I are new to this town and we thought after we helped you, we could have a friend, who might also need a friend." Jia pleaded.

I roll my eyes in frustration.

I am frustrated because they didn't let me finish Riley.

I am frustrated because I came back to them after I walked away.

I am frustrated by the fact that they're right, I do need a friend.

"Okay, fine. I can be your friend. I'm Euricus James Falcone, but you can call me, Eric." I replied, and I asked them what grade they were in. We were in the same class. We went up to the 2nd floor of the Senior High School building, where our classroom is located. I've never had a friend here in Inville Academy, well, a permanent one, to say the least. My last friend, Arthur, went missing, the same week his father, my father's business partner, went to jail. No one heard from the Moretti family ever again.

After school, the new kids followed me wherever I went, from the cafeteria to the bathroom, to the library, and even to my secret hideout, which is no longer a secret because this is where Riley and the troublesome two beat me up. Surprisingly, Riley wasn't there anymore. Maybe Maverick and Axel brought her to the infirmary.

"I forgot to ask you guys, how did you find me here, in my secret hideout?" I asked the twins with a brow raised, arms crossed, and eyes blinking rapidly.

"We got lost earlier, finding our classroom, they just pointed to this building. As, we were heading to this building we heard voices here at the back. That's all, we were just curious." Finn replied.

"Secret hideout. I see. Why do you need a secret hideout? Is it because of that Riley?" Jia asked as her eyes roamed the area and sat on my seat.

I took a deep breath and sat across her, while Finn sat beside her. They seemed interested in what I was about to say as they leaned closer to me, so they were able to hear properly. "I hid in this place until it was safe for me to go home, which took a long time because after school was when those miscreants committed their crimes outside of the school. Since Riley is Mayor Josephine Bennett's daughter, she easily got out of her crimes. Not only that, her father, Lionel Bennet, is the honorable sheriff of this town. If she had the desire to kill, no one would point out that she was the killer."

"This town seems dangerous. I heard that there are killers on the loose here. Thieves, drug dealers, money launderers, and mafias. I can't believe our mom let us move to this town." Finn said and looked at Jia, as Jia smirked. My eyes narrowed as I stared at them glancing at each other like they could talk with their eyes.

"I mean since now, that we're friends. You guys are welcome to come to this not-so secret hideout anytime you want or we could come hangout here after class everyday. See you guys tomorrow. " I said with a big smile on my face. I stood up, tightened my backpack and headed off without waiting for their response.

What was with all that glancing? Are they hiding something from me? Maybe, they're just not comfortable in sharing their thoughts, I mean it hasn't been a day since we three became friends.

Was welcoming them to my hideout, the right thing to do?

Was welcoming them into my life, the wrong thing to do?

Yes and maybe yes. We'll find out soon.