Chapter 39: 39
I nodded my head and I gave Dong and Mark my two pistols in which their eyes lit up in excitement. Oscar let Jonathan borrow his shotgun and he instructed him in how to use it.
“Shotgun already? You want him to blow his shoulder off with the Magnum rounds?” I said.
Jonathan flinched at the remark.
“W-wait, is it dangerous to use a shotgun first?” he asked.
“Well, a pistol or a revolver would be better for a first gun.” I explained.
Oscar glared at me and he replaced it with a 500 Magnum.
“Here kid, just hold it steady. Point and shoot.” he said innocently
I facepalmed again and he just raised his hands.
“What do mean by that kid? It’s the only gun I have left besides the shotgun.” Oscar said.
“Just give him the shotgun, will you? That thing will break his hand.” I said.
“Well how bad is it?” Dong asked.
Oscar and I gave a demonic smile and said at the same time, “Hah! Try it then!”
My uncle Zardon was shaking his head but he has a smirk hidden on his face. Oscar handed the huge-ass revolver to Dong and he loaded a bullet.
“Hold it with both hands yeah? Watch your thumb on that side, hold it tight and pull the trigger.” Oscar said.
*BOOOOOOOMMM*
The sound went around the whole area and we saw Dong shaking his hand while still holding the 500 Magnum. He handed it to Oscar as Jonathan was shaking his head saying that he’ll stick with the shotgun instead.
“Holy f.u.c.k! I’ll stick with the M9! My hand f.u.c.k.i.n.g hurts!” Dong exclaimed as he shakes his hands around.
We laughed hysterically and we continued with the plan.
“What do you say us two go to the smaller one and the rest split for the other two big houses?” I said.
He nodded and then we go our ways. I picked the lock for our gate while the two other groups figure their own way to get inside.
The house we entered is just a single-story house but it has a backyard and a small pool in it. After we checked the perimeter, we entered the house carefully. It’s very dusty and it looks like this house has not been used for a few months.
“This a vacation house or something kid?” Oscar said.
“I think so, we’ve been in this neighborhood a few years and we’ve never met the person living here.” I said.
While we’re checking each room Oscar asked me, “So kid, when are you gonna tell me Kaley’s story?”
I choked and I’m surprised that he remembered that promise. I sighed and said, “Okay, what do you want to know?”
“Everything of course! Tell me everything while we work. Quick!” he exclaimed.
“We met at 2nd year in highschool. It was when highschool was still 4 years in this country.” I said.
“Gonna give me more details than that! I don’t care about how the school system works! I need details!” he bellowed.
“Fine, when I was in highschool, I was this huge nerd and I was very introverted. My classmates avoided me like the plague, and I don’t look like this at all. I was a changed man when you met me, I worked on myself and lost a lot of weight. But back then, I aced all the subjects in my school and I was the subject of jealousy and I was always the one being make fun of by a small group of people.” I started.
Oscar looks at me while he’s listening to me.
“I really wanted to make my own circle of friends but I was really shy and I can’t talk to anyone unless they talk to me first.” I said.
“Well I know that too, but where did Kaley come in?” he asked.
“I’m building up on it. That’s how a good story works you know?” I replied while I laugh.
“Bah! Get to it!” he said.
“There was a transfer to our class but I never really cared who it was at that time. Then this beautiful girl walked in, to be honest I was really mesmerized but I never did anything with it.” I said.
“Why? You could’ve at least talked to her.” he said.
“Forgot the part that I was a fat shy dude?” I said.
“Fat? You’re just husky at best! I saw your pictures when you were young you know? Wanna see fat? Go to where I’m from! Hah!” Oscar exclaimed.
I laughed but then I continued, “I was just there, alone sitting on a corner and she sat next to me. She introduced herself and I did too. I thought that was the end of it but we had plenty of interactions. She tried beating me in some of the subjects and only thing she managed is to tie me. The whole class was surprised when that happened. However, bullies from my class started on beating me up telling me to let her win like that would make her happy.”
“I never knew you were bullied kid. What happened then?” he asked seriously.
“I never let up. I have some pride too you know? My bullies back then were smarter than they look, they would do all sorts of things. They would steal my bag and throw it in the trash and if they beat me up, they would only hit my torso where it’s hidden. I endured all of it and I never told anyone, my parents thought it was just bruising from Karate or Kendo training. I would’ve fought back since I know a few things but that is not the way I think back then. I’m just… afraid.” I said solemnly.
“What about the teachers though? They never noticed anything?” he said.
“No, only Kaley did. She dropped her eraser and she asked me to pick it up. Bending my body made me groan in pain and I saw her looking at me with a worried expression. Turns out, she was just confirming her thoughts and she had to make sure. She introduced me to her mom and her very scary dad, her dad thought that her daughter had a boyfriend coming home and I was scared shitless. Her mom knows someone from the school and got the kids expelled for bullying me. It almost got on the news but I told them to just keep it low. The kid’s parents even gave a huge amount of money to me for compensation and for medical expenses though we never really needed it. Anyway, I still came to school the next day and the kids who were bullying me were gone. I just found out that the other kids in my class not approaching me was due to them also, they said that anyone who approaches me will get the same treatment as me.” I said.
“Damn.” Oscar said.
“Know what the kicker is? I asked those kids, why me? They could’ve picked anyone, why me? Know what they said? ‘No reason, just to pass the time.’ When I heard them say that then, I almost let myself rampage on the spot. I clearly saw the places I could hit where I would cause the most damage. I would’ve done what I thought I was supposed to do. But before I ever got to do anything, Kaley threw water at their faces in her anger she shouted at them while the guidance counselor tried to calm her down. It did not do much to them but It was something that I really appreciated, who does that for someone you just met? After that incident, I’ve met more friends and I started to enjoy school. We hang out a lot but we never crossed paths when college started since we went to different schools.” I concluded.
“You never asked her out?” Oscar said.
“No, haven’t got the chance to at that time.” I said.
“Did you even have feelings for her or vice versa?” he asked.
“I’m pretty oblivious at that time you know? Maybe, I just respected her a lot as a person. We both just studied our hearts out and we graduated as friends. Part of why I didn’t ask her out is maybe I got really scared of his dad.” I said with a faint smile.
“Hah! I wish I would’ve met you sooner kid! I would’ve thought you a lot of things if you were my next-door neighbor. You’re really lucky that you met her at the airport.” he said.
“Yeah, I was about to walk past her because I thought she wouldn’t remember or even recognize me. But she did, who would’ve thought?” I said.