At Terry High, graduation was quickly approaching, and the excitement among the senior students was almost contagious. Their schedules overflowed with parties, casual get-togethers, and basketball games, while homework and surprise quizzes continued to demand their attention. Teachers seemed unusually lenient, and the school's popular crowd acted even more rebellious than usual. As classes ended, the hallways became crowded with students hurrying to their next activities.
Like any typical high school, students naturally separated into different groups. There were the nerds, the wealthy kids, the geeks, various clubs, and, at the bottom of the social ladder, the creeps, who were often shunned and kept to their own corners. Each group avoided the others, motivated by either fear or disgust. Among these groups, some students who didn't fully belong anywhere were sometimes called the "normal kids" because they seemed to blend in without drawing too much attention.
In the busy hallway, a student stood with his head resting against his open locker. From a distance, it might have looked like he was searching for something important inside, but those who thought that were mistaken. King was standing there, his attention completely focused on his phone. His mind was tangled in deep thoughts, blocking out everything around him so well that he didn't even notice when other students bumped into him as they passed. On his phone screen was a single message displayed in a white text bubble that read, "I have a crush on you."
The sender was Ratel, a very attractive girl from the sports club. When she first joined the school, she caught the eye of almost every boy. The rich and popular students tried to win her over but failed, and even the famous playboys couldn't get close to her, or so King had heard.
King tried to remember everything he knew about Ratel. She was kind and beautiful, excellent at sports, had great taste in fashion, and a dazzling smile that could light up a room. She also didn't lack money, as she was often seen wearing fancy jewelry like watches, bracelets, and necklaces. But unlike the rich kids who flaunted their wealth at every opportunity, she was modest and only wore her ornaments for special occasions.
He thought to himself that she must know he was broke and that his fashion sense was terrible. Although he was an average student academically, there was nothing remarkable about him. So how did he manage to get the attention of such a beautiful girl? As he began to imagine how his life might be changing and how he could soon have a beautiful girlfriend, he stopped himself with a simple question.
Could this be a prank?
Of course, it had to be. He laughed quietly to himself. The students at Terry High were known for being cruel. Their ways of playing with and breaking people's feelings had long passed what any normal person would consider acceptable. King recalled a prank from the previous year that had shocked the entire school.
Ricky, the president of the nerd club and the smartest kid at the school, had fallen for Martha, a popular girl who was absolutely heartless. She humiliated him without mercy and carried small cameras to record everything. The video showed Ricky doing all her homework and sending her his savings after she told him a sad story. King had seen the clips, and instead of feeling angry, he felt sorry for Ricky. King had been through similar experiences, and after that, he gave up on dating, at least for now while he was still in high school. He held a grudge against girls in general because every girl he had dated had broken his heart, and he often discovered they never liked him in the first place, and were just using him.
Except for his little sister, Missy, and his friend, Mimi, he saw other girls as predators trying to drain his spirit, so he avoided them and suppressed his feelings. Or at least, that's what he thought. But why was his heart racing so fast as he thought about the text from Ratel? Maybe it was because it had been a long time since Lisie, his ex, had broken his heart and almost pushed him to despair. Maybe he was finally healing.
Before he began to look like a crazy person talking to himself in the hallways, his best friend Patrick suddenly slapped him on the back, making King gasp in surprise. He clutched his chest, as if checking to see if his heart was still there, trying to catch his breath. "Man, you scared me," he said breathlessly. Patrick smiled and replied, "Sorry, dude, I didn't mean to. But what are you doing spaced out here like this? It's like you're just giving Vaun and his goons a chance to bully you. Hurry up, let's go grab lunch." King and Patrick packed up their bags, shut their lockers, and headed toward a nearby restaurant. There, they met Mimi, completing their small gang.
The gang of creeps. Mimi was a beautiful girl with a nice figure, but her teeth were so crooked that she had to cover her mouth when she smiled so she wouldn't scare people. Patrick was a chubby, food-loving simp who would happily do anything a pretty girl asked, no matter how embarrassing. Any advice about this had been useless, as King had tried many times to help him. King himself was very skinny, and his hair held the unofficial record for the messiest hair in the school. His habit of sleeping in class only made things worse because he often drooled, which made him an easy target for teasing.
Things got even worse when he became the bullies' favorite target. They would often roam the campus looking for him when they wanted someone to pick on. That was why the three of them were known as the gang of creeps. The restaurant was lively, filled with students and some school staff twisting and turning through the thick crowd.
The gang sat together around a round table in the darkest corner of the restaurant. Patrick started talking about his day. "Today was absolutely terrible. I've had worse days though. You know it's Thursday, which means I have classes with that witch Malia. I don't understand why she's so stuck-up. She's not even rich or popular, but she acts like she owns the place. Can you believe she asked me to change my seat so she could sit next to Frank? I don't see what's so special about Frank anyway."
Mimi smirked and said, "Stop pretending like you didn't happily agree to that. I think she treats you like you're so dumb, because you grant ridiculous requests like that."
Patrick tried to defend himself. "Hey, don't think I can't say no to that stuck-up witch. The only reason I gave her the seat was to avoid causing a scene. I was so mad I might have hit her if I hadn't held myself back, so I just decided to let it go."
Mimi gave a soft clap and said sarcastically, "Wow, what a dignified and level-headed friend I have. I'm sure your decision stopped everything from getting worse." Patrick lifted his chin, proud of what he thought was praise, not noticing the sarcasm. "The only problem was there were no other seats except the ones with Malia's friends, and they hate strangers, so I had to stand outside the classroom until lessons were over." As soon as he finished, Mimi burst out laughing. Was there anyone dumber than Patrick? She doubted it.
While the two were talking, they noticed King was unusually quiet. Normally he would be fully involved in the conversation. Mimi glanced at him and saw he was still staring at his phone with his head bent down. She tapped Patrick on the shoulder and whispered so King wouldn't hear, "What do you think he's looking at? Maybe a new game?"
Patrick raised his eyebrows and replied, "Why don't we find out?" He giggled and quickly grabbed King's phone from his hand. King's face turned panicked as he tried to grab it back, but he was too slow. Mimi and Patrick quickly moved away to a safe distance. Patrick scrolled through the messages and stopped at the most recent one. "What do we have here?" he said with an amused look that soon turned into a mix of horror and excitement. Both he and Mimi stared at King with their mouths open, shocked. What had they just seen?