Addiction Burns

Pact

The March holidays came. Mr Peng was preparing for his next big event: a dinner with the girls.

"Ladies, welcome," said Mr Peng, as he opened the doors of the limousine. Dressed in a red blazer, red shirt, red trousers and red dress shoes, he opened the doors to the limousine with chivalry. On the kerb stood two girls who were, on the other hand dressed in ordinary dresses and heels, who nervously thought that they were under dressed and hence not fit to be in Mr Peng's presence, especially since they never did expect such grandeur that would have been only matched by them sporting brands like Gucci and Givenchy everywhere. Mr Peng stepped out of the car, removing his sunglasses, which was yet another 'bad boy' act, since it was already 7 in the evening. He walked over to the two girls, Geraldine and Bao Yi, who were still shy.

"Come on in, it's just a car," said Mr Peng calmly, thereafter grabbing each of their arms and leading them to the car faster than they could react.

"I'm taking you two, to a nice dinner!" said Mr Peng as he started the engine. Geraldine and Bao Yi, who were usually strong willed women, were dumbfounded. They're gonna have to replace Marie for now, damn her and her overprotective parents!

The trio arrived at the very prestigious restaurant ANDRE, a place both girls were not used to. Mr Peng requested for a private booth"Just get anything and everything you desire to eat, girls, it's all on me. Don't worry about the price," said Mr Peng, although the girls were not reassured. The girls gingerly ordered what seemed to be nice yet cheap.

"So, how are you girls coping with Math?" Mr Peng asked the girls with a slightly crooked mouth. Both of them mouthed "Okay."

"Do you think I'm a good teacher? Do you like me?" Mr Peng continued, leaning forward in anticipation of their answers. The girls nodded slowly and unsteadily, leaning further backward into their seats.

"Alright then, now look carefully at the candle in front of you," said Mr Peng in a sultry voice. The girls turned to the candle and stared hard at it, trying their best to comprehend what he was saying.

"It burns. It is hot. It will destroy you, consume you from within. Once you put your hands in the flame, you'll never be the same. Now look at this knife," he waved the knife in front of the eyes of the two girls.

"Are you afraid of pain?" he asked, in a slightly shaky voice. The girls shrunk backwards. Suddenly he cut a thin slit on both of their palms, in a swift movement of the knife. The girls made to scream, but nothing came out of the poor mouths.

Then, Mr Peng swiftly slit his palm as well. As blood dripped from the palms of all three of them, he grabbed a serviette and wiped the palms and simultaneously pushed them together.

"Do you promise to always listen to whatever I say, never oppose me and take down whoever does not support me?" asked Mr Peng. Geraldine and Bao Yi vigorously nodded. Mr Peng smiled widely, and looked to the left just as the waiter arrived with the food.

"Tuck in!" said Mr Peng, grinning.

2 hours later

Nova sat in his room, trying his best to contemplate his existence. I wonder if 312 hates me. They're nice enough, but I'm not sure if they like me. Ever since that bastard came, I have never caught a break. Everyone is being seduced by his charm and madness, yet I, the odd one out, am not getting any attention. Maybe it is because I chose to distance myself from them.

Nova remembered the very first day of Secondary 3. He walked into the hall, late as usual, and most of the class was already there. The boys sat on the right side of the hall, where Nova approached from, while the girls sat on the left side. Hyperventilating, and slightly dizzy, he walked toward the class, and saw that Lay Chun and Anthony, who had been friends since primary school, were making small talk quite secretively. Immediately, he assumed that they were gossiping about him because Anthony had quite a bad impression of him since Secondary One, while Lay Chun simply did not look like a nice person.

After that, Nova generally distanced himself from 312. He never ate with them during recess, and usually did not go for the "boys bonding lunches" every Monday and Wednesday. To put it simply, he dared not believe that people would be nice to him.

Meanwhile in Mr Peng's house

Mr Peng sat in his room marking the math tests of his Secondary 4 class. Suddenly, leafing through the last of the papers (which were very very poorly done), a name caught his eye. Lucinda Lim. He always had had such an attraction for her, the origins of which were odd. He was smitten with her looks, and another weirder reason.

She was a cold hearted diva. He never thought of making sexual advances. He wasn't scared of rejection, he only felt that it would affect her concentration in class.

Should I try to make advances? Mr Peng thought. Suddenly, he fainted. With his eyes closed, he envisioned himself lying on a bed, buttocks facing upwards. The creature, the same creature he saw when he was having sex with Marie. The creature whispered in his ear: You need to up your game. It then stuck its horn into his rear end and furiously dug in and out, with him screaming loudly everytime he was attacked by the horn.