The Next Day—
Before the clock struck three in the morning, Yuudie lay awake, staring at the ceiling. A slow grin spread across his face as the thought of having Damaz's phone number crept back into his mind.
He suddenly burst out laughing. "Haha!"
Reaching for the phone on the table, he dialed the number. A sinister, hysterical chuckle escaped him as the call began to ring.
I wonder if he'll be late for school tomorrow, Yuudie thought, listening to the ringing in his ear.
CLICK.
"It's three in the morning, you idiot!" Damaz groaned from the other end.
Yuudie laughed again. "Well, that's what you get for blindly giving me your phone number."
Silence followed.
Damaz frowned. For a moment, he wondered if something had actually happened to Yuudie.
"Hey… are you okay?" he asked, his voice softer now.
"I'm more than okay," Yuudie replied with a chuckle.
"Then why are you calling me out of the nowhere?" Damaz said irritably.
"Testing! Testing!" Yuudie announced, laughing through his teeth.
Damaz froze, staring at his phone in disbelief. With a frustrated sigh, he abruptly cut the call. "Fucking hell…" he muttered, tossing the phone aside.
A while later, the phone rang again.
Damaz groaned and picked it up—but the moment he answered, the call ended. Every twenty minutes, the phone rang again. Each time Damaz answered, the call was cut immediately.
The third time it happened, just as he had begun drifting back to sleep, the ringing dragged him awake again.
He answered.
The call ended.
"Argh! What am I dealing with?" he swore, rubbing his face in irritation.
Eventually, the sky began to lighten. From somewhere outside, a rooster crowed. With a defeated sigh, Damaz switched off his phone and buried his face into the pillow.
Twenty minutes later, Yuudie called again.
His eyes widened when he heard the automated response:
"The number you have dialed is currently switched off…"
Yuudie quickly sat up on the bed, kneeling as he burst into laughter. He collapsed face-first into the blanket, pounding his fist against the mattress in deep satisfaction.
When the clock struck eight in the morning, he tried calling again.
"The number you have dialed is currently switched off…"
"Ah! Haha!" Yuudie laughed as he put on his uniform for college.
"Let's see how the world reacts when a topper is late," he grinned at his reflection while fixing his tie.
Before leaving, he glanced at the clock.
8:45 a.m. and shut the door behind him.
On the way to college, he walked with a foolish grin, muttering to himself as he imagined Damaz walking into class late.
"Oh! Damaz, why were you late today?" he mimicked the class teacher's voice.
"Wow… so lovingly cheesy," he mumbled, curling his lips downward.
Then he tried again.
"Why are you late? Stand outside!"
"That's what she'd say if it were me," he said with a hoarse laugh.
When he reached the classroom, Yuudie entered quietly, his eyes immediately searching for Damaz's desk. "Hmmm… he's not here yet," he snorted. He sat on his desk cross-legged and called Damaz again. The phone rang but Damaz didn't pick up.
Damaz was still in bed when his eyes suddenly opened. Bright sunlight filled the room, spilling across the walls and into his face. For a moment he simply stared at the ceiling, his mind still foggy with sleep. Something felt wrong. Slowly he turned his head toward the window. The sun was already high. Frowning, he reached for his phone on the table to check the time, but when he pressed the button nothing happened. The screen stayed black. The phone was off.
Confusion crept over his face. Then his eyes drifted toward the alarm clock beside the bed the same one that had been broken since the other day. Damaz froze. A bad feeling crawled up his spine. Quickly he turned the phone on. The screen lit up, and the time appeared: 8:50 a.m.
"WHAT THE HELL!!!"
He shot upright in bed and threw the phone onto the mattress. Rushing into the bathroom, he cursed loudly under his breath. "This is all because of that bastard… I'm going to be late." The entire morning turned into chaos. Damaz brushed his teeth while swearing, pulled on his clothes while swearing, and searched for his bag while swearing. "That shit is seriously abnormal," he muttered angrily. "Why the hell did I switch off my phone when my alarm clock was already broken?"
He grabbed his bag, slammed the door behind him, and hurried out. On the way he hastily packed his tiffin, barely managing it in his rush. There was no time for breakfast. Still muttering curses under his breath, Damaz walked faster down the road toward school.
