LIFE - BLOOD

Episode 11

The bell rang, and the school hallway instantly transformed into a sea of chattering students.

"Talk to you tomorrow," Kaius said, navigating through the crowd toward his locker.

As he opened his locker door, a paper slipped out and drifted to the ground. Kaius picked it up, his eyes widening at the menacing message:

"We are far from over! The next time we meet, I'll make sure I'm the last face you see!"

Kaius's gaze darted around, locking onto the familiar faces of his bullies. Dexter, the leader, flashed a cold smile as they approached.

Kaius's heart raced, his back pressing against the locker.

Dexter patted Kaius's shoulder before turning away, his cohorts following closely.

The tension eased as they disappeared into the crowd. Kaius let out a shaky breath, his stomach still twisted in knots.

As he rearranged his books, a lively conversation caught his attention.

"Skateboarding is so much fun! You should try it sometime,"Isla exclaimed.

Dax shook his head. "Hard pass! Do you know how hard it was getting myself to ride a bike again after I hit my head?"

Isla burst into laughter. "Skateboarding is easy!" She playfully shoved Dax.

Dax rolled his eyes. "They said the same about biking."

Their laughter faded as Kaius stepped in front of them, blocking their path.

"Hi," Kaius said, his voice hesitant.

"Hi," Dax replied awkwardly.

Isla bit her lip. "Umm... I'm gonna go—"

Kaius interrupted, his eyes locked onto theirs. "I want to talk to both of you."

Dax and Isla sat beside the empty fountain, their heads tilted up toward Kaius, who stood before them, his eyes filled with remorse.

"Look, I know I was a jerk last night, and uhhh... I want to apologize for...uh... everything."
Kaius ruffled his hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry for making you feel like I'm shouldering the weight of all this alone. I realize now that my reactions made it seem like...uh...

I'm the only one affected."

Kaius's voice cracked as tears welled up in his eyes. "It's just that it's a lot to take in... and... I feel so pressured.

I feel like I need to do something—"

Dax jumped up and wrapped Kaius in a warm hug. "Hey, hey, we get it. We understand...

We were never mad at you."

"But you..." Kaius sniffed, his voice trembling. "But you avoided me all day."

Dax smiled reassuringly. "I was not avoiding you."

Isla chimed in, "We thought about what you said last night, and you were right. The world is really coming to an end, and we have the power to stop that.

But kaius, all this still feels unreal. We were just asking for—"

"a little time," Dax finished. "A little time to sink it all in. To grasp the fact that this is our life now.

It's not a no! We just want to be sure of what we're getting ourselves into.

And I wasn't avoiding you; I just wanted to be certain of the choices I made before I spoke to you."