Alex walked along the hallway after exiting the auditorium, as Principal Toren had quickly ended the assembly due to the classes that would be starting soon.
The principal was already running late, and had he not been late, he would have likely given a long speech and would have probably allowed the top three rankers and Alex to speak about how they felt achieving their ranks, and would have likely explained the rewards even in more detail on the stage, but since time had slipped away from him, the principal did none of that and instead ended the assembly, telling everyone nicely to return to their classes quickly.
Alex was being eyed by students walking beside him and behind him and even from the front, those walking ahead of him were also turning their heads as though unable to believe that Alex had managed to receive the golden bracelet despite ranking fiftieth in overall scores.
Some who were from Class S, whose faces Alex felt he recognised, muttered in disappointment or envy, likely wondering how a level one student had been called to the stage among the other top three rankers while they, being higher ranked and higher levelled than him, had not received anything at all.
Alex was having trouble walking. He felt his gait looked abnormal under the sheer intensity of the glares directed at him from every direction. It was as though he was being observed from head to toe, leaving him feeling completely bare, and he felt himself walking abnormally, almost as if he had forgotten the way he had always walked.
Walk straight, like always. Alex reminded himself and tried to walk steadily as he always did, but still he felt his steps were not his own and his body moved even more awkwardly than before.
Alex could not tell whether he was truly walking strangely or whether he was simply too conscious of himself at the moment which made his walk feel unnatural in his own mind.
Alex took a deep breath to calm himself and to stop himself from focusing too much on his walking style.
And thankfully, after walking a little more, he spotted a toilet at the side of the hallway ahead and he quickly quickened his pace, and slipped inside.
Alex made sure to double check the sign on the door to confirm he was entering the boys toilet, because he was worried that in his hurriedness and anxious state he might have walked straight into the girls toilet that sat adjacent to it.
Alex let out a long sigh as he stepped inside. The toilet was empty except for a few other students. He felt a huge burden lifted off himself finding a space to hide until the hallway would become somewhat empty.
Alex finished his business quickly and stood before the basin. He looked at his reflection and felt he did not recognise himself at all. His hair fell messily around his head, tangled against itself, and several strands of his long black hair, tinged blue at the ends, had fallen in front of his face. His azure eyes were trembling. His lips were pressed tightly together and his jaw was clenched so hard that he could feel it aching, and he knew that if he kept tightening it like that he might actually do himself damage.
Alex splashed a generous handful of water across his face, still glaring at his own reflection. It had been some time since he had clearly looked at himself in a mirror, and now that he was, he felt he was looking at something entirely foreign. He hated his own reflection. He wanted to smash the mirror or at the very least tear his gaze away from it, but he kept looking.
What have I become? Alex asked himself, wondering why he was not happy, why he was not jumping with joy at having received the golden bracelet from Principal Toren himself, called to the stage along with the other top three rankers.
Why the hell am I not happy? Alex screamed inside his mind. His lips parted slightly, almost letting the words escape out loud, but then something at his side caught his attention. Water had touched his coat, splashed from the basin beside him, and he turned to find a student hunched over the adjacent basin, explosively splashing water onto his own face.
The student's stature felt familiar. He had medium length black hair falling forward and covering his face entirely, making it impossible for Alex to make out any of his features, and he had a medium build and looked taller than Alex even while bent forward.
Nack? The name surfaced in Alex's mind, and as though to confirm it, the student turned toward him with a wicked smile, his black eyes fixing on Alex with a cruel and thrilling gleam.
When did Nack enter the toilet? Alex had not seen him when he first came in. Did he slip in while I was washing my face?
Alex took a sudden step back, sensing something was deeply wrong, but he walked straight into someone. It was not a wall but a person.
He spun on his heel to see who he had walked into. Eldric stood there with his hands in his pockets, staring at him with a fury so profound that his face had twisted lines running along his temples and eyes.
Shit.
Alex cursed himself because he had made a fatal mistake. He had turned his back to Nack, and Nack seized the opening immediately, driving his knee hard into the centre of Alex's spine.
"Aaaaaahhh!!"Alex's body arched backwards and he cried out in pain. Before he could even begin to think about what to do next, Eldric threw a low jab straight into his jaw.
Alex staggered weakly to the side. He had not even gotten the chance to raise a hand in defence. It was so quick, so utterly sudden, and then Nack struck again, this time slamming his leg into Alex's knee, sending Alex crashing toward the floor.
One knee hit the ground. Alex bent his other leg, desperately trying to find his footing, but Eldric drove his boot down onto Alex's leg and Alex writhed in pain.
"Aaah! Sto-"
Eldric shoved another punch over Alex's face before he could finish. Eldric looked like the very incarnation of something wicked in that moment. Alex clawed for something to grip, his hand finding the basin, and he managed to haul himself upright. For a brief moment no one moved against him.
Alex thought perhaps they were showing mercy, perhaps some part of them regretted it, but he was wrong. The moment he had barely found his footing and straightened, Eldric punched him across the face and Alex lurched sideways toward the basin, clutching its edge with both hands before his head could slam into the mirror.
Alex stared at his reflection. His already tangled hair was even more dishevelled now, strands falling loosely in every direction and covering half his face, but through it he could still see himself. His face was filled with fear. His jaw was red and swollen from Eldric's jab. His eyes moved frantically across his own reflection as though struggling to recognise the foreign face looking back at him. His hands were shaking and his body was trembling. He shifted his gaze around the room and realised the toilet was empty now. The other students had already left and the door to the toilet had been shut, and was being guarded by Eldric's minions.
"Why are you doing this?" Alex choked out, his voice cracking and falling apart. He tried to pull his head back but Eldric grabbed him by the hair, gripping tightly, and shoved Alex's face toward the mirror. Alex thought for a moment that Eldric was going to smash his face straight into it, but Eldric stopped just a breath before that.
"You bastard," Eldric snarled, "I should have received that golden bracelet. I should have been the one called to that stage, not you."
Eldric wrenched Alex's head back and stared at him, his black eyes burning into Alex with such intensity that Alex felt his breath beginning to shorten. Alex's own eyes had grown weak. The onslaught had been sudden and relentless, not allowing him a single moment to defend himself or flee.
"And you ask me why?" Eldric growled, and began throwing punch after punch into Alex's face.
Alex desperately tried to raise his hands to shield himself, but Eldric barked, "Hold his hands."
Alex's last desperate attempt to defend himself was stripped away from him. His arms were wrenched behind his back, bent just short of breaking. Alex struggled to free himself, tried to open his mouth and say something, but his lips never got the chance to move. The punches kept coming, striking his nose and his mouth again and again. And it was painful. So painful that his consciousness was beginning to slip away, his mind slowly shutting itself down as though trying to protect him from registering any more of what his body was enduring.
Alex made one last attempt. He threw a kick at Eldric, and it connected, but it changed nothing. The only consequence was that Eldric began hitting him harder.
Why am I this wea…ak? Alex felt his consciousness drifting away, and then he felt nothing at all.
***
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