Students began filling the classroom one by one. Even the usual bullies who arrived late had already taken their seats.
There was still no sign of Damaz. Yuudie glanced once more toward the door, waiting. Finally, the bell rang, its sharp sound echoing through the classroom. A moment later, the teacher stepped inside, and the students quickly rose from their seats.
"Good morning, Ma'am," the class greeted, rising together.
Yuudie felt strangely amused seeing Damaz's desk still empty. The class began, fourteen minutes into the lesson, Yuudie had stopped paying attention entirely. While the teacher read a passage aloud, he pretended to follow along in his book, all the while waiting for Damaz to appear.
Suddenly, the teacher stopped reading. Yuudie's head snapped up toward the door.
Damaz stood there, head lowered.
"I'm sorry for being late, Ma'am," he said quietly.
"Oh? Damaz, why were you late today?" the teacher asked.
Yuudie muttered the exact same words under his breath.
"Take your seat," she said.
Damaz walked to his desk without even glancing at Yuudie. He sat down and calmly placed his book on the desk, acting as if nothing had happened.
"Seventeen minutes late," Yuudie whispered.
Damaz briefly glanced at him. Yuudie raised his eyebrows and winked, but Damaz only shook his head in disgust.
"Did you sleep well?" Yuudie whispered again, a smirk tugging at his lips.
Damaz stopped blinking for a moment. Slowly, he turned his head toward him.
"Bitch," he muttered, rolling his eyes.
"I'm not a female dog," Yuudie snorted.
Frustration finally snapped inside Damaz. He slammed his desk with a loud bang. Every student in the classroom turned to look at him. Realizing all eyes were on him, he quickly raised his hand.
"Ma'am… may I go to the bathroom?"
"You just arrived five minutes ago," the teacher said, frowning. "Why?"
"He didn't pee because he was late, Ma'am," Yuudie interrupted casually.
The entire class burst into laughter. Damaz stood frozen, his ears turning bright red.
"Is that true, Damaz?" the teacher asked.
"No… no, Ma'am," he muttered awkwardly. He shot Yuudie a sharp side-eye before slowly sitting back down.
As the lecture continued, Damaz's head slowly began to droop. His eyelids grew heavy, and he leaned forward slightly, drifting toward sleep—
THUD.
A rubber eraser landed beside him.
Damaz jerked upright instantly, straightening his back as if nothing had happened. He glanced to his left.
Yuudie sat there grinning, lazily biting the end of his pencil.
He kept pestering me the whole night… how is he still so energetic? Damaz thought, turning his head away in annoyance.
The next class began.
Damaz barely survived the rest of the day. His eyes felt heavy, his body sluggish from the sleepless night. Every minute seemed longer than the last. Yet whenever he glanced toward Yuudie, he saw the same irritating expression—Yuudie smirking, winking, or silently teasing him.
Damaz didn't speak to him the entire day.
Not a single word.
Finally, lunchtime arrived. The teachers left the classroom, and the students immediately relaxed, chatting loudly and opening their lunch boxes. Damaz sat quietly at his desk, staring down at the table without saying anything. The room buzzed with noise until the bell rang.
The moment the ringing stopped, Damaz suddenly stood up. Without hesitation, he walked straight toward Yuudie and grabbed him by the collar.
"What do you want from me?" Damaz demanded, glaring into his eyes. "Is this why people call you a fool? Huh?"
Yuudie only laughed.
Even as Damaz gripped him tightly, Yuudie looked amused. Calmly, he lifted Damaz's hand and adjusted it slightly higher on his neck.
"If you're going to strangle me," he said with a grin, "at least do it properly."
Then he casually patted Damaz on the shoulder.
"You're shorter than me, pfftt."
The entire class watched the scene unfold.
Whispers spread quickly through the room.
Why is our class representative so angry?
What's happening?
At the front of the classroom, the bullies sitting on the second bench burst into laughter. They clapped their hands, looking at each other in excitement as if they were watching a show.
"Damaz! Damaz! Damaz! Damaz!"
Their voices rang loudly through the room, stirring the tension even more. The noise around them grew louder and louder.
