Mona let out a sigh of relief as she successfully escaped her mathematics teacher's wrath.
When she got home, she found that her parents weren't around, so she went straight to her room to freshen up before settling down to study.
Despite struggling with math, she excelled in other subjects, and as she read her books, she eventually fell asleep
When Mona woke up, her parents had returned, and they had dinner together before she decided to take a walk.
It was 9:30 pm, and she strolled through the streets, avoiding the one that led to Mr. Ken's house.
The cool breeze felt refreshing, and she enjoyed her nightly walks, even passing by groups of people without hesitation.
As she walked down the dark alley, she felt a sense of unease wash over her.
She tried to shake off the feeling and keep moving forward, but slowly, she felt a weird tingling sensation in her back.
When Mona looked behind her, she saw that someone was following her. With growing fear, she increased her pace, constantly checking behind her to see if the person was still there.
Mona could view the person's movement but couldn't see his face. His outfit said he was a male.
As she was focusing on his pace, Mona lost track of her movement. Before she knew what was really happening, she found herself in the middle of the road.
A truck suddenly appeared beside her, speeding towards her with menacing intent. Despite having an opportunity to flee, Mona was paralyzed with fear, unable to take action. She watched in terror as the truck's blinding headlights grew closer and closer. As she resigned to her fate, she could only witness the horrifying scene.
Her ear heard the noise coming from the working engine, her throat went dry. As much as she wanted to swallow, she couldn't.
Hopeless, Mona stood still, accepting the inevitable. The truck was getting closer, just a kilometre away, and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. As the blinding lights approached, she covered her ears and shut her eyes tight, bracing for impact. But then, she felt a sudden jolt as she was yanked away from danger. Her eyes were still closed, and her heart was still racing, but she was no longer in the path of the oncoming truck. She had been saved, but she didn't know by whom or how.
Mona hit her body hard on a steel-like body, still quivering, she hugged her saviour so tight as that was what she felt she could do at that moment. Was she dead?
Mona lost the ability to speak for a moment, her lungs were shivering as that terrifying moment kept reminiscing in her head.
"Ahhh…ah…ah," she breathed in her saviour's arms.
After a few moments of embracing her saviour tightly, Mona heard him say, "She called me a know-it-all and now I'm the one saving her life."
It took a moment for her to register his words and then she realized that the person she was hugging was Mr Ken.
She felt the urge to push him away, but she realized that his hand was actually on her back.
In an attempt to avoid making eye contact, Mona tightened her embrace around Mr Ken and let out a small moan.
Despite the shock of the near-death experience, she found comfort in the warmth of his hug and gradually her heart rate began to return to normal, aided by the sense of security and reassurance that his embrace provided.
Ken smirked secretly and pushed her off him slowly.
Although there was noise around them, Mona and Mr Ken were silent, creating an awkward tension between them. Mona could feel Mr Ken's gaze on her, but she couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.
When she finally did, she saw his usual stern expression, causing her to turn away and try to leave.
However, she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't see the pole in front of her, and was about to crash into it when Mr Ken quickly pulled her back, causing her to gasp in surprise.
Mona was in his arms again but she jerked off as she had offended her saviour. "Mis…ter." She was looking down.
"You want to say sorry, right?" He didn't assume, he was sure.
Mona nodded. "Sorry, and thank you." She didn't lift her gaze even.
Kenny didn't reply, he needed her to look into his eyes and apologize. When Mona lifted her gaze she saw him walking away, so she followed. "Am I forgiven? You won't punish me, right?" She was reaching to see his face when earlier she dared not.
Mr Ken laughed inwardly and halted. "Should I punish you?" He asked. She stopped too and lowered her head again. She was still quaking from the incident earlier but was excited that it was Mr Ken that saved her.
What about the punishment? She needed him to pardon her, however, she couldn't promise that she wouldn't piss him off again.
Mona humbly apologized to Mr Ken and let go of her pride to receive his forgiveness.
Despite her usual nervousness around teachers, she felt surprisingly comfortable talking to him, which she suspected was due to her crush on him.
However, when Mr Ken remained silent after her apology, she looked up and saw a smile on his lips, causing her to smile as well.
She commented on how he looked good when he smiled, but his narrowed gaze made her lower her eyes again.
"Whatever." He turned to continue his movement, and Mona followed him.
"I'm forgiven right?"
"Mmn," he answered.
"Thank you so much, Mr Ken, heart you!" She used her index and thumb finger to represent a heart.
There was silence between them as the man averted his gaze. Mona attempted to break the silence by speaking up, but he still didn't turn to face her, though she knew he heard her.
She couldn't read his expression, and she concluded that he was skilled at concealing his emotions.
Mona pulled Mr Ken's legs, causing him to stop momentarily and glance at her.
She asked why he was outside so late, but he remained silent and resumed walking.
Mona continued to follow him, wondering why he had looked at her as if she was a complex math problem he was trying to solve.
She opened her mouth to ask again but he cut her off by replying. "I should be asking you that, I'm an adult and a man. I'm safe walking outside by this time but you..." He stared weirdly at her.
Mona frowned. "I'm a grown-up too, I'm eighteen," she elucidated.
Mr Ken chuckled. "Indeed."
Mona hated that he undergrad her, "How old are you anyway?" She had the guts to ask her mathematics teacher about his age but the man didn't take it so seriously.
"I'll send the answer to you," he replied, then suddenly stopped by the green gate.
When Mona looked into the building, she beheld a poor environment. She lifted her gaze at her teacher and forgot what she wanted to say about him sending the answer to his age.
"This is where you live?" She didn't mean to sound disrespectful but she was shocked. Was Mr Ken that poor? Then she noticed that the clothes he wore were… He wasn't that rich, why? "Sorry," she lowered her head.
The man was about to reply when a lady came out only to hold onto his arms. "Kenny," the lady whispered and settled her gaze on Mona before staring at Kenny seductively. "I was looking for you," she informed him.
Mona was burning up with displeasure and jealousy, so she left but after a few moments, she ran back to Mr Ken and thankfully he was still outside with that lady.
She needed his help to get back home as her street lights were turned off, she couldn't pass through darkness, she'd die!