Chapter 36 First Step (1/2)
Kyle grinned when he saw what was on the tray that Kay had gotten for him. They were all his favourites : sausages, eggs and mashed potatoes, with pancakes.
”Oh man, Kay,” gushed Kyle, digging in, ”You're the best!!”
Kay watched him eat with gusto, then asked worriedly, [Is everything alright Kyle?]
Kyle was about to take a bite from his sausage when Kay asked that, and she noticed the slight pause before he continued. Chewing while taking a gulp of milk, he replied nonchalantly, [Sure]
Kay was silent for a while, then softly, the hurt evident in her voice [Don't lie to me Kyle]
Kyle chewed slowly, not looking up and instead, turned to look behind him at Xing Han and Sam. They had just reached the cafeteria lady and was busy piling up their tray with food. He then turned to face her, seeing the sadness and hurt in her eyes. His gaze went back down to the plate in front of him and he continued eating.
[I'm fine. I'm dealing with it]
Kay knew that he had gone on his first kill mission, and she was worried that taking another person's life would cause him trauma. What Kay didn't know was that the act itself wasn't what affected him, but rather the guilt that he felt burdened with by the choices he had made. The fate of the child he left behind haunted him, and he was well aware that the child was most likely not alive anymore. At least, the vile monster was already dead and would not be hurting any more innocents after this. That, at least, assuaged the guilt in his heart a little bit.
Still, this was something he had to bear on his own. There was nothing Kay could do. Kyle placed the memory into a little box and tucked it far away in the corner of his mind. A single, lone box representing a burden he had to bear forever. Kyle felt that this was just the beginning. His first 'sin', so to speak. Little did he know at that time, how prophetic those thoughts actually were.
Kay felt her phone vibrate and took out her phone from her pocket. Placing her thumbprint on it, she frowned slightly before showing Kyle the screen. He nodded, and finished up the last piece of pancake when Xing Han arrived.
”YOU'VE FINISHED ALREADY?!” Xing Han exclaimed as he sat down.
”Slowpoke,” Kyle answered, as he got up. ”Sorry, have something to do in class first. Let's go to Kayu for dinner later.”
Kayu was a well known restaurant franchise which had traditional Southern Indian-Muslim food, which had various forms of food comprising of rice and its accompanying dishes. Kyle loved eating there, as it was also a well known franchise in Country M, where he had lived before. Kay didn't quite like the heavy food of rice, so Kyle wouldn't go as often as he'd like.
Xing Han brightened up, ”Sure! I'll let Ali know. Sarah, you coming?”
This would be their first time eating out of campus, and Sarah was nervous but she nodded. She had heard about Kayu, and wanted to go and try it out but not many people actually liked rice. She nodded eagerly.
Just as Kyle headed out the cafeteria doors, the place became noisier than usual. There were multiple sounds of notifications going all over the place, and people were busy looking at their handphones. Soon, heads were turning and looking about, some even pointing towards the door while saying something.
”What's going on?” Sam wondered out loud.
Sarah's eyes were also glued to her phone, her hand on her mouth. Everyone looked at her, and her hands started trembling as she said in a shaking voice, ”The school forum exploded.”
”Exploded? What do you mean?” Kay asked, even though she already knew the answer. She took the phone from Sarah, then her fingers were seen going up and down the screen. She pursed her lips. ”Kyle isn't going to like this.”
[It's started] Kay sent to Kyle [And what horrible photoshop skills. Still, it is convincing enough, I suppose]
Kyle's laughter echoed in her mind as he answered, [Bring it on. This is going to be fun]
Sam took the phone, and Xing Han leaned over to look as Sam scrolled down the post. There was a post, with some pictures of a guy and girl together, in rather ... compromising positions. It wasn't too explicit as they were still fully clothed, but it was obvious that the couple were engaged in some rather passionate moments.
There were captions such as #secretloveaffair #notsoinnocent #unmasked
”Uh-oh,” Xing Han grumbled, tucking into his food, ”Principal Dobbins isn't going to like this.”
Although the pictures (5 in total) didn't have the faces of the couple shown clearly, there was no doubt in their minds who the guy was. If there had only been one picture, it may have been difficult but with five ... One had the guy in Retsu Primary School uniform on, one showed his side profile that indicated a sharp jawline and distinctive hairstyle, one had him in Retsu's basketball uniform, one had his face partially covered by the girl's back but his blue eyes was seen clearly and the last one had him walking with his head turned but his Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch was clearly seen on the wrist.
It was Kyle.