Afternoon came and the final bells echoed through the halls.
Students spilled out into the cold of the season, noise and laughter filling the air.
Meanwhile, Keres— being an unapologetic people hater— chose to wait thirty minutes to avoid the eyes and gossips of his rather exasperating schoolmates.
But after leaving the infirmary and ultimately, the school itself, his attention shifted to the near-death experience he faced earlier today. Maybe it had nothing to do with Ina and perhaps he was overthinking things. It didn't matter, he had to stay away from her at all costs.
Continuing forward with his head down, he strolled past his usual stop. He had so much on his mind, he didn't realize he was already in a different neighborhood— he just couldn't.
Maybe if he raised his head to look for a second, he would have noticed that he had ended up meters deep into an unfamiliar alleyway. But it was already too late.
Thud
He fell back a step upon running into something, or rather someone. The young teenager immediately raised his head after the collision.
"Sor..."
"Do you have a death wish or something, you little runt?" His apology was cut short as the man he ran into said in an intimidating voice.
"Huh?" Keres lifted his brows. He had been so side-tracked with his thoughts, he just realized he was at an entirely different location to his usual stop and in response, the burly man grit his teeth. Seeing the grim look in his eyes, it was clear Keres' silence had hit a nerve or two.
"Apologize now brat." He said in a stern voice. But ignoring the bickering that filled his ears, Keres examined his surroundings. The floor was disfigured with tiny potholes full of filthy water and littered with trash from fast-food wrappers and flattened cardboard boxes.
Like the assaults to his eyes and ears weren't enough, the nasty smell of urine and alcohol wafted into his nose. Why would anyone choose to hang out here?— He thought.
Lifting his gaze, he focused on the length and width of the alley. If things went south, he was confident in his speed so escaping into the direction he came from wasn't an issue.
Not understanding the reason for the kid's silence, the man scowled, he grabbed the collar of Keres' shirt, lifting the teenager off the ground.
A mild thud followed when his bag dropped to the floor, but surprisingly, Keres remained unfazed.
Two other figures soon emerged and blocked the exit of the narrow alleyway, their clothes, shabby, and breaths reeking of alcohol.
One of the two men took staggering steps further into the alleyway.
"Boss, his eyes are creepy" He said as he arrived beside the burly man, gulping the final drops of his can of beer.
"Oi are you brain-dead or what? Didn't your parents teach you to answer when an adult is talking to you?" The other man raised his voice, as if doing his best to sound menacing, but Keres kept silent. Not out of fear or intimidation. If anything, he pitied them, wondering how anyone could end up this way.
At this point, the burly man had lost all patience. He pinned Keres to the wall, landing two destructive hits to the teenager's face.
"Hehehe. This stupid kid. Wants to mess with the boss" One of the lackeys giggled as he raised the empty beer can above his mouth.
"Tch, I'm all out of beer" He added afterwards.
"Hey, ain't this the uniform of that middle school? Boss, I bet he's loaded" The other lackey rubbed both palms together, licking his lips. His assumptions weren't entirely baseless since Saint Ella's pre-academy is a major household name among middle schools worldwide.
"Hehehe, good observation. As expected of my bro" The burly man said.
"Hand over your money brat" He added, tightening his grip on Keres' shirt. He already taught the cocky brat a lesson so he expected a subservient response, but to his surprise—
"Alright, but put me down first." Keres replied calmly, wearing a disinterested look.
The boss' expression contorted. It appears this bastard was still looking down on him, he needed to teach him another lesson.
"So you could talk all along, uh?" He shot his eyes wide open and struck Keres in the stomach.
A sharp gasp escaped the teenager's mouth. His muscles contracted and his body recoiled involuntarily.
"This little bastard doesn't even know what's good for him. How dare he anger the boss?"
"Hehehe. I bet he's so scared of you boss. That's why he couldn't talk, hehehe."
The burly man's lackeys cheered him on and he continued with several relentless strikes to the teenager's face.
