That One High School Blunder

[5 Years Ago]

My eyes darted around the empty school hallway. On one side featured a plethora of doors which led to individual classrooms, while the other side was filled with blue and green lockers.

“Hey Kai, do you think I can talk to you for a second?”

Mila popped up in front of me as I closed my locker.

“What is it?”

“Um…” She glanced away, scratching her neck. “N-Nevermind. Anyways, are you excited for the field trip?”

“Hmph,” I scoffed. “Of course, but my father always takes me to Dosa in the summers anyway.”

“I-I see.” Mila replied. “I’m sure you’re excited.”

The two of us were finally departing school together; having dated for six months by this point, not a day passed by where we weren’t seen together, walking in and out of school or even throughout the hallways. Everyone around the school knew us as the “Polar World Couple” - two people from opposite worlds who somehow ended up together.

“Yeah, yeah,” I replied. “Anyways, let’s head home.”

“Uh, okay.”

Mila came from a family not from the highest of societies - but the poorest. Her family barely scraped by on a daily basis while living in a small bungalow on the outskirts of town; her father operated a food stand, while her mother worked at a local flower shop.

“Be careful,” I added. “You don’t want that chest pain or fatigue to return. You were discharged from the hospital only a few days ago.”

“Right…”

I grabbed Mila’s hand and led her to the exit. “Let’s go!’

“Ugh, that hurts, Kai! Slow down!”

Like every other day, I would order a taxi with my father’s money to help Mila travel home, despite her reluctance.

“Don’t worry, I can take the bus this time! No need to go out of your way and-”

“You’re kidding right?” I scowled. “Who knows what can happen with your health! Don’t worry, the taxi should be arriving shortly.”

Once I sent Mila off and arrived home myself, my father was already waiting at the front door. Our mansion took up an entire neighborhood - its size made it appear like a government building. Its white walls were long and stretched from one block to another, while it featured four separate floors with each serving a different purpose. One maid tended to every different floor, and a pair of security guards could be found scouring the entrance to our large driveaway, which was almost the size of a soccer field.

“Long day, Kai?” He asked while smoking a cigarette and sitting casually on the porch. A pair of fountains and lion statues sat in front our grand entrance.

“Yeah, school trip is tomorrow.”

“Sounds fun! Is Mila doing alright?”

“Yeah, she won’t tell me what health problems she’s dealing with, though. It’s a whole mystery to me.”

“Well, just do your best to make her happy,” he grinned, smiling through the stick in his mouth.

“Well of course, no need to tell me!” I ran past him into the mansion. I had to get packing for tomorrow’s field trip.

The next morning flew by smoothly - I picked Mila up at her house in my taxi, and we both arrived at the train station to meet our other classmates. The field trip to Dosa required a three hour train ride, and sadly the seats were picked at random, so I had to sit separately from her for a short while.

When we finally arrived at our destination in Dosa, flocks of buses arrived to take us to our hotels, where we planned to sleep during our three-day trip. Just as I walked over with all the other students to the bus stops -

“Kai!” Mila poked my shoulder on one side behind me, but then stepped to the other side, tricking me.

“Argh, I keep falling for that,” I replied, ruffling her silver hair. “So, do we still plan to meet up tonight in the hotel? Which floor are we going to?”

Mila didn’t have a phone, so I had to make plans with her in-person.

“Actually, Kai, I need to talk to you about something… something that I’ve been meaning to bring up for a while.”

Mila held her hands together behind her back and rubbed her shoes against the concrete floor.

“What? We’re going to miss our-”

“We can catch the next one. I saw the schedule. It comes in half an hour.”

A brief silence followed. I blinked at her in confusion - she had never been this desperate to tell me something before.

“Fine, what is it?”

“I’d… I’d like to be on my own with my friends during this field trip, if that’s okay.”

“What?!” I yelled, startling the strangers and other students around me. Mila grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side to avoid attention. We entered the shadows in-between large marble pillars, which stretched from the floor to the ceiling of the station.

“Please! Don’t make a fuss about it! Everyone’s going to stare at us!”

“What do you mean, be on your own?!” I yelled, and crossed my arms like a father lecturing a son.

“I meant it!” Mila continued, squeezing her eyes shut. “I know you love me, and I love you too, but you’re too controlling! I want to make my own decisions!”

A vein popped in my forehead, and I clenched both my fists, slamming one against the pillar. Mila flinched, stepping back in fear.

“Who do you think you are?!” I yelled. “You’re nothing without me!”

“S-Stop being so possessive!” Mila yelled back with her eyes teared up. “Just because your family’s rich, doesn’t mean that you can just force your-”

“I’m the one who always orders taxis for you and everything! You belong to me, you understand?!”

