Broken Strings

Happy

Jay POV

I kicked him in the stomach again as he cowered on the ground. I kicked him again and again until all of his half beaten minions ran off and he lay there without reacting to my assault. I looked back at the boy covered in shadows crying as he stared at me with dread in his eyes. It is a look I am quite used to in this school. If it weren't for my perfect grades they would've kicked me out already.

I walked towards him and he visibly shrink into the wall.

"Th-Th-Thank you" He stuttered out finally as I stared him.

"Why is it you always?" I asked him genuinely curious.

Since the moment he arrived into this school two months back the various 'gangs' of students hae been attacking him relentlessly. As if he attracts them. He shrugged.

"My father does own a lot of money. Apparently it cannot save me. Quite the opposite if you ask me." he said still shaking a little.

That explains a lot.

I started walking away.

He struggled to get his bag from the one who is down on the ground like a half dead and tagged along with me.

And he has been ever since.

It was half past 9 and our class might begin anytime now. Maanav is not here yet. He is never late. Not even when he was the target of all these people sitting in my class. Though he was never bullied by these lot after I beat up almost half of them as Maanav refused to leave my side and someone has to defend this two-member-gang-thing. If you can even call that.

The teacher came in and was announcing about assignments next week when he came in through the door. With a plaster on his head and a casting on one of his hands. I got up. Startled, the entire class turned to me, but I was just staring at him. The look that he gave me that day answered all the questions.

There are quite some reasons why I would never forget that day. Probably because that was the day I realised that Maanav is being abused by his father. Or because he was half beaten to death because I got the scholarship and topped the examinations that year which he worked his ass off for. Or because that was the day I realised I cannot fight everyone in this world. And that if I did fight with Maanav's father then I would end up hurting him more than his father or so he said when I suggested to beat up his father.

That day he tagged along with me to the orphanage and slept in my room. I kicked him out, obviously. But he came back the next day and the next day until I had to stop kicking him out when he bought the room I was staying in by contributing huge funds to the orphanage and earned the key to my room. I was baffled at the lengths he was wasting money.

"Isn't it weird that you are an orphan and still people are so scared to even look at you and even though I have a parent I always get picked up." He said that night.

"I do not find it weird. You are just weak."

"It is because you are emotionless freak."

"I can still beat you up. Don't tempt me."

"Why didn't you? I meant to ask this a long time ago. Why did you save that day?"

We were quite for a while. And then-

"Because you reminded me of myself. Now sleep or I am kicking you out again and I don't care even if you own this building."

..

"Why are we here and what the hell is this? A dictionary? I do need a dictionary?!"

"So you can feel anger. But in little amounts apparently."