Cassie looked up to Ken with pitiful eyes. If there's one thing she's certain of is Ken's quest of keeping a low profile but right now, she wasn't sure whether it will be possible.
Camera lights kept flickering all over them as more students kept trouping to the scene to catch a glimpse of the battered men. They were taking pictures of the men on the floor.
"Did Ken beat them?"
"Damn, they are in a mess."
"Are you sure he beat them? There's three of them."
More comments kept erupting from the crowd. Cassie held onto Ken's hand and together, they forced their way through the crowd.
Ken led Cassie down the street. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault," she mumbled.
Ken forced a grin and hailed a cab. "It's not your fault Cassie. I have no regrets," he replied and motioned to her with his head to get into the back seat of the cab.
Cassie stepped into the cab and waved at him, her eyes speaking gratitude.
"Call me when you get to your hotel room."
"Sure," she replied.
The cab sped away.
Ken turned around with a deep sigh and clenched his fist. He stared at his fist, pondering when he last used them. The last time he engaged in proper combat was three years ago before he relocated to Boston and got enrolled in high school. He had vowed to stay low and keep his martial art skills hidden until those men forced him to react tonight.
He sighed and tucked his hands inside his pants pockets. He began walking toward the campus.
Ken was glad that none of the students caught the fight live on camera. The first guy he beat ran to get help and the crowd started trouping in after he was done dealing with the other perverts.
If they had made fun of him, he would have shrugged and walked away but they tried to take advantage of Cassie, someone he reveres and considers his sister. Cassie forms an integral part of his life and he wouldn't let anyone hurt her even if it means blowing up his cover.
Ken traced his way to his room. He opened the door and was shocked at the spectacle before him. Dozens of male students were in his room passing phones around and mumbling his name. Some were on the bed, others sat on the floor while a few others stood.
As if guided by a magical wand, they all darted their gazes toward Ken who was standing beside the door. There were not less than twenty boys in the room.
Mark squeezed himself through the crowd and made it closer to Ken. He flashed his phone screen at him. "What's this news that is flying around?"
Ken snatched the phone from Mark and looked at it. It was a picture of the two men he had beaten to a pulp. The picture captured Ken's foot on one of the guy's chests while the other guy lay beside him like a corpse.
Ken sighed and gave the phone back to Mark. He looked up at the boys who seemed to have taken over the room. Their eyes were hovering around him and their ears were itching to be fed. Soon, questions began flying from different corners of the room.
"Did you beat them?"
"Are you Chinese?"
"Who thought you how to fight?"
"Did you beat those guys or it's just a rumor."
Ken folded his arms across his chest and cleared his throat loudly. All eyes were fixed on them.
"I didn't do it alone." he began hoping they buy the lie he was about to sell to them.
"I was walking my girlfriend down the dark valley and they just popped out of nowhere and tried to harass her then I tried to intervene but they all ganged up on me then this other guy who was walking by decided to give me a hand," Ken told them.
"So you are saying you didn't beat them alone?"
"Yea. Someone helped me."
"The guy that helped you. Where is he? There's no picture of him and he is not in the videos that were just uploaded on the student's blog." a second voice hinted.
Ken's eyes widened in horror. Videos and pictures are already circulating in the school blog. "Damn!" he muttered under his breath."
"So Ken. Who is that other guy that helped you beat up the bad guys?" Mark asked.
Ken gave his forehead a delicate scrape. "Well, he left before the other bad guy went to get help."
"We were walking toward the canteen and we saw this huge guy with blood gushing from the corners of his mouth staggering toward us. He told us to help save his friends that someone was going to kill them. When we got to the dark valley with the rest of the students, we saw you stepping on one of them with a clenched fist." An eyewitness explained.
"Well, the other guy that helped me out left before you guys got there." Ken lied hoping they don't ask more questions.
"Those guys got what they deserved. I wish I can stand up for my girlfriend like that." someone said.
"Yeah!" the boys chorussed.
"I have a 7 am class tomorrow. I'll appreciate it if you all leave." Ken demanded.
The boys began leaving the room. They couldn't stop talking about the incident.
Ken sunk onto his bed with a sigh.
"I never knew you could fight," Mark commented and shut the door.
The intruders were gone.
Berry, Ken's other roommate jumped down from his bed. "Maybe you can start training us so we can get to defend ourselves.