“That’s because you keep persisting, not letting me decide on my own!”

“Fuck you, Mila, you’re a stubborn baby who doesn’t understand a thing. Just let me-”

As I grabbed Mila’s arm, she let out a scream which forced nearby security guards to rush over.

“Let me go!” She cried.

“Hey, you, stop it, you’re hurting her!” A guard wrapped his arm around my neck from behind, pulling me away. Soon, I finally calmed down, and the teachers prohibited us from seeing each other for the rest of the trip.

But I wasn’t done getting revenge on her. She embarrassed me in front of everyone, and I was going to make her pay the price for messing with someone like me.

Once nighttime arrived, I texted Mila to come out of the balcony of her third-floor room, which faced a glorious backyard garden. I was told not to contact her at all and to stay within ten meters away, so of course, I knew the next best course of action: break her heart in the best way possible.

When Mila poked her head out of the balcony, I was already waiting at the bottom near the garden, waving at her to look down at me. Then, with my friends’ help in luring out another girl to the yard, I approached her while making sure Mila could see us.

“Hey, you,” I walked up to the girl at the garden next to me, who had her hair tied up in a ponytail. Without my glasses, I could barely see a thing; I was pretty much legally blind - everything was a blur, and in the darkness with streetlights shining down at us, my astigmatism made things worse. I couldn’t even tell what the color of her hair was.

“Hmm?” The girl turned around at me, startled by my abrupt greeting.

I then faced her, eye-to-eye, pretending I could see. “Kiss me.”

“Huh?!” yelled the girl. “Why should I do that?!”

“Because I am Kai Darak, the son of the prestigious Darak Organization,” I smiled. “No one would ever say no to a handsome man such as-”

“Fine.”

Huh? I paused, widening my eyes in surprise. I didn’t expect her to agree right away. The girl, who looked literally like a faded blob with a tint of red on top, walked closer to me.

“My friends have been making fun of me for not having kissed a guy before, so I’ll…I’ll do it with you just this one time, got it?”

“What do you- mmmph!”

The girl shoved her lips onto mine, kissing me deeply for what seemed like forever.

At that moment, without even caring about the kiss, the only thing on my mind was:

That’ll teach Mila not to mess with me. I’m Kai Darak, the son of the Darak Organization!

Finally, the girl released her lips from mine, and -

“Okay bye!”

“Wait, where are you-”

She darted away, leaving a trail of dust in the air. I couldn’t help but just stand there with my arms loosely hanging, flabbergasted. It was just me now, chilling like a statue in the middle of the backyard still.

“K-Kai?!”

Watching from the balcony still was Mila, who seemed to have witnessed everything that just took place. Of course, without my glasses, I couldn’t tell what her facial expression was, but I could hear a tone of despair from her voice: “Why… why would you…”

“Hmmph,” I answered, getting my senses back. I glanced up at her and grinned like that of an evil demon. “That’s what you get for thinking you could just run away from me!”

Mila then disappeared into her room, but then arrived down in the gardens with me. She walked up slowly while I could barely tell what she was wearing. In fact, I could only tell it was her through her voice: “Kai, you’re such an asshole…”

Slaaaap!

Mila swung her palm into my cheek, probably leaving a red hand mark.

“We’re done! I’m no longer your toy! Please don’t see me ever again!”

“No, we’re not, because I said so!”

I grabbed Mila’s hand tightly, refusing to let her go.

“H-Help! I’m being assaulted!” Mila screamed, and since we were still in public just outside on Hotel grounds, a security guard dashed to her rescue, breaking me away.

In retrospect, getting the police involved was probably the best move. What transpired afterward was expected: The teachers got pulled into the whole situation, and not only was I sent back to Febai early, but I was suspended from school for two weeks. When I arrived home, my father was waiting for me on his porch; he had already received a call from our teachers. I don’t remember the rest from that day, but I did remember one line that he spoke to me when I got home:

“Kai, I’m not accepting you as heir to our organization until you change your attitude, your values, your arrogance! That’s not how a son of mine should behave.”

Finally, with my whole recollection finished, I walked slowly to the kitchen counter, dragging my feet as if they were numb. Not a day passed by in my new independent life where I didn’t think back and regret my actions.

Boom! Pow!

Fireworks blasted off from outside my window; showing off sparkles of every color you would find on the spectrum. I almost forgot that today was New Year’s Eve.

“Well, I guess this is karma,” I muttered to myself, pouring water from my water filter directly down my throat. Trust me, if I were Mila or Rin, I wouldn’t want to see me again for the rest of eternity either.