"I have a festival at school. I'm hungry and have dinner with my classmates after that." Michael didn't dare to meet his mother's gaze, "Didn't Adam tell you, mom?"
Indeed, before going to pick up Michael, Adam had already told Brenda about the art festival at her son's school. But since she was too busy arguing with her husband, Brenda didn't listen to Adam.
"Ah, sorry, I forgot." His mother replied. The woman then reached out for the glass filled with wine on the table. She took an elegant sip of her drink.
Mark saw Michael then asked, "How is your school?" His tone sounded strange to Michael's ears.
"It's good." Michael answered in a low voice, his eyes circling the living room.
"Hmm." Mark straightened his collar then turned and walked toward the stairs.
Brenda rose from the sofa, "Hey! Where are you going? We're not done yet. Stop ..." She put her glass back on the table.
Mark didn't listen to his wife's whining and continued to walk up the stairs. Brenda snorted in annoyance, clenched her fists and followed her husband upstairs. The sound of high heels sounded loud in the quiet living room.
"Young master." Adam stood behind Michael, his arms folded behind his back. As Michael turned around, Adam could see the sadness in his eyes.
Michael smiled a little, "You go rest. I'm going to my room, good night." The boy then walked away, leaving Adam alone.
As Michael walked down the corridor on the second floor, shouts and screams continued to slip out from his parents' room. Michael hummed a little, trying to get the scream out of his ears. The boy stepped quickly towards his room and closed the door.
Moonlight shone on Michael's dark room. In the corner of his room, the man could see his face in the mirror. Without changing clothes Michael climbed onto the bed.
Michael closed his eyes and hid under a thick blanket. Trying to drown out the screams of his parents, which were getting louder and louder.
-
The next day at school, Gabby could sense something was wrong with Michael when she saw him. The first thing was, Michael didn't have the spirit to talk to Gabby.
Normally, the guy always took the initiative to open a conversation with Gabby, but today he laid his head on the table and looked out the window.
The second thing was that Michael looked messy today. His uniform was not tucked neatly into his pants. His hair disheveled, and there was a dark circle under his eyes.
At first, Gabby thought maybe Michael didn't sleep well last night. So that the girl tried not to bother him. But the man kept his head on the table during the lesson. His eyes occasionally looked at the whiteboard, but his gaze was blank.
During the breaktime, Gabby walked into the cafeteria with her friends leaving Michael alone in class. After she finished lunch, the girl hurried back to the classroom.
Arriving in the classroom, Gabby saw the man sit facing the window. His hand was placed under his chin and the boy's gaze was still blank.
"Michael? What is wrong with you?" Gabby walked over to their table.
Shocked to hear Gabby's voice, Michael immediately looked away and saw Gabby's face. The girl's eyes looked worried and there were wrinkles on her forehead.
Michael shook his head and smiled faintly, "I'm fine." He then stood up from his chair, "I'll go to the toilet first, okay?"
Gabby pursed her mouth and let her eyes follow him.
Michael's feet didn't take him to the toilet, but the school's backyard. He sat on the floor then leaned his back against the wall. The man was not alone. He was accompanied by some flowers and weeds.
From the corner of his eye, Michael could see some students playing soccer. The man bent and hugged his legs, his head tilted upward. Bright blue color adorned the sky at noon.
When Michael was in America, he always looked for a quiet place. His parents were always fighting, screaming relentlessly in their house, so it made Michael happy to find a quiet place.
Suddenly, a soccer ball flew towards the boy. He instantly closed his eyes, and soon felt the ball hit his forehead hard. Michael grimaced in pain then slowly opened his eyes. He held his forehead and felt the back of his head ache from banging hard against the wall.
When Michael wanted to stand up, he heard the sound of many footsteps running toward him.
Jeremy and Martin ran after the ball and prepared to apologize. But when they saw Michael their steps immediately stopped. Martin walked back to Billy.