Ken sighed and rested his back against the wall. " Those pictures made it seem as if it was a tough fight but trust me it wasn't. We just exchanged a few blows and as I said, I got help." he maintained.
Mark climbed the ladder that led to his bed space on top. "Whether it was a few blows or not Ken. Whatever you guys did was great. Those men were huge thugs and you beat them to a pulp. Damn Ken, you guys beat three thugs to a pulp? I'm impressed.
Ken turned away with a smile. If only they know that he was the only one who beat the three thugs to a pulp.
******
Immediately Ken walked into the science lab, and murmurs erupted. He lowered his head and moved to the last row.After hearing that pictures and videos had been uploaded to the student's blog last night, Ken knew that the students are going to be talking about him for a long while.
Two corps standing on Charlie's left and right accompanied him into the science hall. Charlie cleared his throat loudly so the students can see that he was accompanied but they barely noticed him. They were all turning back, staring at Ken. They were talking about the fight.
The police officers stood by the door while Charlie walked into the lab.
"Did you come with police those officers?" A girl commented and tried to peep out.
Charlie sighed in relief. Finally, someone saw him.
The students turned their attention to him.
"Well, my dad is a politician. As his only son, I'm bound to attract a lot of negative energy so he gave me ten corps to walk around with but I guess two will be enough." Charlie boasted.
"Who needs police officers? You can just ask Ken to teach you how to fight. He's our hero." the girl replied.
"Yea." the students agreed with a loud cheer.
Charlie clenched his fist and glared at Ken. "I'll never let you steal my glory," he muttered under his breath.
Ken glanced at the watch adorning his left wrist. "That's enough for today," he mumbled and closed the anatomy textbook before him. It was almost 11 pm. He needed to get back to his room and rest because he has a morning class to attend the next day. Ken tucked the textbook and his mobile phone inside his bag. He stood up and brushed off his jacket. He had been studying in the multi-purpose for about four hours. Ken hung his bag and made his way out of the hall while whistling an odd tune. He marched toward the dark path the students called 'The lonely path.' The students hardly trespassed on that route, especially at night but Ken takes that route to his hostel every night after studying because it is shorter to get to his hostel using the path. Ken had taken a few steps and was about to take a sharp turn toward the MC ARTHUR hostel when a familiar voice called out to him. He turned around after a sigh. He shifted to the wall and rested his back against it. Miranda was hurrying
Miranda slowly turned around to face Charlie who was taking hurried steps toward her. His blonde hair was tied into a bun. "Hey Charlie!" she waved with a fake smile plastered on her face. Ken sighed and held unto his bag. He'll be glad if Charlie doesn't cause another scene tonight. Charlie grabbed Miranda's both hands forcing her to tremble. He gave Ken a violent stare and looked Miranda straight in the eyes. "What are you doing with him?" Before Miranda could cook up a lie, he released her hands and charged toward Ken with heavy pants. "Did you drag my girl here?" he yelled. Ken cleared his throat and folded his arms across his chest. "Seriously?" Charlie who was facing him roved his eyes around the lonely path and drifted backwards. He had seen the way Ken beat up the three guys he hired to teach him a lesson at the dark valley the other night. Right now, he'll be stupid to pick up a fight with Ken else he'll get beaten. Miranda stood by the corner, her head lowered. She w
Miranda sighed and palmed her forehead with her left hand. "I don't have time for this Charlie," she said and turned around. The agitated Charlie tightened his fists and screamed at her departing figure. "Miranda. Are you walking out on me?" Miranda kept walking away. She didn't turn back to stare at Charlie and the act irked him. Again, he yelled at her. "I'm talking to you Miranda." The pissed Miranda traced her way out of the lonely path. She aimed for the straight path that led to her hostel. Charlie let out a loud groan and took the other route. He strolled to the cafeteria fuming. Charlie entered the cafe and pulled out his phone. He quickly sent a text message to his best buddy after taking a seat in the front row. A few minutes later, Walter, one of Charlie's best pals and acquaintances who had also moved from Boston to Harvard walked into the RUSTOM cafe. He saw Charlie occupying the last row, tapping the table with his head lowered. Walter sighed and headed toward
