‘You thought wrong. Why would I be upset? We have meant nothing to each other for seven years, so why would I care now?’ Nina’s words hit me like a knife in my heart. Her words were brutal, but I could see where she was coming from. ‘What you do isn’t my business and hasn’t been for seven years now, so why would I care whose mouth you stick your tongue down? Now, if you excuse me, I’m going to bed. Goodnight, Magnus,’ and she slams her door in my face.
We both lean our backs against either side of the door and sadly slide down. Although Nina won’t admit it, I know I hurt her again. She’ll be in the Science class tomorrow. That will be my opportunity to apologize to her.
I return to my room, step into the shower, and bang my head against the wall in frustration. Once I’ve finished sulking in the water, I climb into bed for another restless night of little sleep.
The morning arrives, and I sit at the table for breakfast to find Nina completely ignoring me again. She runs to school ahead of us again and doesn’t slow down when she sees me trying to catch up.
On arrival at the school, I walk to my locker with Josie and Flint on either side. I look over at Nina. Moss has an arm above Nina’s head, leaning into the locker. She blushes and giggles as he whispers in her ear.
Josie and Flint also observe them and give each other a worried look.
‘Let’s get to class,’ Flint says, wanting to get me away from Moss and Nina.
‘What do we have first?’ I ask him.
‘Physical Ed, let’s get our training gear on,’ he says.
PE is just what I needed to help me burn some of this frustration out. We go to the change room, change into shorts and tank shirts, and walk to the oval where Mr Tilley waits.
While we wait for the rest of the class, I stretch with Flint and a few other guys.
‘You've got to be kidding me?’ Flint says, looking over my shoulder.
I look to see what his problem is, only to repeat Flint’s words. ‘You have got to be kidding me,’ I growl under my breath.
‘Hey guys,’ Moss smiles, waves, and casually stretches with us.
‘What are you doing here?’ I snap.
‘I have PE,’ he smiles. ‘I’m Moss,’ he says, putting his hand out to shake mine.
Instead of shaking his hand, I stop stretching, cross my arms, and glare at him.
‘Ok, fellas, let’s begin with a few laps around the oval, and you start now,’ Mr Tilley shouts and blows his whistle.
I jog past Moss, knocking into his shoulder, and he immediately realises I don’t like him.
Moss races to catch up to me. He jogs by my side with a smug grin that keeps growing. If that smug smile gets any bigger, he’d be the joker’s doppelgänger. Flint and I speed up to lose him, but Moss keeps up with us. He whacks his shoulder into mine with force. I do the same back. Then, the next thing you know, we are both on the ground tackling each other. He punches me in the jaw. I hit him in the left eye, and he punches me in the right eye. I hit his cheekbone.
Mr Tilley runs toward us, blowing his whistle. ‘Stop! Stop right now, break it up!’ He continues to shout at us, but neither of us listens.
Our bodies are a mix of tangled limbs and aggression, frustration pouring out in every punch and grapple. The classmates gather around, forming a circle, cheering, some looking concerned. Paul and Flint try to pull us apart, but we are like wild animals locked in combat. The emotions fueling our fight are a blend of jealousy, anger, and tension.
I grab Moss’s arm, turn him onto his stomach, wrap my other arm around his neck, and keep him in a lock hold, cutting off his airway. He is about to pass out before using his free arm to grab and twist my precious jewels.
‘Argh,’ I yell and sit back, releasing him whilst I cling to my goods.
Moss turns around, and we glare at each other, panting. We both have black eyes, bloody noses, and bruises in different areas of our faces.
The stern voice of Mr Tilley echoes through the chaos that is the aftermath of our impromptu brawl. 'Magnus, what has gotten into you? And Moss, you are new here. You should know better about getting into fights. Now, both of you see the school nurse and report to the principal’s office,' he commands.
Moss and I respond with simultaneous groans of acknowledgment. Mr. Tilley isn't finished, though. 'Flint,' he directs his gaze toward my brother. 'You go with them too, and make sure they don’t get into another fight.'
Flint nods, and we proceed through the corridors, a duo of bruised egos and battered pride, heading towards the nurse's office. As we pass classroom windows, students gawk at us, their expressions a mix of shock and morbid curiosity. Amidst the staring faces, I glimpse Nina in her class. She gasps and rushes out concerned.
Despite the situation, warmth fills me as Nina hurries to check on me. However, my satisfaction turns to disbelief as she wraps her arms around Moss, her touch gentle and caring. A low growl escapes my throat, reverberating across the school grounds. Nina steps back from Moss. 'What happened to you?' She demands from Moss, her gaze shifting between us.
'I was in PE training, and that guy was unfriendly and tried to knock me over when we were running laps. We ended up in a fight. I’ve never met the guy before, so I don’t know what his problem is,' Moss explains, casting a disdainful glare at me.
Nina, now furious, marches towards me. 'How dare you! How dare you get into a fight with Moss like that! Just because he is my friend and treats me with kindness, unlike someone else, I know Magnus! Does not give you the right to destroy another friendship!' She hastily scolds me.
Nina storms back to Moss, producing a handkerchief from her pocket and gently dabbing away the blood from his face. A mix of jealousy and anger boils within me as he cups his hand over hers and gives her a peck on the tip of her nose. 'Thank you, Nina,' he says, a smug smile on his lips.