Dark-to-light purple hair swayed gently with its owner's movements under the somewhat dim lighting in the stairwell.
A pair of strangely mesmerizing light purple eyes looked straight into his midnight blue eyes.
Dazed, Geo was actually awestruck by the beauty of the teenager before him.
Because Geo had always kept his head down out of habit, although he had heard the name of the famous first year student representation, he had never seen Ian in person. At first sight, like others, Geo was stunned by how good looking a person could be.
Then he lowered his eyes.
For a person who could make Manl and his gang scared and run away, this person in front of him must not be a simple person. His background must be tens of times higher than Manl's let alone his.
Geo pursed his lips. He hit the ground with his fist with great strength. His skin swelled up and reddened from the impact.
Ian merely watched. A smile ever present on his handsome and gentle-looking face. Ian could feel his frustration—anyone who is here at this moment can feel it—it was obvious, it was tangible. Yet ignorable by many.
Geo stared fiercely at the ground.
The injuries all over his body throbbed in reminder of the pain and humiliation he was subjected to every time at school.
Peace seemed but a floating cloud he could never reach.
He just wanted to study in peace and graduate. Go to a good college and find a good job so that he could take care of his ill mother.
He hit the ground.
Why is life so unfair?!
Geo recalled all the times when his body was beaten black and blue, when his chair was kicked to the ground along with him, when his lunch was contaminated by bugs, when his second-hand books he had painstakingly earned money to buy were ripped to shreds, when…
When…
When.
When!
There were so many moments, so many instants, so many that he can never count them all.
He had gritted his teeth through it all, never making a sound. He would rather bite himself to the point of bleeding than allow them to mistake his uncontrollable cries of pain as a sign of weakness. Although his body submitted, his mind and heart would never submit to them.
No matter how battered and bruised he is, he didn't want to show weakness.
He endured it all.
Hoping just to survive, to eventually leave this place and live a better life. To be a human being rather than a toy or a pet to people of power, of wealth.
He believed that if he can just pass this stage in his life, he will finally be free.
He will be free.
Endure it.
Endure it…
Endure it!
Geo was silent as he kept pounding his fist against the hard, uncaring floor tiles. He kept going even when his hand began to bleed from excessive damage to the skin.
It was as if he was letting out his grievances and anger through the letting of blood.
And only one person took it all in.
At this moment, Ian finally spoke.
"If you don't stand up for yourself, nobody will."
Geo stopped and tensed up at the sudden and unexpected words.
Ian continued, his tone cold unlike his gentle smile, his words hitting every spot in Geo's heart, "Yes, you can choose to endure this kind of humiliation and violence until graduation, but do you think these kinds of things will end after graduation? That's naive thinking. The world is this kind of place. Society stinks of such deeds. This school is one of the greatest manifestations of the real society. Cruel, heartless, and vain. Unless you can change your status, your background, you can never walk out of this circle intact. Your body may not be bruised, but your heart will always remain in constant torment—it's just a change in the method. Enduring is not always the correct answer. They may have bigger backgrounds than you. But a strong person is always afraid of a desperate person. A barefooted person does not fear those who wear shoes." Ian thought of something and laughed. "Well, I don't think Manl and his men will be a problem for you anymore. After all, they promised to me that they won't mess with you again. And if they don't keep their promise…" Ian's eyes glinted with a cold, sharp light. "I don't mind helping them keep it."
Ian focused his eyes on Geo.
Staring into the other's eyes, Ian saw something that made him laugh happily.
'He's a fighter. I can tell. He just lacks a push. The rest will fall into place by itself.' Ian smirked.
Turning around, Ian waved and left behind two words.
"Considerate it."
While walking away, Ian felt as though he had forgotten something. But since he can't remember what it is he forgot, he thought it was something unimportant.
He returned to the special class's classroom. He had been away for longer than normal to use the bathroom, but the special class teacher didn't dare to yell at him. The teacher only glanced at him and then looked away to continue his teaching.
Back to the stairwell.
In the sound of Ian's fading footsteps, something in Geo seemed to have finally found the answer it had been searching for.
A few minutes later, Geo tremblingly stood up. The sharp pain that cut into his guts made his legs feel weak and wobbly. He stiffened. Then he gritted his teeth, enduring the pain to keep going.
So what if he's in pain. In order to move forward, he needs to push past this pain and take every step steadily towards a brighter future.
It was with perseverance and the support of the walls that he eventually made it to the classroom and continued to attend class.
Logically, he should have gone to the infirmary or gone home to go to the hospital, but he didn't want to miss the lesson—he had no friends to give him their notes for the missed classes. There were still more than half a day of classes left. He didn't want his grades to slip.
Most importantly, he didn't want his mother to see his current state and worry about him. It would only worsen her already fragile health that is on the edge of a precipice.
He couldn't go home now.
Studying is his only way out right now.
The only path he can take to ensure that he makes enough money for the exorbitant medical treatment fees needed to completely heal his mother.
Geo wrapped his fingers around his icy pen, his arm trembling slightly from the pain caused by exertion as he concentrated on the lesson and took notes.
Determination shone in his eyes.
***
The last school bell rang.
School was finally over.
At some point in time during the school day, Geo had gone back to the stairwell after remembering that the girl who sometimes stood up to Manl for him had passed out there.
He had been in too much pain and mental turmoil at the time to remember her, so now that he did, he went to see if she was still there. If she was, he would take her to the school infirmary.
But she was not.
Geo didn't know if this was because she had woken up some time after he and Ian left or if someone saw her and took her away.
It had only been less than an hour since the event took place.
Seeing that she wasn't there, Geo turned around and went home.
His feelings towards her were a little complicated.
