4:One Down

After the students saw the result of the test, some of them got disappointed. All of them wanted to be the top 1 on the test knowing that they might graduate much earlier than the others. While others just shrugged their shoulders. 

Well, what can they do then? Cry? The test is over and even the top student has been chosen so they can’t do anything about that. Meanwhile, the girls went to the cafeteria when Kanaye saw them. 

“Hey! Amelia, wait!” he shouted while running towards the two girls, Aki and Amelia while June was just walking casually beside him. 

“Where are you going?” he asked, then looked at Aki as if he was talking to her personally. But she only looked at Amelia who answered him. 

“To the place where you’re not,” Amelia roasted him in a split second. He touches his chest as if he’s hurt. June smiled a bit. 

“Savage as usual huh? Why are you so mean to me?” he asked Amelia while pouting but she only ignored him. The two girls started to walk again, ignoring his drama. He just looked at them, focusing his eyes on Aki while smiling while talking to Amelia. 

Then suddenly he felt a hand tapping his back. 

“Nice, you’re roasted like a chicken man, move on,” June said trying to cheer him up. But instead of sweet and  comforting words, he got pretty good insults from him. 

“Arghh! Why are you always like this?! I didn’t do anything wrong? I just asked them man,” he said  while shrugging his shoulder, doesn’t know what was wrong. He then walked after June. 

“ I get it man, but don’t worry everyone makes mistakes. Even your parents,” June said with his serious tone. But after a while, Kanaye finally gets what it means. An insult. 

“ What?! Are you insulting me?!” he said while his face was like a crumpled paper. 

“Eh? I thought you won’t get it. I think I underestimate you,” June said . 

Kanaye just feels more annoyed because of that. He feels like he is dumber to understand the insult for about a minute. Then they argued endlessly. Well, this is to be expected. Both of them are quite close and even though June doesn’t like socialising, he still knows how to bond with his friends. Well, he bonds with them with insults. 

Both June and Amelia like insults but Amelia is more insulting than June. 

Aki smiled while looking at the two guys at the back. They are about to enter the cafeteria but June and Kanaye are still arguing and insulting each other. 

“Are you going to eat here? Or take it away?” Amelia asked her then looked at her. 

“Hmm, I will take it away,” she said, then faced the front. After they ordered, they went to the nearest table to wait for the others. 

“I didn’t expect that “that guy” would be the top 1 at the test,” Aki said while looking at her drinks. 

“That guy?” Amelia asks her while frowning.

“Ah, I mean you know what happened last time right?” Aki said. 

They didn’t notice that the two guys were already listening to their conversation. 

“You mean Fletcher?” Kanaye asked while looking at Aki. She just nodded and made space for them to sit. 

Kanaye sits beside Aki while June is with Amelia. 

“I already expected it, though,” June said, making his friends look at him. 

“How?” Kanaye asks. 

“We talked to him before the exam, right? And he was bullied by Emma’s group that time. He must have felt so done,” June added while preparing his food. 

All of them became quiet until Kanaye answered him. 

“But basically, it's not his fault. It’s an accident! He accidentally bumps into Emma because he’s not looking,” Kanaye defended Fletcher. 

“That’s why he’s dumb. Why would you walk without looking where you’re going?” she asks while looking intently at Kanaye. 

“ What did you say? He said sorry already, that bitch should be at least forgiving,”  he said, trying to make an argument with Amelia again. 

“Saying sorry will not solve your problem being dumb and silly,” she roated him again. 

Aki tried to go between them. 

“Well, well… but it’s a good thing that he will leave this area right? At least Emma won’t bully him anymore since he’s on the next level,” she said while trying to cheer the group up. 

“We won’t know anything if he will be safe now. I don’t think Emma will make it easy for him,” June commented while casually looking at his food. 

The group remained silent again. Actually, they talked to Fletcher the other day. It was just like this, at the cafeteria when  they saw Fletcher get bullied by Emma again. She takes almost all of his food. Fletcher then walks toward them asking to share the table. 

That is when June and his friends learn about Flutcher’s dedication to get out of this level and move on to escape Emma’s bullying. Just like what they’re seeing, Fletcher  is a weak guy and he admitted it himself. He doesn’t want to have a fight or at least get into an argument with a woman so he just takes it on himself. Maybe he’s a masochist. 

After talking about Fletcher, they just finished their food while Aki is just looking at them because she will eat her food in the dormitory. 

On the other hand, Fletcher is smiling while walking in the corridor. He can’t believe that it actually happened according to his plan. He studied day and night before the test and even if Emma bullied him nonstop, he didn’t let it put him down. 

He just didn’t expect that it would happen so soon. To leave the Murray building and completely get away from Emma’s terror. There is no student left in their room so he was just walking alone when he heard footsteps going towards him. 

He immediately turned around and saw Emma looking at him while her brows were raising. 

“Em-emma,” he called him with fear. 

“Good job, so this is your plan huh?’ Emma said while walking towards him. 

