His Ascension

Not just a nerd? A martial art doc?

Ken and Cassie stepped into the RUSTOM cafe beaming with smiles. They settled on the last booth, opposite each other.

Cassie busted out laughing after dropping her transfer file on the square table. "Did you see their reaction after you read out from the file that I am now a student of Harvard?"

Ken chuckled and waved at the waitress by the counter. "They didn't see the transfer coming and honestly, neither did I."

Cassie grabbed the menu card on the table. "I spoke to my dad about the inter-university transfer last week and this morning, my acceptance letter from Harvard arrived."

Ken motioned to the waitress to come closer. She leaned toward him and scribbled down the orders he was pointing at from the menu card. The waitress nodded and left.

"I guess that was the surprise you were talking about when you called me this morning?"

"Of course," Cassie said and roved her eyes around the cafe. "Well, now that I'm a student here, I'll need a tour of the campus."

The plump waitress returned with a tray. She set two plastic cups of milkshakes and a plate of doughnuts on the table.

"As long as your brother is here, you'll get a hang of this campus in no time," Ken replied and propelled a milkshake toward Cassie.

Cassie smiled and took a doughnut from the plate. "It appears your Miranda has moved on rather quickly."

Ken heaved a deep sigh, wondering how possible it was for someone to be emphatic a few months ago and suddenly turn cold toward him now. The sudden metamorphosis in Miranda was driving him insane.

"Why did you shut me out?" Cassie blurted, crashing into his thoughts.

Ken lifted his head and saw Cassie's blue eyes piercing into his. He was moving his milkshake from left to right. 

"I had to." He replied and grabbed a doughnut. He took a bite and flipped the snack around. 

"You had to? You changed your number for God's sake Ken and never came home for three years. I sent you emails and messages but what did you do? you blocked me on all socials." Cassie lamented and slapped the tabletop.

She had wanted to give him a piece of her mind but felt that it wasn't the right time. He had a broken heart to nurse and he needed to get settled in school first.

Ken sensed the anger in her voice and the tears welling up in her eyes. She was hurt. He was forced to turn away.

"I'm sorry Cassie."

"You are sorry?" she gasped and wiped the stray tears making their way to her cheeks. "You cut all forms of communication with me and...." she stopped talking and turned away.

"I'm sorry. I did what I had to." was Ken's reply. His voice was apologetic and solemn.

He stared into Cassie's eyes and all he could see was confusion. She knew he had to leave but never saw the ghosting part coming from him.

"We said we will always be there for each other." she reminded him and sniffled.

Ken lowered his head in disappointment. "It was difficult for me," he muttered. He wanted to explain to Cassie how tough it was for him to cut ties with her and their master. He was dying to let her know why he did what he did but his lips were devoid of the right words. 

"I can't imagine what you went through," Cassie said and went for a doughnut.

Ken fell back on the chair with a sigh. "It was hell but I did all I had to survive," he replied, pondering on the days he went to bed on a rumbling tummy. He thought about the moments he did menial jobs to cover up for his expenses until he became a bartender.

Cassie couldn't help but visualize the hell Ken went through. Juggling between work and school and then pulling up such an excellent result made her feel more proud of him.

Ken positioned both his hands on the table. "When did you find me?"

She flipped her hair. "Well, you covered your tracks so well and blocked all paths I could use to access you. Even Master wouldn't help me find you so I worked it out alone."

Ken smiled. "You are smart Cassie."

"That's by the way. I'm now in Harvard," she said in excitement.

They went on talking for a long while, reminiscing on old times and catching up. 

Cassie glanced at the watch on her wrist. "Holy crap Ken, it's almost 9 pm. I need to get to my hotel room."

Cassie was yet to secure accommodation so she's staying at a hotel around the school.

Ken rose to his feet and snatched the file resting on the table. "I'll walk you down the street," he said and together, they stepped out of the cafe.

He led Cassie out of the school premises and offered to accompany her across the street where she can hail a cab and then get to the hotel.

They trekked a few metres away from the school gate and were passing through a dark valley.

"It feels creepy around here," Cassie commented and roved her blue eyes around the dark area.

Ken chuckled. They heard footsteps clicking after them.

"Hey beautiful!" someone screamed from behind them.

Ken and Cassie turned around. Three physically built men were striding toward them. They exchanged blank glances.

The place was so dark that Ken and Cassie could barely see the faces of the men walking up to them. A man stood by the corner, watching.

One of the men pulled out a phone from his pants pocket and flashed the light at Cassie's face.

"Woah, she's fucking hot."

Ken handed the file to Cassie.

"Is that your boyfriend?"

Cassie lowered her head without a word.

The three men moved to Ken. They were standing so close to him that air could barely pass between them. They stood before him like giants.

"The chic is coming with us. Now run along." their leader told Ken.

Ken got a glimpse of his face. He had a scar on his left cheek.

Ken held Cassie's trembling hand. She's coming with me. You two better go back to the hole you came from."

They broke into a laugh.

"Seems like the boy has some nerves huh?"

One of them tried to grab Cassie but Ken sharply caught his hand. Before he could blink, Ken clenched his fists and gave him several punches on the chest. He fell to the hard floor, panting heavily.

The other guys exchanged glances and together charged toward Ken. He quickly hopped on the wall by his left and descended a few meters away from them.

They were stunned but weren't willing to back down. Again, they charged toward Ken and in a flash, he was moving back and forth, sending several punches across their faces and chests complimented with kicks. They tried to send blows across his face but Ken was moving too fast. Their blows were landing in thin air.

The man in the dark corner watched with astonishing eyes.

Cassie watched with delight as Ken beat the two guys. The first guy that got hit took to his heels, screaming for help while Ken kept pouncing on his colleagues.

He returned a few moments later with a group of students and passers-by who were soon flashing phone lights to illuminate the dark valley.

The two men were lying on the floor, coughing blood. Ken had beaten them to a pulp.

Murmurs and whispers began to erupt from the spectators.

Cassie and Ken turned around. They saw a crowd, flashing phone lights at them.

"Isn't that the guy who solved the mathematical problem in class the other day? Now he has martial art skills too?" Someone blurted from the crowd.

The whispers grew.

Phones started flying around. The people began making videos and taking pictures of Ken and the men on the floor who were struggling to catch their breaths.

At a corner, far away from the crowd stood a stunned Charlie. He had watched Ken beat the three men to a pulp. In fact, he was the one who hired the goons to trail Ken and teach him a lesson for daring him a while ago. His goal was to have Cassie taken and Ken,beaten.

Charlie's lips parted and the sentence "What the hell?" slipped out