“KD, please don’t hit him again. Let me deal with him. Go home, please,” Lucy begged.
JK picked himself up, poked his nose a few times like he was checking for blood, and stood there with that same unreadable face. I waited for him to do something—anything—but he just stared. I wasn’t exactly fit for a fight, and I prayed silently he wouldn’t strike back. I could take a lot, but I couldn’t bear being beaten and humiliated in front of my dream girl.
Just then my mum called: the taxi had arrived. I didn’t waste a second. “No matter how beautiful a coffin looks, it won’t make anyone wish for death,” I muttered, and I bolted—home with my mum, leaving JK and Lucy behind.
Lucy was discharged the next day and missed a full week of school. I stayed home two days longer, but on the third day my mum dragged me back to school. She walked me straight to the headmaster’s office and left me there; I slid into class late and nearly missed first period.
The reception was mixed. Some kids were glad to see me; others made it clear they wished I hadn’t returned at all. Frank, EK, and MA gave me a warm welcome. We had plenty to catch up on—especially everything that happened while I was away.
MA wasted no time. “We must teach JK a lesson,” he said. EK agreed at once. Frank hesitated—he wanted peace, wanted us to let things go. I didn’t. I wanted revenge. I wanted JK to suffer. Three against one, the vote was in.
During break, Frank pulled me aside and pleaded for calm. “Let it go, KD. For the peace of the school,” he said.
Peace of the school? I thought. Did JK think about peace when he spread that lie?
In the end, Frank reluctantly agreed to join. “If the cockroach wants to rule the henhouse,” EK said, “it must hire the fox as a bodyguard.” We decided we needed someone to make sure the teacher would take action. We plotted a frame—small, surgical, and humiliating rather than cruel. The plan: steal an item from one of our mates and slip it into JK’s bag. When the victim reported the theft, the class teacher would be called to search, and the “found” item in JK’s bag would give him a punishable excuse.
We all liked the plan. We only needed time and to choose whose item we’d use. I also had my own private mission: get close to Lucy and win her heart. I was determined. “He who sits beside a beautiful lady and says nothing ends up fetching water at her wedding,” I told myself, certain now that I wouldn’t be silent.
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