Damaz stood there, unable to do anything. Yuudie wasn't resisting at all. In fact, he even joined the crowd, smirking as he slowly chanted along with them.
"Damaz… Damaz…"
Frustrated and embarrassed by the growing attention, Damaz slowly loosened his grip on Yuudie and let go.
Just then, a voice came from the doorway.
"Damaz!"
A class captain from Grade 11, Jefren, stood there. "Please meet the Vice-Principal in the office right now."
Without saying a word, Damaz grabbed his pen from the desk and walked out of the classroom.
The room suddenly fell silent.
The bullies glanced at Yuudie before leaving as well, sticking out their tongues mockingly as they passed.
Yuudie watched them go with a faint smile.
"Just wait," he whispered quietly, "until I cut all your tongues off."
After some time, Damaz returned. He walked straight to the front of the classroom and slammed his hand on the teacher's desk.
"Everyone!"
The students immediately quieted down and turned toward him.
Standing beside the teacher's desk, Damaz spoke calmly.
"Sports Week will begin next week. Make sure you form a group. We need to submit the group names by tomorrow afternoon."
After finishing the announcement, he returned to his seat and opened his lunch. Yuudie had no lunch. He sat quietly, staring out the window. The students moved in and out of the classroom, excitedly forming teams and asking their friends to join their groups.
But no one approached Yuudie.
"Hi, Damaz," Anne said as she walked up to him. "Please join our group."
Damaz continued eating his lunch without answering. But when he glanced toward Yuudie, sitting alone near the window, something about the scene bothered him.
No one had asked him.
"Hey," Damaz said finally. "I'll join your group."
Anne ran back to her friends excitedly.
"The class representative is joining our group!"
The girls gasped.
"He is?"
"Yeah!"
They began cheering happily.
From across the room, Yuudie watched them. He snorted quietly, covering his mouth with his hand.
Damaz glanced toward him. Is that funny to him? No one has even invited him to join a group, he thought.
After some time, Yuudie suddenly stood up. Damaz jolted slightly, his eyes following him. He watched in silence, wondering where Yuudie was going and what he was planning to do now.
Yuudie walked toward the right row of desks and stopped at the third bench, where two boys were sitting, casually watching the other students running around the classroom forming their groups.
"Hey!"
Yuudie slapped one of them on the back. The boy had been busy talking to the other student sitting beside the wall.
Both of them stopped and turned to look at him.
"Did you guys join a group yet?" Yuudie asked.
"Nu…uh… no," they both shook their heads.
The boy sitting closer to the wall leaned toward the other and whispered quietly,
"Either way we'll always lose. It's fine if he wants to group with us."
The other boy nodded and turned back to Yuudie.
"Take a seat," the one who whispered said, gesturing toward the empty space beside them. "I'm Daniel, and he's Narnes."
He pointed at the boy sitting in the middle.
"Yuudie," Yuudie replied.
"You're kind of popular, bro," Daniel chuckled. "Let's form a group together."
"Yes," Narnes added. "But… there are only three of us?"
Yuudie turned his head and scanned the classroom, biting lightly on his nail as he looked around.
Then his eyes locked with Damaz, who was sitting alone at the back, quietly watching them.
"That guy in the back too," Yuudie said, tilting his head toward Damaz.
"What!?" Narnes blurted out, staring at Daniel in shock. He leaned closer and whispered, "Didn't he just fight with him?"
"I'm not deaf," Yuudie said suddenly, laughing.
Daniel and Narnes burst into laughter as well.
"Don't worry, guys," Yuudie said as he stood up from the bench. "We'll win."
He stretched his arms casually. "Even if it's three against ten."
"Really?" Daniel and Narnes asked, amused.
But Yuudie had already started walking away toward Damaz's desk.
As soon as he left, Daniel and Narnes looked at each other and began laughing again.
"He's definitely not normal, Narnes."
"Three against ten?" Daniel repeated.
They stared at each other before bursting into laughter again.
Meanwhile, before approaching Damaz's desk, Yuudie pulled a pen from the pocket on his chest and took out a small piece of paper. As he walked slowly toward the desk where Damaz sat, he began writing.
Narnes, Daniel, and Yuudie. Same group.
When he reached the desk, he placed the folded paper in front of Damaz.
