3Encounters: MewGulf

Chapter 3

In the first month, Mew had tried to keep tabs on Puifai but what drew his attention more was the boy who sat next to Puifai. He watched as the boy tried so hard to befriend Puifai. He watched their interactions and how he easily smiled. He watched how he easily got embarrassed which was somewhat charming to watch. He was drawn to the boy, but he didn't approach him. That was never in his blood to approach anyone.

Six years went by and Mew had studied Gulf until he knew him like the back of his hand although they never talked. They had moved in from Rockridge Elementary to Rockridge Secondary and still his interest in the boy did not diminish. He knew how the boy liked to play football, how he liked to eat spicy food, how he liked to play games, how he liked to sleep. He knew how many times the boy went for bathroom breaks and how much water he could drink in a day. He knew the boy's sizes from shoes, shirts and pants. He knew the color he preferred. He knew everything.

He knew how Gulf enjoyed roughhousing with other boys in the class which was one thing that he couldn't stand. The boys would sometimes go far and hurt each other. He didn't really care about others getting hurt but Gulf was an exception. He understood they were sixteen-year-olds who had a lot of energy but it just pissed him off.

The girl, Puifai, had become the worst over the years. Her hatred towards Mew was transparent and she didn't even try to hide it but Mew couldn't care less. He was too busy focusing on Gulf to care.

Puifai had seen how Mew stared at Gulf and she had let Gulf know. Whenever Gulf looked back, he would find Mew looking at him. Mew did not hide his stares and he never tried. At first, it was a bit disturbing for Gulf. It made him feel uncomfortable. He didn't know why Mew was always staring at him but as the years went by, he started getting used to it. It somewhat became part of his daily life. His friends advised him to stay away from Mew because he looked dangerous.

He heeded his friend's advice by staying clear of Mew's path until one day it happened against his will that he crossed the line.

The school siren had gone indicating the end of class for the day, a group of boys started roughhousing and they pushed one so hard that he fell on Mew who held the boy protectively so he wouldn't get hurt.

"guys stop it you always go a little bit far," Gulf addressed his friends with a shocked face. His friends afraid of Mew ran away leaving Mew and Gulf in the classroom alone. Mew took a glance at Gulf and looked away seemingly distracted. He was trying so hard to keep his temper and emotions in check. He didn't like that one bit. Gulf would have gotten seriously hurt if he hadn't caught him from falling. What if he were not there to catch him? What would have happened? The possibilities of Gulf getting hurt only fueled his anger.

The boy stood up slowly and checked for wounds. When he didn't feel any pain, he shyly muttered an apology and ran after his group of friends to scold them.

Mew did not leave the classroom even after all the kids had left. He had to get his feelings in check. His driver was going to come and fetch him from his class because he was going to be late as per his text message he had sent on Mew's phone.

He got up to leave as soon as he heard a familiar name calling his name. As he got up and turned to get his backpack from the under the table, he saw a funny looking pencil case on the floor. He was never a curious person, but he changed his mind when he saw some cleaning ladies in the corridor picking up things and throwing them in the big black trash bin. He picked it up and threw it in his backpack.

That night, Mew did not have a goodnight sleep. He had opened the pencil case before bedtime and what he found was a little unsettling. He couldn't find the name of the owner of the pencil case but there were two pictures inside. One of a newborn baby and another of a pendant tucked in the inner pocket of the case. He recognized the pendant immediately. Heck he was wearing it. It was his pendant. It was a precious pendant, something that he grew up with and he wouldn't give to anyone. Every time his parents tried to take away the pendant, he threw a fit and everyone in the house knew not to mess around with it.

How come the picture of his pendant was in this case? There was no mistake it was the same pendant. The way it was tied and just every detail showed it was the same. He had taken it off and closely compared with the picture. He started suspecting the owner of this case. Did they have an intention to steal his necklace for ransom because Mew was rich?

The next day in school, Mew couldn't wait to find out who the owner of the case was. When he heard the teacher announcing that Gulf had lost his pencil case and if anyone had seen it he or she should give it back, he was confused. Why would Gulf have a picture of his Pendant?

He took the case from his backpack and lifted it up. Their teacher, Mrs Jeed, smiled. She looked at Gulf and said,

"looks like Mew helped you find your pencil case Gulf."

"how do we know he did not steal it?" Puifai chirped in with suspicions.

"because he is returning it." the teacher replied in a duh tone. She was tempted to add in dumb head but she swallowed her curse words and looked at Gulf,

"What do we say?"

"thank you," he replied in a shy voice. Mew's gaze made him feel small.

"Great. Now go ahead and get your pencil case from Mew."

Mew was intrigued. How was Gulf connected to this pendant? He was curious and could not wait to unravel the mystery. His interest in the boy spiked to the roof.

One week later, weird things started to happen in Mrs Jeed's class. It started small like missing homework books, broken pens and pencils, wet books, but as time went on, it started getting wild. There were missing furniture, broken furniture, painted furniture, etc.

Why things like that were happening, no one knew except one girl. Puifai. She was so observant, and nothing went past her eyes but she wouldn't come forward. On the day she labelled Mew a thief, her mother had received a report from school saying that she was picking on Mew and they had a meeting that day. She was advised to stay away and not get involved with Mew in any way if she wanted to survive in the city otherwise they would end up in the village.

The administration came to address the kids almost every day concerning this strange behavior but nothing was changing. Some other kids' performance were being affected and no one seemed to have an idea of who was causing this and why. A gloomy atmosphere was now hanging in the air. Gone were the days of happiness and carefree attitude in class. Kids were being cautious all the time. Parents were torn on transferring their kids because the son of J-Limited was in the class. They didn't want to miss the benefits.

Then one day, as they were having a math lesson, Mrs Jeed called out random names for people to solve the math on the board and she called Gulf too. He was distracted when he solved the math so he made a mistake. Mrs Jeed found this an opportunity to lighten the atmosphere in the classroom by making fun of Gulf's answer. It indeed helped as the kids laughed their lungs out, well, except three people. Gulf, who was embarrassed for having missed a decimal place, Mew who always kept a straight face and Puifai who thought what a bad move the Teacher had made.

"you shouldn't have done that," she voiced her thoughts with a straight face looking at Mrs Jeed.

"Oh come on Puifai you should loosen up and enjoy a joke," Mrs Jeed retorted.

"well, it's not a joke if Gulf is not laughing." She continued with a voice that sounded like she is scolding her teacher. Her words were right though.

"How old are you again?" Mrs Jeed asked genuinely shocked by how this girl was standing up to her.

"well im just telling you that you just made a costly mistake," she emphasized on mistake.

The atmosphere became tense again but the lesson resumed.

Mrs Jeed only found out what Puifai meant when she entered the office the following morning. Her desk in the office was cleared, and other teachers were curious as to why her desk was empty, some wondering whether the teacher was leaving because of the strange things happening in her classroom.

She was called to the principal's office and she had to explain that she had no idea what had happened and where her books and other stuff had gone.

She got the answer to those questions when she went to class and saw a black bin full of water and all her things floating inside.