It's a fact that she tried to help him whenever she encounters Manl and his gang of bad friends bullying him.
But at the same time, most of her attempts to help him ends up with Manl getting angry and becoming even more heavy-handed towards him. For a period of time afterwards, the group of bullies would intensify their bullying methods towards him.
In exchange for just one brief moment of relief he got days of intensified bullying.
He didn't know whether he wanted her to interfere or not when it only made things worse for himself.
Manl didn't often hit girls, but he would hit guys without squibble.
He was grateful, in a way, for her good intentions. But he wished that she would not make things worse for him. However, he never told her because he could sense that she was not actually doing any of that for Geo himself but for herself. As a sort of redemption?
As for what, Geo didn't know.
He didn't care much either. The two of them were in a transaction.
For him, it warmed his heart a little to know that at least someone cares that he was an innocent victim in the palm of Manl and them's hands.
For her, she was trying to make it up to someone. She didn't care for Geo, she cared for his status as a bully's victim.
"I'm home," Geo said after he opened the door to his house.
It was a simple two-bedroom apartment in the shabby part of the city. Besides the two rooms, there was also a bathroom and a living room that contained the tiny kitchen where his mother would cook their meals.
The whole house was small and squeezed together, but they couldn't afford any better. His mother was too weak to work. Before Geo started middle school, his mother was the sole breadwinner of the family. She overworked herself even whilst her body was deteriorating and finally collapsed. Now, she can't go out in the wind and cold or else she'll start coughing nonstop, let alone find a job.
In this way, Geo became the breadwinner of the family, working multiple part-time jobs starting in middle school, balancing the trio of school, work, and life.
Today, he had to take time off from his job because his body ached all over and he had no strength to go home let alone work.
He bandaged himself in the school infirmary before coming home.
The first thing Geo's mother noticed was the wound on Geo's face that couldn't be hidden.
"Geo, what's wrong with your face? Did you get bullied again?" Geo's mother's eyebrows furrowed as her eyes showed concern as she reached out and touched her son's face.
"It's nothing. A basketball accidentally hit me in the face when I wasn't paying attention, that's all." Geo lied so that his mother wouldn't worry. Although she could guess that Geo had been bullied, since he wouldn't admit it, there was nothing she could do.
She knew that Geo was having a hard time at school. Many times in the past, she had suggested that Geo transfer schools but her idea was rejected by him because no other schools provide as generous of a scholarship as S High School—they needed the money.
Geo's mother felt upset at how she was dragging down her son. She felt like she was a burden.
'If only my husband is here…' She thought with longing.
She helplessly sighed.
Her worry for her son made her chest feel tight and stuffy, and she coughed.
Geo hurriedly patted her back. This is why he didn't want to tell her anything. Even if she had guessed his situation at school, if he doesn't tell her, she won't know how serious it is and so she won't be overly worried about him.
Geo feared that his mother would collapse after getting stimulated. After all, there was a precedent.
Ever since he could remember, he had no father figure around him.
His mother never spoke of his father, so Geo had always assumed that his father was either dead or abandoned them.
Because he had no father, he was often made fun of by other kids during his kindergarten days.
When his mother found out about it, she was furious and rushed to his school and made a fuss. She scolded the parents of those kids to the point where the other parties dropped their heads in shame.
That was the first time that he saw his mother being so fierce and angry. Very cool.
But actions have consequences.
Her health at that time was already declining.
Then with her emotional outburst, she soon fainted and got hospitalized for a short while.
Some of their savings was spent on her hospitalization and treatment with the rest spent on their household expenses.
Thanks to some compensation paid by the parents of those kids, Geo and his mother managed to make do since the only person who can make money in their family collapsed and cannot work. There was no source of income during that time. Geo and his mother wished they could split one penny into two.
After that incident, Geo never dared to let his mother find out that he had been bullied at school. No matter how serious it got, he endured it. If he didn't, his mother would have to, and he didn't want that.
Geo looked at the tattering wallpaper on the wall that only held on thanks to the colorful tapes. Their different colors and patterns make the wall look more bearable to the eyes.
Geo knew without thinking that another part of the wallpaper had fallen again.
"Are you hungry? I'll go cook dinner now. You should take a shower and clean up," Geo's mother said as she pushed Geo to their only bathroom that was small and cramped.
Geo acquiesced.
He went back to his room first to get his clothes then he returned to the bathroom and closed the door.
The shower head came on and he took a slow shower. His throbbing injuries did not allow him to move quickly.
When he got out, wiped his body, and got dressed, he was about to put on his shirt when he realized that he had forgotten to take his shirt with him when getting his clothes.
This was a problem.
His body was full of ugly bruises and wounds, evidence of him being bullied.
He has to avoid accidentally showing them to his mother.
Geo cracked open the door and glanced out. Fortunately or unfortunately, the bathroom faced the kitchen area with his bedroom to the right of the bathroom. In this small apartment, he can quickly get to his room without his mother seeing him as long as he moves quickly and she doesn't turn around.
Geo took action immediately.
Covering his bare upper body with his arms, he quickly went in the direction of his room.
However, he was still unlucky.
His mother happened to turn around at this time.
She instinctively smiled when she saw her son, but that smile soon slipped away to reveal shock.
"Ah!" She screamed at the sight of the mishmash of scars, bruises, and wounds on Geo's body.
She stumbled forward, reaching out a trembling hand that did not dare to touch her injured son.
Her heart ached upon the sight.
Her breathing became heavier and heavier, yet still she felt she couldn't breathe.
Her breath soon hitched and she fainted. Her body descended rapidly to the floor.
Geo's eyes widened.
His heart pounded wildly like it was about to burst out.
He hurriedly stretched out his hand to catch her.
"Mom!"