Damaz picked it up and glanced at it. "At least six people are required in one group," he said calmly.
"So what?" Yuudie shrugged. "There are only three of us for now. The leftovers can join us."
With that, he turned around and casually walked back to his seat.
The bell rang, and the second half of the classes began.
When the day's lessons were finally over, Yuudie followed Damaz out of the classroom and casually flung his arm around his neck, as if nothing had happened.
"Get away!" Damaz shoved him.
"Aren't you my friend?" Yuudie asked, tightening his arm around him.
"I don't want to be friends with you! Go away!" Damaz struggled to free himself.
"Really?" Yuudie smirked sinisterly.
The moment Damaz saw that smirk, he froze. A chill ran down his spine. Without saying another word, he continued walking.
"Do you really not understand what you were doing?" he asked after a moment, his tone serious.
"Understand what?" Yuudie raised his eyebrows.
"Disturbing other people's sleep. Teasing me the whole day," Damaz snapped, pushing Yuudie aside. He stopped and glared at him. "Why would you do that?"
"Testing," Yuudie said with a laugh, biting his lip. "I've never called anyone before."
"Why don't you call your mother?"
Yuudie's smile faded the moment he heard the word. For the first time that day, he stopped laughing.
"Mother…" he murmured.
Instead of looking away, Yuudie stared straight into Damaz's eyes.
There was something sharp in his gaze now, something that made Damaz's chest tighten.
"She's the one who taught me to—"
"What!? Is she a fo—"
Damaz suddenly stopped.
The look in Yuudie's eyes made the rest of the word die in his throat. For a moment, Damaz felt as though, if he finished that sentence, Yuudie might actually tear him apart.
I really want to beat him, Damaz thought, clenching his fist.
He started walking again.
Moments later, Yuudie slung his arm around his neck once more.
"What an eyesore," Damaz muttered.
Yuudie didn't even react to the insult. Instead, he laughed. Even when they reached the point where their paths usually separated, Yuudie still refused to let go.
"Let go," Damaz said, grabbing Yuudie's arm. "What? Do you want to sleep with me too? Huh? Let go, bastard!"
"Okay!" Yuudie suddenly released him and shoved him forward.
Damaz stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. He glared back while fixing his backpack, which had almost slipped off his shoulder.
Yuudie had already started crossing the road. Damaz stood there watching him, a slow smile spread across his face. Silently, he counted.
Three… two… one—
SWOOSH!
Damaz kicked toward Yuudie.
But suddenly—
His leg stopped halfway in the air.
Damaz gasped.
Yuudie had caught his leg.
Turning his head slightly, Yuudie looked back at him while holding his leg suspended in the air. He was laughing.
"Nice try," Yuudie said. "Do you want to gift me your own leg?"
Damaz shook his head, hopping slightly to keep his balance while his other leg was held hostage.
How did he see it? he thought. I'm dead now.
He slowly removed his backpack and dropped it onto the ground.
Yuudie looked from the leg he was holding up to Damaz's face. Seeing Damaz struggling to stay upright, he chuckled.
"Please bring an axe tomorrow so I can cut your leg."
He dropped Damaz's leg. Damaz's jaw fell open as he watched Yuudie reach the other side of the road.
"Bring an axe tomorrow," Yuudie repeated, miming a chopping motion across his leg and clicking his tongue. "Tak!"
"I don't have one!" Damaz shouted.
"I'll bring it. Don't worry," Yuudie waved from the other side of the road.
Damaz slowly bent down and picked up his backpack. Frustrated, he kicked a small stone along the ground as he continued walking toward his house.
As he walked along the road, Damaz couldn't help recalling the moment Yuudie's smile had faded—the strange expression on his face when Damaz had mentioned his mother.
"Ah…" Damaz sighed, touching his chest. I'm glad I didn't finish that word. He might have actually killed me.
Their paths usually went in the same direction, but Yuudie had taken the upper road while Damaz walked along the lower one. Even from a distance, Damaz could still see Yuudie waving at him. Damaz only watched for a moment before raising his middle finger in response and continuing down the road.
I wonder if his mother was a fool too…
He let out a quiet, awkward laugh to himself.
"Eh… eh… eh…"