"Are you sure about this?" Charlie threw the question at Walter as they made their way out of the campus."Trust me, buddy. This time, it will work." Walter promised and motioned to Charlie with his head to turn left.They strode toward the parking lot which was just a few metres away from the campus.A man clothed in black pants and a white tee shirt was standing beside a red car, pacing back and forth. Walter whistled and the boy stopped pacing. He turned toward Walter and Charlie who were taking hurried steps toward him.The boy who was as tall as Charlie stared at his wristwatch and cast his gaze at Walter. "You said 4 pm bro. It's almost 5 pm now." he lamented.Walter stroked his forehead with a sigh. "I'm sorry bro. We had an emergency test so...""Whatever." He sharply cut in and turned to Charlie. "Is he the guy?"Charlie flashed a quick smile and extended his right hand toward the boy they came to meet. "I'm sorry we are late."The boy shook him. "That's okay. I'm Phil." C
Ken took sluggish steps into his room. He crashed by the edge of his bed after a deep sigh. Thank goodness he was done for the day. He left the room at 7 am and just returned. It was past 5 pm."Seems like someone had a stressful day," Mark commented. He jumped down from his bed and pulled out a bottle of orange juice from his wardrobe. He passed it to Ken.Ken took the bottle with a smile and sat up. "Thank you.""You're welcome.""So where are the guys?" he asked with his gaze fixed at the corner belonging to Berry and their other roommate."They just left a while ago. They didn't last a second after coming in.""Busy guys huh?" Ken replied and took off the bottle's cap. Mark grabbed a stool and settled opposite him. "They are final year students so they have to step up."Ken agreed with a nod. "That's cool." he emptied half the content into his mouth and dropped the bottle on the table. "You saved my hungry ass bro.""Anytime," Ken replied with a blink. "So tell me, is that Charli
The man dressed in a white tuxedo turned around to face the boy his brother was pointing at. He took off his Mexican hat and handed it to his chauffeur who just alighted from the range rover. The student's gazes were directed by Phil's trembling finger. It landed on Ken who held onto his bag with both hands. "Ken!" some of the students gasped and began to speak in low tunes. The man in the white tuxedo known as the boss flashed an impish grin. He turned to his brother with clenched fists. "So that's the boy huh?" Phil looked up at his brother with repeated nods. "He's the one who tried to kill me," he told his brother. The students were star-struck. Don Castello tucked his hands inside his left pocket and began taking steps toward Ken. There was a wooden carved staff in his right hand. All the students who were standing beside Ken quickly moved away in fear. They isolated him. The boss kept charging toward Ken like a ravenous lion. More students were trouping to the scene.
Don Castello folded his arms across his chest and fixed his gaze on the girl taking angry steps toward him.The crowd began to murmur."That's Ken's girlfriend huh?""Is she the rich chic?""What is she doing?"Ken rushed toward Cassie and grabbed her by the arm. "What are you doing Cassie?"She noticed the blood gushing from the corners of his mouth and with an angry stare, she shoved him to the side and charged toward Don Castello with bloodshot eyes.Ken sighed and shook his head. Cassie had always been a girl that has a mind of her own and he knew that arguing with her at that moment will be a futile endeavour.The spectators had formed a circle around Don Castello, Ken, Phil and Cassie who just walked into the circle.Don Castello broke into a wicked laugh. "Seems like we've got a freedom fighter huh?"Cassie faced Don Castello. He tucked his hands inside his pocket and shook his head. "So tell me little girl, who are you?""It doesn't matter who I am. How dare you hurt Ken?" she
Cassie picked up Ken's bag which was lying on the floor. She slid her hand into his arm and whispered. "You've got this Ken. Let's go."With a frustrated sigh, he led her into the MC ARTHUR hostel and made his way to his room.Immediately Ken and Cassie walked into the room, Berry blurted. "I'm so sorry Ken."Ken marched toward his bed and sat. Cassie settled beside him. Mark and Berry joined him at his corner. They stood beside his bed.His brown chinos trouser was soiled with dust and his plain black tee shirt had traces of sand on it."What the hell happened?" Cassie threw the question at Ken.Marked arched his brow. "Wait for a second Cassie. You didn't know what happened?"Cassie swung her head from left to right indicating she had no idea of the purpose of Don Castello's outburst."I was coming out of the lecture hall when I saw a group of students hurrying toward MC ARTHUR hostel. They said that a certain Don was lashing out at Ken so when I heard that, I took to my heels."'she