Pow Pow Pow
The burly man grinned as he was in the process of forcing his victim into submission as he always did. The recurring strikes were heavy and the most rapid he could muster but to Keres—
'They don't hurt at all,' the teenager thought. Compared to what he had endured in his short life thus far, this bit of physical pain was nothing. His fists twitched with a sudden rush of rage but—
Calm down, these people aren't worth your anger; he said to himself.
These three are prime examples of those typical scumbags you could find anywhere. The lowest of the low, they sought pleasure in preying on weaker individuals. Their distasteful behaviors stemming from the feelings of inferiority they held towards Dells.
Be it women or children, as long as they appeared weak, they were easy targets for these societal scums. And usually, they got what they wanted. But today was different. Today, they were unfortunate to pick the wrong time, location and target.
Keres believed the failed society plays a huge part in breeding these lowlifes. So to speak, directing his anger towards the ones responsible for maintaining the society appeared the right thing to do.
He organized his thoughts, pondering as to how to handle these degenerates. Even if he managed to overpower the boss, the other two would surround him so escaping was out of the way.
'Should I just force my way out of here?' Another bad suggestion as the alley's narrowness would put him at a disadvantage.
Meanwhile, the strikes to the teenager's face continued. These men appeared to be enjoying themselves as blood began to ooze out of the reddened areas of the young teenager's cheeks.
In the next instant, it happened—
"Knock it off, you cowards!" Her grave voice rang out and Keres' face instantly formed a frown.
Annoyed by her emergence, he, unlike the others, already knew who the owner of the voice was.
"This just might be the worst day of my life." He mumbled.
***
After school hours came to a close, she headed for the library to return the book she borrowed in the morning. Checking through the shelves of every section, a warm smile bloomed on her face. It barely had any books she hadn't read before but the arrangement details reminded her of The Eternal Library, where she often visited in her spare time.
Next, she stopped by the infirmary to check on Keres but was told he had already left.
"Although he did seem a little reproachable, I guess it's nice that he's fine now." She murmured. Winter's gentle touch had painted everything in shades of pale blue and soft grays as she made headway out of the school's premises.
On reaching the roadside walkway, a black range rover pulled up to her right. The backdoor immediately swung open and a woman descended.
"How was your first day, my Princess?" Dressed in a black suit with a solar cross symbol embroidered on the blazer's chest pocket, she gave a courteous bow matching her words.
"Yeah well, it wasn't all that, Beatrice" Ina said as she entered the car. With its heated steering wheel, tinted windows, integrated seat massagers, TV, AI system, and numerous other features, the car's interior exuded luxury.
"I didn't learn anything new in class today. In fact, the entire curriculum is filled with things I've learnt since I was around three or four years old." The young princess whined.
"Well, your circumstances are somewhat unique so I understand. Would you like to talk to me about it?"
"Sure." Ina said and then, turned to the driver. "I need to head to the store to pick up a few groceries. Is that okay?"
"As you wish, my Princess." The driver responded and soon, the car took off at a relaxing speed
—
A while later, Beatrice pushed open the heavy glass door and Ina walked out of the store. When they arrived earlier, the parking lot was at capacity, prompting their driver to find an alternative parking location.
"From everything you've told me, it seems like the environment was of little help. Would you prefer to keep on attending?" Beatrice asked, holding multiple grocery-filled plastic bags. Ina hesitated before giving her reply.
"It's Lord Invel's wish. I have to do as he says." She said as they walked down the road, en route to their driver's location.
As their conversation halted, faint noises filled Ina's ears. When she glanced across the road, she spotted a group of adults tormenting a boy her age— her classmate, the one who she needed to help by any means possible.
Her eyes widened with a glare of unparalleled aversion and then, she turned and darted towards their direction.
"Knock it off, you cowards!" Mere words weren't enough to express the revulsion welling up in her stomach as she neared the confinement walls of the alleyway. And on noticing this, a frown emerged on Beatrice's face.
"Don't worry, my Princess. I'll handle it!" The bodyguard said in a stern voice.
—