"Boss… ha... Boss." Martin patted Billy on the shoulder, trying to catch his breath.
"What?" Billy looked at Martin's empty hand, "Where's the ball?"
Martin caught his breath then pointed to Michael who was sitting, "Our ball hit Michael's head, boss."
"Call him." An evil smile appeared on Billy's face. He thought this was the right time to take revenge.
"Hey! Michael, here you are!" Martin shouted as he approached the boy.
Jeremy turned to the voice and then turned his gaze to Michael, "Hey! You're being called."
When Martin and Jeremy were in front of Michael, the boy still ignored them. Jeremy sighed, "Our boss is calling you! Where are your ears?!"
Billy snorted in annoyance and walked over to them, "Pick him up." His orders were cold.
Martin and Jeremy grabbed Michael by the hand, forcing the boy to his feet. As Michael stood up, he could feel his chin lifted by Billy's index finger.
"Are you deaf now? We've been calling you." Billy snapped while still lifting Michael's chin.
"Why didn't you come in front of our boss earlier?" Jeremy asked, his hands folded across his chest.
"When the art festival ends, almost all girls adore you, you know?" Martin said. He was a new member of the Black Snake gang.
Billy tilted his head when he heard about the arts festival. He gripped Michael's chin, "Even my mom and dad adore you, they wish you were their child. This is all your fault!"
"My girlfriend broke up with me yesterday when she saw you." Jeremy whispered his grunt.
"This is all your fault!" Billy repeated, he released Michael's chin when he got no answer. All this time Michael had been silent and saw Billy's face with a flat face.
Suddenly an evil idea came to Jeremy's mind. He smiled broadly then put his mouth close to Billy's ear, "Boss, how about we tell Michael to kiss our shoes? If he does we will forgive him."
"Great idea!" Billy's eyes sparkled at the idea.
Billy took two steps back, followed by Jeremy and Martin. The man pointed at Michael, "If you kiss our shoes, I'll let you off!"
Seeing no response from Michael, Martin approached him and forced him to sit on the floor. Martin pushed the man's head closer to Billy's shoe.
"Let me go!" Michael protested, his face flushed red.
"Hahaha, what are you saying? I can't hear you." Billy pointed his shoes at Michael's face.
"Let me go! I beg you to let go of me!" Michael managed to resist Martin's prompting and rolled sideways. He got away from their shoes that smelled awful.
Billy looked away and saw a fallen tree branch not far from them. The man took the branch then gave the order, "Hold him. I will teach him a lesson."
-
"That's crazy! The Black Snake Gang is in the school's backyard! Looks like they're going to beat up Michael!" Shouted Gabby's classmate.
"What?!" Gabby's eyes widened in shock after she heard that. Without thinking twice she ran fast towards the school's backyard.
While she was running, she could only whisper, "Wait a minute, my husband. I will come to save you."
Arriving at the field behind the school, Gabby immediately folded her uniform. She walked over and saw Michael standing up and pointing his knees to Billy's stomach.
"Ouch!" Billy shouted in pain.
Gabby's steps stopped when she saw Billy lying on the ground. Without realizing that, her mouth dropped open in surprise. The girl did not think that Michael would dare to defend himself.
Not only was Gabby surprised, even Billy and his men were shocked. Billy tried to stand up holding his stomach, seeing Michael's face. The man noticed something different from the aura that Michael gave off. The boy's aura made Billy shudder in fear.
"Don't mess with me anymore." Michael said coldly.
Michael's red lips opened slowly, "This is my life, please don't bother me anymore. Until you bother me again, don't blame me if I beat you up later."
Sweat started streaming down Billy's face, he wiped it off with his sleeve. Gesturing his men to stand next to him, "Who's afraid of Michelle?"
Before he turned around Billy grinned then spat on the ground. He fled from the scene followed by Jeremy and Martin who walked behind him as if they were his bodyguards.