Fletcher tried to run but he couldn't even make a move when he saw the flaring eyes of Emma. Being bullied by a girl might be the most embarrassing moment to a guy but the situation itself makes him have no choice. Since middle school, he has already experienced bullying from his male classmates who want to take his food and money. He can fight them sometimes but fighting a woman is different. 

Fletcher is the brother of his two younger sisters and hitting them didn’t cross his mind, the same thing on hitting any other girls. He doesn’t want to let others experience what his Mom experiences with his dad. But because of his kindness, countless girls take advantage of it just like what Emma is doing now. 

She walked towards him even more until the gap was just half a metre. Fear is evident on his face. Emma leaned closer to him. 

“You tried so hard to get away from me? Is that right?” she asked, which makes Fletcher speechless. He can feel her boobs on his chest, starting to be pressed. 

“Huh?” she asked again using her seductive tone. 

Fletcher was so confused. He doesn’t know what she’s thinking right now. At first, he was afraid of her but because he didn’t expect her to behave like this. He can feel that she was trying to seduce him. But why? 

After a second, she finally closed the gap between them and whispered to his ear. 

“Do you want to play?” she asks seductively, trying to tempt the guy. 

Fletcher’s eyeball was about to pop out from surprise. His hands automatically move on his own and hold her shoulder. 

“Wh-what do you think you’re talking about?” he asked, trying to avoid her gazes. 

“I want you inside me, Fletcher…” she said again while trying to resist his resistance. 

She was about to kiss him while Fletcher is trying his best to get away from her, when a voice suddenly stops them from moving. 

“Seducing a guy after you lose a bet?” a cold yet firm voice stops her. 

She slowly looked at the guy and saw him leaning at the wall. He is looking at the floor while his hands are crossing to each other. 

“What?!” she asked while showing her annoyed expression. 

He slowly put both of his hands inside his pocket on his pants and looked at her with the same intensity of annoyance. He slowly walked towards them. 

“I said, ‘seducing a guy after you lose a bet?’ There, I said it again…” he said while using the same tone as he repeated his own words. 

Emma got annoyed even more. She tried her best not to show it on her face so she just walked away from them, leaving the guy smiling from victory. 

“R-ryota…right?” Fletcher asks for the name of the guy. Ryota looks at him. Suddenly his smile disappeared when he saw Fletcher. 

“I didn’t help you, don’t misunderstand things,” he said coldly and turned away from his direction. 

Fletcher was shocked and confused. He didn’t know what Ryota meant but it seems like Ryota felt so annoyed seeing him. He then starts to walk away from Fletcher. He didn’t notice that it was him until Emma left. He just wanted to see the mess around Emma because he hated the girl. And he accidentally overheard and saw what was happening. 

But still he denies doing it for Fletcher. Besides, he doesn’t like him, in fact he hates that guy who ace the test. Just like Fletcher, Ryota tries his best to top the exam and prove that he is smart. But because of merely one point, he just ended as the second place. 

For now, he still sees Fletcher as his rival. And it even makes him annoyed knowing that his rival steps to the next level away from him. He just continued walking away from Fletcher leaving the guy confused. 

On the other hand, Fletcher, who was left confused, continued walking towards his room. Some of the guys near his room even congratulate him from making it to the top.After he gave his tanks, he then went inside his room and prepared his things. Mr. Rayven called him earlier and told him that he needs to go to the gate in front of Murray building tomorrow as early as  5 am so he can still prepare his things in his new  dormitory room before the class. 

He excitedly took his things and put them in the luggage. He smiled as he saw a picture frame on his bag. 

‘Mom, I did it. I might see you sooner,’ he said while touching his mother’s face in the picture. He then took another picture out and saw his two siblings. 

‘Kara, Mara… take care of Mom until I go back home,’ he said to himself and kissed the picture frame. 

His Dad was already dead while his  mom is ill and currently in the hospital. Only his two younger sisters are there to assist and take care of his mom. While he supports them financially by taking a scholarship. And since it is the organisation who gives him the scholarship decided that he needs to take this opportunity to study here in Hyakku University, then he has no other choice but to leave his family for about a year until he graduates. 

After he prepares his things, he immediately lays down on his bed and sleeps. It took him half an hour before he could sleep because of his excitement.

When he wakes up, he immediately goes to the bathroom. It’s already 4:38 in the morning so he only has 22 minutes before 5 in the morning. Luckily, everyone is still asleep so no one is using the bathroom. It only took him just a little time and even arrived at the front of the gate ten minutes earlier. 

After a while, someone appears on his side and opens the gate. As he walked out the gate he even saw the grave look from the guard. He even saw one smirk a little while looking at him. 

“Here you go, just wait for the boss to arrive,” the man said and went back inside the gate. 

Fletcher looked back at the guy inside the gate. He frowned then looked at his front again. It only took him a while when he heard something at his back. It envelops him in fear hearing those words and surprised him as he looked at it. 

The next thing he knew, he was already lying down on the floor while his eyes were wide open. He can’t move and even think of anything aside from his death.